Warriors of emuna - an endangered species

King David killed a lion and a bear at age three, as a lone shepherd in the wilderness. As Hashem's anointed, he was not only a monumental Torah scholar, but a fierce fighter that spent every available minute in personal prayer. His bravery was the outcome of his rock-solid emuna. He knew the secret of power when he said (Psalms 68:36), "God of Israel - it is He Who grants might and power to the people, blessed is God!"

People find it hard to believe when the Zohar says that Israel is the fiercest of the nations. The missing piece to the puzzle is Abir - the ancient Hebrew art of combat; if folks knew about the secrets of combat that Hashem revealed to our forefathers, for He grants power to his faithful, then they'd understand exactly how the Zohar is so right on target.

Abraham, with only 318 of his servants, defeated four mighty armies. Jacob outmaneuvered an evil archangel in pitched combat all night long. His sons Simon and Levi, at age 13, wiped out an entire city whose leader's son raped their sister. Moses sent a task force of a mere 12,000 men to defeat Sihon and the Amorites, the superpower of the time. Joshua defeated 31 Canaanite kings and their armies. Gideon, Yiftach, Barak, Samson, David and his lieutenants... the list is long. From generation to generation, a select few carried the secret of Abir - the ancient Hebrew art of combat. With the destruction of the first and second Temples, dispersion and exile among the nations, Abir was largely forgotten.

As our faith in The Creator and the observance of His Torah and its laws and our devotion to prayer and scholarship took precedence throughout the Diaspora, our knowledge of Abir diminished with each passing generation.

Jews were held in contempt under the watchful suspicious eyes of their host nations who often sought to control them by limiting their mobility within the confines of a ghetto. In most cases, Jews were commonly denied the right to bear arms or own land and curfews were often enforced upon them.

Collectively congregating to train in Abir or any form of Jewish combat arts would have been seen as incitement to overthrow their hosts and an invitation to collective genocide. That occurred often in our history without any provocation. These harsh conditions were mirrored in Jewish Communities across Europe as well as in Asia and throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Yet, bits and pieces of Abir warrior arts were preserved to a greater degree by the more exotic and distant Israelite communities. The Habanis of north Yemen preserved an unbroken chain of Abir since the destruction of the second Temple nearly 2000 years ago. Fiercely loyal to their faith, the Habani Jews never assimilated. Of all the Habani clans, the Sofer family was the most proficient and well known both in Torah scholarship - especially the esoteric - and in Abir warrior arts. Don't be surprised - Hebrew warrior arts go hand-in-hand with holiness and Kabbala; you can't be a true Abir warrior unless you keep yourself on a lofty plane of personal holiness and Torah scholarship.

This rare photo from 1922 is proof of something that history finds incredible: King Abdulla Ibn Hussein of Transjordan sits under the watchful eyes of his Jewish bodyguards, Habani Yemenite brothers Sayeed, Salaah, and Saadia Sofer (notice Safeed's especially long sidecurls, left), uncles of today's Abir Aluf, Grandmaster Yehoshua Sofer, may Hashem bless him.

Yehoshua Sofer's father, known as the "Abir Ro'im", or "shepherd knight", is the younger brother of Sayeed, Salaah, and Saadia pictured above, and the son of Nachman Sofer, the Abir master of his generation, a fierce warrior and kabbalist that had 5 wives. Today, Abir Ro'im is well over 100 years old, and blind. Yet, he still possesses an uncanny personal radar and could cope with literally any threat. Abir Ro'im began to train Yehoshua when Yehoshua was a tiny toddler of 3.

Father and son: Abir Ro'im is today over 100 years old and blind, but you wouldn't want to mess with him.

The torch of Abir today rests solely in the faithful hands of Yehoshua Sofer, the Abir Aluf. Like King David, the Abir Aluf is a rare combination of fierce courage and devoted spirituality. You can fool someone for an hour or two, but as I've had the privilege of spending an entire week with the Aluf and his very special brother Yonatan (who hides his talents both as a warrior and as a scholar with a monumental analytical mind), I can testify to the rare holiness, dedication, and unshakable integrity of the Aluf.

The Starflower: an amazing vision that the Aluf had during Hitbodedut (meditation, personal prayer). The arrow represents power and direction, the way a person should serve Hashem. The bow, 'keshet", is also the symbol of "kedushat HaBrit" or personal holiness. Read more about the starflower here.

Ever since the evil angel - Esau's minister who is commonly known as the "Samech Mem" or "Yetzer Hara" - was defeated by Jacob, he tries his utmost to destroy the Abir torch-carrier of the generation.

Yehoshua Sofer has made other martial arts Grandmasters look primitive and uncoordinated. He built a beautiful school with over 100 pupils learning Abir. He has done wonders with wayward youth, and was bringing people back to their Jewish roots in droves. The Yetzer couldn't stand all that - he declared total war on the Abir Aluf. Unable to defeat him personally, he fought everything around the Aluf: The Aluf's wife died very young. If that's not enough, the roof of his rented gym caved in during a rainstorm, and nearly $100,000 of mats and equipment were destroyed. Afterward, the building was razed and the Aluf and his pupils were left literally out in the cold.

Today, the Aluf and a handful of pupils train in a Jerusalem park. His pupils and his funds have dwindled, and he can't afford to rent a gym.

In my humble opinion, the Abir Aluf should be heading a Yeshiva. He is capable of providing a framework of mind, body, and soul training based on emuna and kedusha. He could help tremendous numbers of young men who have difficulty finding themselves elsewhere. Once again, the Abir Aluf needs fuel for the Abir engine. Without a backer(s) or sponsor(s), Abir is an endangered species.

Would you like to lend a helping hand to Abir? Would you like to learn Abir yourself? You can contact the Abir Aluf, Grandmaster Yehoshua Sofer right here. Tell him that Lazer sent you.

  Lazer and Abir Aluf together in Uman

This article hasn't scratched the surface of either Abir or the Aluf. Nonetheless, our purpose is to increase an awareness of Abir and its importance to all of us. In case you're wondering what the great tzaddikim thought of Abir, you should know that the Aluf was the personal bodyguard of Rav Kaduri, of blessed and saintly memory, who held both the Aluf and Abir in the highest regard. Not only that, but the Aluf was the understudy of the famed tzaddik and Kabbalist, Rav Yisroel Be'er Odesser, of blessed and saintly memory, who loved the Aluf like a son.

You can read more about Abir here. Meanwhile, we all have a rare chance to help the Abir tradition remain alive. If you or your community is interested, the Aluf is also available for lectures and demonstrations all over the world. Maybe some lucky community will decide to sponsor Abir; if so, they have my wholehearted blessing.