Israel’s Secret Weapon
Sunday, June 7, 1981
Six F-15 escorts and eight F-16 fighter bombers roared off the runway from Etzion Air Force Base in southern Israel. The atmosphere was thick with tension. Before takeoff, Lt. General Rafael Eitan briefed the pilots, saying with unusual emotion, "The alternative is our destruction."
Israel’s intelligence had recently confirmed Iraq’s intentions to produce weapons at their Osirak nuclear facility. The atomic bombs that the Iraqi reactor could produce, using enriched uranium or plutonium, could be as devastating as the one dropped on Hiroshima. Faced with this mortal threat to Israel, the government decided to launch a preemptive strike. At 3:55 PM, the fighter jets took off in secret, while the rest of the country continued with its daily routine, unaware.
Every detail of the mission was meticulously planned. The target was distant: 1,100 kilometers from Israel. The elite group of pilots included Ilan Ramon, may his memory be blessed, along with others selected from the Israeli Air Force’s special fighter corps.
After a tense but uneventful low-level flight, the jets reached their target. At 5:35 PM, they identified the reactor's dome, gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. Enemy defenses were caught off guard and fired too late. In just one minute and twenty seconds, the reactor was reduced to ruins. All six planes returned home safely.
Israel — and the world — was saved from a grave threat.
The day before this daring and miraculous mission, an urgent directive was issued by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, from his headquarters in Brooklyn. The Rebbe instructed his emissaries worldwide to pause their usual pre-Shavuot holiday activities and dedicate every spare moment to encouraging Jewish children to acquire a letter in a newly written Torah scroll. Emissaries were then to report on what they had accomplished that very day.
Two months earlier, the Rebbe had explained the importance of writing Torah scrolls, in which Jewish children would participate by purchasing a single letter for the minimal cost of one dollar. Through each child “owning” a letter, hundreds of thousands of Jewish children worldwide would be united in one joint scroll.
In a public address, the Rebbe stated, “We now live in a world filled with confusion and turmoil... Nowadays, even a single deranged, demented, or frustrated individual with access to a destructive button or trigger can destabilize an entire region or country. Such unprecedented chaos must be countered with unique measures.”
The Rebbe emphasized that this campaign for Jewish unity, achieved through the communal children’s Torah — in addition to taking the natural steps necessary for peace — would help ensure peace in Israel and across the world.
Just as a person is made up of both body and soul, without which they cannot remain alive, Judaism teaches that the collective Jewish people also consist of body and soul. For the Jewish people to survive, thrive, and achieve a peaceful equilibrium, we must ensure that both our collective body—our physical well-being—and our collective soul—our spiritual health—are vibrant and strong.
As Israel fights for its survival on multiple fronts, thank G-d we are witnessing miraculous achievements. While we must ensure that Israel receives and utilizes all the advanced weapons necessary to win this war, we must also do our part by providing the most essential weapon for victory: uniting with one another through the performance of Mitzvot for the safety of our brave soldiers. Additionally, we must strengthen our trust and connection to G-d, Who will continue to protect us and ensure a decisive victory!
The source for the special mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll comes from this week’s Torah portion, Nitzavim-Vayeilech: “And now, write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the Children of Israel. Place it into their mouths, so that this song will be a witness for Me against the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 31:19).
Maimonides explains, "It is a positive commandment for every Jewish man to write a Torah scroll for himself, as [implied by the commandment (Deuteronomy 31:19)]: 'And now, write down this song for yourselves.' This implies the command to write the entire Torah, which contains this song, for the Torah should not be written down passage by passage."
At the Exodus from Egypt, the Jews experienced true unity, becoming one people at Mount Sinai. To bring this unity into practical reality today, even for children, it must involve something tangible. Since the Written Torah was given as a complete, unified text, it is the ideal means to unite the Jewish people.
Ideally, every individual should write a Torah scroll themselves or commission a scribe to write one on their behalf. However, due to the significant effort and costs involved, the accepted practice is to purchase at least one letter in a communal Torah, fulfilling the mitzvah. Since a Torah scroll missing even a single letter is invalid, acquiring one letter is comparable to owning the entire Torah.
The mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll was given to the Jewish people, just before they entered the Land of Israel over 3,000 years ago. It is the last of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. Our Sages teach that fulfilling this mitzvah is one of the preparatory steps leading to the end of the current exile and the advent of the Messianic era when we will once again return to settle in Israel.
The Children’s Letter-in-the-Torah Campaign remains active (see here) and has expanded to include adults as well (see here). The recent completion of the eighth children’s Torah was celebrated in Jerusalem. Since the campaign's launch, over 2.4 million Jewish children have acquired a letter in the children’s Torah scrolls. If you haven't yet had the chance, please participate by developing a letter on behalf of yourself, a child, a grandchild, or a friend.
May the unity of these letters be powerful enough to avert any new threats to global peace and usher in the final redemption speedily in our days.
