D'var Torah for Yom Haatzmaut

    Shalom. This year, 2008, 5768 in the Hebrew Calendar, we celebrate the sixtieth birthday of our beloved State of Israel. May 15, 1948, the third day of Iyar, this year celebrated on May 8, 2008, Israel was proclaimed an independent Jewish State. A great miracle occurred there. And that miracle continues to survive, prosper and evolve, sixty years later. Immediately recognized by the USSR and the US and invaded by the surrounding Arab nations, Israel has flourished as a beacon  of freedom and democracy. Through the War of Independence in 1948, the Sinai War of 1956, the Six Day War of June 6, 1967, the Yom Kippur War 0f 1973, the Lebanon War of 1982, the Oslo Accords of 1995, two Intifadas, the second Lebanon War and the Gaza situation, Israel has persevered and endured against the odds. Like David and Goliath, Israel continues to amaze and inspire us. While not perfect, Israel demonstrates a brave struggle for the success of an idea, the idea of a Jewish Homeland in our historical birthplace. As Theodor Herzl says, if you will it, it is not just a dream, a story. It is a living reality and human reality, inspired by God but created by the courage and hard work of fallible men and women. Israel in our Bible means both the land and the people. And like the people, the nation is stiffnecked and rebellious. But it survives despite so many challenges and threats. We are reminded in Genesis 32:28 that Jacob wrestles with an angel, struggling through the night. He limps off but his renamed Israel. Jacob who was a heel grabber at birth is now Israel- strong, prevailing, stubborn but triumphant, thanks to God’s plan, a Prince of God. Theodor Herzl’s dream in 1896 has become a wonderful reality- complex, imperfect but strong- the triumph of a courageous and inspiring idea. Like Jacob, we are called to be God-Wrestlers, fighting for the right to survive. Like Jacob, Joshua and David, may we be strong and of good courage. Bis a hundert un zwanzig, to a hundred and twenty years and beyond, may we continue to prosper in the Land of our Ancestors. Amen.