On Sunday, Benny Gantz, the Minister of Defense, announced that Gen. Herzl (Herzi) Halevi would be the 23rd chief of staff, a position known by the Hebrew acronym ramatkal. Halevi will replace Aviv Kochavi, who has served as Israel’s highest-ranking soldier for four years. 

Halevi comes with impeccable credentials, having served as Kochavi’s deputy, commander of the Southern Command, the chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate, the commander of the 91st Division, the commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, and commanded the elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal, during the Second Intifada.

But even more impressive are his personal credentials. Born in Jerusalem a few months after the 1967 Six-Day War, he was named after his uncle, a paratrooper, who died in the war. Halevi’s father was an activist in the Irgun, a right-wing militia headed by former prime minister Menachem Begin under mandatory British rule. Halevi is the first religious Jew to hold the position of ramatkal. His mother, Tzila, was the daughter of Rabbi Dov Baar HaCohen Kook and niece of Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, the chief rabbi of Israel and the founder of Religious Zionism. 

The connection between the new general and Rabbi Kook is auspicious indeed, as the announcement of his promotion comes almost exactly 87 years after his great uncle passed away. A renowned scholar and Kabbalist, Rabbi Kook, brought together many diverse and divergent aspects of Israeli and Jewish society through his great intellect and understanding. He viewed secular Zionists as the embodiment of the Messiah from the House of Joseph. In Jewish tradition, there are two stages in the Messiah: initially, Moshiach Ben Yosef (Messiah from the house of Joseph) and, subsequently, Moshiach Ben David (Messiah from the House of David). Just as Joseph was involved in the physical sustenance of Egypt and his brothers, the Messiah from the House of Joseph will bring the physical changes, such as the ingathering of the exiles, the blossoming of the deserts, and the building up of Israel. 

It is also interesting to note that, as his name implies, the new ramatkal is from the tribe of Levi, who served as warrior priests guarding the Temple. 

When Gen. Halevi enters his role, this will place the protection of Israel in the hands of two religious Jews. Though Gantz’s level of religious observance is not generally known, it is known that he dons tefillin. This follows Naftali Bennett’s stint as Israel’s first religious Prime Minister. He was also a Kohen from the priestly caste. 

And suppose Benjamin Netanyahu is reelected in the elections in November. In that case, his term in office will mark the longest reign of the Levite tribe over Israel since the Hasmonean dynasty ended in 67 BCE.