The sinners of Zion are afraid — Powerful Torah sources, and much more
Here are just a few of the numerous Torah sources that shed real light on the matter of running to “safe rooms” whenever reshaim, kofrim, and “intelligence failures” sound the alarm. Take a deep breath, calm down, clear your mind, and let the Torah speak to you.
The Gemara in Bava Metzia 36b discusses the case of a watchman who is supposed to be caring for his friend’s animal. The watchman is negligent, the animal runs off to a marsh, and subsequently dies. Was it exposure to unhealthy air of the marsh that killed the animal, in which case the negligence directly led to the animal’s death? Would the animal have died anyway? Does it matter, being that the watchman was negligent to begin with, and is therefore responsible even for accidental death later on?
The sages dispute these points, which is outside our scope. However, in the course of the discussion, Rava — who takes a lenient position toward the watchman — makes the following argument, which is true even if it doesn’t factor into monetary disputes such as these:
מלאך המות מה לי הכא מה לי התם
When it comes to the Angel of Death, what difference does it make to me [if the animal was] here or there?
In other words, if it was the animal’s time to go, it was going to die anyway. This does not excuse extremely reckless behavior, of course, such as pushing the animal off a cliff or giving it a Covid shot, but exposure to the air at a marsh is a mild increased danger that, according to Rava, does not render the watchman liable in this case.
In one of the most solemn prayers on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we say that Hashem is deciding then and there who will live and who will die, and the specific manner in which the latter will die.
When do you believe the Heavenly decree was sealed for those who died from “Iranian” missiles? At that very moment? Was it a suspended decree, conditional on whether or not they obeyed Homefront Command? Was there no decree at all, and it was just their poor luck? Should we be guided strictly by kofrim, their “data”, and the empty proclamations of rabbis who work for them?
The Torah commands us to live responsibly, which includes eating properly, sleeping properly, taking care of our bodies, avoiding needless exposure to danger, and refraining from reckless behavior. Those who fail to live responsibly can shorten their lives, damage their health, or use up their merits if they “get away with it”. Either way they lose, and will be judged for violating the Torah.
At the same time, Hashem does not want us to live as paranoid hypochondriacs, damaging ourselves physically, mentally, financially, and spiritually — not to mention canceling mitzvah-observance and normative Jewish life — for the speculative sake of increasing our chances ever so slightly of making it through another day.
If the decree has been issued, the Angel of Death will find his customer whether he runs like a maniac to a “safe room” or ignores the warnings of pedophiles. If anything, trying to outrun or outsmart the Angel of Death by engaging in such destructive behavior, such inappropriate hishtadlus, only demonstrates a lack of wisdom, understanding, bitachon, and true connection to Hashem.
The illusion of increased protection — extremely slight at most — comes at a very heavy price, and is thus discouraged by the Torah.
This is further illustrated by the Gemara in Succah 53a, where the following is related. Shlomo Hamelech had two scribes, Elichoref and Achiah. One day Shlomo saw the Angel of Death was sad and asked him why. The Angel of Death explained that he was instructed to take these two scribes. Upon hearing this, Shlomo had sheidim bring the scribes to the city of Luz, where the Angel of Death has no authority. When they reached the district of Luz, before entering the city, they died.
The following day Shlomo saw the Angel of Death laughing and asked him why. The Angel of Death explained that he had been instructed to take the scribes specifically from the place where Shlomo had sent them. Upon hearing this, Shlomo said: “The feet of a person are his guarantors; wherever he is sought, they take him.”
The lesson from this story is crystal clear: Even the wisest of all people cannot outrun or outsmart the Angel of Death, and his clever attempts to do so may well be the very cause of his death.
Last week I was on Bar Ilan street outside a small pizza store, takeaway only, when the pedophiles sounded a siren. The pizza guy came out and told me to follow him to a safe area.
“I’m not afraid of this,” I told him.
He pointed to the ground next to me. “What if a missile lands right here?”
That would indeed have been problematic, but I stood my ground, and he darted into a bakery next door. What if the missile went there instead? Apparently the odds favored his chances of surviving another ten minutes if he was there instead of where I chose to stay.
(I will note that he was wearing a Yarmulka proclaiming a certain deceased rabbi as Moshiach, so his judgment is already highly questionable. Also, Moshiach should stop sleeping on the job if he’s already arrived. We should expect much more from Moshiach.)
Meanwhile, I watched as most people at the busy intersection ignored the siren, while a few people dashed this way and a few others darted the other way. Apparently there was a disagreement as to which direction was the better bet. We need data!
A couple of Arab construction workers were sitting and gazing at the sky. I don’t believe they were foolish or wanted to be hit by a missile. Like me, they simply distrusted safety instructions from the regime, and were probably more spiritually connected than the people running for illusory protection.
How did any of the people scattering to and fro know that they were running away from a missile? Maybe they were running right into it.
The Angel of Death laughs at such people.
Which brings us to a source I have quoted many times in my Torah classes (which you might want to start listening to). It comes from Berachos 60a:
ההוא תלמידא דהוה קא אזיל בתריה דרבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי בשוקא דציון, חזייה דקא מפחיד, אמר ליה: חטאה את, דכתיב פחדו בציון חטאים! אמר ליה: והכתיב (משלי כח) אשרי אדם מפחד תמיד! אמר ליה: ההוא בדברי תורה כתיב
A certain student was walking behind Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yossi, in the marketplace of Zion. He saw that the student was afraid. He said to him, “You are a sinner! As it says, ‘The sinners in Zion were afraid’” (Yeshaya 33:14).
The student said to him, “But it says “Fortunate is the man who is constantly afraid" (Mishlei 28:14).
Rabbi Yishmael said to him, “That is talking about matters of Torah.”
In other words one should constantly be afraid that he might fall short in his Torah learning, mitzvah observance, and service of Hashem. This is the only appropriate fear. If one walks around afraid and on edge because of sirens, measles, and other such things, it is evidence that he is a sinner. It is his sins that are making him afraid. It is his wavering connection to Hashem and the Torah that is making him afraid — and he needs to do teshuva to restore proper faith and confidence so he can actually live.
The sinners in Zion are afraid.
Key excerpt from my article “God Watches Over Fools” Explained on December 22, 2020, which applies to “Iranian missiles” the same as fear of death from someone’s breath:
I will conclude with two particularly interesting sources that I stumbled upon just yesterday in my regular learning purely by “coincidence”. They come from Yerushalmi Terumos Chapter 8.
There is a lengthy discussion about the dangers of leaving wine, water, and certain foods exposed. It begins with the Mishna on page 42a, and I encourage those who are capable to look it up.
At the time there was a clear and present danger of snakes poisoning their liquids in particular, and the Gemara outlines the balance between reasonable precautions and risks in different situations. Although poisonous snakes are not a concern for us today in most places, the principles are extremely relevant.
The Gemara on page 42a relates that Rabbi Ami had guests, and apologized for not serving them the pasteurized wine he had, for he had left it uncovered. Rav Bibi said “Bring it and I will drink it.” Rabbi Ami replied “One who wishes to die should go die in his own house.”
Rabbi Ami had both scientific and halachic cause for concern, and considered his wine forbidden to drink. Rav Bibi was not concerned, and considered the small benefit of drinking the wine worth the risk that it had been poisoned. The flow of the sugya indicates that the halacha was with Rabbi Ami; the dangers were serious enough and likely enough to outweigh the benefit.
Significantly, Rabbi Ami allows Rav Bibi the right to take inappropriate risks, just not under his roof. This too is illustrated throughout the sugya. Chazal outline the boundaries of Halacha in these areas, but do not impose societal restrictions or limit people’s right to take chances — even inappropriate chances. People are left with the right to decide for themselves what risks to take. One’s freedom and independence to make such decisions must remain sacred. (For those who wish to split hairs, according to the Torah we are allowed to leave our homes without a mask even if there is an infinitesimal chance that we might be carrying an infectious illness.)
An even more remarkable source appears on page 43b. The Gemara relates as follows: “Rabbi Yanai was extremely afraid of snakes, and he would raise his bed atop four buckets of water (to prevent snakes from climbing onto his bed). One time he stretched out his hand and found a snake by him. He said ‘Remove them from me, שומר פתאים השם.’”
The Penei Moshe explains that Rabbi Yanai cried out for someone to remove the snake, and that God had watched over him. (This is in fact cited in one of the shiurim linked above.)
The other commentaries, including Rav Eliyahu from Polda, Rabbi Shimon Sirilio, and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky all explain as follows: “Remove the buckets of water, for I might as well just trust in God.”
Rabbi Yanai had taken extreme measures to protect himself from snakes, measures that were considered by others to be over-the-top. Despite these measures, he could not completely eliminate the danger, and Hashem showed him that the benefits of taking extreme measures do not justify the effort, expense, and other costs. One should use normal measures to mitigate the risk — measures that do not upend his life and mental condition — then focus on living his life and rely on God.
This is what we should all be doing, and this is what we should be demanding our elected officials allow us to do. We should not be taking experimental drugs to lower our risk of catching a serious case of coronavirus from 0.0001 percent to 0.00001 percent. We should not be plunging one third of society into poverty. We should not be restricting people’s basic rights to leave their homes, see their loved ones, socialize, pray, learn, and live their lives.
It is immoral — it is downright cruel and a violation of human rights — and it is completely against the Torah and our tradition.
We must take reasonable, proven precautions whose benefits are fully justified, then we must live our lives like normal people and rely on God to protect us.
(The complete article is available here.)
You claim the Torah protects, but if terrorists attack, you wouldn’t call the IDF?
Maybe, if I had 8 hours to spare.
From the Times of Israel:
Two IDF soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon early this morning, the military announces.
According to a preliminary IDF probe, the incident began when a Puma armored personnel carrier got stuck amid operations in the area. The IDF sent another Puma APC and two D9 armored bulldozers in an attempt to extract it.
One of the D9 bulldozers was struck by a projectile, possibly an anti-tank missile or a mortar, causing a blaze that killed the two troops, according to the IDF’s probe. One officer was also lightly injured in the incident.
More of the same. Sitting ducks sent into death traps in malfunctioning equipment for no clear reason are always reported as “killed in combat”, never “killed by sabotage”. Keep raising money to buy shoes and hot meals for the slaves. Milchemes mitzvah!
In July I went through the official reports of every single IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2025 to that point. 100% of them were killed in bizarre incidents such as these. At what point does it stop being a coincidence?
You want data? Here’s data:
I wonder why people who accept that a regime would conduct medical experiments on a population refuse to believe that they would also test or otherwise use military weapons on the same population.
Finally, here’s a photo on government mouthpiece Arutz Sheva with the caption “Interception of missile from Iran”.
Where exactly is the interception? Considering how long Iron Dome has been around and the many thousands of successful interceptions we are supposed to believe in, there should be plenty of stunning footage that clearly shows them. Yet, time after time, this is what they show us — a bunch of hocus-pocus with the demand that we believe.
Stop believing in Santa Clause.
Definitely stop believing Pinocchio.
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