But it turns out that our enemies’ loathing is so strong and their determination to destroy us is so great that it can even break through bedrock. And with the wisdom of hindsight, we now see that Israel’s Defense Forces were bluffing. They did indeed take the civilians’ complaints seriously, but deliberately feigned skepticism to make Hassan Nasrallah think we were unaware of his plans. Because he was so confident he’d surprise us, we were able to surprise him.

The army waited patiently until Hezbollah was nearly finished building their tunnels, and then they struck. At the right moment, Nasrallah’s evil plan was revealed for all the world to see when Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that the tunnels had been neutralized.

In that sense, the people of the Galillee region could certainly breathe a sigh of relief. Their complaints had been heard, after all, and the army had handled the threat wisely.

But... and here comes the big “but”:

Can we really breathe a sigh of relief?

Can’t we still hear the pounding of Hezbollah’s war drums over the roar of Israel’s bulldozers? Has the enemy not boasted of hundreds of thousands of rockets in their storehouses, capable of reaching any point on the map of Israel? And if, with Hashem’s help, the IDF succeeds in destroying that arsenal, will we then be able to breathe a sigh of relief? Will that make Iran abandon its goals of attacking Israel — either through Syria, where it’s been steadily ramping up its presence, or with the weapons of mass destruction it’s been developing so assiduously?

And what if by some miracle the manufacture of these weapons is put to an end? Will the State of Israel then bask in everlasting peace and security? Will that fulfill the dream of the early Zionists, who wholeheartedly believed that settling the Jews in Eretz Yisrael would bring blessing and prosperity to the country’s Arab residents, and in fact, to all the nations of the Middle East?

Last spring, as the State of Israel celebrated its 70th anniversary with much pomp, ceremony, and razzle-dazzle, we noted how our country has indeed made astounding achievements in science, medicine, industry, agriculture, high-tech, and commerce. And our army is one of the strongest in the world. But there’s one all-important goal we haven’t yet achieved: peace. Despite all our efforts at peacemaking, our enemies have not accepted the olive branch. Every few years we must wage another defensive war. That inevitable strife is a great failure of Zionism.

And there is one simple reason for it. Our enemies eschew the typical historical motives for war. They are not fighting us because of economic or territorial interests, nor do they battle for political self-determination. Those are issues that can be resolved through negotiation, and Israel, for its part, has addressed all those issues, even unilaterally. But here in our region, it is clear to us all — except for a few diehard, starry-eyed dreamers on the political far left — that our enemies have only one goal: the total destruction of the Jewish State.

We are a nation that dwells alone, perched on the brink of destruction and disaster. Our prime minister is doing all he can. He has made surprising breakthroughs in international relations, recruiting new friends around the globe and even holding undercover talks with leaders of Arab states willing to moderate their stance toward Israel. But despite his admirable efforts, he will not be able to vanquish our enemies’ ambitions to destroy us.

The truth about our position in the world is made clear in our Torah sources, and if we want the correct perspective on Mideast politics, we must return to those sources again and again. The Midrash says, “Amalek is a perpetual strap for Yisrael.” Amalek, who embodies the wish to destroy the Jewish People, has eternally served as a whip waving over us. Since we began returning to Eretz Yisrael in recent history and as we continue growing our numbers there, the threats have grown ever more fearsome. We will never feel fully secure; we will never breathe free without the threat of extermination hovering over us. And that is because we are not a normal nation. We are a nation on a Divinely appointed mission, and it requires us to live under a cloud of uncertainty.

Yet it is Amalek’s whip — nowadays expressed through the nation of Yishmael — constantly whistling in the air over us, that ensures our survival. It is that whip that prevents us from sinking entirely into the mud, from blending in among the nations of the world. The constant threat to our existence prevents our society here in Israel from breaking up completely, as it forces us all to be more attentive to the truth about what sustains our survival as Jews.

Somehow we hold together, despite all our squabbling, and just as we have the Midrash to remind us that we need our deadly enemies to ensure our integrity as a people, we have the prophecies that Mashiach will come. One day all the nations will flock to Yerushalayim to worship Hashem. Only then, when all desire to destroy us has disappeared, will we live entirely free of fear.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 742)