The scene repeats itself after every military operation. Within hours of news breaking about an Israeli strike, a peculiar race begins - not among military analysts or political commentators, but in the halls of Hasidic courts worldwide.
The prize? Being first to prove their Rebbe had divine foreknowledge of the operation.
Picture this: It's Saturday night in a Hasidic court. The Rebbe has just concluded the sacred third meal of Shabbat, Seudah Shlishit. The air conditioning hums at a brisk 60 degrees, mixing with lingering aromas of herring and challah. Drowsy Hasidim are just beginning to stir after standing motionless for two hours, hanging on their Rebbe's every word. The peaceful post-Shabbat atmosphere is about to be shattered.
Enter Shmaya, the court's well-connected activist, bursting through the doors with news of a major operation in Iran. But his urgent concern isn't about operational success or the safety of Israeli forces. Instead, he's frantically assembling a PR team to ensure their Rebbe gets credit for having "known all along." Within hours, the familiar pattern emerges. Each Hasidic court races to release its proof of prescience. "Our Rebbe wept during prayers last week - now we know why!" proclaims one court. "Did you notice how our Rebbe's voice thundered unusually during the High Holiday services?" declares another.
My personal favorite: one court recently claimed their Rebbe sensed an impending operation because a Hasid who serves as an army groundskeeper "smelled something coming" and mentioned it to the Rebbe's challah baker.
This phenomenon reached absurd heights after October 7th, when numerous courts retrospectively claimed their Rebbes had sensed the impending attack during Hoshana Rabba but remained silent due to security concerns.
Let's be clear: This isn't just harmless inter-court rivalry. It's a troubling distortion of what our holy courts should represent. When news breaks of military operations - operations where Jewish lives hang in the balance - our first thoughts should be of prayer, not PR. We should be reaching for our Psalms, not our press releases.
Our Rebbes' true greatness lies in their Torah wisdom, their compassion, and their spiritual guidance - not in winning a race to claim prophetic knowledge. This unseemly competition diminishes the dignity of these holy institutions and distracts from what should be our real focus: praying for the safety of IDF soldiers, the swift return of the hostages, and peace for all of Israel.It's time to end this undignified spectacle. No Rebbe's stature is enhanced by claims of foreknowledge, nor diminished by lack of them.
Let's return our focus to what really matters: prayer, unity, and genuine spiritual leadership.The next time news breaks of a military operation, instead of rushing to craft the perfect press release, let's rush to our siddurim instead. That's what our Rebbes would truly want us to do.
Kikar Shabbat contributed to this opinion piece.