05-01-2025 Torah Commentary

Since October 7, 2023, these past few years have  not been easy for Israel or the Jewish world. Israel  has had to fight a seven-front war on land, on sea  and in the air. Although this year, 5785, has been a  year of challenges, it has also been a year of hope  and resilience. As we celebrate the 77th  anniversary of Israel’s independence on the 5th of  Iyar (this year the celebration begins on the night of  April 30 and continues until sundown on May 1), we  cannot help but be filled with pride. Despite all of the  challenges and adversity, Israel has succeeded in realizing Biblical prophecies and turned its land into  “eretz zavat chalav udvash – a land flowing with milk  and honey.” Israel has truly become an “Or la’Goyim – a light to other nations” and reminds all of us that to  be a pessimist is to deny our faith in G-d. Although liberation from British occupation occurred  some 77 years ago, Israel’s story reaches millennia  into history. Since our forefather and foremother, Abraham and Sarah, entered the land of Israel, almost 4,000 years have passed, and since the time  of Moses, Jews have been in their ancestral  homeland without interruption.  

During these many centuries, the people of Israel  have known tragic and joyful moments; moments  filled with tears and smiles. Over these many  millennia we have known Egyptian slavery, and the  Davidic monarchy, we have suffered under Roman  domination, and the cruelties of European  antisemitism. Despite almost 2,000 years of exile,  we are one of the world’s most creative and resilient  peoples. 

The modern era also reflects the rollercoaster of  Jewish history. The twentieth century saw the  destruction of European Jewry, and with the return of  the land’s indigenous people to its Biblical  homeland, the rebirth of modern Israel.  

Seventy-seven years ago, a new chapter of Jewish  history began with the ending of a 2,000-year forced  exile. We, the Jewish people, faced the awful reality  of the murder of six million of our brothers and  sisters and the horrors of Nazi Europe. During and  after World War II no one would have imagined a  strong vibrant Jewish nation reborn in its native soil,  the same land into which Abraham had entered and  which was promised to us by G-d. Until that time  Israel was only a dream as no nation had ever  returned to its ancestral homeland and rekindled its  language after almost two thousand years of exile.  Some 77 years later to experience modern Israel is to realize that Jewish history is a lesson in faith and  the miracle of tenacity. 

The year 5785, is more than a lesson in Jewish  history, but an example of Jewish resilience. Since  October 7, 2023, we learned once again how cold  and cruel humanity can be. Not only were Israel’s  border villages invaded, many of which were  populated by people dedicated to peaceful  coexistence, with their inhabitants – men, women,  children and babies – mutilated, murdered, burned  alive and taken captive, but the Jewish people  experienced throughout the supposedly “civilized”  world unrelenting acts of antisemitism.  

Despite the horrors of October 7th, and the  antisemitic demonstrations across much of the world  spurred on by too many in an evil, misled or naïve  media, a review of history makes one appreciate the wonders of G-d. Although Israel lacks many natural  resources and must be constantly vigilant, it has  successfully absorbed and transformed into one  nation millions of Jewish refugees from over 100  nations, speaking over 80 languages. The nation is a  superpower in high tech, medical advancements,  water resource management, and agriculture. It  forged a vibrant population speaking the same  language as our Biblical forbearers, and it made life  in the desert blossom.  

Israel developed a working infrastructure from  almost nothing. Known as the start-up nation, Israel  is a vibrant democracy. Today many of Israel’s  deserts are green, the nation has a modern  transportation system, its science, engineering,  computer and medical research centers are some of  the world’s best, and her citizens enjoy freedoms  found in few other lands. The United Nations ranks the citizens of Israel – out of over 180 nations – as  the eighth happiest on earth. Despite these  successes, during 5785 Israel has had to continue to  guard her borders and be vigilant as antisemitic  outbreaks continue to occur in the so-called civilized  west and in academia. Israel must also constantly  be ready, no matter what the cost, to welcome Jews  home from both the developed and underdeveloped  world.  

Israel’s independence day is best summarized by  the name of its national anthem, Ha’Tikvah (The  Hope). Ha’Tikvah teaches all of us that even in the  hardest of times, we must never lose hope.  

Today Israel is more than a dream, it is a living and  vibrant reality, a reality which for almost two  millennia we prayed, hoped, struggled.  

Happy Yom Ha’Atzmaut!