STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
LECH LECHA 5779
“SAVE
THE WORLD”[1]
The former Soviet officer
who trusted his gut — and averted a global nuclear catastrophe
September 18, 2017
“Just past midnight on Sept. 26, 1983,
Stanislav Petrov was on overnight duty inside
Serpukhov-15, a secret bunker southwest of Moscow where the Soviet Union
monitored its early-warning satellites positioned over the United States.
“The 44-year-old lieutenant colonel in the
Soviet Union’s Air Defense Forces was sitting on the commander’s chair when
sirens began blaring. A red button on the panel in front of him flashed the
word “Start.” On a computer screen was the word “Launch,” in red, bold
letters.
“The message appeared clear: The United
States had just launched a nuclear missile attack against the Soviet
Union. And Petrov had to immediately warn his commanders so that the
Soviet government could plan a counterattack.
“A second missile was launched. Then another,
and another, and another.
“Petrov and his staff were in shock, but they
had only minutes, if not seconds, to act. The decision rested heavily on
Petrov, the officer in charge of Serpukhov-15. And he had two choices: He
could follow military protocol and tell his commanders that computer
readouts were saying that five intercontinental ballistic missiles had
been launched by the United States. Or he could go with his gut.
“Less than five minutes after the alarms
began blaring, Petrov, working the intercom with one hand with lights
flashing around him, picked up the phone with his other
hand. He told his commanders that the computer warnings were false.
If he was wrong, his mistake would be catastrophic and irreversible. The
government’s military would have no time to respond, leaving his country
vulnerable in the face of a nuclear attack.
“A mistake would be especially critical at a
time of heightened distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Soviet leader Yuri Andropov had sent instructions to his spies to
look for evidence that the West was plotting a nuclear attack. And just weeks
earlier, the Soviet Union shot down Korean Airlines Flight 007,
a commercial airliner carrying 269 passengers, including 63 Americans.
But if Petrov was right, a
nuclear holocaust in the middle of the Cold War would be averted.
“And he was.
“Petrov died May 19 at age 77….
“Petrov’s split-second
and arguably life-changing decision has been hailed as a heroic act by Western
media, though he has repeatedly said he’s not a hero. He was called “The
Man Who Saved the World” by a 2014 documentary narrated by actor Kevin Costner…
Over the years, Petrov talked candidly
about those harrowing seconds and minutes in that bunker.
“I felt like I was being led to an execution.
Seconds felt like minutes and minutes stretched for eternity,” he said in the
2014 documentary.
His decision was based largely on a guess, he
said, but he did have doubts about the accuracy of the computer warnings.
First, why just five missiles? A country seeking to start a nuclear war
would’ve fired more, he told The Post. Second, the ground-based radar installations,
which detected missiles, showed no evidence of an attack.
“I had a funny feeling in my gut,” Petrov
said. “I didn’t want to make a mistake. I made a decision, and that was it.”
He also made clear that he understood the
full weight of his decision.
“I refused to be guilty of starting World War
III … If I made the wrong decision, a lot of people will die. A lot of people
will die,” he said in the documentary.
The gemara at the beginning of Kesubos[2]
has a discussion in which it tries to prove a point by quoting a beraisa. The
gemara then proceeds to immediately reject that attempted proof due to the fact
that the beraisa quoted doesn’t explain the reason for the point it makes. In
its effort to express how poor the attempted explanation was, the gemara
employs very forceful and unusual vernacular: “Lord (Master) of Avrohom! Will
you base a teaching that was taught on a teaching that was not taught?”
The expression “Lord of Avrohom” is an expression of
surprise, as if to say, ‘how can you even think of saying such an explanation?’
Why is that explanation specifically used in this context?
The Medrash[3]
relates that the greatness of Avrohom Avinu was in his ‘discovering’ Hashem
through his own cognitive deductive reasoning. “Rabbi Yitzchok said: This is
analogous to someone one who was passing from place to place and saw a certain
palace ablaze. He said to himself ‘Can it be that this palace is without a
supervisor?’ The owner of the palace peered out at him and said to him ‘I am
the master of the place’.
“So too, because our forefather Avrohom (upon seeing the
constant destruction in the world, said to himself -) ‘Can it be that this
world is without a supervisor?’ The Holy One, blessed is He, peered out at him
and said to him ‘I am the Master of the world’.”
The greatness of Avrohom was that he didn’t allow life to
pass him by listlessly. He focused on what was happening around him, he
pondered, he contemplated, and eventually he recognized the truth. Once he did,
Hashem drew him closer and helped him recognize that he was on the right path.
Avrohom’s faith was rooted in a clear understanding and
knowledge of the truth. He came to a level wherein he intrinsically knew with
conviction that there was a G-d who was in full control of the world and
orchestrated everything that occurred. Once he recognized that absolute truth
he was able to place his full belief in that G-d, even when he could not
comprehend why events were occurring.
When the gemara seeks to prove how illogical a statement
is it uses an expression of “Lord of Avrohom”. The greatness of Avrohom was
rooted in his clarity of thought. Logic which lacks clarity defies what enabled
Avrohom to recognize Hashem, the ‘Lord of Avrohom’.
On 27 Iyar
5761, I was privileged to attend a hesped (eulogy) that Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon
shlita delivered about Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt’l[4].
During that hesped, Rabbi Matisyahu related the following poignant thought:
Towards the end
of pesukei d’zimrah each morning, we recite the prayer of Vayivarech
Dovid. The prayer begins by enumerating the praises of G-d, in which we
make reference to G-d’s strength, splendor, triumph, glory etc. We continue by
speaking about the accomplishments of G-d, including the creation of the world
and granting life to all living things.
We conclude
with a statement that seems to be completely out of place: “It is You, Hashem
the G-d, who selected Avrom, brought him out of Ur Kasdim and made his name
Avrohom. And You found his heart faithful before You.”
What connection
does Avrohom have to the previous paragraph which details the greatness of
Hashem?
Rabbi
Elya Lopian zt’l explained this idea with the following analogy: If a drunken
peasant is staggering down the street and he suddenly stops and bends down to
pick up something from the gutter, does anyone care to know what he found? Most
likely no one would even bat an eyelash. It was probably a piece of trash that
the drunk found some use for.
But
what if the same scenario happened with the king? The king, escorted by a royal
entourage, is being paraded through the capital with great fanfare and pomp. The
streets are lined with people who are pushing to get a glimpse of his majesty.
Bands play music, and everyone cheers as the smiling king waves jovially at his
subjects. Then suddenly, the king looks towards the street, and immediately
alights from the carriage He motions for the driver to stop the horses. In a
moment, the music ceases, the entourage stops, and there is dead silence. The
king descends from the carriage and bends down to pick something up from the
gutter. Then he re-ascends the steps, and motions to the driver to carry
on.
There is no
doubt that everyone would be clamoring to know what it was that the king found
so important as to stop the procession and bend down himself to pick up. It
would be the topic discussed on every talk show and written about in every
paper the following day.
We
enumerate the great praises of Hashem to stress how special the ordeal with
Avrohom had been. G-d Himself, as it were, stopped everything to focus on Avrom
and to transform and elevate him into Avrohom.
The whole
prelude of the prayer of ‘Vayivarech Dovid’ is only to bring out the
idea of how great it was for Avrohom to be uplifted to such a degree.
Why was Avrohom
found worthy of being accorded such prestige and honor? The prayer continues,
“You found his heart faithful before You.”
Avrohom was a ‘ne’eman.’
A ne’eman is many things - reliable, trustworthy, faithful, loyal, and firm.
These are rare traits in a world of fraudulence and deceit.
Every morning
we recite this prayer to impress upon ourselves the importance of striving to
be a ne’eman. For one to be steadfast in his convictions, to be truthful to his
word, is not easy.
Avrohom was
able to traverse all the tests he faced and remain undaunted in his steadfast
faith despite the fact that he was a spiritual loner. That is what defines a
ne’eman.[5]
The first of
our patriarchs recognized G-d by being open-mindedly seeking the truth. His search
was not impeded by his ego or personal agenda and that is why he was able to
fulfill his quest. He was then able to become the greater believer who sought
to fulfill his mission of spreading the word of G-d faithfully.
It’s often said
that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. The truth is that it’s not enough for
one to use his mind. He must also do so unobjectively and without allowing his
ego to color what he sees. That is a key component of being a ne’eman.
May we be
worthy of this lofty title.
“Lord of
Avrohom!”
“You found his
heart faithful before You”
Rabbi Dani Staum,
LMSW
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – Heichal HaTorah
Principal – Ohr
Naftoli- New Windsor
[1] The following
is the lecture I was privileged to deliver in Kehillat New Hempstead, Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Lech Lecha 5778.
[2] 2a
[3] Bereishis
Rabbah 39:1
[4] The hesped was
given in Yeshivas Ohr Sameiach in Monsey, NY
[5] Rabbi Salomon noted
that Rav Avigdor Miller was the Avrohom Avinu of our generation. He was a
ne’eman in every sense. He served Hashem with every fiber of his being and was
never abashed to speak up for what he felt was the truth and would bring kavod
shomayim.
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