Yom Yerushalayim

This week we celebrate one of the greatest miracles of modern times. Joshua took seven years to conquer thirty-one kings. Israel liberated its territories in only six days.

Yom Yerushalayim celebrates the miraculous victory of the Six Day War.

The tension that preceded this war is a big part of the story. It needs to be understood in the context of the Holocaust. Only twenty-two years later, Arab leaders were gloating as to how they were going to drive Israel into the sea.

There was a great feeling of fear of trepidation among the Jewish people. President Levi Eshkol, even broke down and cried before the nation, because of the very serious threat to the Jewish people. Many who had never stepped foot in a synagogue, prayed their hearts out.

What added to the drama, was the news blackout at the beginning of the war. The only news came from the Arab media, that falsely boasted as to how they were winning the war.

When the dust cleared, the extent of Israel’s victory, was astounding. Aside from biblical Judea and Samaria, returning to Jewish possession, the greatest moment came with the knowledge that the Kotel and Temple Mount, was in our hands.

It is so wrong not to celebrate this great miracle, where the Hand of G-d was revealed. And it is so wrong not to recite the Hallel prayer with a Bracha. The leading Zionist rabbis have been speaking out to remind us never to belittle or forget what was witnessed. It was truly one of the greatest miracles of modern times.