Passover is over, and the Festival was a quiet one for us. Because of the war, we stayed close to home. A rocket barrage could come from Lebanon (and now I guess Iran) at any time.
But it gave me time to read and study, which helped provide insights into the miraculous times we are living in.
The Nation of Israel has been celebrating Pesach for the last 3,336 years. The birth of our Nation coincided with the downfall of Egypt, the Superpower of the time. The Maccabees defeated the mighty Greek Empire and regained our National Independence against all odds.
One book I re-read was Dan Kurzman’s biography of “Ben Gurion:Prophet of Fire.”
On November 29, 1947 when the United Nations voted to Partition Palestine into a Jewish and Arab State, the Palestinian Jews had only “two hundred Bren guns, fifteen hundred rifles and four hundred machine guns.”
Today, many fret, “how can we win a war against our enemies without American support?”
What gave Ben Gurion the courage to declare a Jewish State in the face of FIVE hostile trained Arab armies who had vowed to throw the Jews into to the sea (i.e. Mediterranean Sea – they are still chanting “From the River to the Sea)?? Without the backing of any superpower?
Even though Ben Gurion was not “religious” he was a student of History, and Jewish History in particular. He also had a Tanach with him constantly and studied the wars of the Hebrew Bible. He looked at current events in the context of 3000 years of the history of the Nation of Israel… and saw the patterns.
RABBI KOOK AND HIS SON
Another book that I re-read over Passover was “Torat Eretz Yisrael.”
It is about the teachings of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaCohen Kook. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook who was the first Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine.
One main point both Rabbis Kook emphasized is that the Nation of Israel devolved into a religion during 2,000 years in exile, while we were detached from the Land.
At the Exodus, God had taken the Children of Israel out of the Nation of Egypt to create the Nation of Israel.
The revelation of Torah at Sinai was the granting of a Constitution and Legal Code for the Nation (Written and Oral Torah).
Only then, were we brought into the Land where we could live as a Nation according to our constitution (values) and laws. (I speak about this in this interview). In doing so, we reveal God and Godliness to the world. The power of the Almighty is revealed in the events that occur to the Nation of Israel throughout our history… for those who care to look.
Rabbi Kook saw the in-gathering of the Jewish exiles from the four corners of the earth and the creation of the State of Israel as a step toward the fulfillment of God’s promise to re-establish ourselves as the Nation of Israel in our Land. But would we choose to be a nation like all other nations? Or would we choose to be different?
A NATION THAT DWELLS ALONE
If we defeat Hamas and Hezbollah and ultimately Iran, because of the USA support and direction, the world will think the USA is God (aren’t god and superpower synonyms?)
King Balak asked Bilaam the Prophet to curse the Nation of Israel…
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the Lord has not defied? From the top of the rocks I see Him, and from the hills I behold Him: lo, it is a people that dwells alone, not reckoned among the nations.
Rashi explains that the “curse” is really a blessing. The word “badad” “alone” means we alone are an eternal, indestructible nation. Our history has taught us this. Do not be surprised as the Nations of the World abandon us.
With the Almighty’s help, our Prime Minister will stand strong, and the IDF will continue until victory.