When this fellow on the left dreamed of a Jewish State, musing, "if you will it, it is no dream", many thought he was an oddball. A Jewish State? A country with a Jewish army? In the land of Israel?How foolish. How delusional.
And yet, here we are. It may not be perfect, there may be still what to fix, yet Israel is a thriving homeland for the Jewish people today.
Thanks to those who dared to dream -- we are able to live the dream today.
And yet, when while we continue to dream of an Israel that encompasses our historic borders, of a Jerusalem that isn't threatened with division, of the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash, the Third Temple, of a better society than we have today -- there are those who simply say we are "delusional".
"Only delusionists can believe that in this day and age, and in the current situation, it is still possible to cling to the vision of 'Greater Israel'", announced Ehud Olmert to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last Monday.
If anything, it was, and remains the dream for thousands of years for the Jewish people to return home to Israel.At last night's Yom Yerushalayim celebration at Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav, the Rosh Yeshiva, R' Yaakov Shapira stated that "This is a day of self introspection as to the meaning of Yerushalayim. They say about us that only the delusional can G-d forbid think about the grains of Eretz Yisrael. We don't not live by their [ideologies] and Thank G-d, we dream and we are the fighters..."
Why do so many despise the dream of Jerusalem? Treppenwitz recounts the story of a hero of Jerusalem, Moshe Rusnak in the 1948 battle for Jerusalem -- and how the Mapai government at the time ignored the dream.
Yet to reclaim that moment, let's borrow this from Trep's site, to relive history 41 years ago, as we follow the IDF soldiers, the lions who liberated Jerusalem.
Shut off your cell phone... lock the door... set out a box of tissues... close your eyes... and listen...as the dream came alive 41 years ago...English translation here.
And if you don't mind Kol-Isha, here's a video that includes a camera that followed some of those historic moments, with one of my favorite songs about the Kotel.
Happy Jerusalem Day - יום שחרור ירושלים שמח
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
Do you know of anywhere else where I can find the audio? Doesn't seeem to work, it just refreshes the page when I click "Listen to Historic Broadcast"
ReplyDeleteSome interesting tidbits on Jerusalem this Jerusalem Day - only on the Streets of Jerusalem
ReplyDeleteEarlier, I took the time to listen to the broadcast through Trep's site. Of course I was in tears as my daughter walked in to the house. Just a few minutes ago I heard the strains of this song coming from her room. I saw immediately that she was reading your blog and listening to the song (probably the first time she's ever heard it). No tears though. But a definite appreciation for what this day means.
ReplyDeleteYou've got a new, young fan. :)
LawyerWearingKippa: I think the site was overloaded before...but it seems to be working ok now.
ReplyDeleteBaila: I don't know how anyone can hear that historic broadcast and not be moved...I have a whole ton of great songs...will see about posting them as well.
Nice to see younger readers -- my kids would prefer if I wrote more of this in Hebrew!