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Weekly Chasidic Story #913 (s5775-36 / 8 Sivan5775) The Life of an American Yeshiva Student in Jerusalem During the Six-Day War Our Yeshiva was next to the border and we had a huge backyard; the IDF took over our yard, dug three huge foxholes and put three large mortar guns into them. Connection: Seasonal -- Last week was Jerusalem Liberation Day [Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz of California has his own unique concepts of typography, spelling, abbreviations and layout. I partially modified it, including changing the loud glaring red type to soft purple (except for the title), but left the majority so that the reader would not miss out on the flavor. To see the original in all its glory, just send a request to the email address above. --YT]
In honor of "Yom Yerushalayim"/Jerusalem Dayby 'Schwartzie'
In the War of Israel's Independence in 1948,
the Arabs signed a treaty that even though they would not let Jews live in their
own capital-Jerusalem--they would let the Jews visit their holiest site - the
Holy Wall. At that time, the capital City, Jerusalem, was
surrounded on three sides by the "newly" artificially created, fictitious
country of Jordan. Like most Yeshivas, we had a very full morning to night schedule. But Friday afternoon, before Shabbat , we were "off". What does a rabbinical student do in his time off? It wasn't RC (Religiously Correct) to go to the movies or a bar or disco, etc. But just 5 blocks away was the famous Mandelbaum Gate. That was a crossing from Jordan into Israel. We stood as close as we could get, on the Israeli side, & stared at the Jordanian Legionnaires (Enemy soldiers) in their spiffy uniforms and rifles, etc. Being that we were so close to the border and we had a Huge backyard, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) took over our backyard, dug three huge foxholes & put 3 large mortar guns in the foxholes. About 40 soldiers moved into our yard for the two weeks before the War. You must understand that since we were so close to the border one didn't have to aim. Mortar shells could just be lobbed in the general direction of Israel/Jordan & you are sure to hit the "enemy". The American Embassy sent a memo, then a second and then a "Final Notice" to all American Citizens in Israel. It was actually pretty awesome. It went something like; "WAR is imminent! No transportation will be provided! Leave the Country NOW!" Short, direct & to the point. What many don't know is that at that time the airport was crowded with Americans trying to leave. The religious Orthodox Americans had a serious moral dilemma: What to do? We Chasidim - disciples / followers / devotees, of our great Spiritual Moses icon - the Lubavitcher Rebbe, also weren't sure. I'm an only son, born to elderly parents post-Holocaust, after they found out that most of their sibs & their spouses & their children were murdered. Three of my 4 Grandparents were murdered by the Nazis. I began to entertain pessimistic ideas about someone ringing my doorbell back in Atlantic City where I was born & telling my mom the bad news about her 21 y/o only son, killed in the most recent war in Israel. In my Yeshiva there were four fellows from the US. Although we weren't related, we each received a telegram from our folks back home. Basically they were all the same: "Son, come home!!!" So we composed a telegram to the Rebbe & signed our names. We simply said, we don't know what to do. But we are your Chasidim so we will happily do whatever you advise. His reply to us was printed on the FRONT PAGE of the Maariv Newspaper (which is still today the #1 or 2 top secular daily newspaper in the country)! The answer was short, to the point AND quite uplifting. The Israeli Government, citing Security measures, stopped the newspapers from printing the story about the Airport being crowded with Americans trying to "escape" the War, inc Many Yeshiva students. So I guess the Government thought this telegram would be a good shot in the arm to pump up the morale of the populace & stop the panic fleeing, etc. And Maariv found it newsworthy enough to print it on PAGE ONE! Rebbe's telegram text follows: After that (virtually) no Chasidim or even Orthodox
Jews left Israel. But, being Chasidim, we trusted in the Rebbe's Blessings & became even enthusiastic about the War Effort. Turns out that there were some new apartment buildings that didn't have a shelter. But they were right on the border, next to a huge open field that led to Jordan. We were informed that it was now our job to dig trenches for the ppl in the new apartments. I learned something: There was one soldier with a pistol & us 30 Torah scholars. It was EZ to tell he really didn't like babysitting us young Orthodox spoiled Americans. Around noon I noticed that he was standing @ the end of the property & there was a line of boys looking thru his army binoculars at Jordan. I got in line. At my turn I saw that the "abandoned" buildings, in Jordan (about a block away), had a nice amount of ppl on the roof of the second story & they were looking at us with binoculars. At this point I suggested we break for lunch. After a really dirty look from my commanding officer, he barked, "just keep working". At this time, the trenches were about knee deep. About 10 minutes later, for the very first time in my life, I heard & experienced the sound of machine gun fire directed at ME. All of us jumped into the freshly dug trenches
(which we earned by the BLOOD of our hands). During those exciting moments,
I started entertaining once again some more pessimistic thoughts. One strange
one was: There was kinda nothing to do as the small arms fire got more intense towards us. I hate not being pro-active at a time like that. So I got this idea & started singing an uplifting happy chasidic melody. Immediately the rest of the students joined me. Our commanding Officer went ballistic. I don't really know what he screamed @ us in Hebrew. But I just responded that the Jordanian soldiers know our position, so what difference does it make? Truth to tell, we were so far away from the main part of the City, on the desolate outskirts, that we weren't sure that anyone knew we were alive or that we were being fired upon. Thank G-d Almighty, after 10 minutes, we heard
returning fire from Israel. After another 5 minutes, it got quiet. Then Israeli
army jeeps with huge machine guns in the back pulled up, into the dirt field,
about a 1/2 block away. We were told to CRAWL in the dirt of the field (nothing
I was really used to) with a soldier to where the jeeps were. That was the day
B4 the War. Since the large Yeshiva building was so close to the border, it was taken over by the Israeli Civil Defense org. That meant that every night, all night, someone had to babysit the phone. The night before the war it was my turn. But they never really told us what to do IF the phone rang. So now it's 3 AM, Jerusalem is deathly quiet & I'm sitting in the office alone. Suddenly I have a moment of self doubt. I thought that the phone rang. Did it really? I thought to myself -- what should I do? If I do NOT answer the phone does this mean that there's NOT gonna be a War? Then, I clearly & distinctly heard the phone ring again. Yep - the phone really was ringing. I kinda felt that I had no choice & picked up the receiver. "Hello?" I said. The operator on the line said (in that distinctive almost obnoxious traditional standard operator voice), "We have a person to person call from Atlantic City New Jersey for Shlomo Schwartz". Now I knew that I was hallucinating. I could barely get out the single word "speaking". It was my parents from Jersey wanting to know
"Whassup?". It was a great call & I felt great about reassuring my family. A few hours later, as every AM for the last
two weeks, we were in the big field, hanging out with our new friends, putting
on Tefilin with the lovely young soldiers, in what was to become known as the
historically famous "Six Day War".
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Yerachmiel
Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor
of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories
to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells
them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.