יעקב דואק

THE ARMY OF HASHEM AND WHAT A RETREAT

In the year 1962 after spending eight years on a kibbutz I joined the Israeli army. After completing basic training, some other training courses and a few stints on the borders I was sent to an officers’ course. I was in the Tanks Division which was in itself very interesting but very demanding

One morning in the Beit Govrin area, we gathered to study the art of retreat. I was assigned to lead the elite unit to a particular hill some 200 metres in front. The commanding officer in charge of teaching us actually emphasized that the Israeli army does not retreat but fights back. We understood that we had to fight back step by step - backwardsI set the platoon to charge the hill with live ammunition. As we got to the hill, we quickly realised that we had stepped on hornets nests. From some 40 “chimneys” in the ground, like a thick cloud of smoke these thousands of hornets came rushing out, almost pouring

out. Because we were in the front row and

had run over them, we kept advancing

turbo charged! and by some miracle were

not stung by those hornets that followed us

However, those in the rows behind us, saw

the hornets, panicked and retreated; fleeing

in all directions. Many of them were stung

severely but those who did not retreat and

fought on to conquer many more hills were

left unharmed

WHAT A RETREAT! The lesson I learned

in the Israeli army is you do NOT retreat

especially not in Beit Govrin.

(The house of the undefeated

In this week’s parsha – Devarim /Deuteronomy –

Parshas Eikev 7:20

“G-d, your G-d, will also send hornet swarms upon

them, until the survivors and those who hide from

you are destroyed