RESCUE MISSION

This week’s parasha always has a particular resonance for me. It is the anniversary of the first occasion I visited St John’s Wood shul on a Shabbat.

It was in July 1976. I had been in correspondence with Rabbi Dr Norman Lamm, then Professor of Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University in New York. What had especially attracted me to Rabbi Lamm was that he was a Chemistry graduate who had moved over into the rabbinate. I was contemplating such a move myself. Rabbi Lamm encouraged me, but he also mentioned that he would be travelling to London and that we could speak in person.

That week, as Rabbi Lamm and his wife sailed to England, saw one of the most dramatic rescue missions in military history. Entebbe. Israeli elite commandos, under the direction of Yonatan Netanyahu, staged a daring mission to release hostages taken captive by Palestinian terrorists being held in Entebbe airport. The team flew the 4000km from Israel to Uganda at night and, in the course of 90 minutes, rescued 102 hostages, killed all the hijackers, 45 Ugandan soldiers, and destroyed 11 Ugandan planes. Sadly, Yonatan Netanyahu lost his life in the mission. The brilliance and daring of the Israeli raid was acclaimed across the world.

The following Shabbat was Parashat Balak. There was great anticipation in St Johns’s Wood shul as Rabbi Lamm rose to speak.

He quoted the verse that Bilam used to praise Israel: “Behold, they are a people that rise up like a lion.” (Bamidbar 23:24).

The bravery of the Israeli commandos fully deserved this biblical description. It was a mission audaciously planned and brilliantly executed.

But, said Rabbi Lamm, we also need to look at the previous verse: “It will be said of Jacob, of Israel, ‘See what G-d has done.’” (Bamidbar 23:23).

What took place was a miracle, the mark of the Divine.

“Which is the more fitting description of the Entebbe mission,” asked Rabbi Lamm. “The bravery of man or the hand of G-d?”

The answer, he said, is that both are necessary. Man must perform his ‘hishtadlut’ – his own effort, planning, resources. He cannot sit back passively, waiting for G-d to rescue him. At the same time, he shouldn’t be so arrogant as to think that a striking success is due to his efforts alone.

I remember these words forty-eight years later, because they cut to the heart of Jewish theology. Whoever we are, wherever we are, we must do our best. If we fail to plan properly, if we don’t look after ourselves, we cannot blame G-d if mishaps come our way. At the same time, we must have the humility to acknowledge that success is not due to our efforts alone. We must recognise the hand of G-d assisting us in everything we do.

This applies poignantly in our current situation. Peace and the fate of our hostages will be resolved through a combination of political wisdom, military planning together with prayer, Torah study and good deeds.