maxine🌸

In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes of the hobbits: "The Shire had no need of watchtowers or walls, and its peace had been maintained more by the vigilance of its friends than by any efforts of its own. Yet the Hobbits continued to live, as they had lived for centuries, in a state of blissful ignorance, unaware that they were being watched and protected." There is evil in the world. Some of it is in ourselves, and we are commanded to fight it within us. But some of it is outside us and must be fought where we find it. Too many in the West have forgotten this last part, not because the world has changed, but because they have lived under someone else's protection for so long that they have forgotten that they are protected. The protector, the mightiest human power ever seen, the United States of America, built this postwar world and secured it, granting its inhabitants more safety and prosperity than has ever been known. Yet still, evil persists, brought into the world as always by human beings bent by visions of redemption or revenge. Evil broods and plots, and then eventually strikes. And when that evil seeks a nuke, that last part can't be allowed to happen. Over-reliance on others, even on friends as mighty and fundamentally decent as America, is neither safe nor honorable. We Jews, at least, don't have the luxury of forgetting that the world isn't safe, it's merely, in some of its parts and under the right circumstances, under someone else's protection. And so imperfect Israel must take this step. The Iranian regime is an evil blight upon the world that has launched hundreds of missiles at our cities and talked for decades about our destruction. It is an evil pursuing us, and we must meet its challenge, even if millions of anxious hobbits beyond the reach of that regime's missiles tweet angrily that all's still well and all war is unnecessary. We do not come before you for judgment. We care only about the judgment of our children in the future when they assess how we have done by them. And we will do our best to be judged well by them. So courage, Israel. And come home safe, brave pilots and warriors. שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל: אַתֶּם קְרֵבִים הַיּוֹם לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל-אֹיְבֵיכֶם, אַל-יֵרַךְ לְבַבְכֶם, אַל-תִּירְאוּ וְאַל-תַּחְפְּזוּ, וְאַל-תַּעַרְצוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם. כִּי ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּכֶם לְהִלָּחֵם לָכֶם, עִם-אֹיְבֵיכֶם: לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם. “Hear, O Israel: Today you approach battle against your foes. Let not your heart be faint; do not be afraid, do not panic, and do not cower before them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies—to deliver you.” And from the Yemeni prayerbook: הַשֵּׁב בָּנֵינוּ מִגְּבוּל אוֹיֵב. תֵּן תִּקְוָה לַשָּׁבוּיִים וְשִׁבָּה נְכֹחָה לַנִּלְחָמִים. תְּהִי תְּפִלָּתֵנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ לְרַחֲמִים וּלְרָצוֹן "Return our sons from the enemy’s border. Grant hope to the captives and bring the warriors home in safety. May our prayer stand before You for mercy and acceptance." And now, dear world, I'm going back to sleep.