Worthy of Celebration

Can we rejoice on Yom Ha-Atzma'ut this year?

After a Yom HaZikaron far more difficult than most, and while we are still immersed in a horrible war with Hamas, with many hostages still not recovered, a looming devastating war with Hezbollah, and a flood of hatred for Israel worldwide, it may feel difficult to celebrate Yom Ha’Atzma’ut.

But it’s all a matter of perspective. I love time-travel stories, and I often like to imagine what it would be like to travel back in time and speak to people from earlier eras. When describing today’s situation, how would they react?

Fifty years ago, Israel had just lost 2522 soldiers, out of a population less than a third of what it is today. There was an ongoing war of attrition from Syria. Israel was losing diplomatic relationships with other countries at an accelerating rate. If you could travel back in time and describe the events of this year to people there, they would be sad. But they would consider it a relatively small price for living here compared to the price that they had just paid, and overall they would be relieved to learn that the country still actually exists. And they would be amazed that there are over seven million Jews here, and that we have peace with several Arab countries.

Seventy years ago, Israel was recovering from losing a full 1% of its population in the War of Independence. There were endless raids from Gaza into Israel, there were serious threats from Egypt and Jordan and Syria, there were serious deprivations and it was unclear if Israel would survive the first decade of its existence. If you would travel back in time and tell a person that Israel would still be around after 75 years, and have peace with Egypt and Jordan, and would be a formidable and wealthy country, they would be astonished.

Eighty years ago, a third of world Jewry was being killed in Europe. It was very unclear if Israel would even come into existence. And there were serious fears that there could be another Holocaust, this time from the Arabs. (Later it was discovered that the Mufti even had plans to construct Auschwitz-style crematoria). If you could speak to a person back then, and tell them that Israel came into existence and flourished, they would weep for joy.

A hundred years ago, over 100,000 Jews had just been murdered in the Ukraine, and Poland instituted economic decrees against Jews to make it almost impossible for them to survive. The United States had greatly restricted immigration. The economic situation in Palestine was growing dire, and at one point there were more Jews leaving than arriving. It was hard to imagine that the Jewish People had much of a future at all. If you could travel back and tell someone that a hundred years later more than half of the entire nation would be living in a sovereign Jewish state, they would be astounded.

A thousand years ago, Jews in both Europe and Palestine were variously being massacred by Christian Crusaders or Muslim zealots. If you could travel back and tell them that the Jews would eventually return in huge numbers to the Holy Land, and that after a suprise attack from Muslim zealots we turned it around and killed twenty times as many of them, they would be amazed.

Two thousand years ago, the Jews of Judea were living under Roman rule, and after a failed rebellion, were massacred, sold into slavery, and exiled. If you could tell them that you are from a time in which the Jewish people has returned to the Holy Land from all over the world, regained political independence, and created a prosperous nation of seven million Jews, they would be certain that this must mean that the Messianic Era had arrived.

So, yes, Yom Ha’Atzma’ut is worthy of celebration. Chag Sameach!

שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת: בְּשׁוּב יְהוָה, אֶת שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים.  אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה: אָז יֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם הִגְדִּיל יְהוָה, לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם אֵלֶּה. הִגְדִּיל יְהוָה לַעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּנוּ הָיִינוּ שְׂמֵחִים. שׁוּבָה יְהוָה אֶת שְׁבִיתֵנוּ כַּאֲפִיקִים בַּנֶּגֶב.  הַזֹּרְעִים בְּדִמְעָה בְּרִנָּה יִקְצֹרוּ.  הָלוֹךְ יֵלֵךְ, וּבָכֹה נֹשֵׂא מֶשֶׁךְ-הַזָּרַע: בֹּא יָבֹא בְרִנָּה נֹשֵׂא, אֲלֻמֹּתָיו.