When I was 14 years old, my family made aliyah. That adventure ended just shy of a year later when we returned to the States. But during that crazy, exhilarating, time-of-my-life year, I went through some kind of process that my young adolescent mind could not describe. It culminated on יום הזיכרון - Memorial Day - when during the daytime moment of silence I looked upon my classmates and upon Jewish Israeli soldiers holding rifles, holding still... and I understood that after all we as a people had been through, all of Jewish history - past, present and future - was focused right here, on this little piece of land that the educated and warm-hearted among us call Israel, at this moment. Right there and then I knew that I did not want to be a spectator, watching the story of Jewish and world history unfold up on stage, but rather be a part of the action. Hence Im here in this high-charged place today rather than living in Sunny (chilled out, super-comfortable - its plenty sunny here too) California. Israel and the Jewish People are very, very peculiar entities on the world stage. Israel is a full democracy, and yet if it forfeits its Jewish character, it is no longer Israel. The Jewish People are as ethnically diverse as black and white, and yet its more than the religion itself that has bound us together for the millenia - its the yearning for the land, for Jerusalem. Its the hope. And thats why Israel and the Jewish People are important for the whole world. Despite mass murders and systematic attempts to wipe us out, were here and stronger than ever, looking to a bright future amid vows from without (Iran) and within (Hamas) to destroy us. We prove to the world that good things do come. We validate hope. Weve lost good and too many along the way. But here we are. In my mind, our remarkable existence and enterprise prove that even though we may not understand, even though we may curse and deny Him, there is a G-d of Israel... and a G-d that runs the whole world with compassion, as absurd as that may seem at times.
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 20:34:50 +0000
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