Yom Ha’atzmaut

Today is Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. This is a great day in Jewish History. It is a celebration of the miracle of the State of Israel. There is a statement that applies today. “When one is standing next to a mountain, it is difficult to see how high it is.” We are living in such miraculous times, that we seem to take this for granted. Two of the obvious miracles are related to Israel’s population and the ingathering of the exiles, קיבוץ גלויות. The Jewish population in the year 1800 was only 7000. Today in 2020, the Jewish population is 6.8 million. These numbers boggle the mind. This is all in a relatively short period of time. The ingathering of the exiles has seen Jews returning from all corners of the world. On numerous occasions in Machon Meir, I might teach a class of ten to fifteen students and each student is from a different country. There are many more prophecies that have been fulfilled during the past seventy-two years. But the biggest reason to celebrate יום העצמאות is that it represents a קידוש ה׳. Israel has answered the challenge of the nations of the world, that G-d has rejected the Jewish people. The incredible growth and development of Israel in such a short time, proves without a doubt, that Hashem has returned together with His people. We certainly do not look very rejected today. Israel is קידוש ה׳ and Israel proves that Judaism is the one and only true religion. חג העצמאות שמח!