🗓️ Luach Hayom – Today in Halacha & Jewish History: 4th Iyar

📅 Year 5708 (1948) — The Fall of Gush Etzion

In the year 5708, during the final days before the proclamation of the State of Israel, the Gush Etzion bloc—a group of four Jewish settlements located in the Judean Hills south of Jerusalem—fell after months of siege and heroic defense. Established between 1943 and 1947, the settlements of Kfar Etzion, Massu’ot Yitzhak, Ein Tzurim, and Revadim stood in a strategically critical position on the southern approaches to Jerusalem and became a primary target of Arab forces immediately following the UN Partition Plan of November 1947.

From late 1947 onward, Gush Etzion was cut off from Jerusalem, with supply convoys repeatedly ambushed and defenders suffering mounting casualties. Among the most searing episodes was the tragic loss of the “Lamed Hey” (the 35)—Haganah fighters who set out on foot in January 1948 to resupply the bloc and were all killed in battle. Despite overwhelming odds, the defenders—settlers and Haganah/Palmach fighters alike—chose to remain, aware that their steadfast presence tied down large enemy forces and helped prevent their advance toward Jerusalem itself.

The final assault began in mid‑May 1948. On 5–6 Iyar 5708, massive Arab forces, including units of the Arab Legion, attacked Kfar Etzion. After intense fighting and the exhaustion of all defensive means, the defenders surrendered; many were massacred even after laying down their arms, while the remaining residents of the bloc were taken captive. The other settlements fell shortly thereafter and were looted and destroyed, bringing to an end the Jewish presence in the area for the next nineteen years. In total, hundreds of defenders and settlers lost their lives during the defense and fall of Gush Etzion.

The fall of Gush Etzion occurred one day before the declaration of the State of Israel and left an indelible mark on Jewish national memory. Though militarily defeated, its defenders came to be remembered as having sacrificed themselves to protect Jerusalem, a view later expressed publicly by Israel’s leaders. After the Six‑Day War of 1967, Gush Etzion was rebuilt, with survivors and the children of the fallen returning to re‑establish the communities—turning its destruction into a symbol of loss, perseverance, and return.

The Rebbe of Belz

One year after the fall of Gush Etzion, which occurred shortly before Pesach 5708, during the violent attacks of that period, Jewish blood was being spilled throughout the Land of Israel. It is related that the holy Rebbe of Belz refused at that time to renew even a minor item of personal clothing. When urged repeatedly, he responded: “I do not understand you. Is this the time for such matters? Jewish blood is flowing like water in the cities of Judea and in the streets of the Land of Israel—and you occupy yourselves with this?” This response reflected his profound identification with the suffering of the Jewish people.

The Goral HaGra and Rabbi Aryeh Levin used to bury those killed in  battle in Gush Etziyon

In the aftermath of the War of Independence, following the reburial of the fallen fighters of the Convoy of Thirty‑Five (Lamed‑Heh) at Mount Herzl in 1949, a grave halachic and human dilemma arose: twelve of the bodies could not be identified. Due to the severe mutilation of the remains and the loss of the original burial map from Gush Etzion, conventional identification proved impossible. The families of the fallen, seeking closure and proper burial with name and identity, turned in anguish to the rabbinic leadership of Jerusalem.

The matter was brought before Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, who ruled that under such extraordinary circumstances it would be permissible to employ the rare and sacred method known as the Goral HaGra—a procedure traditionally attributed to the Vilna Gaon, involving opening a Tanach at random and interpreting the verses as Divine guidance. Recognizing both the spiritual gravity and the risk of misuse of such a practice, Rabbi Frank instructed that the goral be performed only by a righteous and exceptionally humble individual, free of personal interest. He therefore asked Rabbi Aryeh Levin, known as the Tzaddik of Jerusalem, to conduct it.

Rabbi Aryeh Levin initially refused, deeply aware of the responsibility and fearful of error. Only after repeated pleas from the bereaved parents, and upon being assured that the goal was solely kavod ha‑met—honoring the dead—did he consent. The ceremony took place late at night, in the modest upstairs room of his Jerusalem home. Twelve candles were lit, Tehillim were recited, and an old Amsterdam‑printed Tanach, with its pages arranged in two columns as required by tradition, was used. Present were only a handful of witnesses, including members of the families and close תלמידי חכמים.

One by one, Rabbi Aryeh opened the Tanach according to the prescribed order of the Goral HaGra. In each instance, verses emerged that were understood—by name, lineage, or unmistakable allusion—to identify a specific fallen soldier. After eleven identities were established in this manner, the twelfth remaining soldier was identified by elimination. Following this, Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank ruled that the results could be relied upon halachically, and each soldier was buried under his name, bringing closure to families who had lived for months in uncertainty.

📅 4 Iyar — Yom HaZikaron: Memory, Sanctity, and Gratitude

Yom HaZikaron, observed on 4 Iyar, was established in the early years of the State of Israel as a national day of remembrance for Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror, commemorating those who gave their lives so that the Jewish people might live in security in their land. Beyond a national memorial, the day carries deep spiritual meaning: it recalls Jews who died al kiddush Hashem, in defense of Jewish life and the Jewish future.

When Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was asked whether it is necessary to travel abroad to pray at the graves of tzaddikim, he replied that if the journey has meaning for the person, he may go. Yet it is related of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman himself that when traveling from his home in Shaarei Chesed to Yeshivat Kol Torah, he would often pass Mount Herzl, and at times ask the driver to stop so he could pray at the military cemetery, saying: “These are graves of tzaddikim who died sanctifying G‑d’s Name; for this I need not travel far.” This story teaches that honoring the fallen of Israel is not only permitted, but fitting, even for the greatest Torah sages.

In this spirit, the Lubavitcher Rebbe consistently emphasized sensitivity, care, and deep respect toward bereaved families, teaching that their pain belongs to the entire Jewish people. He stressed that gratitude and responsibility toward those who sacrificed their lives are not dependent on religious affiliation or level of observance. Every Jew—yeshiva student and soldier, chassid and secular, ultra‑Orthodox and traditional—is indebted to them, especially those who live and learn in the Land of Israel in peace, able to study Torah and raise children in safety because others stood in harm’s way. Yom HaZikaron thus calls upon all of Israel to remember, to honor, and to recognize this shared obligation with humility and unity.