Rosh Hashanah Is in the air. It awaits just behind the door, beckoning us to reflect and improve, both personally and on the national level.
On a personal level it is clear what we all need to do - try to be good. (The great, very good Rabbi Chanan Porat wrote a biography titled, "I tried to be good”) What "good" means is for us all to seriously reflect upon. Mature and wise people understand that "being good" is the most satisfying feeling for our innermost, true self.
And what of the national reflection, that of the "collective Jewish soul"?
The concept of a Jewish Nation had become ethereal with the Jewish people scattered to the four corners of the globe. They did their best to cling to Jewish identity and values in the most impossible of circumstances.
The concept of a People and a national community gradually faded during the long generations of separation from our land and from the "extended family".
The incessant assault on the body and soul took its toll as Jews huddled together in dark isolation.
The exile physically felled many. Others escaped humiliation and torture by finally bowing to the religion of their oppressors.
Today as we witness rising assimilation, we also see the magnificent trend of millions in far flung corners, discovering their Jewish roots and seeking to return to their people and land.
Who would have thought?
The prophets did.
We read in our holy books that we were once a people with a special land. From every corner of the exile eyes wistfully raised in prayer; one day we would come home and be reunited. We prayed to be a proud nation again - a Jewish nation with a Jewish message and purpose.
Now that the miracle of miracles has occurred and we are back in our lands, a sovereign Jewish nation, what next?
The land itself has never been so productive in its history. We proudly count the amazing ways that this tiny semi desert land (smaller than Lake Michigan!) breaks international records in countless categories - especially agriculture (more milk per cow, more dates per tree, etc.)
Who would have thought?
The "world " certainly did not.
The far-flung Jews of the exiles read about these fabulous prophecies and hoped. What else could they cling to?
Yes, this is exactly what prophets spoke of; the ingathering of the exiles, the reuniting of the far-flung Jewish family in its estranged home land. This is the generation. Do we appreciate how great this moment is?
So, what is next?
After all that has transpired; the pain and the glory, the humiliation and the pride, what is the mission of our Jewish country? What is the mission of this miracle calling a Jewish state?
Is high tech and other such wonderful achievements its pinnacle?
Does it end there?
What would the generations of worshipers and dreamers, all of our ancestors, hope to see in this Jewish land? What is the promise they cherished?
Would it be a "state of all its citizens'' aimed at liquidating the Jewish nature of the country; where hundreds of thousands of non-Jews are brought in an attempt to dejudaise the country?
Would it be a place where giving away the promised land is an urgent priority even as enemies from without and from within have never been as bold?
A Would it be a place where the Torah, that which sustained our ancestors is ridiculed?
Great things are happening all around us; so are other things.
This year feels like it will be a crucial one for the nation of Israel.
Some (most) want a Jewish country and others (with powerful voices) do not.
It is that simple
May the Jewish state and people keep the promise.
shalompollack613@gmail, com
"Jews, Israelis and Arabs"
My book that explains a lot
On a personal level it is clear what we all need to do - try to be good. (The great, very good Rabbi Chanan Porat wrote a biography titled, "I tried to be good”) What "good" means is for us all to seriously reflect upon. Mature and wise people understand that "being good" is the most satisfying feeling for our innermost, true self.
And what of the national reflection, that of the "collective Jewish soul"?
The concept of a Jewish Nation had become ethereal with the Jewish people scattered to the four corners of the globe. They did their best to cling to Jewish identity and values in the most impossible of circumstances.
The concept of a People and a national community gradually faded during the long generations of separation from our land and from the "extended family".
The incessant assault on the body and soul took its toll as Jews huddled together in dark isolation.
The exile physically felled many. Others escaped humiliation and torture by finally bowing to the religion of their oppressors.
Today as we witness rising assimilation, we also see the magnificent trend of millions in far flung corners, discovering their Jewish roots and seeking to return to their people and land.
Who would have thought?
The prophets did.
We read in our holy books that we were once a people with a special land. From every corner of the exile eyes wistfully raised in prayer; one day we would come home and be reunited. We prayed to be a proud nation again - a Jewish nation with a Jewish message and purpose.
Now that the miracle of miracles has occurred and we are back in our lands, a sovereign Jewish nation, what next?
The land itself has never been so productive in its history. We proudly count the amazing ways that this tiny semi desert land (smaller than Lake Michigan!) breaks international records in countless categories - especially agriculture (more milk per cow, more dates per tree, etc.)
Who would have thought?
The "world " certainly did not.
The far-flung Jews of the exiles read about these fabulous prophecies and hoped. What else could they cling to?
Yes, this is exactly what prophets spoke of; the ingathering of the exiles, the reuniting of the far-flung Jewish family in its estranged home land. This is the generation. Do we appreciate how great this moment is?
So, what is next?
After all that has transpired; the pain and the glory, the humiliation and the pride, what is the mission of our Jewish country? What is the mission of this miracle calling a Jewish state?
Is high tech and other such wonderful achievements its pinnacle?
Does it end there?
What would the generations of worshipers and dreamers, all of our ancestors, hope to see in this Jewish land? What is the promise they cherished?
Would it be a "state of all its citizens'' aimed at liquidating the Jewish nature of the country; where hundreds of thousands of non-Jews are brought in an attempt to dejudaise the country?
Would it be a place where giving away the promised land is an urgent priority even as enemies from without and from within have never been as bold?
A Would it be a place where the Torah, that which sustained our ancestors is ridiculed?
Great things are happening all around us; so are other things.
This year feels like it will be a crucial one for the nation of Israel.
Some (most) want a Jewish country and others (with powerful voices) do not.
It is that simple
May the Jewish state and people keep the promise.
shalompollack613@gmail, com
"Jews, Israelis and Arabs"
My book that explains a lot
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