This past Tuesday we celebrated Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. Our joy was, of course, muted given the terrible war we find ourselves in and the fact that so many of our family are still held captive in Gaza after enduring more than 224 days of hell.
There is an insertion to our liturgy on Yom Ha’Atzmaut which I find particularly resonant and inspiring at this moment. In one section of the Amidah, the central prayer of our service, there is a passage known as “Modim (Thanksgiving),” where we express our gratitude for the many gifts, including the gift of life itself, that God showers upon us day by day. On Yom Ha’Atzmaut, we add special words of gratitude for the gift of sovereignty. With all of its messiness, challenges, and obligations, our return to power has been an extraordinary blessing which we must never take for granted.
One of the many superpowers of the Jewish People is our astonishing strength and resilience. When others might have given up, assimilated completely, or faded away, we soldier on. Even in challenging times, we find a way to celebrate our festivals and rejoice in our blessings. On Yom Ha’Atzmaut, even in the middle of a painful, bloody war that included this week the tragic and heartbreaking news of five soldiers killed by “friendly fire,” we must have the strength and resilience to express our gratitude and even joy that we are of the generations who merit to have the privilege to build up and to be built up through the task of our return to sovereignty, the sacred task of Shivat Tzion, our coming home to Zion.
In our siddur (prayer book), we add these words: “In the return to Zion of our time, Your people gathered in Your land to build it up and be built up themselves. They established this Independence Day as a festival of joy, thanksgiving, and praise to You. As You performed miracles for our ancestors, do likewise for us, saving us now as You did then.” (Mishkan T’filah)
Once, years ago, I was speaking with a congregant at a Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration. He was the kind of synagogue member who didn’t often attend worship services but would never, ever miss an event celebrating Israel or a gathering of solidarity when, God forbid, something tragic befell our people. He turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, “Rabbi, I am a total atheist but there’s one miracle in which I believe: the miracle of Israel! Out of the ashes of the Holocaust, against all odds, we built a State!”
And at this time especially we should acknowledge the truth that Israel is itself a miracle–an inexplicable occurrence which is both surprising and welcome. This miracle, however, wasn’t given to us on a silver platter; it was bought with blood, tears and enormous sacrifice.
This miracle that is Israel should be celebrated not just by Jews, but by people of conscience throughout the world, especially by those who would describe themselves as progressives. After all, what is a more inspirational example of progress than an oppressed people returning to its land of indigeneity? But sadly, many of those whom we would expect to celebrate alongside us instead demonize and delegitimize us.
Our work is not finished, it never will be. Like every other nation-state or worthy endeavor for that matter, it is an ongoing, iterative process that requires continued strength, creativity and perseverance in the face of new challenges.
This week especially though, we celebrate with pride what we have built, what we have accomplished, and what we hope to achieve in the future. Despite the many forces hell-bent on our destruction, we hold on to our humanity and strive to be worthy of the time when the dream of the prophet Micah will be fulfilled:
…וְיָשְׁב֗וּ אִ֣ישׁ תַּ֧חַת גַּפְנ֛וֹ וְתַ֥חַת תְּאֵנָת֖וֹ וְאֵ֣ין מַחֲרִ֑יד
Every family shall sit
Under its own vine and fig tree
And no one shall give them cause to fear!
May this be a miracle that we experience soon, speedily, and in our own day.
Shabbat shalom and Am Yisrael Chai,
Rabbi Yoshi