This year many people in this country will confront difficult and important questions as we enter into preparations for Israel's Independence Day. Each year, those who are faithful to the G-d of Israel and to the land He bequeathed to the people of Israel recite the Hallel (thanksgiving) prayers on this special day. For these people, it is a day filled with joy and colored with hope and optimism. Mixing special prayers, festive meals and family picnics in the forests and parks of this incredible land constitutes the commemoration of this special day.



Will this year be different?



Is a government that decides to expel Jews from their homes with no definable benefit or reason, the type of self-ruling Jewish government we yearned for?



Is a state that is teaching their young soldiers and policemen how to effectively separate babies from their mother's arms so that they both can be incarcerated the state of Israel we prayed for?



Should we be thanking G-d for a sovereign nation that is ordering its armed forces to avoid confrontation with the enemy to enable the expulsion of brothers and sisters?



The questions are difficult, painful and complex. The answer, though, is not. In spite of the questions, the answer must continue to be a simple and resounding, "yes".



When I think of Jews scrounging ghetto streets for scraps of vegetables not too long ago, and I see Israeli farmers growing and exporting abundant produce, I rejoice.



When I read of burnt out houses of study and prayer in Europe and the tormented souls burnt within them, and I see the schools of Jewish study and learning in Israel bursting at the seams, I am awed.



When I think of what Moshe Rabbeinu, the humble servant of G-d would have given to be here in this land, and to be able to complain about what we complain about, I am humbled.



When I remember the wandering Jews finally coming into a land of promise and beginning to plant, sow and reap, my mouth is filled with joy and my tongue with laughter.



When I try to imagine how the prophet Zechariah would have rejoiced to see his prophecy of children playing in the streets of Jerusalem becoming fulfilled, I cannot help but join in his gladness.



At the same time, I cannot forget the searing pain of the human losses incurred by this land. I cannot ignore the struggle between the faithful and those who have forgotten. I cannot minimize those of the nations that are scheming against us in every generation.



Yet, I remain joyful, hopeful and faithful.



Truthfully, I am saddened by watching what thousands of years of persecution and battering has done to the core faith of many of our nation. Yet, I do not believe that this Expulsion-Disengagement decree will ever come to pass. This belief is based on a mixture of my total lack of faith in the Palestinians ability to hold back their hatred or evil designs, and Sharon's inability to hold his flimsy government together. It is most firmly based in my complete faith in G-d's promises and an unwavering belief in our people's ability to awake to truth in time.



So I remain joyful, hopeful and faithful.



In a recent shiur (lecture) given by Rabbi Sholom Gold of Jerusalem, he described Joshua and the Israelites entering into the land of promise as the first Zionist venture. The beginning of the venture was characterized by miraculous events not too dissimilar to the Israeli victory in 1948 or the miraculous Six Day War. After the Israelite nation saw the drying up of the Jordan river and the miraculous collapse of the walls of Jericho, Joshua's army suddenly faced defeat in the battle at Ai. Joshua and his people become demoralized.



Joshua falls on his face and turns to G-d and shares his pain (Yehoshua 7: 7-9). And Joshua said: "Alas, O L-rd G-D, wherefore hast Thou at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? Would that we had been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan! Oh, L-rd, what shall I say, after that Israel hath turned their backs before their enemies! For when the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land hear of it, they will compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt Thou do for Thy great name?"



G-d's response is clear and swift (ibid. 10): "And HaShem said unto Joshua: 'Get thee up; wherefore, now, art thou fallen upon thy face?'"



G-d was telling Joshua, as He is telling us today, that the process of redemption is fraught with setbacks and challenges. Our obligation is to search out and correct the weaknesses. Our obligation is to " Get thee up," to stand and be strong.



This year, during Israel's Independence Day, we will stand and sing out the Hallel prayers with determination - even though there may be a small tear in the corner of our eyes.