Rabbi Daniel Myers
These days it would seem appropriate and normal to be quite depressed about the state of our Divine State, when we reflect upon what has transpired recently:
- Nine thousand of our finest and most dedicated brothers face immanent eviction from their homes which they have legally built with so much love and Mesirut Nefesh.
-The head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) confirmed last week that Israel presently receives some 60 intelligence warnings of potential Palestinian terror attacks every day, while Chamas claims that their attacks have forced us to retreat. (The Jerusalem Post 25/7/05)
-Mr. Netanyahu said that if the IDF would leave the Philadelphia corridor-a move which Israel is considering-it would open up a window of opportunity for terrorists, and that the Palestinians would be able to smuggle in arms that can threaten Israel's cities. (ibid.)
- Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin reported to the Knesset that Palestinians who obtained Israeli residency under family reunification laws had a dramatic weight in the Intifada terror attacks, being involved in 16 suicide bombings. In other words, it is not only the people who claim to be living in subhuman, non-livable conditions that are attacking us, but even those who are living in Israel proper! (ibid. 20/705)
-Diskin most recently reported that Israel could face an Al Qaeda attack in the near future, since it is clear that there is a connection on some level between Hamas and al Qaeda. (Hamodia 27/7/05)
-The ever optimistic and loving
Rosh yeshiva of Ateret Kohanim, Rav Shlomo Aviner, Shlita, who truly embodies
the ideology of "Ohaiv Et Habriyot Umikarvan Latorah" blamed the
prime minister for being inhuman, throwing people out of their homes
mercilessly. (B'ahava Ubemuna Parshat Chukat 5765)
It is true that these are sad
times, and one should be in a state of sorrow and mourning with our brothers
who are being 'transferred,' and with the nation as a whole, because of the
possible danger that lies ahead of us. (See Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 575:4,
M"B 575:11, Shaar Hazion 575:8 and Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Daiah 387:1)
Nevertheless, at the same time we may comfort ourselves with some consolation
for several reasons:
1) With all the tragedies around us, many of us have missed a beautiful statistic; according to The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute Israel will surge past the United States next year and have the largest Jewish population in the world for the first time since the Second Commonwealth. (The Jerusalem Post 14/7/05) The Institute reported that Israel will be the only country to have a major growth in Jewish Population in the near future-to 6.2 million by 2020! This is a clear fulfillment of the Pasuk (Devarim 30:5) "Hashem will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and will gather you in from all the peoples to which Hashem has scattered you." This was reported on the same day that Israel 'permanently' sealed off the Gaza Strip. At times, there are Divine messages of Nechama-sometimes during our dark hours-placed right in front of our eyes.
2) Uri Dan recently wrote an article entitled 'The Jewish Spring,' demonstrating how Israel resembles a kind of spring, sometimes compressing, but always expanding with vigor, depending on the circumstances. He proves this to be the case in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1977 and 1982. He concludes his essay with the following message: "The secret of the nation's ability to act as a spring lies in the special oil that protects it against fashionable, post-Zionist, anti-Semitic and defeatist corrosion: the oil of the Jewish belief in its total right to a state in Israel. Once this standard was borne even by the Leftists in Mapam. Now it has passed to the settlers, in particular those belonging to Religious Zionism. The Jewish heart has also withstood the tremendous pressure applied to it by the unceasing war of terrorism waged by suicide bombers. Israel, when acting as a Jewish spring, is not only stronger then all of its temporary leaders but, more importantly, is stronger then all of its permanent enemies. When Israel stupidly participates in the joy of their enemies at the spectacle of the planned destruction of the flourishing settlements in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing war, the Jewish spring may well be compressed and appear to be about to break. However, those familiar with Israel's history know that it will once again expand, proving wrong all the predictions of destruction." (The Jerusalem Post 25/7/05 Of course, the centrality of Torah is a crucial factor as well in determining the expansiveness of the spring)
Every Religious Zionist who has
seen the Geula progressing over the last two centuries, knows and feels the
truth of Mr. Dan's analysis. As the Iyun Tefila writes in his commentary on
Tefila (Ozar Hatefilot-Pairush on the Bracha 'Et Zemach David') writes:
"Zechariah (6:12) teaches us that Mesiach's name will be Zemach,
literally, the sprouting or flourishing of a plant. This indicates that the
normal process of redemption is like the barely noticeable daily growth of a
plant." Sometimes we move forward in leaps and bounds, at other times we
progress ever so slowly and, at times, we may even regress a bit, only to regroup
and spring forward again.
3) For almost thirty years, the NRP has put supporting the settlers of Yesha at the top of its agenda. Mr. Zevulun Orlev, recently elected as the chairman of the NRP, says that the party line on supporting the settlers and diplomatic issues will not change under his leadership; nevertheless, the NRP will start talking more about education, social affairs and religion. (The Jerusalem Post 22/7/05) In my opinion, this is a very welcome development, since the NRP must be vigilant in its focus on religion while it also looks after the Am and the Medina.
4) Despite the horrible and indecent suffering that our 9000 brothers are sustaining, I am confidant that they are strong, resilient and that they will regroup. Not only that, I am optimistic that not only will they survive, but will once again thrive; furthermore, they will bring all of their boundless love and energy for Torat Yisrael, Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael to their new neighbors and towns. I pray that their passion will influence and affect the Am in a most dramatic and profound manner. Until now, we could admire our holy brothers from a distance, now Im Yirzeh Hashem, we will be close enough to them to become enkindled from their fire, warmth and exuberance.
May Hashem bless them and the
rest of the Am with vigor, fortitude and love to deal with our upcoming
hurdles, regroup and blossom once again!