I’m almost jealous of Jews living in Israel during this crisis: they may face horrifying tests and mortal danger but, from what I’m hearing, they’re rising beautifully to the challenge.
וזו היא שאבדה מלכותנו והחריבה בית מקדש. והאריכה גלותינו והגיעתנו עד הלום. שאבותינו חטאו ואינם, לפי שמצאו ספרים רבים באלה הדברים של דברי החוזים בכוכבים, שדברים אלו הם עיקר עבודה זרה, כמו שביארנו בהלכות עבודה זרה, טעו ונהו אחריהן, ודימו שהם חכמות מפוארות ויש בהן תועלת גדולה, ולא נתעסקו בלמידת מלחמה ולא בכיבוש ארצות, אלא דמו שאותן הדברים יועילו להם.
ולפיכך קראו אותם הנביאים סכלים ואווילים.
ודאי סכלים ואווילים היו, ואחרי התוהו אשר לא יועילו הלכו.
Plenty of sources that suggest Torah scholars/ Torah study protects others. For example Sanhedrin 99b
אפיקורוס כגון מאן אמר רב יוסף כגון הני דאמרי מאי אהנו לן רבנן לדידהו קרו לדידהו תנו אמר ליה אביי האי מגלה פנים בתורה נמי הוא דכתיב (ירמיהו לג, כה) אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק מהכא נמי שמע מינה שנאמר (בראשית יח, כו) ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם
Also, where do you see "Rambam suggests that the primary focus of our communal attention in such times should be the rule of law"? He first says וּמְסִירִין הַמִּכְשׁוֹלוֹת שֶׁל עֲבֵרוֹת. He also mentions בעלי עבירה. I don't see where you get that the primary focus is the rule of law.
I'm not sure why you are reluctant to say that זעקה is Shemoneh Esrei, since it is said out loud by the Shliach Tzibbur, and indeed in the ta'anios of rain, there are 6 brachos added in Shemoneh Esrei. I also don't understand why Tehillim wouldn't count, B"H there are plenty of people who understand the words, and for those who don't there are translations easily available.
The simple reading of the answer to the מאי אהנו לן רבנן לדידהו קרו לדידהו תנו question is that, in fact, the rabbis provide all of us with invaluable guidance and Torah teaching: they're not just learning for their own benefit. Why would you assume it means physical protection?
Similarly the "בריתי יומם ולילה חקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי" passage most likely means exactly what it says: that God's creation is conditional on the understanding and observance of Torah. It's not that its absence might cause enemy invasions, but that it might cause the entire world to disappear.
> where do you see "Rambam suggests that the primary focus of our communal attention in such times should be the rule of law"?
I made that assumption based on the fact that two of the four "categories" the Rambam mentioned - בעלי חמס and בעלי זרוע - fell into that scope.
I assume that because it brings the pasuk by S'dom ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם. I think that the simple understanding of אם בחוקתי תלכו- שתהיו עמלים בתורה suggests that as well as many other statements. It is also consistent with the Torah philosophy, in which Hashem brings collective punishment because of the wicked and collective protection because of the righteous (which is what we see from S'dom).
ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם is explicitly referring to tzadikim, not talmidei chochomim. I don't know how many fans of קצות החושן and אבני מלואים Avraham would have expected to be learning day and night in S'dom. :)
אם בחוקתי תלכו is, perhaps, a bit closer to what you're looking for, but I think it's fair to assume that the real payoff from עמילות התורה is that it leads to the kinds of national religious and social structures that promote general mitzvah observance. And God wouldn't tolerate us in the land without that national observance. In other words, it's a means to an end, rather than a theurgic causation.
What I mean is that the simple meaning of the Gemara is using it to refer to Talmidei Chachomim. See also Shaarei Teshuva 3:145
ופירוש המגלה פנים בתורה ...וכן כל העוזב דבר אחד מדברי התורה ולא יודה עליו הנה זה מגלה פנים בתורה. כגון האומר מה הועילו אצלנו לומדי התורה. אם חכמו חכמו לנפשם ולא נחלה לנו בשכרם. והנה כחשו במה שכתוב בתורה (בראשית י״ח:כ״ו) ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם:
I don't mean theurgic causation if I understand the sense in which you are using it. Of course Torah is על מנת לעשות. But of course the zechus of Torah is great indeed, and protects, like the simple meaning of these sources.
Even so, who says it's because of their Torah *study* that S'dom would have been saved? Maybe it's because of the (presumed) *righteousness* of the lomdai Torah (and, as Hirsch would have it, the pain those tzadikim would no doubt feel if their neighbors were killed). Note how Rashi in the gemara (Sanhedrin 99b) comes back to "tzadikim" rather than "talmidai chochomim":
אין הכי נמי. That is not a proof of the Torah study per se, but it is support for the fact that Torah scholars protect others, probably because of the automatic presumed righteousness of Torah scholars, like you are indicating. I am not sure if I can prove that Talmud Torah itself has extraordinary powers of protection (more than other mitzvos), but it is definitely clear from Torah, Neviim, Kesuvim, and Chazal that shemiras haTorah in general, of which Talmud Torah plays an outsized role, is the zechus that protects Klal Yisroel, and the ביטול of which ח"ו leads to the downfall of שונאיהם של ישראל.
Going back to the Rambam, I don't take the fact that two of the four categories are in the rule of law means that the primary focus should be rule of law, but that half our focus should be on the rule of law, or more broadly speaking, בין אדם לחבירו. This is consistent with how the Torah allocates the mitzvos, I think a rough back of the envelope count would put about half the mitzvos in that category (many of them fall into both categories, like the איסור of אשת איש).
I don't think there's any theoretical problem. But we would have to figure out exactly how to build them (they're made of metal) and when they're supposed to be blown.
איגרת הרמב"ם לחכמי קהל עיר מארשילייא
וזו היא שאבדה מלכותנו והחריבה בית מקדש. והאריכה גלותינו והגיעתנו עד הלום. שאבותינו חטאו ואינם, לפי שמצאו ספרים רבים באלה הדברים של דברי החוזים בכוכבים, שדברים אלו הם עיקר עבודה זרה, כמו שביארנו בהלכות עבודה זרה, טעו ונהו אחריהן, ודימו שהם חכמות מפוארות ויש בהן תועלת גדולה, ולא נתעסקו בלמידת מלחמה ולא בכיבוש ארצות, אלא דמו שאותן הדברים יועילו להם.
ולפיכך קראו אותם הנביאים סכלים ואווילים.
ודאי סכלים ואווילים היו, ואחרי התוהו אשר לא יועילו הלכו.
...although, sadly, I'm not personally able to follow that advice.
Good that we r on the same page.
Plenty of sources that suggest Torah scholars/ Torah study protects others. For example Sanhedrin 99b
אפיקורוס כגון מאן אמר רב יוסף כגון הני דאמרי מאי אהנו לן רבנן לדידהו קרו לדידהו תנו אמר ליה אביי האי מגלה פנים בתורה נמי הוא דכתיב (ירמיהו לג, כה) אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק מהכא נמי שמע מינה שנאמר (בראשית יח, כו) ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם
Also, where do you see "Rambam suggests that the primary focus of our communal attention in such times should be the rule of law"? He first says וּמְסִירִין הַמִּכְשׁוֹלוֹת שֶׁל עֲבֵרוֹת. He also mentions בעלי עבירה. I don't see where you get that the primary focus is the rule of law.
I'm not sure why you are reluctant to say that זעקה is Shemoneh Esrei, since it is said out loud by the Shliach Tzibbur, and indeed in the ta'anios of rain, there are 6 brachos added in Shemoneh Esrei. I also don't understand why Tehillim wouldn't count, B"H there are plenty of people who understand the words, and for those who don't there are translations easily available.
The simple reading of the answer to the מאי אהנו לן רבנן לדידהו קרו לדידהו תנו question is that, in fact, the rabbis provide all of us with invaluable guidance and Torah teaching: they're not just learning for their own benefit. Why would you assume it means physical protection?
Similarly the "בריתי יומם ולילה חקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי" passage most likely means exactly what it says: that God's creation is conditional on the understanding and observance of Torah. It's not that its absence might cause enemy invasions, but that it might cause the entire world to disappear.
> where do you see "Rambam suggests that the primary focus of our communal attention in such times should be the rule of law"?
I made that assumption based on the fact that two of the four "categories" the Rambam mentioned - בעלי חמס and בעלי זרוע - fell into that scope.
I assume that because it brings the pasuk by S'dom ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם. I think that the simple understanding of אם בחוקתי תלכו- שתהיו עמלים בתורה suggests that as well as many other statements. It is also consistent with the Torah philosophy, in which Hashem brings collective punishment because of the wicked and collective protection because of the righteous (which is what we see from S'dom).
ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם is explicitly referring to tzadikim, not talmidei chochomim. I don't know how many fans of קצות החושן and אבני מלואים Avraham would have expected to be learning day and night in S'dom. :)
אם בחוקתי תלכו is, perhaps, a bit closer to what you're looking for, but I think it's fair to assume that the real payoff from עמילות התורה is that it leads to the kinds of national religious and social structures that promote general mitzvah observance. And God wouldn't tolerate us in the land without that national observance. In other words, it's a means to an end, rather than a theurgic causation.
What I mean is that the simple meaning of the Gemara is using it to refer to Talmidei Chachomim. See also Shaarei Teshuva 3:145
ופירוש המגלה פנים בתורה ...וכן כל העוזב דבר אחד מדברי התורה ולא יודה עליו הנה זה מגלה פנים בתורה. כגון האומר מה הועילו אצלנו לומדי התורה. אם חכמו חכמו לנפשם ולא נחלה לנו בשכרם. והנה כחשו במה שכתוב בתורה (בראשית י״ח:כ״ו) ונשאתי לכל המקום בעבורם:
I don't mean theurgic causation if I understand the sense in which you are using it. Of course Torah is על מנת לעשות. But of course the zechus of Torah is great indeed, and protects, like the simple meaning of these sources.
Even so, who says it's because of their Torah *study* that S'dom would have been saved? Maybe it's because of the (presumed) *righteousness* of the lomdai Torah (and, as Hirsch would have it, the pain those tzadikim would no doubt feel if their neighbors were killed). Note how Rashi in the gemara (Sanhedrin 99b) comes back to "tzadikim" rather than "talmidai chochomim":
"מהכא נמי שמעינן. שהצדיקים מהנין לאחרים"
אין הכי נמי. That is not a proof of the Torah study per se, but it is support for the fact that Torah scholars protect others, probably because of the automatic presumed righteousness of Torah scholars, like you are indicating. I am not sure if I can prove that Talmud Torah itself has extraordinary powers of protection (more than other mitzvos), but it is definitely clear from Torah, Neviim, Kesuvim, and Chazal that shemiras haTorah in general, of which Talmud Torah plays an outsized role, is the zechus that protects Klal Yisroel, and the ביטול of which ח"ו leads to the downfall of שונאיהם של ישראל.
Going back to the Rambam, I don't take the fact that two of the four categories are in the rule of law means that the primary focus should be rule of law, but that half our focus should be on the rule of law, or more broadly speaking, בין אדם לחבירו. This is consistent with how the Torah allocates the mitzvos, I think a rough back of the envelope count would put about half the mitzvos in that category (many of them fall into both categories, like the איסור of אשת איש).
Why not blow our horns now? Is there any legal reason against it?
I don't think there's any theoretical problem. But we would have to figure out exactly how to build them (they're made of metal) and when they're supposed to be blown.