Thursday May 9, 2019

I've Been Thinking:

It is Israel's 71 birthday!

This is no small fete. Israel has transformed the world during those 71 years. Not just the Jewish world --- the entire world. The world is a better place because Israel exists.

During the first few years after Israel was established -- it was not at all clear that Israel would survive. That was the second miracle -- the first being the creation of the state itself. At any moment the young fledgling state could be over run by her hostile neighbors.

And yet Israel survived and grew now to over 9 million citizens (9,021,000 to be exact).

The creation of Israel and its continued strength and success illustrate several important points in history. The first is that the destiny of the Jewish people is not victimhood but creativity and productive contributions. Despite the horrors of Holocaust, Israel emerged as fulfillment of the age old dream of building the promised land, the holyland.

Being connected to the land of Israel is transformative. That connection is called Zionism. It changed the Jews as individuals and as a community. There is a stark contrast in Jewish life between pre and post 1948, the year Israel was established.

It was a watershed. It was one of the greatest most drastic distinctions in history. Within a period of 15 years (1941-1956) Jews went from horror to rebirth to builders. Ask any Jew who lived before and after.

Never take this miracle for granted. And remember that the miracle continues today and every day.

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