We learn from the Rambam that the much sought-after leader for our time is a talmid chacham, a political figure, a truly religious person, a military man, and a charismatic person. If you were assigned the task of finding a person who fulfills all the requirements, where would you look?
In King David’s combat units only the most spiritually gifted served, because they brought with them heavenly protection; Tzahal, as the most respected institution in the country, will one day be a holy Jewish army, and it will cast its influence on the land and all its people.
Under Mount Sinai, the Jewish nation was united as one man and one heart (a blessing). Today, secular animosity toward the religious – Chareidim or religious-Zionists – results in many men and women each with a different heart. How can we become united again?
In modern terms our DNA is Yehadut (Judaism) – Divine National Attributes; without the Torah we drift apart until assimilation. HaShem often intervenes in Jewish history by bringing forth miracles beyond the laws of nature and physics. On erev Shabbat of this week we will be celebrating the 56th year of the most shocking and unexpected miracle that HaShem has bestowed on His beloved nation in Eretz Yisrael.
Our efforts as a society need to be committed not merely to survival but to “flourishing” in every way. We here are preparing the way for the physical exodus from foreign lands, and spiritual exodus from foreign cultures and beliefs.
In Yeshayahu 66:12-13, the prophet cites the word comfort three times in one verse. If each comfort relates to restoring our presence in the holy land and in its spiritual center of Yerushalayim on three different occasions, what are the differences between these three historical episodes of redemption and comfort?
