"We Felt We Were Not Alone": Six-Day War General on the Soldiers' Trust in Hashem

Major General (res.) Shai Gavish, commander of the Southern Command during the Six-Day War, recounts the faith in heavenly help that accompanied the soldiers and commanders during the intense combat, which concluded with a miraculous victory.

Before the war, Gavish wrote a combat sheet for his fighters that he signed with the words "May Hashem be with you." In an interview with Rabbi Aviad Gadot, director of the "Torat Lechima" organization, the senior commander was asked about this statement and whether he feels there was divine assistance during the war.

"Yes, both a feeling and an appreciation, both things together," Gavish replied. "I felt it's an integral part of a soldier's readiness to execute his mission. He is filled with faith in both the commanders and the orders – and in his belief. It's part of the whole matter."

"The People of Israel consist of different people, different thoughts, different approaches. Religious, non-religious, others – the whole spectrum. They all go to war. They all go through fire and water. I wouldn't say they're going to sacrifice themselves, but they're going to do everything so that the State of Israel exists with dignity, and at the lowest possible cost in war."

"I feel, and I felt even then, that in this statement I express what many people think, and some say and some do not say, but that's what leads them – the faith and the feeling that you are not alone. And that's what led me to write 'May Hashem be with you,' definitely," Gavish concluded.