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By: Uziel Scheiner
The unprecedented Oct. 7 terror attack on the people of Israel was a wake-up call. No longer could the Holy Land’s safety and security be taken for granted. The belief that the country’s superior military and intelligence apparatus were invincible was no longer tenable. The status quo needed to change. The question became: What now? How does Israel proceed? What are the Jewish rules for war and peace?
For nearly half a century, the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—spoke consistently on this vital subject. He implored Israeli leaders and Jewish lay people alike to see their connection and claim to Israel not as a favor given by the nations of the world, but G‑d’s covenantal agreement with our forefather Abraham, as recorded in the Torah. The same Torah in which G‑d lays out the universal code of morality for humanity, grants the Jewish people the Holy Land in perpetuity. It likewise delineates when and how Jews ought to defend themselves.
Yonah Press, an imprint of Sichos In English (SIE)—a publishing house dedicated to making Chassidic texts available in English—has just released a new book based on the Rebbe’s principles called Make Peace: A Strategic Guide to Achieving Peace in the Land of Israel. What follows is a conversation with the book’s author, Rabbi Elisha Pearl, and publisher, Rabbi Shmuel Avtzon.
Q. Hello Rabbi Avtzon and Rabbi Pearl! It is a pleasure to speak to both of you. Generally, what is this book about and what purpose do you hope it will serve?
Rabbi Elisha Pearl: The Rebbe has much to say about Israel, especially its security. There are many dimensions to his view, and we felt it was crucial to write a book articulating the Rebbe’s perspective on Israel’s national security and how peace can best be achieved in the region. Our goal was to make this wealth of teachings accessible to anyone—whether a Lubavitcher Chassid, an admirer of the Rebbe, a politician, a military strategist, or a college student looking for insight on the conflict. We hope this book brings the Rebbe’s perspective on Israel and the conflict to the general public and impacts the conversation.
Rabbi Shmuel Avtzon: The Rebbe taught that the Torah contains all wisdom, and, therefore, we must look to Torah for solutions to real world problems. The Rebbe didn’t see Torah as just a book for academic study, but as a blueprint for every facet of life.
Torah is the source for morality and judgment. But when it comes to issues that seem outside the scope of a religious life—for example national security and public policy—it can be more difficult to see how Torah applies. You can see someone saying, “Torah is good for my home, the classroom, or even my business, but it’s not relevant for the war cabinet.”
One of the most interesting parts of this book is how it shows how the Rebbe’s views on this seemingly secular subject are shaped directly by Torah.
Q. Given the ongoing war in Israel and the way that the future of the conflict has taken a central role in public discourse, it is hard to imagine a more timely release for such a book. What was the timeline for writing this book, and how did it come about?
REP: Though I currently live in Israel, I was in New York on October 7. A few days later, Rabbi Avtzon and I were discussing what we could do to help—we thought it was critical to share the Rebbe’s wisdom on how to emerge from this terrible catastrophe. We decided to publish an op-ed on the Rebbe’s teachings about Israel’s security. It started as a 12-page article before quickly growing to 60 pages, then 100. Before we knew it, “Make Peace” had turned into a 480-page book. The team treated it as an emergency project that had to get done immediately.
RSA: A book like this should take years to write, but we all understood how important it was that we make this available during this pivotal moment. And, thank G‑d, it has paid off. We are already seeing an incredible amount of interest from laymen and leaders, who are thirsting for an authentically Jewish view on this pressing issue. The book’s first copies were released on July 4, and by July 9, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a copy on his desk. By now, MKs and staff in the Israeli Knesset have been asking for the book to help articulate a vision for Israel’s security, and various US political leaders sympathetic to the Jewish people and the Land of Israel have received it as well.
Q. Many might be surprised by how detailed and incisive the Rebbe’s policy prescriptions for Israel were. As scholars who studied the Rebbe’s opinion on Israel’s strategic positioning, what do you think is unique about this book?
RSA: There were four themes that suffused the Rebbe’s teachings and characterized him as a person. Love of Torah, love of the Jewish people, love of G‑d and love of the Land of Israel.
For many years, at almost every public gathering, the Rebbe would dedicate an entire talk to discussing the situation in Israel. These talks could go on for an hour, an hour and a half, sometimes even longer. He didn’t just speak about its religious value or offer inspiring platitudes. The Rebbe spoke practically, confronting the realities on the ground. He would speak in detail about the political process and issues of national security on a level that was relevant to prime ministers and generals. People in almost every position in Israeli politics met with and had personal correspondence with the Rebbe.
This book’s most impressive accomplishment is that it delves into the details of the Rebbe’s talks and writings on Israel to give a complete view of his approach to the issue—delving into the vast array of the Rebbe’s talks and letters, exploring each war and controversy that the Rebbe commented on. But we also take a broader view, and ask how this is relevant today, multiple decades later. We try to apply the Rebbe’s view to Israel’s current situation and what we can do to help construct policies for a safer, more peaceful future.
REP: Additionally, the Rebbe was unique because he was both an idealist who brought a vision of world peace and goodness to the masses, and a stark realist who could grapple with realpolitik and hard facts. The integration of these perspectives—spiritual idealism and hard-nosed realism—makes the Rebbe’s voice unique. Properly transmitting these nuanced ideas to the reader is, in my opinion, the book’s main contribution.
Q. This is the first comprehensive, single-volume English treatise on the Rebbe’s position with regard to Israel’s security. What was the research process like?
RSA: There were a number of books that we used as source material for our research and heavily influenced the writing of our book. The first is Karati V’ein Oneh (“I called and there was no answer,” [the title is based on a verse in Isaiah]), a 1,000-page compilation of many, but not all, of the Rebbe’s talks, letters and meetings regarding Israel between the years of 1968 and 1992.
Another important resource was a book written in Hebrew by three Israeli writers called B’Rega Emet that discusses the Rebbe’s involvement with the security of Israel and his correspondence and relationships with Israeli politicians, prime ministers and military chiefs over 40 years. We also built upon Rabbi Eli Touger’s work, Eyes Upon the Land (Sichos in English, 1997).
But we wanted to make a book that is relevant for the here and now, and illustrate how the Rebbe’s view informs the current situation in Israel. His opinions on the current events of those times were obviously reflective of his overarching philosophy, and we wanted to very clearly map out his timeless, principle-based approach—which has direct relevance to the circumstances today.
REP: In addition to the materials Rabbi Avtzon mentioned, we also went directly to the sichos [“talks”] and letters written and/or edited by the Rebbe and also listened to the recorded farbrengens where the Rebbe spoke about Israel.
We also conferred extensively with a number of scholars who are very knowledgeable on the subject. We worked very closely with Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin of Jewish Educational Media (JEM) who put together a think tank of Chabad scholars—Rabbis Levi Greenberg, Mendy Greenberg, Levi Korf, Michoel Lipsker, Dovid Margolin and Mendel Misholovin—all who helped articulate ideas, find sources and clarify our thinking.
