The Israeli Flag Waves While American Jewry Withers

It is a annual routine. A few days after the end of Passover, just around of the start of the Hebrew month of Iyar you will see them. Flying from apartment balconies and car windows, the flag with the two blue stripes and the "Star of David" in the middle is an ubiquitous sight. That flag, that symbol of the miraculous return of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel, is flown for practically the entire month. The fourth of Iyar is Israel's Memorial Day for its soldiers that have fallen in battle. Immediately following Israeli Memorial Day is the fifth of Iyar, Israeli Independence Day. Towards the end of the month comes the 28th of Iyar, the day that the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were liberated from Jordanian occupation.

In the Passover Haggadah it is written that "everyone who discusses the exodus from Egypt at length is praiseworthy." I think that one who discusses at length the miraculous accomplishments of the State of Israel, which are numerous, this is also praiseworthy. For one will come to see the hand of Divine Providence that has accompanied the Jewish People from its outset.

I have been here for more than thirty years. In this time period I have witnessed so much progress here. This little country is advancing, not only in the physical realm but in the spiritual realm as well.

“And the gold of that land is good...” (Gen. 2:12) “This teaches that there is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel.”

As I write these words the people of Israel mourn the soldiers that gave their life protecting the country and its people. Tomorrow night at this time the country will a sharp turn to rejoice and gives thanks to the Lord of Israel for giving us the opportunity to live here as free men and fulfill our potential. As Rashi explains, "...there I will make you into a great nation..."

I myself really want to celebrate Israeli Independence Day, but I cannot help but remember what I left behind. All of those poor American Jews, who may be well off financially, may have multiple degrees in higher learning, but never had the privilege of learning Torah or learning what Judaism, real authentic Judaism, is really about. If I have been blessed in seeing the State of Israel blossom, I have also been so unfortunate to watch American Jewry shrivel up and fade away.

Perhaps I should be indifferent to the demise of the American Jewish Community. Our sages tell us that only one fifth of the Israelites actually left Egypt, while the others died during the plague of darkness. Why did they die? Because they did not want to leave Egypt! I have a feeling that the Israelites that did take part in the Exodus did not mourn their brethren who were "stuck in the darkness". So why should I care about the Jews that are "stuck in America"?

Of course this is nonsense. We are one nation, one big family, responsible for one another. The holy Ari, Rabbi Isaac Luria taught,

Every morning, before your prayers, commit yourself to love every other Jew as your own self. Then your prayers will be accepted and bear fruit.

I am not a kabbalist or even a Hasid, but this is part of my daily routine. I cannot possibly be completely happy while so many of my brothers and sisters are drowning in the sea of assimilation.

This Israeli Independence Day is an opportunity for every Jew to realize that he is part of a nation that in many ways was dormant but has now come back to life. It is time to free ourselves from the chains of the Diaspora, physically and spiritually. A voice is crying from Mount Horeb, and Rachel is crying for her children. Our mother, the land of Israel, is beckoning. "Whoso is wise, let him observe these things, and let them consider the mercies of the LORD."

Israel Independence Day #67

My keyboard cannot possibly express how grateful I am to God for the State of Israel. King David said it best:

A Song of Ascents.

When the LORD brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing;

then said they among the nations: 'The LORD hath done great things with these.'

The LORD hath done great things with us; we are rejoiced.

Turn our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the dry land.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Though he goeth on his way weeping that beareth the measure of seed,

he shall come home with joy, bearing his sheaves.

A Song of Ascents. Israel is ascending! In spite of all of the difficulties, the nation is advancing materially and spiritually.

When the LORD brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream. Is this not a dream, that after almost 2000 years of exile we have been gathered from the four corners of the earth? Is it not a dream that the Hebrew language, which was more or less dormant, has come to life? Is it not a dream, that the land which was desolate is now blooming?

Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; We are happy indeed, however this verse will be actualized to its fullest extent only when the Temple is rebuilt.

then said they among the nations: 'The LORD hath done great things with these. The righteous among the gentiles recognize the great things that have happened, in some cases even before we see it ourselves. They rejoice with us. The wicked among them are also conscious of what is happening, and therefore they oppose us in every imaginable way.

The LORD hath done great things with us; we are rejoiced. Woe to those among us who do not see the hand of God in the establishment of the state of Israel. Woe to the ingrates! "The upright see it, and are glad; and all iniquity stoppeth her mouth(Psalms 107)."

Turn our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the dry land.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Yes, we sow in tears. The land is acquired through affliction. However, in spite of all the sorrow, it is worth it.

Though he goeth on his way weeping that beareth the measure of seed,

he shall come home with joy, bearing his sheaves.

Just as the farmer who plants will enjoy the fruits of his labor, so it is with the land of Israel. Those that labor to build and protect it will enjoy its spiritual benefits in this world and in the world to come.

It's About the Jewish Nation Bill

Why are we going to have new elections? The New York Times says:

Israel’s march toward early elections set out last week with a political row over a nationality bill. This week it morphed into a clash over proposed housing changes and the state budget.

But Israeli political analysts said the call for elections, 20 months after the current coalition was sworn in, was not about nationality or reduced-cost housing or any other issue of ideology or principle.

Instead, they said, Mr. Netanyahu had simply had enough of his fractious coalition partners and wanted a more manageable government made up of rightist allies and the ultra-Orthodox parties he has long considered his natural partners.

“It is not about this law or that,” said Yehuda Ben Meir, a former politician and a public opinion and national security expert at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. Noting that there was room for compromise on the nationality bill and that Mr. Netanyahu originally voted in favor of the housing bill, he said the prime minister appeared to have used these issues to force a coalition crisis.

There is no question that the current coalition is not exactly what a Prime Minister dreams of. But it is my opinion that yes, the Jewish Nation Bill was the straw that broke the camels back.

On one hand we should be sad that so much money will be wasted on new elections. On the other hand, the true face of Livni and Lapid, and not to mention politicians further to the left, has been revealed. The law, which more or less gives legal status to a few sentences from Israel's Declaration of Independence, was just too Jewish for these people! They don't want a Jewish State. They want a "State of all of its citizens."

They had agreed to this law in the coalition agreement. They proved to be people who do not keep their word. Let's hope that the Israeli electorate pays these politicians back in kind, and that the next coalition will be proud of being Jewish.

Moshe Feiglin and Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer on the Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People

Sorry, but this is in Hebrew. From this debate you can see how important this law really is: