Jewish Holidays

The process of establishing sanctity in Israel was riddled with vicissitudes, from the Shilo sanctuary in Joseph's hereditary portion, to Gibeon and Nov in the portion of Benjamin, and finally to Jerusalem. The same is true of Israel's leadership.

When we recite “Have mercy upon Zion, for it is the home of our life” we are not merely recalling a Zion of the past, our homeland and breeding ground, a land which became the basis of our national life and culture. We are speaking about daily life.

One disengagement leads to another, and those who disengage themselves from the past cannot bring us to our true future. Perhaps they can bring us to a Swedish or Luxembourgian version of the future, but not to the real destiny of the Jewish people.