Seventy-five years ago this past Wednesday David Ben Gurion stood up in Independence Hall in Tel Aviv and announced to the world on live radio:
“WE, MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ERETZ-ISRAEL AND OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT, ARE HERE ASSEMBLED ON THE DAY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE BRITISH MANDATE OVER ERETZ-ISRAEL AND, BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL.”
There are few moments in Jewish history as important. In that instant, almost two thousand years of wandering came to a miraculous end. To think that it happened in the lifetime of many members of Congregation Shir Shalom is astounding. For three quarters of a century, we have been a witness to the growth and maturation of the first Jewish nation since early Roman times. We have seen it withstand war, internal strife, and self-inflicted wounds, transforming from a Middle Eastern backwater to one of the strongest economies in the world. I am lucky enough to have been able to watch much of the transformation firsthand, having visited Israel in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. 2010s, and now 2020s. In each of those visits, Israel was a completely different place. I witnessed two Intifadas, the Oslo Peace Accord, a large recession, and the tech boom. Israel is not a perfect country, but it is a place that I can proudly call home.
This week’s Torah portion, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, we are commanded to be holy because God is holy. Holiness is not that easy to achieve or to aspire toward. Having a Jewish state is a complicated prospect. It means grappling with crime and poverty, the treatment of both its Palestinian Arab citizens within its border and the Palestinian Arab population outside of it, global politics, and global warming, and with democracy itself. As the thousands of Israelis who have been out in the streets over the past few months can attest to, there are no easy answers. And, yet, despite this, I feel so incredibly fortunate to be alive to witness the 75th birthday of our beloved homeland. Happy Birthday Israel! May you have many more opportunities to celebrate in the near and the far future.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex