how the Jewish people go to war

How Klal Yisrael goes to war:

 

And more here:

Watching these videos is my mussar seder.  This is what love of Eretz Yisrael, Am Yisrael, and G-d are all about, what it means to believe in the destiny of Am Yisrael and have pride to live as a Jew. 

I look at the clips of these soldiers and I think about all the little worries in my day to day that seem like such important issues and take up so much mental energy, and here these folks are singing “Mi shema’amin lo mefached” and “Ivdu es Hashem b’simcha” while preparing to literally put their lives on the line.  It gives one a sense of perspective on what's really important, what emunah is really all about. 

I look at the pictures in these videos and I contrast them with pictures like this (AP Photo/Thibault Camus):

 

Pictures from France, a democratic country, a country whose Prime Minister has spoken out against anti-semitism and called on the police to stop the rioting, to little avail.  A country where Jews now live in fear of their lives, where synagogues are firebombed and Jews are attacked in the streets. 

Galus is not our home.  It never has been.  These three weeks culminating in 9 Av reminds us that we are still mourning the churban that, as the Rogatchover learns, is a pe'ulah hanimsheches, an ongoing event, something that continues to unfold.  We see it with our own eyes.

The difference is now we have a glimmer of the geulah just around the corner.  We're not there yet, or we wouldn't be fighting a war.  But we are on the way.  The videos of those soldiers singing "Ivdu es Hashem b'simcha" fighting for our country, for our ideals, under our flag, proves it.
 

The words to the song in the second clip are here and they’re worth reading.  In the comments to the original YouTube of the song done by the artist someone asked how is it possible that someone who is “lo kol kach dati” could come up with a song like this.  Someone else posted an answer:

הקב"ה קרוב גם לאלה שרחוקים ממנו