"It's The Least I Can Do"

An inspirational story that highlights the Achdus of Am Yisrael?

There’s a story circulating regarding one of the tragic IDF soldier deaths last week. Someone making a shiva call saw a chossid also in attendance. Since the chossid looked a little out of place, the person asked if he was related or had some other connection. The chossid replied that he had no connection at all. He said that he was making a shiva call because “it’s the least that I can do.”

I saw several people sharing this story as being something inspirational, which shows not just the greatness of this man but the unity of Am Yisrael. And unfortunately I have to be the person who disagrees. Yes, there is something impressive here, but it’s not what many people seem to be presenting.

We cannot judge people, only actions. Still, given what we know to be likely the case with certain types of people, we can make informed assumptions that shed additional light upon their actions.

The phrase “it’s the least I can do” is normally an expression of modest self-deprecation. However, in this case it’s entirely accurate. Making a shiva call to the home of a fallen soldier is indeed the least that a person can do. The standard, required, fundamentally ethical thing that a person can do is to share the responsibility of national defense. This includes sharing the risks, which makes it less likely that other people will die. At my son’s recent swearing-in ceremony, I was overcome with all kinds of emotions to hear the words “even if it involves sacrificing my life.” That is the vow taken by hundreds of thousands of Jews in Israel, to help other Jews.

Now, this is not to criticize the particular chossid in this story. Vis-à-vis the chossid himself, it is indeed impressive that he visited. Because in charedi circles in general, such behavior is rare. Most charedim, and especially chassidim, are barely (if at all) even aware of soldier deaths, and if they are aware they certainly don’t usually make shiva calls. The charedi leadership has been very noticeably silent about encouraging such things, and when Rav Dov Landau was asked about it, he explicitly opposed it. The reasons are obvious - the charedi way of life is about being separate and seeing their approach as the ultimate and only legitimate path; honoring soldiers would threaten that.

Yet all this means that the story about this chassid is a classic example of “the exception that proves the rule.” While making a shiva call is the least that a person can do, most charedim don’t do anything at all. The visit by this chossid is an interesting story precisely because it’s so unusual. And thus the story does not demonstrate the unity of Am Yisrael - it demonstrates the exact opposite.