Help From the Strangest of Places

I'm sure all of the readers of this blog have experienced a moment in his or her life that has left them feeling that G-d intervened in some way or another in their lives. Sometimes when our faith is at a low point, and we can't seem to understand different aspects of our lives, G-d will be right there waiting for us to search for him.
A number of years ago, a friend of mine asked me, that if I were to have the opportunity to solve the assimilation crisis currently prevalent in the Jewish religion, what would I do?
I took a while to think about this answer and a few weeks later I came up with this notion: There are two reasons why a Jew would want to "Be Jewish". 1) Because he is repelled by the outside world, by anti-Semitism, or just through a sense that he does not belong in the gentile world, or 2) Because he is drawn in from the inside, through love from his fellow Jew, or through a sense that the Jewish religion has something to offer. I told my friend that, Thank G-d there is no anti-Semitism the way that our grandparents had it in the "Alter Velt"(Old World), so the only solution from our perspective is to show as much love as possible to every Jew to try to attract them from the inside. We must be positive ambassadors of the religion.

Recently, I must admit, that I have been struggling with certain matters of faith, specifically love for the Land of Israel. I knew, logically that a Jewish life can only be lived completely if lived in Eretz Yisrael. I understood this. But this understanding was, as Rav Aharon Soloveitchik puts it "Logic of the Mind", not "Logic of the Heart". How could I develop a yearning from my soul for the land of Israel.

My answer came from one of the strangest places this very week, the week that was deemed "Israel Apartheid Week" by the Arab population of Toronto. I was passing by one of the displays for the Apartheid booth and I just felt myself beginning to well up with emotion. How could they make up these lies? How could they say such preposterous things about my people? My People, My G-d, My Land? Unfortunately I was never able to be drawn in to love the land, from "the inside", but I had been forced towards this love from "the outside". It was these lies that made me realize this love. Every lie that they told, every comment that they would make, made me yearn more and more to be in Israel and to show the rest of the world that we are an ethical nation. We are a kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation. Jewish blood is not cheap. And finally we are able to stand up for ourselves and show the rest of the world, that this is why we have persevered. This, is what gave me the proper Ahavat Eretz Yisrael that I need for the rest of my "visit" in Chutz La'aretz.