When Shabbat Vayechi (December 18, 2021, 14 Tevet 5782) was observed to conclude the Book of Genesis and describe Jacob's last days in Egypt, the Portuguese media erupted in festivities, accusing the multimillionaire Leiva da Rocha of having paid for the Holocaust Museum in Porto and of having used Wikipedia tricks in exchange for a valuable European passport. On that Shabbat, the Israeli embassy was closed, and the leadership of the Jewish community, publicly accused of corruption by the entire society, could not meet and deliberate on what to do. History repeated itself.

In the 4th century BCE, Ptolemy I Soter, a general of Alexander the Great, invaded Jerusalem on a Sabbath and captured the city without resistance. In the 2nd century BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Seleucid armies also took advantage of the Sabbath to massacre many followers of Mattathias in the caves where they were hiding. In the 1st century BCE, Pompey ordered the Roman army to conquer Jerusalem during the Sabbath, knowing that it was the day when the Jewish defenders did not interfere. The same fate occurred three decades later with Herod, when the Sabbath coincided with Yom Kippur and the corresponding 25-hour fast.

Similar attacks followed for two thousand years of history of Jewish communities in exile - not forgetting during the Portuguese Inquisition - and returned in force with the founding of the state of Israel.

In the 20th century, when Egypt and Syria initiated the Yom Kippur War, once again the attack was coordinated for a holy day in Judaism.

In the 21st century, Hamas attacked the Jewish state on a Shabbat that, moreover, coincided with the Simchat Torah holiday, a day therefore doubly sacred. As always, the surprise attack began in the early hours, taking advantage of the lower readiness of forces on the Gaza border.

The timing of attacks against the Jewish world has always aimed to exploit – in the worst sense – the religious traditions of the small people that opposing forces insist on trying to destroy, and never succeed in doing so, despite the initial chaos they always generate and the high casualties for Jews and their associative institutions.

Teachings of King David

Due to so many and persistent attacks, Jewish law developed the notion that, in case of risk of death or to defend territory (Milhemet Mitzvah), the observance of Shabbat could be circumvented, allowing Israelite soldiers to fight even on the day of rest.

In addition, King David began hiring foreign mercenaries for the security of his kingdom and for his own personal guard, with the aim of ensuring unwavering loyalty. Kerethites and Pelethites – originating from the Philistine region and the island of Crete – were members of David's elite guard. Ittai the Gittite, with his 600 men, was also a foreign commander who demonstrated unconditional loyalty to David, who also used, as border guards, the strongest Amorite/Aramean soldiers who had survived successive clashes with Davidic troops.

Throughout history, the mortal adversaries of the Jewish people have always taken advantage of Jewish religious traditions and restrictions, when their targets were inactive, to attack and gain destructive advantages.