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A couple of thoughts on the 61st anniversary of Modern-Day Jewish State of Israel:
- 1/ It should only be that all of B’nai Yisrael, forget the non-Jewish world, that all Jews, everywhere, unite and internalize modern-day Israel as a Jewish State, as a Jewish entity, as a Jewish Land connected to the Jewish people by eternal Divine legacy.
- 2/ A friend of mine jested in Shul this morning that Yom Ha’atzmaut was like a fast day to certain Jewish sectors and that the siyum that was to be held, similar to Erev Pesach, was to eliminate the necessity of first-born to fast.
This author’s response to the latter:
As much as this friend was jesting when equating Yom Ha’atzmaut with a fast day, the reality seems to be that certain Jewish sectors appear to view the equation as valid.
A few years ago, after the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif and the 4 Shomron towns, this author ceased to say Hallel on Yom Ha’atzmaut. This is a somewhat controversial topic.
Yes, Hashem, Master of the Universe worked history so as to bring about the reconstitution of B’nai Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael. And yes, we have much to be thankful for, that there is again Jewish sovereignty on Jewish Land.
But there is this concept of a Medinat Yisrael, in which a non-Torah connected succession of secular, leftist-agendized, post-zionist regimes have stooped to the level of evicting Jews from their homes, from Jewish land and generally harrassing, persecuting and setting a separate set of laws against them based on their Jewishness and their cleaving to Eretz Yisrael. For these regimes, the sole goal seems to be the shedding Jewish Land and ridding themselves of their Jewishness — in short a self-destructo mission. And it is these successive regimes who have seized title to Medinat Yisrael and to Independence Day for their own ends and self-glorification. It is this that this author wants no parts of.
And so, this author does not say Hallel in any way, shape or form to commemorate Yom Ha’atzmaut. But, perhaps neither should one say Tachanun either. For to say Tachanun is to dis-recognize, to negate the modern-day Jewish sovereignty.
In this author’s view, one cannot negate Yom Ha’atzmaut, even if for no other reason than the view of the Six Day War as fulfillment of prophesy from Tanach, and as stated on this blog in the Parsha HaShevua for Tazria/Metzora;
To recollect and understand how complete Six Day War victory was is to recall reports of relative hands full of Israel soldiers chasing hundreds or thousands of Arabs in confirmation of biblical prophesy, the Arab windows drapped in white sheets of surrender pleading for their lives and thousands of Egyptian combat boots found in Sinai when Arab soldiers shed them in order to run, for their lives faster, from the oncharging IDF.
We hope for the day — HaTikva, when there is truly Yom Ha’atzmaut, a faith-based Medina, a faith-based governance.