Simchat Torah and the Jewish Love of Life

Fifty years after the Yom Kippur War, Israelis face an attack launched on another holiday—Simchat Torah, which brings the festival season to a close. As in 1973, Israel’s enemies took advantage of Israeli soldiers celebrating with their families at home. As in 1973, the war shattered a feeling of complacency in the Jewish state—five decades ago because of the stunning success of the Six Day War; today because of the nation’s remarkable missile-defense system, the Iron Dome.

Amid the striking similarities, there is an important difference. In 1973, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat launched his war to strengthen his negotiating hand as he pursued an elaborate geopolitical strategy that entailed an alliance with the U.S., detachment from the Soviets, and eventually peace with Israel.

Hamas seeks the death of every Jew, a goal stated explicitly in its charter, which asserts as a religious obligation: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews . . ., when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, ‘Oh Muslims, Oh Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ ” That sentiment drove Hamas’s terrorists as they hunted down, tortured and murdered soldiers and civilians, elderly and children.