Post-October 7, I heard a story that sent chills down my spine. Many mothers in Israel have had trouble sleeping because their children are in dangerous places, risking their lives for Hashem and us, the Jewish nation. One mother, in particular, shared her story and explained how, in the early days after October 7t, she couldn’t sleep knowing that her one and only son was fighting and she couldn’t reach him. One night, without telling her husband, she got out of bed and decided to try taking a walk to make her tired. Although she was a non-observant Jew, her legs brought her to the Beit Knesset, where she saw a light. One man was inside praying, and she felt she was there for a reason. After sharing her story, the man said he wasn’t sure what to do. He isn’t a rabbi or someone of great authority, just a simple Jew praying. The woman responded that there had to be something he could do because this was where Hashem brought her.
The man had an idea and said.”Take a siddur, and whatever it opens up to, we will use it as a sign.” This woman opened up to the page of “The one who guards the Shabbat, Hashem will guard him (כי אשמר השבת ק-ל ישמרני).” The man told the woman this was a sign that she should keep Shabbat. To shorten the story, she knew this would be a problem, especially for her husband, and asked if she could only keep three hours. The man sent the woman and her husband to a great rabbi in Bnei Brak who said that if that was all they could do for now, they should keep it for the first three hours. That Shabbat they kept those three hours and found it difficult but beautiful. After Shabbat, they got a phone call. During the first three hours of Shabbat, a tank was hit, their son’s tank, and while most didn’t survive, their son did. (After that, they now keep Shabbat fully.)
This story explains the beginning of Parshat Eikev. The first verse (pasuk) says, “And it will be, because you will observe these laws and keep them and do them, that Hashem will keep for you the covenant and the kindness…”.” It is when we show Hashem, we are doing it for you, that he wants to give us more than we deserve, and he will provide us with what our forefathers merited.
We are in the days of Mashiach, and with the world around us hating Jews and seeing how easy life could be without the mitzvot, we must guard them. When we guard the mitzvot, we are guarding ourselves; we are not only getting extra blessings and physical protection but are protecting ourselves spiritually and allowing ourselves to live lives of truth and morality. May we all merit doing mitzvot and guarding ourselves and the nation of Israel. May all the mitzvot that we do help bring Mashiach speedily and bring happiness to all of Israel and Hashem.
Shira Sedek is a passionate educator currently working toward a master’s degree at Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.
