If I Forget You, O Jerusalem...

       The month of Av approaches with the saddest day in the Jewish calendar (aside from Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day), Tisha B’Av (9th of Av) looming. This year as rockets continue to rain down on Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheva, Ashkelon, Ashdod, etc., more than ever the words, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem may my right hand wither, let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you…” (Psalm 137:5) seems not only the dirge of the ancient Psalmist but an immediate command upon all our hearts. 

On Tisha B’Av our tradition teaches that we mourn not only for the destruction of our Temples, our loss of independence, and our long troubled years of exile, persecution, and the diaspora which followed - but that we mourn the baseless hatred - sinat hinam which led to these events. The history of the destruction of the Second Temple reveals that the zealots believed any action was justified, even if it meant the murder and death of their fellow Jews. So warped were their values that they even burned the food stores inside of Jerusalem to prevent innocent civilians from fleeing the siege. How could it be that our people heirs to the gift of Torah, where God commands us to choose life, sacrifice our children for religious nihilism?   Tisha B’Av comes as a stark reminder that hatred and fanaticism are not only destructive to those that hate but, also to those who tolerate and ignore it. Therefore, we fast, mourn, and seek to ingrain in our very DNA this lesson from our past.

Yet, the question we confront in our world today is - What will it take for the Palestinians, Syrians, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Afghanis, etc. to stop the hate and extremism? When will their peoples rise up and demand - Life & Peace!? There can be no doubt that Hamas's hatred of Israel and hatred of Jews outweigh any thought for the sanctity of innocent life, even their own children. We are witness to the thousand plus rockets launched at Israel by Hamas from civilian areas. Hamas sees no moral problem using hospitals, schools, and mosques, to store and launch missiles indiscriminately at Israeli civilians with the only goal of bringing terror, and killing as many as possible. In contrast, Israel has gone above and beyond to try to spare civilian casualties on both sides. Israel twice has agreed to a cease-fire for the sake of innocent lives, continuously warning civilians by phone and by “roof knocking” to get away from Hamas before bombing a terrorist target. Also thank God for Israeli ingenuity whose passion to save lives fostered the building of the Iron Dome which has shot down countless rockets, early warning sirens, and for the home front command which built a smartphone app to warn citizens when to seek refuge in reinforced bomb shelters. As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu neatly summed it up,"the difference between us is that we're using missile defense to protect our civilians and they're using their civilians to protect their missiles." 

This Tisha B’Av we will once again fast, read Eicha (Book of Lamentations), and sing kinot (dirges) but, I for one will also be mourning that the world has not yet learned what we did so many years ago - that baseless hatred only leads to death and destruction. “Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.”  This famous sentence spoken by Golda Meir to the Washington Press Club in 1957, continues to ring hauntingly true and sadly unfulfilled. May we live to see the day when love, peace, and life triumph over hatred, war, and death. And let us all say, Amen.

Celebrate Israel's 65th by Reclaiming the Miracle

If you pick up a copy of almost any newspaper, online or in print, on almost any day there will be an article about events in Israel. Nine times out of ten the article will be about how Israel did something wrong, or an existential threat to Israel or some other negative event or problem. It's like having a member of your family who is always in trouble, always faced with a crisis, anytime you talk about this family member it always leaves you disheartened to the point of throwing your hands up in resignation. “What can I do?” or even worse, "Why should I care?" It is mired in this type of thinking and apathy that we need to step back and take a deep breathe to gain some perspective. Israel was and is a miracle unfolding. No it is not perfect. But perfection is not the goal – rather it is perfecting. The work is never finished but everyone adds their efforts to the dream. This is what the Jewish people have always striven for – Jews living in the land of our ancestors determining our own destiny. I believe more than ever as we celebrate Israel’s 65th birthday we must reclaim and redefine the miracle of Israel for ourselves.

To be clear, reclaiming the miracle of Israel is not only for those with little or no connection to Israel, but maybe even more importantly, is crucial for those of us who are passionate supporters of Israel, who have traveled to Israel, 1, 2, a dozen times, and who see both Israel's importance in the fate of our world, and who place it at the very heart of our people, our faith, and our future. We must remember that Israel is not an abstract place or a pundit driven debate, but instead is a member of the family, with a seat always set at the table. I believe that our love for Israel challenges us to continually ask ourselves, “What do I believe Israel’s place is in my life? What is the miracle for me? Why is Israel not like any other place? And what can I do to be part of the building, creating, and perfecting of Israel?”

For me the miracle of Israel is that the state of Israel with the largest majority of the Jewish people in the world, whether religious, secular, Zionist, post-Zionist, young, old, wealthy, poor, kibbutznik, settler, left wing, right wing, acts as the canvas for creating, building, wrestling, and redefining a nation based on the values of our unique Jewish history and tradition. It was one miracle to bring the state into being, and to defend her, it is another miracle to see what in 65 years Israelis have done to build our homeland and make it flourish. For all we have accomplished and for all we have yet to accomplish we should celebrate together on Yom Ha’aztmaut April 16th. In the process we can rededicate ourselves to first reclaiming the miracle, and then to taking our place as an active part of it.

Chag Sameach! Happy 65th Birthday to Israel!

Will You Still Need Me... When I'm 64! Yom Ha'atzmaut 5772

Today Israel turns 64 years old and this is no small birthday. I am continually amazed at how a place so ancient on the one hand is yet so vital and modern on the other. How values we have held as Jews for centuries can be put into practice in building our homeland and improving the world. Now I know Israel isn't perfect but hey show me someone or someplace that is! As a lover of Israel and our people, I can't help beam with pride at how this small country the size of New Jersey (my home state) has in the face of adversity since it's founding built a vibrant, successful, democratic nation out of Jewish immigrants from across the world and from all walks of life. Never in the history of humanity has a people brought a language back from the brink of death, and a land from desert to fertility. Through sheer hard work, ingenuity and imagination Israelis have built a model state which is the envy of countries far beyond their years of existence. It is often said that age is a frame of mind. For our homeland which is steeped in such ancient history and filled with a spiritual presence unlike any other place in the world, Israel is young at heart and filled with life. I believe we need Israel more than ever and Israel needs us. So here's to 64 years of miracles! But don't only take my word for it. Check out Israel's many accomplishments and blessings to the world at: www.Israel21c.org. As we say when we return the Torah to ark, "Help us turn to You, Adonai, and we shall return. Renew our lives as in days of old." May God continue to bless the miracle that is the State of Israel, and may our people continue to make the old, new and the new, great! Chag Sameach!