As I write this on February 26, 2026, many of us in Israel are carrying the same unspoken weight: will a larger war engulf us in the coming days. We can look to this week’s Parsha for some inspiration.

The uncertainty is palpable. U.S. carriers and jets shift positions, deadlines regarding Iran approach and recede, hospitals prepare quietly, and diplomats receive evacuation options. No one truly knows what tomorrow holds. Like many of you, I find myself scanning X and news sites for signals in the noise, while others step away entirely, aware that the so-called experts understand little more than we do.

We want reassurance that we will be safe. Those defending us seek clarity on the road ahead. Our greatest kings, prophets, and leaders once had a G‑d-given instrument intended for moments exactly like this, a tool to seek guidance from Heaven in times of existential uncertainty, especially in matters of war. It was called the Urim and Thummim.

What was this enigmatic device. How did it function. And in its absence today, does it still offer wisdom for our current fog of doubt. I believe that it does, and that it offers a measure of quiet comfort as well.

The Ibn Ezra opens this week’s parasha with a tantalizing and poetic line:

לדעת אמת אם לבבך יאוה ראה כל גויה לנכבד בנוה ואורים ותומים וסודם אחוה בסתר בסדר ואתה תצוה “If your heart desires to know the truth, look at the body and consider the most glorious thing within it. I will secretly reveal the mystery of the Urim and Thummim in the portion ‘And Thou Shalt Command.’”

לדעת אמת אם לבבך יאוה ראה כל גויה לנכבד בנוה ואורים ותומים וסודם אחוה בסתר בסדר ואתה תצוה “If your heart desires to know the truth, look at the body and consider the most glorious thing within it. I will secretly reveal the mystery of the Urim and Thummim in the portion ‘And Thou Shalt Command.’”

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Krinsky explains that the “most glorious thing” is the human soul. The Ibn Ezra binds the secret of this oracle, the instrument for national decision making, to the soul itself. He teaches that the essence of this device reflects the core spiritual command embedded in the very name of this week’s parasha. Far from a mechanical or magical object, the Urim and Thummim demanded an inner readiness and purity of spirit.

The Torah gives only a brief description.

“Inside the breastpiece of decision you shall place the Urim and Thummim, so that they are over Aaron’s heart when he comes before G‑d” (Exodus 28:30).

“Inside the breastpiece of decision you shall place the Urim and Thummim, so that they are over Aaron’s heart when he comes before G‑d” (Exodus 28:30).

The Ramban paints a vivid picture. Unlike every other vessel in the Mishkan, the Urim and Thummim were not crafted or donated. They were placed directly into the breastplate and consisted of holy Names of G‑d hidden within its folds. When the Kohen Gadol inquired, for example “Who shall go up first against the Canaanites,” he focused on the Urim, which means “lights.” Letters on the stones of the tribes would illuminate. But glowing fragments alone were insufficient. They could point toward the phrase “Yehudah Yaaleh,” Judah shall go up, yet the letters might also permit incorrect combinations.

This is where the Thummim, meaning perfection or integrity, entered. Through their power the heart of the priest was refined and granted divine clarity. He could assemble the illuminated letters into coherent and true words. The Urim offered the data. The Thummim granted the insight to interpret it. We see King David rely on this repeatedly during moments of danger with the Philistines.

This mysterious prophetic instrument is difficult to comprehend, and perhaps it is meant to remain so. It offered certain individuals, on a specific spiritual level, access to a prophetic realm that lies far beyond our experience. Most of the Torah focuses on practical living and collective memory, not on the mechanics of the spiritual world. To borrow from business language, its inner workings are beyond our pay grade.

Bringing this to our present moment and to the approach of Purim and Parashat Zachor, the Urim and Thummim were primarily tools for war.

The Netziv notes that the core purpose of the Choshen, the breastpiece, was national and military. He links the word Choshen to chash, to hurry, because war demands swift judgment and clear decisions. There was no room for endless debate. The king and the people turned to the Urim and Thummim especially for matters of national survival. The Talmud limits its use to the king, the Sanhedrin, or essential communal needs such as the anointed priest for war. It was the ancient equivalent of a war room, joining human planning with the guidance of Heaven when Jewish lives were at stake.

This Shabbat we also read Parashat Zachor. “Remember what Amalek did to you.” We are reminded that there have always been enemies who seek our destruction without cause. Today we face such an enemy in the Iranian regime and its proxies.

The lesson of the Urim and Thummim aligns precisely with Zachor. Joshua fought Amalek below while Moshe prayed above. Victory required both physical effort and spiritual elevation. We are not meant to rely only on miracles. The story of Purim reinforces this as well. Its triumph came through human decisions, strategy, and courage, G-d’s hand hidden within natural events and our forebear’s bravery.

The Torah leaves the mechanics of the Urim undefined, and no blueprint has survived. We live in an age of hester panim, the hidden face of G‑d. The link between this week’s parasha and Purim deepens this idea. Moshe’s name is absent from Tetzaveh and G‑d’s Name is absent from Megillat Esther. In both, the hiddenness itself becomes the message. In Purim’s quiet miracles our ancestors prevailed not through visible signs from Heaven but through intelligence, loyalty, bravery, and faith.

We no longer have glowing stones or open revelations. What we have is ourselves and the responsibility to act in a concealed world.

Yet we are not without guidance. The Urim reminds us that spiritual strength must be joined with the ability to see beyond the surface. Israel’s enduring resilience has always emerged from this combination: the soul that G‑d breathed into us together with the Yiddishe Kop, our ingenuity, our intelligence services, and our relentless determination. It is Torah joined with the IDF, spiritual awareness woven together with physical action.

Place G‑d’s Name first, just as the Urim and Thummim rested over Aaron’s heart, and that becomes our center of balance. From this foundation, even as we face anxiety about the unknown, we can confront the frightening data of our world not with panic but with steadiness and direction.

Follow the heart and soul aligned with G‑d’s instruction and we will endure. This is the essence of Purim. It teaches that victory is possible even in darkness, through courage, wise maneuvering, and trust in the unseen.

Even when His Name is hidden, He walks beside us. May we find the strength to stand firm. May we be victorious. May clarity pierce the concealment, speedily and in our days.

The Urim and Thummim teach that neither action nor faith alone is sufficient. It is their union, body and soul, that will see us through whatever comes next.

Shabbat Shalom and Purim Sameach.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)