Who Dares Wins

Nicholas (Zalman) Myersmith

When I was growing up (even though my sister may claim I never really did grow up) I had, like most of my peers, a strong interest in the military. I attended Hereward House School in Hampstead and several of my school chums' fathers were ex-Army officers, indeed several of my school chums graduated from Sandhurst and enjoy the privileges of being an officer and a gentleman today.

Reconstructing the Falkland Islands Invasion or the Special Air Service (SAS) raid on the Iranian Embassy at Princes Gate with our cricket bats at the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's was a favourite of ours. Indeed we played the game so often that our Form Master, in a manner sterner than that of an order of the day from Lord Kitchener, informed us that England is no longer at war.

The Special Air Service (SAS) considered the elite of special forces has an oft quoted motto frequently bantered about by captains of industry during attempts to inspire both shareholders and staff at dire Annual General Meetings and by military enthusiasts alike..and that motto is....Who Dares Wins.

Who Dares Wins is not just a motto, but a reality lived every day by citizen and soldier alike in Israel. The daily task of living life, not just in settlements but in major cities such as Haifa, Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, is plagued with many attempts to shed Jewish blood several times a day.

People living in Israel, not just Jews, have to dare going on public transport without ending up being literally strewn in pieces across a high street.

People living in Israel must dare to go to the Western wall on Tisha B'Av, one of the most solemn and tragic days in the Jewish calendar whilst being pelted with stones, balloons filled with urine and a very real threat of either being shot at or dealing with a suicide bomber.

People living in Israel understand more than we do in the Western World that this sadly illustrates the point of how Jews today remain in a state of spiritual exile or Galut.

Today, we don't live in the physical generations of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, with open miracles and the ability to see G-dliness on a 24/7 basis. Indeed these previous generations were able to understand, study and connect to G-d and His Torah on a much more profound level. At Mount Sinai G-d entered into a partnership or a covenant with the Jewish people and just as much as He must keep to his side of the deal, so must we.

Indeed Moses our teacher said that he was humbled by the last generations of the Exile. The Torah, Saintly Rabbis and history are telling us that we are indeed the last generation of the spiritual exile. Moses considered doing Mitzvas and being connected to G-d as easy in his day, whilst referring prophetically to our generation, the last of the generations of exile, as being highly impressive for its fortitude and strong, daring will in living a life of Torah and Mitzvah's in a world that doesn't see daily miracles literally which occurred in his days.

So as we enter the High Holy Days, I ask that you dare to win. I ask you to exercise a little of the power and responsibility that G-d has bestowed upon both you and the Jewish people alike. Take on a little Mitzvah, go to a shiur, put on Tefillin, light Shabbos candles, give tzedaka daily, learn the laws of Yom Tov, family purity........just make a difference in not just your lives, but the lives of those around you.

I also ask that you consider supporting the Jewish and Israeli institutions that support both materially and spiritually both those Jews living in Israel and those in the diaspora.

I would also remind you, as a former security officer for the NWES, that your vigilance for any suspicious vehicles, objects and persons is vital and anything suspicious be reported immediately to a security officer or a police officer. Your efforts may very seriously save lives.

My wife Sheina and daughter Yehudis join me in wishing you all a year of blessing in both a spiritual and physical manner and this should be in a revealed way. May we all only know health, wealth, happiness and an understanding of our purpose in this world as Jews. And may we Dare to Win which will inevitably, G-d willing, lead us to enjoy the ultimate in world peace....the long awaited revelation of Moshiach.