Israel after Oct. 7: What Moses teaches us about survival and responsibility

Moses’ ancient reassurance, “you are still standing,” offers the central message of a Jerusalem Post opinion article reflecting on Israel after nearly three years of war. The piece turns to the Torah’s warning of starvation, sickness, conquest, exile and dispersion, then asks how a wounded people can endure catastrophe without allowing it to define the future.

The article recalls that Moses delivered the warning near the end of his life, as the Israelites prepared to enter the Land of Israel without him. The people had already spent 40 years in the desert and lost an entire generation. Moses feared that his words would leave them dispirited, so he reminded them that despite everything they had heard and endured, they remained standing.

The writer applies that message to Israel’s experience since October 7. The past three years, the article says, have blurred together through war, loss, sacrifice and uncertainty. Images of homes destroyed and burned at Kibbutz Nir Oz represent what it describes as Israel’s own small catastrophe.

The article says Israel has survived, even though the threats have not all been eliminated and a lasting victory remains uncertain. It argues that survival alone cannot define success, but that remaining standing and moving forward after repeated blows can itself be a major achievement.

That survival should also shape Israel’s view of the future, the article says. The security and stability many people assumed before October 7 have been shattered, exposing the country’s vulnerability. Yet enduring these years can produce a different kind of confidence, grounded in having faced danger and continued onward.

“

you are still standing