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Yom Ha'atzmaut 2002
USY,
On Yom Ha'atzmaut, we add the following passage to the Amidah:
We thank You for the miraculous deliverance, for the heroism, and for
the triumphs in battle of our ancestors in other days, and in our time.
In the days when Your children were returning to their borders, at the
time of a people revived in its land as in days of old, the gates to the
land of our ancestors were closed before those who were fleeing the sword.
When enemies from within the land together with seven neighbors sought to
annihilate Your people, You, in Your great mercy, stood by them in time
of trouble. You defended them and vindicated them. You gave them the courage
to meet their foes, to open the gates to those seeking refuge, and to free
the land of its armed invaders. You delivered the many into the hands of
the few, the guilty into the hands of the innocent. You have wrought great
victories and miraculous deliverance for Your people Israel to this day,
revealing Your glory and Your holiness to all the world.
- Siddur Sim Shalom, pg. 182
These words the modern-day miracle that is the state of Israel. It is very
much appropriate that on this day to say the bracha, "Baruch…sh'asah nissim
la'avoteinu b'yamim ha'hem baz'man ha'zeh," thanking Hashem for bringing
miracles into our time. Eretz Yisrael came from the dreams of Jews across
the world who believed that we ought to have a place to call home. To live,
work and worship as a free people, no longer having our destinies controlled
by autocratic and despotic rulers, but rather controlling our destiny. Indeed,
as we celebrate Israel's 54th birthday, such the words of this tefillah
are ever present.
Each day, as we watch the news and read emails on our many USY listserves,
we see how much Eretz Yisrael needs that inexplicable value of ahavat chinam,
a love and dedication to a land that we may be detached from physically,
but we remain loyal to in our heats each every day. It is very much like
the words of the Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem, that as long as in
our hearts, the soul for Jews long toward Eretz Yisrael, the state shall
live on.
On this Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut, I wish to add one other list
of things you can do to support Israel. You can find all across this website
and other places ways that you can support Israel, yet so often we forget
that tefillah, that prayer is another way to build upon the strength and
security of Israel. You may or may not believe that your prayers are heard,
but I can guarantee you that the thought and the act represent our continued
belief in the values and meaning behind Israel's existence. Know that in
the prayer for the state of Israel we ask that Hashem spreads over Israel
the "shelter of Hashem's peace." These words show that we do not desire
for war, that these tragic events are nowhere near what any of us want,
but rather that we eternally shall hope for peace to come, even if at times
it seems so far away.
If each day, we can all say the prayer for the state of Israel, each of
us can show that we, through both word and deed, keep the hope that peace
shall come in our time. Indeed, it shall come. May this day be one where
you celebrate the state of Israel past, present and future. As always, don't
hesitate to email me at jsrabin@erols.com
or IM me at BigRabe02.
Im tivkat shalom,
Joshua Scott Rabin
USY Religious/Education Vice-President 2001-2002
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