INDEPENDENCE DAY


The dawn is just breaking on the 71st Israeli Independence Day. A short time ago – while stilI dark outside - I was lying in bed contemplating the modern-day miracle of Israel. It is a miracle because it does not reflect reality in any way.
For over 2,000 years prophecies written in the Bible of the ingathering of a scattered and oppressed people were read and believed. Today, we don’t have to “believe” the prophecies any longer – they are coming true right before our eyes.

The flourishing of the land? Impossible. The greatest conquerers tried to build in this land and failed miserably - because it remained desolate. Today, we just have to look out of the window, or go for a walk, and see the beautiful trees and blooming flowers. We have even succeeded in making the desert bloom. Israeli agricultural innovations are not only benefitting Israel but many countries throughout the world.

In what can be considered a single lifetime, the Jews emerged from the Holocaust weak, exiled and defenseless - into an independent, resourceful, and thriving nation. With one of the world’s most powerful armies.  

We are still coming to terms with the results of the recent elections. Elections can obviously create an Israel that is not compatible to every one. But Israeli leaders are not the ones who make this country beat. It is the people, who wake up every day and - regardless of politics - simply address the country’s needs: health and care, fighting poverty, advocating for Israel and helping Israel be “a light unto the nations”. Which they will continue to do, regardless of who leads the country.

In the words of Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo; “No other nation has overturned the destiny of all of humankind as much as the Jews have. It granted the Bible and gave birth to the greatest prophets and men of spirit. Its spiritual ideas and moral laws still hold sway over all of mankind, influencing entire civilizations. It gave birth to the foundations in which moderate Christianity, Islam and much of secular moral teachings were built. It provided all of mankind with a messianic hope for the future and endowed the human individual with dignity and responsibility.

And all this as a nation that should never have been heard of, because of its lack of numbers, which are required to make any impression on our world.”

Thomas Cahill wrote in his book THE GIFT OF THE JEWS:
“We [gentiles] can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without being Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our best words, in fact – new, adventure, surprise; unique, individual, person, vocation; time history, future; freedom, progress, spirit; faith, hope, justice – are the gifts of the Jews.”

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