The Need To Know

By: Larry Gordon

Here in the U.S., it’s just a bit more frustrating when events in Israel happen over Shabbos or yom tov. A woman who lives near us here in Florida says she has a grandson in Gaza, so she keeps her radio on over Shabbos.

I don’t remember which war it was, but my dad once left a TV on in our basement over Shabbos so if something major happened, he would know about it.

What is it about a lack of knowing what goes on in Israel over Shabbos that has us climbing the walls? Will our knowledge about what is happening change anything? That’s obviously not the case. Still, it’s important for us to know. We just need to know.

It’s not a matter of turning on the TV or radio that would be a blatant violation of Shabbos. It’s about our deep concern for the welfare of our people and the Jewish state.

So how we do deal with this matter of the need and desire to know?

On one hand, in this day and age, it’s to our advantage that many if not most of our shuls are equipped with security people on Shabbos and yom tov. In many shuls, security personnel are present every day of the week armed and ready to protect the shul-goers from people with evil designs or who are just plain crazy or a combination of the two.

Besides their guns at their sides, which thankfully, are not needed most of the time, they also have cellphones, which give them the opportunity to answer any news-oriented questions we might have, especially when something unusual is going on, as was the case last Shabbos. Sometimes you can overhear a teenager asking a security guard questions like: “How did the Knicks do last night?” Completely mundane, unimportant questions that kids want to know. So be it.

But then somehow, even though it’s Shabbos and it’s mostly quiet in our communities, the news begins to trickle in that something happened in Israel. Maybe it’s a terror attack along the lines of how the news unfolded on October 7, 2023. As you may recall, it was a Shabbos morning. Here in the diaspora, it was also Shemini Atzeres, while in Israel it was also Simchas Torah, the two chagim being rolled into one.

That morning, the security guard at our shul knew enough to tell a few of the early arrivals in shul that there was a terror attack in Israel. Last Shabbos, the same type of system played out once again, but this time it was different on a number of levels and for different reasons.

The U.S. has been negotiating with Iran over their reinstitution of nuclear weapons facilities that were taken out last June by the U.S. with aerial assistance from Israel. The talks with U.S. representatives were at best moving sideways. It was as if the Iranians were daring President Trump to make a move along the lines of his threats that he was issuing periodically.

Then, once again, it was Shabbos morning. And the security people who guard our shuls knew that they had information in their phones that we urgently had a burning desire to know about. One security guard told a friend that it happened overnight. What happened? He explained that the U.S. and Israel finally attacked Iran and Khamenei was dead. Whoa, that was one way to be welcomed to shul on Shabbos morning.

After that, as Shabbos dragged on, your psyche does battle with your anxiety and you cannot wait to make Havdalah and get the full rundown. No sooner does that happen than the phones and TV go on and you begin studying and analyzing the electronic maps.

This time, however, it was significantly different than October 7, but still, there are similarities. And things were changing every day. Back on October 7, many Arab countries thought it was the right time to team up with Hamas in Gaza and this was the way to finally institute their monotonous “river to the sea” mantra.

That was not the case this week. The leader of the Gulf States, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia was calling the shots. On October 7, the idea was to stand aside and see what transpired. But now the dynamic was completely different, even a complete 180-degree turnaround.

One of the tough things about these wars is that you never really know who you’re doing battle with. Of course, some of these dynamics are only counted once the war gets underway and you begin to see the Hand of G-d at play.

Who would have thought that the terrorists who run Iran would be firing missiles at hotels in Dubai and our base in Qatar? Not to mention high-rises in Bahrain, Kuwait’s airport, and even neighborhoods in Doha and Riyadh? Iran’s indiscriminate attacks have forced the Gulf States to join forces and possibly face off against Iran. That means that the Saudis, the Emiratis, and the Kuwaitis can be working with Israel and the U.S. against Iran.

The issue with Iran is that whatever they say cannot be believed as a matter of course. That’s why they are in this situation as we know it. But how do you make an agreement with people like that?

As it turns out, by the time this piece is published everything might have changed. We don’t know. None of us do. But whatever happens, it would be good to know so that we can know better where we’re going next. The word is that Ben Gurion Airport will be open shortly and planes will be flying again. When and if that happens, it means that this is almost all over and life can get back to normal. Again. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.