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Beit Midrash
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The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
R. Avraham ben David
By virtue of the Six-Day War, the national religious community received an immense thrust. This new thrust, in turn, became a force that led to Jewish settlement all over the newly liberated territories, settlement with unmistakable religious significance. On the other end of the spectrum, in the secular leftist camp - a camp which saw Zionism as a primarily secular movement whose only goal was to solve the problem of Jewish survival, the task of protecting a scattered and disjointed nation, a hounded and humiliated people - the Six-Day War represented a crisis point in Zionist aspiration. The most serious blow, though, was the Yom Kippur War. At that point in time, it became clear to them that the secular concept of Zionism had not attained its goal. The dream of a Jewish State in Israel that would solve the Jewish problem, bringing, at long last, peace and quiet, was shattered: Here a Jewish State had indeed been established yet the problem had not been solved. It had, in fact, become intensified. The plight of the Jews in Israel was more difficult than that of the Jews in the Diaspora. In the State of Israel Jews faced war, terrorism, and isolation. The dream of being a "free nation in our land" had been shattered.
The excessive feeling of danger that existed on the eve of the Six-Day War, the fear of a terrible armed conflict with hundreds of casualties clouded the eventual military victory. It became apparent that, though we were victorious this time, even in the land of Israel our existence is not guaranteed. This difficult feeling deepened afterwards during the War of Attrition, and reached its peak with the Yom Kippur War. At that point, the crisis of the leftist Zionist idea reached full maturity. Since then, the Israeli left has been searching for a way to escape this mess, to escape the Zionist idea. They wish to nullify the concept of the State of Israel as a State of the Jewish people, a concept that leads to a split between Israel and the other nations of the world and causes endless hatred and enmity. The way to do this is by blurring the national Jewish identity of the state, by blurring the boundaries that separate Israel from the rest of the nations. Jerusalem Day, a day that is filled with a sense of deep Jewish identity, is not a holiday of the secular left. The left does not want a Jewish State any more, for our uniqueness is the source of all of the troubles of the state. Attempts by Jews to escape their own identity did not begin yesterday; this phenomenon has a long history. Still, they have never been successful. It appears that we must again carry out this clarification. We must once again discover that it is impossible to hide our Jewishness, and that trying to hide only causes it to burst forth with even greater strength.
We are aware that all of our difficulties are part of the process of Israel's redemption and we accept them lovingly. We are happy and grateful to the Almighty for the deliverance that these hardships carry with them. Therefore, Jerusalem Day is a day of thanks and praise to God, who returned us to Jerusalem and to the lengths of the Land of Israel, a day of prayer for complete redemption - that it should come speedily in our days, Amen.
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Sukkot Bug-Free Sukkah: Essential Halachic and Practical Schach Guide
How to inspect, clean, and store bamboo mats and palm branches to protect your mitzvah and holiday meals.
Shoftim TESHUVA IN COURT OF LAW?
Parshat Shoftim-Chodesh Elul
Why does parshat Shoftim always come out during Elul? This innovative and central explanation is an eye-opener regarding many aspects of Judaism.
The Month of Elul TESHUVA IS THE ANSWER
The month of Elul serves as a vital time for self-reflection and personal accountability to prepare for true repentance.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
