A speech he gave after the Yom Kippur War, and is very applicable today
"At this time of war, there is a mitzvah from the Torah to pray, and know that everything comes from evil deeds, as the Rambam wrote.
And it is forbidden to think that this is a coincidence, and to say that this is the nature of the world, that after so many years have passed since the establishment of the State, there are enemies who want to fight it, and the way of nature is that they go to war.
On such a thought, the Rambam wrote that this is a way of cruelty, because the truth is that it is not an accident and it is not the world's way, but it is covered and hidden by the power of choice which He gave, so that people would learn and understand that the intention of Creation is to have a choice, and there is a reason for everything.
Which is why there is now a mitzvah of the Torah to pray. And if so, saying Tehillim is not just a recitation. It is a positive commandment from the Torah to do so.
Let us be strong, because it is not only a time of war, but also a time when we are called upon – me, you, and every one of us: 'return, my children'.
Anyone can act to strengthen Torah learning, and yirat shamayim, and this is the main thing that maintains the existence of the Jewish people. On this we have a tradition of two thousand years that it kept us, and this is what will continue to keep us.
We cannot rely on anything else, only the Torah kept us, when there is Torah - there is the Jewish people and there is everything. Without Torah, chas v’shalom - there is no existence, no Israel and no Jews.
It is possible to be very strong materially, and the United States can send many weapons, but that will not keep us as Jews and as a Jewish nation.
Anyone who opens his eyes to reality cannot say otherwise, for there is no other reason why we have held fast for two thousand years.
Everyone who witnessed the situation before the World War knows that there was nothing that kept the existence of the people of Israel in their situation apart from the Torah, and if so, what changed today!?
Let us pick ourselves up and be
strong in everything, in Torah and in yirat shamayim, and Hashem will help us!"
(Edited from the book "Machshevet Mussar", Part one, letter mem-tet)
photo Attribution: Beni Birk / Photographer: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) / Dan Hadani collection, National Library of Israel / CC BY 4.0
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