Chag Sameach! Happy Birthday Israel

Today was great. Our first Yom Ha'Atzmaut as Israelis was fun. On Tuesday night we went to friends in Armon HaNetziv (East Talpiot). We decided to stay close to home. I went to the shul for maariv. There is a special tefilla for Yom Ha'Atzmaut and I haven't been to one of these services in years. It was cool.

I also met Ayelet's grandfather's brother, Uncle Simon. He was excited to meet me. We schmoozed for a while and will try to get the whole family to meet him.

Then I went back to the party we made. After the bbq we went down to the Mat"nas (community center) to join in those festivities. The kids got light-up thingies and we walked to a good vantage point to see the fireworks. We learned that the 10:45 show was coming off of that building. So we got good seats and waited. Finally, a little after 11 they started. We got a few minutes of fireworks and that was it (video coming soon). Netanel fell asleep right before they started, but he woke up for part of it. Odeliya was quite impressed by the show. We got home and plopped the kids into bed. Then we spent an hour online before falling asleep.

Today we went to Herzliya with the Berkey family. they Berkeys are long time friends of Ayelet's. There was a nice group of people, most of whom I had never met. We went to the beach for a while and then back to the boat for the rest of the party and bbq. There was good food and good people. What else do you need? As per the Berkey's custom the party was at their boat. Since it is currently in drydock for repairs we ate on the ground, but the kids went onboard to watch a movie. We were promised that next year things would be back to normal.

We paid for the good times with travel time. The trip to Herzliya was uneventful, but involved a bus and 2 hasaot (shared taxis). We also met someone that lives in the Golan who is happy to help us in our search for a moshav. The trip home was crazier. We got a ride tothe train station. We had to wait about an hour for the train to Tel Aviv for a 10 minute trip. The next train to Jerusalem was about an hour and half later. We had fun on the platform, and made some friends, but we were all done with travelling. I got the kids to fall asleep on the train to Yerushalaim. It was not hard. After this long day they were exhausted. Upon arrival at the Malcha train station we had to wait and jockey for a cab home. Basically, we realized that we need a car. But the travelling was worth it for a great time.

Something occured to me last night during the special tefillah:
In the tefillah for Yom HaAtzmaut we read the psukim from B'ha'alotcha about the trumpets for war and the shofar for praise. Blow it over your todot and zevacim. It is known that a korban todah is meant for pirsum. You have to invite others to your meal to help you finish it before the deadline. This is a modern day bbq. Friends, family, and meat. As such, mongal is the original Jewish food: roasted meat shared with others. And it is fitting that this is the national pastime on Yom Ha'Atzmaut. When we celebrate Israel's birthday we also must thank God for the miracles surrounding the creation and continued existence of this state. As we eat meat and celebrate we should blow or remember the shofar and give credit to the true Source. It wasn't Herzl or Ben-Gurion that gave us a state. Rabin, Peres, Sharon, Yoni Netanyahu, etc. all helped. But God made it happen. Thank God for giving us back our homeland, such as it is. To paraphrase Rabbi Jonathan Schwartz of Hillside, NJ, Israel is not perfect, but it's ours. It's ours to fix." Which is why we moved here. We want to be part of the process. The future of Am Yisrael is here, and we're getting in on the ground floor.

For those of you that think that Israel is too messed up to be worth keeping I am reposting something I wrote via email a few years ago. This was written right after the girush, the explusion of Jews from Gaza. Here it is:

It seems that a lot of the dati leumi community are disheartened and are not sure if we should still be celebraying Yom HaAtzmaut. I'd just like to put it into a Biblical perspective:

After Yetziat Mitzraim Bnei Yisrael spent 40 years in the midbar. The generation that entered the land had spent all, or most, of their lives living under God's direct care. And still they sinned.

After conquering the land, Bnei Yisrael became a loose confederation of tribes, but they were centered around the Mishkan. They had the benefit of a navi and kohen gadol to lead them. And yet, Tekufat Shoftim was not a high point for the nation. Nationalistically, we were constantly reconquering our land. When we weren't fighting a civil war.

Finally, after 40 years in the midbar and 400+ years in the land, the Yishuv HaAretz seemed to sprout into a geula. We were a united people as one nation with a strong, religious (dati leumi?) king. We had neviim, kohanim, and leviim. We also had the Beit HaMikdash, where even the other nations came to pray.

But still, after seeing God's revelation, seeing the miracles of conquering the land, overcoming the lull during Tekifat Shoftim, the high point of unity and observance seemed to last only 40+ years.

My point is that if they had trouble building the perfect Jewish society based on Am Yisrael, Torat Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael after 400+ years of trying, who are we to get disheartened after only 61. We lack the guidance of a Navi or Kohen Gadol. We do not have a clearly annointed king approved by God and country. So really, things could be worse. At least we're not mailing prostitute parts to the Galil to prove a point.

Of course, we need to keep trying. The State is not perfect. But it's ours to improve. We should celebrate the miracles involved in getting it, and be grateful it is still ours.

Hoping for the speedy coming of Mashiach and a time when we can all celebrate together,
Yoram