Monday, July 21, 2014

It's not Iron Dome [saving us] it's Hashem - Updated

So writes Chaim Cohen in a column on the Charedi website Kikar Shabat. He is upset that all we hear about in the news is praise for Iron Dome and that no one gets up and says that we are being saved by Hashem in the merit of our Torah learning and mitzvos. He even claims that Hamas believe this quoting an interview on CNN where he claims that someone from Hamas said that their rockets are very accurate and that 80% of the rockets are diverted to uninhabited areas by your god.

I have a few issues with this article.
1. Why is it that when it comes to the good things done by the government they always come from Hashem but yet the bad things are always from the government? If you really believe that Iron Dome has little to no role in protecting us, it is all from hashem then where is that faith when it comes to other things like government money? Why scream, kick and yell when the government cuts funding, after all that also comes from Hashem? Why bring in the top heart specialist to treat R' Elyashiv (see Should we go to the best doctor?) when everything is from Hashem?
2. As many people pointed out in the comments on Kikar Shabbat, there was no such interview on CNN, it looks like he simply made it up. The claim that their rockets are accurate is laughable and ridiculous. Everyone knows that their rockets are very inaccurate especially the home made ones and therefore 80% landing in uninhabited areas is perfectly reasonable.
3. Where is the Hakaros Hatov to the soldiers and the defense establishment? Soldiers are dying in Gaza protecting him and his family and is pontificating about having faith.
4. His argument is silly. He can claim anything but he has no way to prove it.

Updated 10:30PM

R' Aviner has what I believe is a much truer Torah perspective. He says that we need to understand that Iron Dome is from Hashem. He quotes a Ran in his Derashos (10) where the Ran explains that in truth a person should be able to say that כחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה because we see that different people have different talents and some people are truly gifted. However, the Torah tells us that we need to remember that these כוחות are from Hashem and therefore ultimately it is all from hashem. This is the way that we need to look at Iron Dome, Hashem gave the Jews who built the system the intelligence and skill to build it. Therefore, Iron Dome is itself a נס  and worthy of praise.