Some Kabbalists have organized the months from Nissan to Tishrei according to the different Sfirot (Divine Attributes). As we know, all of the holidays which come from the torah happen in between Nissan and Tishrei. After Tishrei, there are still rabbinical holidays but no holiday from the Torah.
The way the holidays were organized are as followed:
The month of Nissan is the month of Hessed. (Mercy) When we were first taken out of Egypt, we were taken out by pure Hessed, mercy. Sure, there are those who bring up the fact that we needed to bring a Korban Pessah and put blood on our doors in order to have a minimum merit to get out, however, this was truly the minimum merit. So much so that afterwards, the angels asked God how he could favor us to the Egyptians – we were both idol worshipers! Therefore, this redemption was almost completely based on God's mercy and not on our own merit. It was what we call “Hiterouta De-leila”, something which came from God towards us.
We will get back to the month of Iyar. The month of Sivan is the month of the Tiferet, Splendor. It is the month in which we recieved the Torah, the “splendor” of the Jewish People.
Then comes the month of Tammuz, the month of Netzah. Chazal teach us that Netzach is Jerusalem. The month of Tammuz was the month on which we were meant to first enter Jerusalem. We were supposed to get the tablets from Moses on the 17th of Tammuz and then march on quickly, in 3 days, towards Jerusalem and establish on Kingdom. Unfortunately, things went wrong and we sinned with the Golden Calf. However, when the calendar will once again be as it is supposed to, this month will no longer be one of mourning.
The Month of Av, Hod, is representing the Beit Hamikdash. Unfortunately, during the exile, in this month it is quite the opposite which happened as we lost both our temples on that month.
Finally, the Month of Ellul is the month of Yessod, foundation, since it acts as a foundation to our service on the month of Tishrei, the month of the Malchut – kingship of God on this earth, which is our ultimate goal.
Of course, I have just breifly surveyed these different concepts which deserve much more explanations to be appreciated but I want to concentrate on the month of Iyar, which is, according to this system, the month of Gvurah – which can be roughly translated as courage. This month is the month which is representative of the Jewish People's ability to take their destiny in their hands. It is representative of the Jewish People's ability to have the courage to seek things for themselves. Unlike Hessed, which comes solely from God without much of our merit, Gvurah describes a reality where we, the Jewish People, are the ones who take the initiative and then, with God's help, we are able to arrive through this courage to Tifferet.
The only holiday which exists from the torah in this month is Pessah Sheini. Pessah Sheini is a very interesting holiday. This is a day which was not created by God. No. Instead, people who could not each the korban pessah because they were in a state of ritual impurity, or because they were far away, asked to get a “second chance”. This holiday comes from the people themselves! It is our own initiative. It is quite incredible that we can, through our own initiative, establish a holiday similar to the holiday of Pessah! This is the power of our initiative.
On this month, we also have seen in history the story of the death of the students of Rabbi Akiva. There is a disagreement as to what exactly killed those students. The gemara says it was a sickness which came to them because of their lack of respect for each other. However, an interesting Midrash claims that the reason for their death was that they lost during the rebellion of Bar Kochba. As we know, Rabbi Akiva was not just a yeshiva rabbi, he was a warrior who faught in the Bar Kochba Revolt. However, this revolt was not successful. The Midrach claims that lack of unity caused the revolt to be badly organized which caused the death of the 24 000 students of Rabbi Akiva on the front. Regardless of the reason of the death, one thing which is obvious is that the students of Rabbi Akiva represent the courage of a Jew to stand up and take his destiny in his own hands, and then hope that God will help him complete this initiative. When we mourn the students of Rabbi Akiva, we also mourn the fact that this initiative might, maybe, have been successful if not for dis-unity. We praise the courage and initiative of those students and mourn their loss. The only way I know how to describe this feeling is by comparing it to Yom Hazikaron, a day in which I described my feelings as “mourning with pride”.
On the month of Iyar, it is also the only shabbat mevarchim in which ashkenazi congregations say “Av Harachamim”, because of the killing of Jewish communities during the period of the crusaders which happened during this time. Once again, this is a tragic story. However, once again, its a story which really shows us the courage, the gevurah, of the Jewish People in their own show of love to God, even when his presence is not as revealed.
In our generation, a new miracle happened – the declaration of independance of the state of Israel! There is a halachic discussion as to what date Yom Haatzmaut should be established on. Some people claim it should be established on the day the war of independance ended, not on the day independance was declared! However, Rav Tzvi Yehuda used to say that those who make this claim do not understand what happened on Yom Haatzmaut. The miracle we celebrate on Yom Haatzmaut is the fact that the Jewish People once again had the courage to take the initiative in rebuilding their homeland. We once again found our Gevurah! The month of Iyar which showed Gevurah only in tragic circumstances throughout our exile was once again taking become the joyous month of Iyar. We stood up and took our self-determination, not only asking for it. The fifth of Iyar was, in one day, a representation of a whole generation- survivors of the holocaust returning to the land of Israel and rebuilding the land. This declaration of independance was against all logic! King Abdullah had told Golda Meir a few hours before that if Israel would declare independance, a war would start which would unite all arabs countries. The Jews had weapons for only 3 days of fighting. American and Russian Jews begged Ben Gurion not to declare the state of Israel warning him that even their influence would be of no help. And yet, Ben Gurion made the declaration. Sure, the win of the war is a huge miracle, but its declaration, the fact that a Jew can stand up after 2000 years of exile and have the courage to say “This is our land and we will be rebuilding it!”, is the greater miracle for which we say Hallel on Yom Haatzmaut.
Rav Mordechai Elon Shli”ta writes;
אייר הוא לא רק חודש, אייר הוא גם דור שלם, אייר הוא הדור שלנו, דור שלפעמים לרגע יכול לשכוח שהוא בעצם מעביר העולם מהחסד אל התפארת, ומשם הלאה אל הנצח וההוד . אשרינו שזכינו להיות דור אייר, יהי רצון מלפניו יתברך כי נהיה ראויים לזכות זו שזכינו לה.
Iyar is not just a month. Iyar is also a whole generation. Iyar is our generation, a generation which can sometimes forget that he is bringing the world from Hessed (mercy) to Tifferet (Splendor), and from there on to Netzach (Eternity) and Hod (Majesty). Praised are we that merited to be a generation of Iyar, and may it be Your will, our God, that we be able to merit that which we have merited.
Our generation is one which is not afraid to stand up and take intiative for the good of Klal Israel. Our job is to ensure that the direction we give to Klal Israel one which will lead it towards the Splendor, Eternity and Majesty so that, slowly, slowly, and with a lot of patience, without pushing things too quickly, we can translate this amazing courage which was demonstrated on Yom Haatzmaut into a Mamlechet Kohanim VeGoy Kadosh, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
This past Yom Ha'atzma'ut, and related events, have really made me think about Israel. A theme I've heard from a few people, which resonates a lot within me, is that while Israel is certainly not perfect, it is also so beautiful, so wonderful, and the greatest blessing for us, the Jewish People. Through my passion for Israel, I've tended towards cynicism and a more negative outlook over the past few months, a mindset mostly fueled by some unfortunate events and trends specifically within the more politically related contexts. (Then again, what isn't politically related in Israel?!) But lately, especially since Yom Ha'atzma'ut, I've been heading back towards the side of positivity, joy, and pride in the abundant good in Israel, despite the very real 'bad' things that are there too.
Jacob Richman (check out his site) sent out a wonderful email to his subscribers. It's an article written by Barbara Sofer on the Jerusalem Post: a list of 61 reasons, in no particular order, why she loves Israel. I'm sure that a lot of us have read similar lists, and are probably familiar with some of the facts, but I learnt a lot, and was inspired and moved by some of her facts. It adds fuel to my personal passion of making Aliyah, which is happening in a few months! And it makes me really proud of Israel, of the Jews living in Israel, and of Jews in general. This is great stuff. Here it is:Top 60 plus one reasons I love Israel
The original article on JPost can be found here.
by Barbara Sofer
May 8, 2008
Why do I love Israel? Let me count the whys. Here, in no particular
order, is an updated list, with new additions and highlights of recent
years.
1. Jerusalem is so quiet on Shabbat that you can hear birds singing
even on the main streets.
2. We change our calendars on Rosh Hashana, not January 1,
because that's the real new year
3. Just hours after leading his Chelsea team to its first Champions
League final, Petah Tikva-born coach Avram Grant joined the March
of the Living in Auschwitz, and told all of Europe that his pride at
Israel's emergence from the horrors of the Holocaust surpassed
any football achievement.
4. We serve kosher food in the trendiest malls.
5. Streets bear the names of prophets and medieval poets.
Our communications satellite is called "Amos."
6. Land of milk and honey: Big news when Israeli archeologists
recently discovered evidence of the beekeeping industry - even
beeswax - that goes back 3,000 years.
7. Land of milk and honey: We're so successful at making milk
products that we have hundreds of choices of cheese and advise
New Zealand about making sheep cheese.
8. The Nahariya-based Strauss company, started by dairy farmer
immigrants from Germany in 1936, together with the Elite company
started by a candy-maker immigrant from Riga in 1934, are the
largest coffee manufacturers in Central and Eastern Europe, and
second biggest in Brazil. Aviv Matza exports its unleavened bread
to Egypt.
9. We have laboratories to check for the biblically prohibited mix of
linen and wool, shatnes, and we're the first country to make men's
suits from recycled plastic bottles, for sale soon at Sears.
10. At Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo, the loudspeaker announces
"afternoon prayers (minha) are now being held near the elephants."
11. The Biblical Zoo is kosher for Pessah. The primates eat matza;
the parrots get rice.
12. Every kindergartner knows that frogs are the second plague in
the Haggada, but our "save the frogs" campaign was launched at
the Biblical Zoo on Passover.
13. Mega investor Warren Buffet's first investment outside the US
($4 billion) was in Israel's Iscar company. He got so much positive
publicity that he told Iscar's CEO: "I was nobody before I bought
your company."
14. Sixty years after statehood, even young people refer to something
old-fashioned as "from the days of the (British) Mandate."
15. Theodor Herzl's bearded image welcomes visitors to hi-tech
Herzliya, and we celebrate Herzl Day.
16. My five-year-old grandson can tell you all about Theodor Herzl.
Also about Spiderman.
17. Combat soldiers aren't embarrassed to phone their moms and
grandmothers.
18. While Intel Haifa workers were working in an underground shelter
because of the missile attacks in the Second Lebanon War,
Intel announced the new multi-core processor developed there.
19. Entire families show up for military graduations, and bring
enough food to feed an army.
20. Name droppers. The poet Chaim Nachman Bialik named the
Egged bus company and also the Tishbi winery
21. Youngsters travel far to visit the Kibbutz Kinneret cemetery
where poet Rahel and national song laureate Naomi Shemer are
buried.
22. First graders read the Bible in the original Hebrew, and celebrate
with a party.
23. We follow the level of the Kinneret more faithfully than we do our
stock portfolios.
24. We have only one Pessah Seder but Purim, our dress-up holiday,
lasts three days. In Jerusalem on Purim, it's hard to tell who's in
costume and who isn't.
25. We have the highest concentration of hi-tech companies outside
Silicon Valley, and also the most yeshivot anywhere.
26. After a calamity, police have trouble keeping away bystanders
who want to help.
27. Thousands of free-loan societies flourish. You can borrow wedding
dresses and pacifiers.
28. Despite the tensions and political dissension, Israel has the
highest Jewish birthrate in the world.
29. Despite the tensions and political dissension, Israel is the
fastest growing Western country in the world.
30. "Jerusalem of Gold" is still voted the favorite national song.
31. We have timeless cuisine: You can order Israeli breakfast,
business lunch and dinner simultaneously at Israeli cafes.
32. Our pilots fought over the honor of taking part in a fly-by over
Auschwitz 60 years after liberation.
33. Israeli fighter jets accompanied tourists safely home from
Mombasa after they were threatened.
34. We have 120 members of the Knesset because that's how many
were in the ancient Great Assembly.
35. We first developed candy-sweet cherry tomatoes as a
TV-watching nosh.
36. On Remembrance Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day,
the act of remembering halts traffic. Even kindergartners stand
silently, and understand why.
37. While dining rooms are shrinking in Western homes, Israeli
dining room tables are getting longer.
38. We invite strangers for a home-cooked Shabbat meal.
39. An Israeli artichoke farmer with a sore back developed the
sophisticated Hollandia beds and exports them from Sderot to
many countries, including Holland.
40. Strangers feel free to tell a parent to put a hat on the baby in
a country where we wear scarves, snoods, spodiks, streimels,
wimples, fedoras, berets, tarbushes, homburgs, kippot and keffiyot.
41. While other Western nations debate immigration, we absorb
more immigrants per capita than any other country in the world.
Almost immediately all learn the Hebrew word for patience, savlanut.
42. Our street musicians can play in symphony orchestras;
our supermarket clerks know calculus.
43. Our biggest shopping seasons precede Rosh Hashana and
Pessah.
44. Municipalities' decorating contests feature succot, not trees.
The Succot holiday is high season in Israel; book hotel rooms
a year in advance.
45. Even politicians from anti-religious parties say "Baruch Hashem."
46. "Where were your grandparents from?" is a common question.
Where else would anyone care about my grandparents?
47. We celebrate Mother's Day, now Family Day, on the yahrzeit of
Henrietta Szold who, with Recha Freier, organized Youth Aliya but
who had no children of her own.
48. For all the talk about the greening of the planet, we're the only
country in the world that started the 21st century with a net gain of
trees. (Thank you, Jewish National Fund)
49. During the Second Lebanon War, JNF rangers stayed in the
forests during Katyusha attacks to save the trees
50. We're among the most Internet-connected people on the planet.
We invented the cellphone, instant messaging, the chat room and
the silent prayer, but still talk best with our hands.
51. Before Purim, the TV weather forecast relates specially to the
day the kids go to school in their costumes. For a week before
Yom Kippur, the weather report focuses on the upcoming fast.
52. We love children, and have more IVF per capita than any other
country. It's free up to the first two children.
53. We celebrate Independence Day with a Bible Contest.
54. Israelis developed both the system to see photos from Mars and
cameras to monitor crime on buses in Brazil.
55. Despite our soul connection to chicken soup, per capita we're
the world's biggest eaters of healthier turkey, bigger even than
America. Go figure!
56. We're among the first to help countries that experience
disasters, and the first to have our field hospitals up. When Israel
helped Turkey after an earthquake, an Israeli doctor made an
incubator from a matza box.
57. Jewish soccer players for Bnei Sakhnin compete against
Arab players for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
58. Childbirth and burial are free. Even the homeless have health
insurance.
59. On Saturday night, the radio summarizes the news for all those
who don't listen on Shabbat.
60. We're agricultural high achievers, producing seven times the
output with the same water we used 25 years ago. Our date trees
average 182 kilos - 10 times more than the average in the Middle
East. One date tree is growing from 2,000-year-old seeds found in
Masada.
And, as on a birthday cake, one for next year:
61. We come from more than 100 countries and dream in Hebrew.
Image of the bumper sticker from here.
"כולך יפה רעייתי ומום אין בך"“You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you” (Shir ha-Shirim 4:7)
Rav Kook answers a question many have when reading the above-quoted passuk. First of all, why the repetition of compliments? Why not just say “you are completely beautiful, my love”? More then that, while the first partof the passuk is definately positive in its formulation, the second part is not really the best formulation of a compliment. As my rav, Rav Mordechai Elon, said in a shiur, this is not the type of compliment that one is suggested to give to his beloved - “there is no blemish in you”. It's not exactly the most romantic language, and yet, it is found in the centre of one of the most romantic texts ever written.
Rav Kook explains that this passouk comes to teach us the way one should approach constructive criticism of Klal Israel. The first step is a recognition that “you are completely beautiful, my love”. First, one must understand the value and perfection of Klal Israel. One must understand that whatever the shortcomings, the full picture is positive. One must understand that there is so much to celebrate. Then, and only then, after accepting this basic fundamental premise, one can start evaluating the blemishes and seeing how we can enhance the representation of Klal Israel in this world. Then, and only then, can we start constructive criticism on the best way to bring down the light of Klal Israel in this world. If one rebukes an evildoer in Klal Israel, and sometimes there is a mitzvah to do so, it must be done from a strong feeling of love for Klal Israel, and therefore a strong feeling of love for this evildoer who is a part of this incredible body of Klal Israel.
“‘You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.’ – The greatest love with which we love our nation must not blind our eyes from criticizing its blemishes. However, even after the freest and most unrestrained criticism we find its essence as ‘You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.’”
(Olat Re’iyah, Shir ha-Shirim 4:7)
With Klal Israel returning to its land, there is so much cause to celebrate. Yet, there is alot to criticise. Each of us can make a long list of criticisms on each and every one of the leaders (past and present) of Klal Israel. Each of us can make a long list of criticisms on the way our state, reishit tsmichat gueoulatenu, is run. However, these criticisms must come from an appreciation of the fact that 'You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.' We must be very careful not to engage into criticism which will put into question this very premise.
As we move away from the Kedusha of Yom Haatzmaut, I think the most important lesson to keep in mind is that this holiday is here to stay. Even with all the hardships in the desert, the Jews who left Egypt never stopped saying Hallel. Oh, Moshe had a lot of criticism for them. But he never stopped saying Hallel. We too will never stop saying Hallel on this great day which God has given us. The criticism is needed, but it does not take away from the big light which is being projected in our generation. I started this peice speaking of a small shadow hiding some of the light. This is a wrong approach. The light still shines just as brightly. The shadows do not take away from the light. They are present and must be dealt with. Criticism is important. “The greatest love with which we love our nation must not blind our eyes from criticizing its blemishes”. However, the light itself will forever shine.
A short thought from my dad:
"The problem with today is that many people forget that although Israel is 'independent', it is completely dependent on God. When Israel celebrates its dependence on God, then we will be truly free!"
מֵאֵת יְהוָה, הָיְתָה זֹּאת; הִיא נִפְלָאת בְּעֵינֵינו
This is Hasmem's doing, it is wonderous in our eyes
זֶה-הַיּוֹם, עָשָׂה יְהוָה; נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ
This is the day which Hashem has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it/Him (?)
-Tehillim 118
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
I'll be honest, it's taken a long time and a lot of bugging from Dan to get me to write this post. Clearly, it's not because I'm not a Zionist... (I don't think I'd be writing for Tzipiyah if I wasn't!) and it's definitely not because I don't have anything to say. It took me so long because I view Israel, and it's history, as an entity that is impossibly split up. Each event is a cause for the next; each accomplishment is a product of it's predecessors. It's really difficult for me to find any moment in Israel's history that can possibly stand alone. Having said that, I do need to answer the question. So I will.
I would like to explain what I see as the true "accomplishments" of Israel. In backwards order of precedence, they are:
4. Falafel, Beaches, Children, Heat.
These are the physical aspects of Israel. They are the smells and the sites and the sounds and the feelings that hit you in the face as soon as you step out of the Ben Gurion airport. They are the sun rising over the Judean Hills. They are the smell of the trees that line the roads into Jerusalem. They are the loud Hebrew bartering that you hear as you pass the Machane Yehuda Shuk. They are the 12 o'clock sun that melts your back when you walk through the old city. They are the taste of the Western Wall when you put your lips to it. This accomplishment of Israel is the unique sensory experience... the one that can be found only in glimpses in other parts of the world, never in such a complete way as is found in Israel.
3. Yeshivas, Books, "Little Women" in Hebrew
The next accomplishment is that of the intellectual. Israel is full of knowledge. The streets are lined with book stores, both new and used. People sit on benches and read. Yeshivas, high schools, elementary schools, universities, and preschools are packed and expanding. The fact that there are over 50 American Yeshiva/Seminaries in the Jerusalem area alone reminds us that those are not just Israeli's spending time learning in Israel. People go to Israel just to learn! They pack up their lives wherever they were living and take a year just for that purpose. Books are translated from Hebrew to other languages and back again. I even found an old and worn out copy of Little Women in Hebrew when I was there last year. The point is, Israel is a country that can't stop learning. Learning is education, and education is success. To me, this is an awesome accomplishment.
2. Shloimie, Yitzy, Chava, and Yardena.
The Rosh Yeshiva of the seminary I was in last year used to talk about how everyone in Israel is one big family. This might sound super cheesy, but put in context it makes incredible sense. People often joke about the rudeness of Israeli culture, and how the word "polite" doesn't seem to be part of their lexicon. Israeli;s are rude, they push, and they add in their own two cents, whether or not it was asked for. I have distinct memories of the lady in the Jerusalem post office actually scolding me for having carried a big box down the street all by myself, because I may have hurt my back. To me, this is what it means to feel completely comfortable with the people around me. To have the chutzpah to lecture me about carrying heavy boxes means that lady was not just a post office lady. She was someone who cares about me because we are members of the same family tribe. This family strength is felt in a magnified way in times of terror and distress. This is the emotional accomplishment of Israel. It allows Israel to be the only place in the whole world where I feel comfortable and at home with almost all of the people around me.
1. God.
The most important accomplishment of Israel (though the word accomplishment seems inappropriate in this particular context) is its spirituality. God is the spiritual connection that elevates Israel to such an astounding level. As a country divinely chosen for a divine people, Israel radiates with holiness and with pride. I believe that it is this holiness that allows for accomplishments 4, 3 and 2 to exist.
May we all have the merit of experiencing the holy Land of Israel in it's entirety, as a physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual whole. Moadim L'Simcha! -Elana
Sadness and joy,
drizzling sunbeams,
remember, remember,
and fill your soul with memories you never witnessed;
Remember, remember,
join yourself up again to the
massive Whole.
Grieve, shed tears,
make room for the darkness
of the families, children destroyed forever,
though they were never your children.
Remember the blood-stained uniforms,
the smell of explosions and darkness and death,
though it was not your nose
that smelled them.
And remember the joy,
fireworks and flags,
elation and trepidation,
fighting fiercely, joyfully for your lives -
though it was not you
who fought, whose heart rejoiced.
To be one of the Nation,
to be one with the Nation,
my mind must remember,
my soul must remember.
To be a soul holding hands
with those before and those after,
with those beside me and those far away,
I must remember.
We must remember.
Taste the joy,
the fear, the darkness,
the light, the death,
the throngs of jubilant rejoicers and
the full, silent cemeteries
in the moments of silence.
Remember the stories.
Remember today.
-----
* Pictures 1, 2, 6 & 7 are of the Gush Katif Human Chain, and are from this site. There are more wonderful pictures there; go and look!
* Picture 3 comes from this page.
* Picture 4 comes from this page.
* I'm not sure where I got Picture 5 from.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
Continued from Part 3
The fourth accomplishment I want to discuss is the universal hope brought through the creation of the State of Israel.
The world might not be willing to admit it right now, but the State of Israel is a great message of Hope. It is a message of Hope for every single oppressed nation in the world. After two thousand years of exile and oppression, the Jewish People have returned to their land! This is the greatest message of hope which has ever been given in the world.
Rav Kook write on the month of Nissan, that “The exit of the Jews from Egypt will forever remain the spring of the entire world”. The fact that the oppressed nation of slaves was able to leave this land of oppression showed the whole world that there was justice in the world, and it gave them hope.
What is true for the redemption from Egypt is also true for Zionism and the creation of the State of Israel. The State of Israel, by its very existence, is the most incredible statement of support for human rights and the oppressed people.
It is interesting that those who dig deeper can see that when Israel is often accused of being against human rights, it is being accused of such specifically by nations who are the biggest enemies of Human Rights. In some ways, these nations are afraid of the message of hope which the State of Israel brings to the world and they try to counter it by blurring the reality. They create a nation of refugees and direct the world attention to them in order for the world to ignore their own atrocities. The UN Human Rights Council keeps on condemning Israel, but no one condemns Sudan. No one Condemns China. Maybe, if they stopped condemning Israel, the world would realize what an amazing message of hope Zionism is and they would realize that this is the message of hope that the people of Tibet, Sudan and Burma all need in order to counter the attorcities being done against them.
Restoring hope to this world, now this is one of the greatest accomplishments of the State of Israel.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
1) Makolet: I personally believe that Makolets are Israel's most incredible accomplishment. No joke. I can't even count on one hand the amount of times a shot-gun picnic has been called for outside of a Makolet, going inside and coming out with all of the necessary accoutrement's for a perfect picnic. How many times have you been incredibly thirsty/hungry, and how many times has there been a Makolet "Just around the corner" to save you? There is nothing in North America that rivals an Israeli Makolet. Arguably, there are levels of varying Makolets. There are "good" Makolets, "really bad" Makolets, and then there are the "wham bam thank you m'am" Makoelets that are just bursting with so many products that you could probably get your school, cooking, cleaning and beauty supplies all there. B'erech, Makolets rock.
2) Egged: Okay, fine, we all know that the inner city buses aren't necessarily the most reliable of all bus systems. BUT who has used that really funky text messaging system that Egged has for the inter city bus systems? You text your departure spot, and your desired arrival spot to 4100 and THEY TEXT YOU BACK WITH ALL OF THE DEPARTURE TIMES! They sure don't have that in Vancouver OR Toronto. Seriously, that's pretty amazing. And in what other country can you travel from top to bottom on like, less than $25?! That's what I thought. Egged takes you everywhere (except for Modiin and Chashmonaim...where both of my Rabbi's live. Go figure).
3) The Sounds: Hayehudim, Moshav Band, David Broza...and you have to appreciate the radio stations too "GalGalGalGalatz!". What about all of the crazy Temani music playing in the cabs and the crazy wailing sounds that just seem to be flowing out of every crevice and crack all over the country. Israel is never really silent. The beautiful sound of hebrew, ancient and modern just enveloping you like a security blanket. What about the sounds that unfortunately, have come to define Israel? Like the sirens of Yom Hazikaron, calling for a moment of silence. Or, "Tzevah Adom", when a rocket is being launched into Sderot. Or of the ambulance sirens after a pigua, terrorist attack. But there are also the sounds of kiddush, zmirot, laughter, and yiddishkeit overflowing and rippling out of homes on Shabbat. Israel's ability to produce and co-exist with both types of sounds is, in my opinion, Israel's greatest accomplishment.
4) Look at a picture of the Tel-Aviv desert area prior to the establishment of Israel. And now look at a picture of Tel-Aviv today. Apply it to the whole country, and I think you'll get an idea of
Survival: Israel's ability to survive is it's greatest accomplishment. According to the laws of nature, physics, economics, politics, and reasonable doubt there is no reason why Israel should still be in existence today. But, we're not depending or relying on any of those laws. We're relying on G-d. Hashem, the One in Heaven.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
There are times in life where words fail to encapsulate the true emotions one feels in regard to certain events. The establishment of the state of Israel has undoubtedly left me speechless at many times in my life to the point where words just couldn’t do justice in describing how much it means to me, and of course to the entire world. So, whatever I have written here does not convey even the tip of the iceberg of my feelings for Israel. The 4 things that bring me utter joy and pride when I think of Israel are not one-time events that appear on a history chart, rather they are ongoing events that are part of the very essence of the land if Israel and everything it stands for:
1)Torah
We say everyday at the conclusion of our Shemonah Esrei “May it be the will from before You, Hashem our God, that the Beit Hamikdash be rebuilt speedily in our days, and grant us our portion in your Torah. And there we shall serve you with fear as in days of old and in former years, and the offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to Hashem as in days of old and in former years.” I quoted the entire paragraph to point out that the words “and grant us our portion in your Torah” seem to be completely out of place. (To internalize this question further, try reading the prayer without the “Torah” part and see how nicely it flows. Now read it again with the “Torah” part; you’ll most likely notice how its placement appears out of sync with the rest of the paragraph) What is the connection between the Beit Hamikdash and the Torah?
The RaMBaN explains that the sole purpose of the Mishkan (and ultimately, the Beit Hamikdash) was to serve as a continuation of the “Sinai” experience. This is why the very same stone tablets we received at Sinai are placed inside the golden ark of testimony of the Beit Hamikdash. Furthermore, there are three boundaries of sanctity surrounding the Beit Hamikdash, paralleling the three boundaries that were issued at Sinai. The list goes on. With the Beit Hamikdash amongst us, the Jews were constantly able to relive the revelation at Sinai, and strengthen their connection to God daily through the Torah that He has bestowed upon us.
As home to the Beit Hamikdash, the land of Israel has undeniably taken on the quality of perpetuating the “Sinai” experience not only for its inhabitants, but for the entire world. The amount of yeshivas and Rebbeim that are strewn across the country cause a tremendous outflow of Torah that reaches the far corners of the earth. Personally, it was this element of the land that brought me closer to my Jewish roots, and it continues to inspire me to this day.
2)Science
It is a fact that Israel is one of the most, if not the most, advanced country technologically. Breakthroughs in all fields of knowledge, most heavily in medical science, have spewed forth from the land of Israel and have injected a lasting impact in the world of science throughout the entire world. Personally, this really hit during a class I took this past semester. Outside of the cell physiology textbook, our teacher had us read separate articles pertaining to the subject. One of these articles described the discovery of cellular entities called proteasomes, which are vital to our bodies in the area of protein degradation. This massive discovery was made by a man named Avram Hershko in his lab in the Technion – The Israel Institute for Technology, in Haifa. I guess since my studies are science-oriented this aspect of Israel has made me really proud.
On a deeper level, we can always ask: why is the outflow of science so immense in the land of Israel? Is it because “Jews are smarter” and there are more Jews in Israel? I don’t believe that to be so. I believe it has something to do with the intrinsic nature of the land, and again this relates to the Beit Hamikdash. The sages tell us that in the creation of the world, when God declared that land and vegetation sprout forth, it commenced at the site of the Kodesh Hakodashim inside the Beit Hamikdash. At this very location Heaven and Earth, so to speak, kiss. Every physical thing in this world has a spiritual counterpart, and in order for everything to be created it had to flow from the point in the world where physicality and spirituality meet. So, the land of Israel contains within it the origin of the world; where everything stems from. Technology in Israel is ever-growing, and I believe that it has to do with its proximity to the source of everything in this world. The ongoing outpouring of “worldliness” from this location in Israel helps discover new facets of the world and the scientific rules it follows.
3)Kiruv
Personally, if I hadn’t gone to Israel for two years of my life, my spiritual life would be underdeveloped and dormant. The experiences I had while I was in Israel have influenced me to become the person I am today, and to really generate a connection to Judaism and, ultimately, to God. You may say that “Kiruv” is a cop-out answer because it’s the same as the “Torah” one, but it’s not true. Had I spent two years in a yeshiva in the states, it wouldn’t have done it for me. Torah had a strong impact during those years but to be frank, my learning wasn’t so serious when I came back home after yeshiva; it only really developed in the years back in Montreal. There is something about just being in Israel that had a lasting influence upon my soul. While I’m there, everything – my tefillah, my learning, my thoughts etc. – is intensified.
Upon the passing of my father Z”L this past year, we traveled to Israel for the burial. Literally, we were in Israel for 10 hours; I flew there without a change of clothes and only a knapsack. I’m not exaggerating when I say that once I stepped out of the airport and breathed in the air, I had felt like I had never left. It had been over a year and a half since I had been there last, and the sensation was unbelievable.
There are so many stories I’ve heard of people, many from people I know personally, who don’t practice Judaism in the slightest, but when visiting Israel for the first time, they feel this strange pull towards religion. A very good friend of mine who went to a religious high school used to know Shemoneh Esrei off by heart. After high school he lost touch of religion and if he ever happened to be in shul for a family occasion, he would have to pick up a siddur to recite the Shemoneh Esrei because he forgot its words off by heart. He told me that on his Birthright trip to the Kotel, it eerily came back to him and he was able to recite it off by heart as if it never left him. Stories like these show how the land possesses this strange power of revitalizing a Jew’s relationship with his soul.
4)Kiddush Hashem
Having our own state allows the nations worldwide to be exposed to the Jewish nation, and what we stand for: God. Israel is the crucial element in our goal of being a “light unto the nations”, whether it be in the form of tourists visiting our country or what is depicted on the media. Unfortunately, because of the nature of our world today, this is slightly dimmed. Through the false vilifying of Israelis and praising of Palestinians, the media attempts to turn the land of Israel into the very opposite extreme: a Chilul Hashem, God forbid.
Nevertheless, the very fact that we have a state awards us recognition amongst the nations and allows us to have an international identification with the rest of the world. God willing, in the days of moshiach may our country be portrayed in the right manner so that the entire world can place “Kiddush Hashem” on their list of top 4 accomplishments of the state of Israel.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
1. Irrigation ~ Breathing life back into a dead land.
When Zionist idealists first arrived in Israel it consisted of parched desert wasteland, and intolerable swamps. The State of Israel created an ingenious irrigation system that allowed thousands of trees and crops to flourish. Even now, the government has completed the Israeli National Water Carrier, which brings water from the Sea of Galilee, in order to further increase the amount of land cultivated in the country.
2. Israel’s various rescue operations ~ Saving Jews and bringing them home.
From the 1991 Operation Solomon in which 14,500 Ethiopians were covertly airlifted to their awaiting brothers, to the 1676 rescue of high jacked Jews in Entebbe, this country refuses to allow Jews to suffer, anywhere.
3. Shmita ~ Rebirth of Hilchot Ha’aretz.
After hundreds of years of not being able to fulfill and experience of beauty of “The Shabbos of the Land,” The State of Israel’s existence has allowed for the reinstating of a huge halachic obligation and privilege.
4. World Crisis Aid Relief ~ Tikkun Olam.
Despite the size and lack of money in the country, Israel never fails to be one of the first country’s represented at a tragedy relief scene. During the aftermath of disasters such as the Tsunami, Hurrican Katrina, and various famines throughout Africa, the familiar Magen David Adom is among the rubble. Israel continues to provide food and medical attention for the greater global community in need.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
1. May 15, 1967: Naomi Shemer's Yerushalayim Shel Zahav first sung at the Israeli Music Festival, and what came three weeks later...
2.
July 4, 1976: Operation Yonatan
…with every passing day you acquire a complete world. Now, this very moment, you’ve gained something. From every mistake you make you gain a little. Every single moment of your life is a whole epoch. Do you remember Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”? In one of the stanzas, he says: ‘If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds worth of distance run, Yours is the earth…’ Because each and every minute is made up of seconds and of even briefer fragments of time, and every tiny fragment ought not to be allowed to pass in vein.(Self-Portrait Of A Hero)
We come with a simple message to the Council: we are proud of what we have done because we have demonstrated to the world that a small country, in Israel's circumstances, with which the members of this Council are by now all too familiar, the dignity of man, human life and human freedom constitute the highest values. We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people—men, women and children—but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom.(Chaim Herzog)
3. February 11, 1986: Natan Sharansky arrives in Israel
4.
February 17, 1977: Team Captain, Tal Brody leads Maccabi Tel Aviv to an upset over the Red Army Team of Moscow sending his team to the European Cup Finals
אנחנו במפה! ואנחנו נשארים במפה - לא רק בספורט, בהכל
"We are on the map. We are staying on the map, not only in sports, but in everything." (Tal Brody)
BS"D
HOWEVER, since I need to pick four accomplishments, here are a few historical moments and other accomplishments that make me proud:
1) Recapturing Yerushalayim-War of '67
(see picture above-apparently, I am technologically inept and could not figure out a way to get that picture down here where it belonged. )*
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2) Operation Entebbe
(aka Operation Theunderbolt/Thunderball or Entebbe Raid)
On the night of July 3rd, 1976, IDF swooped into the Ugandan Entebbe airport on a mission to rescue the hostages of hijacked Air France flight 139. Under the command of Major General Yekutiel "Kuti" Adam, they landed an hour before midnight, their plane's cargo bay doors already open. Screaming "Get down!" in both Hebrew and English, they burst into the main hall of the airport building where the hostages were being held and attacked the hijackers (unfortunately, 3 hostages were killed in the crossfire). They completed their assault with hand grenades and shooting, killing all 7 terrorists. Without accruing any fatalities, the commandos calmly loaded the hostages on board, under fire from Ugandan soldiers. Yonatan Netenyahu, Binyamin's heroic older brother, was the only casualty, most likely killed by an Ugandan sniper. This entire superhuman effort was polished off in under a half hour. Our soldiers managed to save 102 of the 105 hostages, and only around 10 were injured. The beauty of this operation is that not all the people on board were Israelis (other nationalities represented amongst the hostages included Belgians, Danish, French, Greeks, Germans, Italians, Japanese, South Koreans, Spanish, British and Americans). The IDF took a stand for justice and freedom-they did not give in to the demands of the terrorists and release the various detainees imprisoned in Israel, Kenya, France, Switzerland and West Germany as the PLO and German "revolutionary cells(RZ) terrorists asked. They took matters into their own hands and efficiently and effectively put innocent human life above anything else-an ethos to which we still hold true today.
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3) Aliyah
This is, obviously, a very wide subject matter to categorize as a "moment" I'm proud of. In our shmona esrei (amida) prayer, we beg Hashem to "Tka b'shofar gadol licherutenu, v'sa nes l'kabetz galuyotenu, v'kabtzenu yachad m'arba kanfot ha'aretz-sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the earth"** With these word, we beseech Hashem three times a day to return us to the land of our forefathers, the home of our people-Eretz Yisroel. Despite this request, hundreds of thousands have taken this matter into their own hands-Aliyah! Sure, we've all said the words (quite recently, in fact!) "Lshana haba b'Yerushalayim-Next year in Jerusalem!" at our seders, but Aliyah has been happening from as early as the 13th century! Pre-zionist Aliyah between the 13th and 19th centuries saw religious persecution across Europe. Expulsion from many countries and the general Messianic fervour of the people both contributed to mass movements of Jews to Israel, establishing religious centers in Hevron, Yerushalayim, Sfat and Tiberia, and generally building up the population of the land. 1882 saw the first wave of biluim from Russia, and marked the start of "Zionist Aliyah", amassing the country in waves. Aliyah Bet organised by the Mossad Le'aliyah Bet and Irgun illegally brought Holocaust survivors to the refuge they so greatly needed and deserved. None of these olim had it easy and all of the above, who had suffered through difficult lives, unimaginable hardships and a perilous journey to "Palestine" helped establish a land for us to live in today. Aliyah continued with Middle Eastern Jews, Ethiopians, citizens of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states and these early sabras worked the land and paved the way for the Jews of today. Nowadays, we have unbelievable organizations like Nefesh B'Nefesh (www.nbn.org.il) facilitating the Aliyah of thousands of people. There is no other place in the world where even getting pushed out of the way by someone else who is trying to get to the same place as you on the sidewalk is an actual PLEASURE-who can complain about being surrounded by their brothers and sisters? Being able to walk in a crowd and know you are surrounded by Jews who feel just like you, think like you, act like you and have the same awesome responsibilities as you is an absolute blessing which we could never have experienced, had it not been for Aliyah. (and if, after reading this paragraph, you think that there just might possibly, perhaps, be a secret message here for you to make Aliyah, well.....you'd be right! :P MAKE ALIYAH!)
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And last but not least, my fourth moment would have to be
*drum roll, please*
4) THE COMING OF MOSHIACH
Ok, if you have stuck it out this far (props to you, if so, I'm impressed) you are probably regretting every word of mine that you have read because you're likely thinking "wow, this girl is clinically insane..doesn't she know Moshiach isn't here yet?" Well, you're right. To my great dismay, Moshiach isn't here yet. This fourth moment is a little bit optimistic. There is not a day that goes by that I'm not waiting to hear the shofars blowing, and to see the masses of people drop everything and rush out into the streets. I can't wait to see every single person who didn't believe me when I talked about Moshiach and go "Haha, told you so!" (juuuust kidding!) Seriously, though, there will be no greater moment in the history of our state, in all the times of our people, than the glorious moment when Hashem decides to turn his face towards us and bring us our geula. This moment in the future justifies and validates absolutely any possible moment of our past that I could have put here- every war we have ever fought, every hostage we have ever saved, every single person who has ever made Aliyah, every governmental decision made, every building built, organisation or movement established, risk taken, life lost. Every baby born and every Jew on any corner of this earth who has turned towards Jerusalem, shed a tear and begged Hashem from the depths of his soul to have mercy and bring us home-each and every single moment in our ENTIRE history has been an effort to bringing us our final geula. So sure, maybe this counts as a "cop out" answer since it's really every moment that ever has and ever will exist, but there is no other moment that will ever make me more proud. And although I say I couldn't be happier about our 60th anniversary, I actually could-if we got the chance to celebrate it with Moshiach Tzidkenu!
May we have the zchus to take pride in this moment and see the coming of Moshiach bimhera b'yamenu-speedily in our times!!
**Translation from Siddur Ahavat Shalom-The Complete Artscroll Siddur
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
The four accomplishments that make me most proud of the State of Israel are:
(Drumroll Please)
4)After the end of the War of Independence, Yitzchak Rabin, and oher members of the Palmach, a section of the Israeli militia group called the Hagganah, disbanded and disarmed the Etzel and Lechi, two other militia groups because these were two groups whose mission was an offensive one. It was ultimately the Hagganah, meaning Defense which prevailed, and turned into the IDF, aka the Israeli Defense Forces. Since that moment, Israel has never militarily performed any offensive actions besides the capture of the Old City, and Har HaBayit in 1967.
3) Victory Entebbe! In 1976, an Air France flight to Israel was hijacked and landed in Uganda. The demands made were to release various terrorists held in Israeli jails. The IDF performed a succesful mission to safely rescue the hostages and bring them home to Israel even though not all of them were Israeli. This proved to the world, among others two very important things- 1)Jewish Blood is no longer cheap 2)If you are a Jew then the State of Israel will defend you even if you choose to live in the Diaspora, Tzahal is not an Israeli army, it's a Jewish Army.
2) The constant devotion to Peace. Eve if sometimes it does not come easily, the Israeli government and majority of the citizens have been desparately trying, ever since the First Aliyah in the late nineteenth century to make peace with their neighbors and unless backed against a corner not resort to violence.
1) The accomplishment that makes me the most proud is that after thousands of years of the World Centres for Torah being located in the far corners of the world, there are now hundreds of Yeshivas in Eretz Yisrael that Jews from around the world can come to study in. The Torah centres moved from Babylon to Spain to Germany to Poland to America, and now finally there is Am Yisrael living in Eretz Yisrael and learning the holy Toras Yisael.
Today I read this:
Maybe worse are others who are content to wear “I love Israel” t-shirts, and are driven to write letters “defending Israel” to their local papers, but are either unable or unwilling to see the imperfections of our home–thereby retarding efforts to fix and mend, to build a healthy nest for our People. The ‘love’ these organizations teach is the love of romantic comedies or fantasy romances — a drunken, vertigo inducing love that covers all flaws and produces little for the long-term benefit of the relationship.
As love goes, however, as my fear grows, so does my obligation to my People, and my desire to participate in the next sixty years–at least–of the building of a home that will provide my People a model of commitment-despite-imperfection, loyalty-through-action. And I am encouraged by the fact that I am not alone in this: despite the cynicism of the average Israeli, they, too, are committed to building such a home - to defending, growing and developing a place to which our People can always return and participate in, no matter the disagreement, the disillusionment, the anger and the tears.
(from 60bloggers.com: “Love is not a Crush: Israel and Obligation” by Ariel Beery-that same one, by the way, that co-launched Creative Zionism)
And then I thought this:
This Yom Ha’atzmaut Project is a great initiative. It’s novel; reveals subtleties; creates awareness; allows for expressed diversity yet retains solidarity; and fosters an environment of positivism.
We’re basically extracting all the darn good things place has got to give.
But let’s not forget why this place has got all those darn good things to give: because of a great number of people who considered their existence and considered Israel’s existence and realized that the two are a proportionally related.
Cause, apparently, they love Israel.
But what really is love?
Do we love Israel just like we love to hang out with friends; and love to watch a great movie; and love to walk on a breezy day; and love our parents?
Or do we just love loving?
And so I truly hope this:
That all this talk of Israel's greatest accomplishments will bring about a genuine love: a love that appreciates the good and recognizes the not-so-good; a love that enraptures all its beloveds with the thrill and delight of an intimate relationship; and a love that desires reform.
Then we can really work on building our country so we can brag about her for another sixty years.
How’s that for real love?
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
Continued from Part 2
The third accomplishment I want to discuss is the sanctification of God’s name which came with the creation of the State of Israel.
There is a famous story from Rav Soloveitchik. Since he was involved in the Academia, during the holocaust, American professors kept telling him the reason for Jewish suffering was their refusal to accept Jesus. Rav Soloveitchik said that from the Creation of the World there had never been such a great Hillul ha-Shem (Desecration of God’s name) as occurred during the Holocaust when the non-Jews proclaimed: “This is God’s nation, and they have left His land.” In those years it certainly seemed that Christianity had triumphed. Rav Soloveitchik added that from the Creation of the World there had never been such a great Kiddush ha-Shem (Sanctification of God’s name) as when the State of Israel was established, when the entire world witnessed the resurrection of God’s nation.
Exile, in itself, is a Hillul Hashem. When God’s ambassadors are suffering, it reflects on God. It paints a bad picture about what God truly is, and takes away from his light in this world. Some Christian thinkers used to say that the reason why the Jews survived miraculously for generations but kept on suffering was in order to stay around as a testimony of Jesus’s greatness and to show what happens to those who do not accept him. This is why many of history’s most prominent anti-semites would speak at length about the Jew’s eternal nature. They were eternal because they had to be around as a proof of Jesus. Of course, this was a huge Hillul Hashem! Then, the State of Israel came and this theology no longer worked! It is no surprise that quickly after the creation of the State of Israel, Christian leaders removed their claim that Jews killed Jesus. This didn’t make sense anymore. If they did, how could they be resurrecting? How could the State of Israel be around?
The State of Israel is at once, the biggest proof of Judaism’s validity and the greatest disproof to all other religions. It brought Pride back to the Jewish People and to Judaism itself. It is the greatest Kiddush Hashem since Kriyat Yam Suf (the splitting of the sea).
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
Part 2 of 2 -- for part 1, click here.
3. Easy to live as a Torah Jew
There's a famous saying, hilariously corrupted in the movie Anchorman, that goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' I'm proud of how Israel has built a society where keeping the Mitzvot is very easy and very convenient. When we consider the secular and sometimes anti-religious tendencies of a significant part of the founders of the secular Zionist movement, and those who breathed real life into their ideas in building up the state in the days of the Chalutzim, we realize that the strong influence of Torah on the State is not something we should take for granted.*
It's Israeli law, I understand, that every government building has to have a Mezuza on its doors. That's fantastic! That's amazing! And until very recently, it has been completely forbidden to buy or sell Chametz on Pesach! Incredible! Understand that it's not just the Torah-observant Jews who are keeping Pesach in Israel: even the shops, retailers, and industrial suppliers do not deal in chametz on Pesach, whether they want to or not!
And the Jewish holidays are all national public holidays too. You don't have to ask your boss for yet another leave period from work, and earn yourself the jealous envy of your co-workers, who think you're just using religion as a weak excuse to get off work. In Israel, it's all part of how the society works.
Another incredible part of this, something that I really love, is how Israelis work on the Jewish calendar, in years, months, and days of the week. Why use the idol-based names of the week and month, and of course year count, when you can use those that the Torah uses: names, dates, and concepts that are deeply rooted in Torah and Torah concepts. These, and many other similar institutions, bring the very fabric of Israeli society a bit closer to Torah, and allow Torah-true Jews to live their lives in the ways of the Torah, which is amazing and, as I said above, not to be taken for granted.
4. A close society: one big family
Lastly, I'm proud of the wonderfully open and alive society and culture in Israel. You can get on a bus and have the deepest, most personal conversation with a total stranger. And when you get off the bus, it doesn't feel at all weird. It feels right, and normal, and something in your heart says, Wow! That was incredible. And in Israel, as is almost a cliché to say, the children belong to everyone. If your child is crying, strangers will stop to find out why, and will have no reserve in telling you what you should or should not be doing. I've done this myself, on a crowded bus! (I offered to take a crying child, whose cries seemed to be ignored by its mother, and to comfort it and feed it) And this is not weird, or abnormal. It's part of the fabric of society. Sure, there is often a lot of tension, and lots of energy to steam off, but at its core, it is a society of brotherliness, closeness, and a connection to one's fellow citizen that is incredibly special. Sure, there are feuds between sectors of the society, and, sure, there are problems. But deep down, there are bonds of friendship, love, and trust that I am so fiercely proud of, and that I can't wait to become part of.
Conclusion
I end with the proud and excited announcement that I will be making aliyah in the next few months; packing up and starting a wonderful, exciting new chapter of my life in Israel. I know very well of the issues and problems, and even of the dangers that loom overhead in Israel. But while they disturb me, they don't affect my desire, and decision, to make Israel my real home; or to look at it another way, to finally come home, to where I really belong.
Because, while it's so easy to focus on the negative (I often find myself doing this), it's so much more empowering, inspiring, and rewarding (and often challenging!) to focus on the positive. One thing I have personally gained from this special Tzipiyah.com Yom Ha'atzma'ut project, and which I hope many of you have, too, is the reminder that there is so much positive in Israel: so many good things that happen every day, and so many good processes that are being played out from day to day, mingled in with the negatives that we see. The negatives are real, but our focus on them, or off them, is our choice. To see the good, you just need to open your eyes!
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* In fact, most of this is the fruits of the hard efforts of great people like Rav Kook, Rav Goren, the Chazon Ish, and others, who worked immensely at planting, and fostering, a Jewish nature and spirit in the Yishuv in Palestine and in the young State of Israel.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
Continued from Part 1
The second accomplishment I want to deal with is the Kibbutz Galuyot, the return of the exiles.
Germany, Poland, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Morroco, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Russia, Ethiopa, France. So many communities which moved to Israel, some quickly, some are still slowly moving there.
When the state of Israel was created, it had 600 000 Jews. Today, it has over 5.3 million Jews! This is not only one of the greatest accomplishments of the state of Israel but also, probably, the greatest miracle God has ever accomplished.
One of the Rabbis I know once told us:
You know, when Jews left Egypt, it was a great Miracle. God took out one nation of 600 000 people, from one country after 210 year of exile.
But think about, in our generation, God took out one nation of millions of people, from hundreds of countries after 2000 years of exile!
Many people think that since it happens through natural means, it is not as great of a miracle. However, those people are simply blinded by what they see since God also controls the natural.
There is, of course, the famous story of the Jews of Yemen who saw planes coming to pick them up. Since they had never seen planes before, they started screaming “Al Kanfei Nesharim” – On wings of Eagles, expressing the fact that the biblical prophecy was finally being fulfilled!
This is truly the greatest miracle of history, a miracle everyone should year to become an active part of.
Regardless, whether we consider it Godly or natural, it is definitely one of the greatest accomplishments of the state of Israel.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
What are the 4 things which make you the proudest of the State of Israel in her short, 60 year, history?"
1)To borrow from the Rav's famous piece, "Kol Dodi Dofek," the creation of Israel has recreated the Jewish identity. While we certainly speak of the problems of Jewish assimilation today, only imagine what the Jews of Post WWII faced. Having just survived a period where they were faced extermination, its no wonder that Jews were looking to absorb themselves into the societies where they lived. Jewish identity was quickly on the decline. Then came the Jewish State and the recreation of the Jewish Homeland. Suddenly, with a safe haven to call their own, a rebirth of Jewish pride occurred. Jews across the religious spectrum have each found their portion, their niche in the land of Israel. One only needs to look at the at the success of Birthright to see how amazing the power of the Jewish Homeland is.
2) The amazing strides are young country has made in such a short period of time. Not only have we managed to make a desolate and desert land bloom once more, but we have propelled it to the top of the world in the fields of technology and computers. With a fraction of the the capital, population and resources, Israel literally leapfrogged over the "developing country" stages and became an established and competitive country overnight.
3) The position of women in the country. While Judaism is often accused of relegating women to second citizenship positions, we have found the Jewish State literally headed by some of the finest women. While the United States is featuring a first with a woman candidate for its presidency, we already have had a female PM in the 1970's! Women have been a competitive force in the government and the army and have truly made an impact on what Israel is today.
4) But I'm perhaps most proud of the agmat nefesh the country has displayed for Jews all over the world, and the sacrifices it has made to ensure we always have a safe haven, and will literally carry us there if needed. Operations such as Magic Carpet, King Solomon, the lifts of Russian Jewry. For so many years we had to wander about without a home, searching for someone to take us in. Now we have a homeland that searches us out, regardless of what corner of the world we reside in, and flies us back "al kanfai nisharim"
Bezrat Hashem, may we have many more reasons to be proud of our Homeland over the many more and happy prosperous years that it is destined and blessed to have.
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
1. Organizations to Help Victims of Terror
2. Operation Solomon
3. Education
4. Worst Human Rights Violater (according to UNHRC)
Organizations to Help Victims of Terror
In response to the violence and terror thrown upon the people of Israel since it's conception, countless organizations have been founded to aid the victims and their families. Whether these organizations provide financial, technical, medical, emotional or psychological support, they show a level of resilience, strength and love among Am Yisrael that promises a bright future...no matter what is thrown (or shot?) our way! It is by continuing to transform pain into love, despair into hope and tragedy into triumph that we will ultimately turn exile into redemption.
Operation Solomon
In 36 hours, 34 non-stop flights of Israeli aircraft transported 14 500 Ethiopian Jews to Israel. On May 24, 1991, the operation set a world record for 'single-flight passenger load' when an El Al 747 carried 1 122 passengers to Israel (1 087 passengers were registered, but dozens of children hid in their mothers' robes). Two babies were born during the flight(wikipedia.com).
Bringing geulah - kibutz galiyut at its finest..!
Education
There are challenges and problems galore - student strikes, teachers strikes, insufficient funding, low teachers' wages, strikes, strikes, strikes, but at the end of the day, Israel's commitment to education can be seen through the following facts:
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
Twenty-four per cent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees, ranking third in the industrialized world.
Four Israeli universities are included in the European Top 100.
Worst Human Rights Violater According to the UNHRC
I would be extremely worried and ashamed if Israel was meeting the United Nation's Human Rights Council's standard of human rights. Since its inception, the Council has passed twenty resolutions - 19 of them have been anti-Israel. The 2009 UN anti-racism conference, Durban II, is being planned by a committee that boasts Libya as its Chairman and Iran, Cuba and Pakistan as its members. Richard Falk, who draws a moral equivelency between the actions of the Nazis and those of the Israelis, was just appointed special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories. Need I continue?
Considering the council's definition of Human Rights proves to be completely backward, I consider this title to be a great compliment to Israel's commitment to human rights. Despite the fact that she has been faced with difficult challenges every step of the way, Israel offers religious and political freedom, protects minority rights, champions womens' rights, and protects the holy sites of other religions in the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. Perhaps we arent exactly where we would ultimately like to be, but we're most definitely on the way...
Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
Why I admire our State so much:
1. Israel has created a community in its truest sense: an environment conducive to interaction and dialogue. It is a community with a common center, disparate points of circumference and yet it fosters a sense of unity. The heterogeneous composition of Jews allows each to define his or herself against the other—an other, though, that is really part of a greater We.
2.
An opportunity to celebrate Shabbat like They did.
3.
The evening was cool and the quiet then and the streets were empty. It was the first night of Channukah and I was lighting the candles later than planned. I paused before reciting the bracha—an effort to escape the haste and hurriedness of life—and began. And then down below, I heard someone answer amen.
4.
Israel is. And continues to be in the mind of every Jew. That is her greatest accomplishment.
