I want to share some reflections with my family and friends on the sixth day of the Iron Swords War.
History will not maintain this name. Our children will probably know it as The Gaza War or The Simhat Torah War. One thing it will most certainly not be known as is The War of Israel’s Destruction. It pains me to write this in English, because much of what I have to say is in Hebrew, and I’m sure that after 38 years of living in The Land, I am far more articulate in Hebrew than in English. But my message is for those abroad. Forgive me for the Hebrew dispersed within.
As I write this, the official number of murdered Israelis stands at 1300. We still don’t know the exact number that are currently being held by Hamas-Palestinian ISIS. We don’t know how many further murders there will be. This is the greatest tragedy our country has known. It isn’t the first, and it likely won’t be the last.
These are hard things to write, hard things to think. When will it end? Wasn’t Israel supposed to be the end of atrocities against Jews, not the focus of anti-Semitism? How do I explain to my children about all of our friends that have been slaughtered? How do I justify exposing children to constant, real threat?
As we read in the Pesah hagada:
וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ, שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם.
(That which stood for our ancestors applies to us as well.
For it was not only one individual who stood up against us to destroy us.
Rather, in every generation they stand up against us to destroy us.
But the Holy One, Blessed Be He, redeems us from their hands.)
This is a message not only for the Seder, but for every day. We have endured where all others have failed.
We grew up with a false sense of security, thinking that our generation would be exempt, but we’re not. The last generation endured the horrors of the Yom Kippur War and the terror of the Six Day War. The previous generation faced genuine extinction, both in Europe and in The Land. The early waves of pioneers to The Land faced constant Arab pogroms.
I am unafraid to look my children in the eye as we sit in our bomb shelter and tell them that despite whatever tragedies we are experiencing, it is worth it. The Return of Israel to Zion is the greatest, most worthwhile endeavour in the history of Man. The faith of Israel, through 40 generations of exile, has been justified. We are the embodiment and the fulfillment of the prophecies of נְבִיאֵי הָאֱמֶת וְהַצֶּדֶק. (the righteous prophets). Our nation is a nation like no other the world has ever seen. The eyes of the world are rightly cast upon us,
כִּ֤י מִצִּיּוֹן֙ תֵּצֵ֣א תוֹרָ֔ה וּדְבַר־יְהֹוָ֖ה מִירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם this is our reason for existing.
I tell my children that this is not our darkest hour, but our brightest hour. Never has Israel been more united than we are at this moment. Unified in purpose, in vision, in grief, and in belief. 50 years from now, my children will tell their grandchildren, not of how Be’eri and Nirim and S’derot and Kfar Aza were slaughtered on Simhat Torah, but of the miracle of thriving communities that will blossom there. Not of the endless shivas that we attend, but of how every single person in the country attends them. How my daughter volunteers in the hospital and my son makes meals for grieving families and tired volunteers.
How, like at Sinai, we stood כאיש אחד בלב אחד, as single person with one heart..
Over the past week, many of my family members and friends from abroad have asked what they can do. We appreciate this solidarity, truly. I recommend donating to Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah in the short term. These are reputable organizations who will use the money only for the purpose for which it was donated.
However, this is only in the short term. In the long term, we don’t need your donations. We need you. We need you in The Land, not as tourists, but as citizens. We need you now, not when you retire or your kids have finished college, but now. Israel is an amazing country with accomplishments unmatched by any other. We will survive, but we will survive even better if you move to Israel
The road to avoid future tragedies is to complete the ingathering of the exiles. Most of our past enemies have now come to terms with Israel. This is because they understand that we will remain here forever. This is our home. We have never had another one, nor shall we. It is time for the Jews to realize this as well. It is a home worth dying for, and even more a home worth living for.
עֵת צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקֹב, וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵׁעַ
It is a time of despair for Ya’akov, from which he will be saved.
