Friday, September 05, 2003
Sparks from Israel
Bone Yerushalayim
What interesting times we live in here in Israel. On one hand we see the Zionist dream rotting away and losing all its basis and foundation, and on the other hand we see a new Zionism rising from the ashes like a Phoenix. Just as angels climb up and down the ladder, so are some Jews driven out of Israel and others beckoned from far away.
Who are those leaving and those returning? Who are the men of simple faith who quietly build the Jewish Nation despite all odds? Who are the newcomers who hardly speak the language yet forge ahead undaunted by adversity? Who are these strangers in a familiar land? They are all dreamers and lovers of Zion.
They come in all colors and all religious persuasions. From those who work on Yom Kippur to those who wear the crown of Torah, and walk the streets with Eliyahu Hanavi. They all have one thing in common, which is a love of this Land and its people. They are poets and writers and businessmen and scholars, each one aware that he is being brought here by reasons beyond their understanding.
While those who lost the dream are troubled and worried and desperate for solutions, the men of simple faith sow and till and reap their fields. To those obsessed with the news and world opinion, the incongruity of Zionism and Democracy can no longer be plastered over. The flaw in this man-made ideology has been exposed and they are falling apart. To the man of simple faith this is a good sign.
One can even see this social evolution reflected in the buildings. The old buildings were built in haste with little workmanship and you can see them crumbling alongside the secular Zionism that built them. The new buildings are made of Jerusalem stone, and each one has beauty and uniqueness and is built to last for generations. Even in the architecture one can see a new Israel emerging, one that is learning from its past as it builds its future.
The gap between the religious and the secular is hardly as wide as it was years ago. Both are learning from their mistakes. The devout have had a lesson in faith by the non-observant who left everything to settle the Land of Israel, and those who believed Israel was conquered without G-d have learned that all their victories can be taken away if He so chooses.
The small group that is vocally ‘anti-religious’ is usually made up of individuals from religious backgrounds that have some personal ax to grind. But the majority of the people, even though they have a love affair with the west, are basically traditional at home and even if religion plays no part in their life, they all fulfill the mitzvah of defending their brothers, and this national self-sacrifice equals all the other rituals. To those who defend their Jewish country each day the ‘theory’ of spiritual concepts are easy to understand because they put them into practice each day even if they don’t’ yet know why we eat matzos on Pesach.
Those who still think that Israel is too divided and impure to participate in its evolution are behind the times. There is a new Jew that is coming of age in Israel. A two legged Jew that has both a country and a G-d. A new generation is emerging from the body of Israel, giving birth to its soul. Whatever divisions exist within this nation pales in comparison to that which connects us as brothers isolated by our genius and opposed by a violent world jealous of our light.
Bone Yerushalayim
What interesting times we live in here in Israel. On one hand we see the Zionist dream rotting away and losing all its basis and foundation, and on the other hand we see a new Zionism rising from the ashes like a Phoenix. Just as angels climb up and down the ladder, so are some Jews driven out of Israel and others beckoned from far away.
Who are those leaving and those returning? Who are the men of simple faith who quietly build the Jewish Nation despite all odds? Who are the newcomers who hardly speak the language yet forge ahead undaunted by adversity? Who are these strangers in a familiar land? They are all dreamers and lovers of Zion.
They come in all colors and all religious persuasions. From those who work on Yom Kippur to those who wear the crown of Torah, and walk the streets with Eliyahu Hanavi. They all have one thing in common, which is a love of this Land and its people. They are poets and writers and businessmen and scholars, each one aware that he is being brought here by reasons beyond their understanding.
While those who lost the dream are troubled and worried and desperate for solutions, the men of simple faith sow and till and reap their fields. To those obsessed with the news and world opinion, the incongruity of Zionism and Democracy can no longer be plastered over. The flaw in this man-made ideology has been exposed and they are falling apart. To the man of simple faith this is a good sign.
One can even see this social evolution reflected in the buildings. The old buildings were built in haste with little workmanship and you can see them crumbling alongside the secular Zionism that built them. The new buildings are made of Jerusalem stone, and each one has beauty and uniqueness and is built to last for generations. Even in the architecture one can see a new Israel emerging, one that is learning from its past as it builds its future.
The gap between the religious and the secular is hardly as wide as it was years ago. Both are learning from their mistakes. The devout have had a lesson in faith by the non-observant who left everything to settle the Land of Israel, and those who believed Israel was conquered without G-d have learned that all their victories can be taken away if He so chooses.
The small group that is vocally ‘anti-religious’ is usually made up of individuals from religious backgrounds that have some personal ax to grind. But the majority of the people, even though they have a love affair with the west, are basically traditional at home and even if religion plays no part in their life, they all fulfill the mitzvah of defending their brothers, and this national self-sacrifice equals all the other rituals. To those who defend their Jewish country each day the ‘theory’ of spiritual concepts are easy to understand because they put them into practice each day even if they don’t’ yet know why we eat matzos on Pesach.
Those who still think that Israel is too divided and impure to participate in its evolution are behind the times. There is a new Jew that is coming of age in Israel. A two legged Jew that has both a country and a G-d. A new generation is emerging from the body of Israel, giving birth to its soul. Whatever divisions exist within this nation pales in comparison to that which connects us as brothers isolated by our genius and opposed by a violent world jealous of our light.
