Israel is the land of stories. Every individual that you see on the street carries within him a story. Each of these stories reflects in some way the larger story of the Jewish people. There are stories that fill the heart with pride and emotion, and there are others that make one cringe and feel shame.
The story of Ariel Sharon is a strange mixture of both. He began as an impassioned champion of Jewish destiny and history, and is ending up a man of limited perspective and scope. He began his narrative as a man who would lead his men into the battles for Israel's security, and he is ending it leading a party many of whose members are one step ahead of the police. All this in order to ensure their own security and well-being. A recent poll published in Ynet found that people did not know what Sharon's Kadima party stands for, even though they will be voting for it.
One of Sharon's top advisers confided in a Newsweek article that Sharon is contemplating a retreat from 90% of the West Bank and a division of Jerusalem. Sharon's media spinners have since been trying to minimize the damage.
A sad ending to a once powerful story.
Yet, in this land, it is not only people who tell a story.
Every hill has its own story, as does every rocky mound. Every ancient well and running stream echoes dramatic and vital stories of their own. Every stone in Jerusalem has been embedded with the narrative of a people on a long voyage. Yet, there is no more dramatic story than that which is told by the fruit of this land.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 36:8: "But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people Israel; for they are coming back."
A land that had lain barren and fallow begins to bloom. A land that seemed to have been cursed shakes off its ancient curse. A land that is waiting for its children to come home. Every blade of grass, every flower, every tree and every fruit become a testimony to the truth of the Divine promise.
Every fruit simply becomes a piece of prophecy fulfilled.
This story is especially true in the sand dunes of Gush Katif. Recently, I was asked to speak to a group of pro-Palestinian Christians studying in Egypt. After the lecture, one of the students told me that they were taught that the Israelis had taken over the best land in the Gaza Strip and had left over the unproductive land for the Palestinians. The truth is actually the opposite. Thirty years ago, Gush Katif was established on sand dunes that the local Arab population avoided because they believed it to be cursed and unresponsive land. The sand dunes that were to become the communities of Gush Katif were built on the cursed land of Al-Gerara.
In those same lands, the farmers of Gush Katif succeeded in growing and exporting to Europe 90% of the bug-free lettuce, 70% of the organic vegetables and 60% of the cherry tomatoes and geraniums. Just as Isaac was blessed in those very same lands though all around him was drought and famine, so were they blessed.
B'reishit (Genesis) 26:12-14: "And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold; and HaShem blessed him. And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great. And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household; and the Philistines envied him."
Just as Isaac was expelled from the land in spite of the blessing he had brought into the area, so were the residents of Gush Katif expelled.
B'reishit 26:16: "And Abimelech said unto Isaac: 'Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.' "
With them went the blessing.
The Palestinians, with international help and funding, tried to reactivate 3/4 of the 890 acres of Gush Katif hothouses. Yet, all their efforts at recreating the agricultural success has met with abysmal failure. They are frantically trying to discover the secret of the Jews. They will never discover the secret within the ground. They will need to look elsewhere; into the very heavens.
The fruits continue to tell their story.
The story of Ariel Sharon is a strange mixture of both. He began as an impassioned champion of Jewish destiny and history, and is ending up a man of limited perspective and scope. He began his narrative as a man who would lead his men into the battles for Israel's security, and he is ending it leading a party many of whose members are one step ahead of the police. All this in order to ensure their own security and well-being. A recent poll published in Ynet found that people did not know what Sharon's Kadima party stands for, even though they will be voting for it.
One of Sharon's top advisers confided in a Newsweek article that Sharon is contemplating a retreat from 90% of the West Bank and a division of Jerusalem. Sharon's media spinners have since been trying to minimize the damage.
A sad ending to a once powerful story.
Yet, in this land, it is not only people who tell a story.
Every hill has its own story, as does every rocky mound. Every ancient well and running stream echoes dramatic and vital stories of their own. Every stone in Jerusalem has been embedded with the narrative of a people on a long voyage. Yet, there is no more dramatic story than that which is told by the fruit of this land.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 36:8: "But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people Israel; for they are coming back."
A land that had lain barren and fallow begins to bloom. A land that seemed to have been cursed shakes off its ancient curse. A land that is waiting for its children to come home. Every blade of grass, every flower, every tree and every fruit become a testimony to the truth of the Divine promise.
Every fruit simply becomes a piece of prophecy fulfilled.
This story is especially true in the sand dunes of Gush Katif. Recently, I was asked to speak to a group of pro-Palestinian Christians studying in Egypt. After the lecture, one of the students told me that they were taught that the Israelis had taken over the best land in the Gaza Strip and had left over the unproductive land for the Palestinians. The truth is actually the opposite. Thirty years ago, Gush Katif was established on sand dunes that the local Arab population avoided because they believed it to be cursed and unresponsive land. The sand dunes that were to become the communities of Gush Katif were built on the cursed land of Al-Gerara.
In those same lands, the farmers of Gush Katif succeeded in growing and exporting to Europe 90% of the bug-free lettuce, 70% of the organic vegetables and 60% of the cherry tomatoes and geraniums. Just as Isaac was blessed in those very same lands though all around him was drought and famine, so were they blessed.
B'reishit (Genesis) 26:12-14: "And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold; and HaShem blessed him. And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great. And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household; and the Philistines envied him."
Just as Isaac was expelled from the land in spite of the blessing he had brought into the area, so were the residents of Gush Katif expelled.
B'reishit 26:16: "And Abimelech said unto Isaac: 'Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.' "
With them went the blessing.
The Palestinians, with international help and funding, tried to reactivate 3/4 of the 890 acres of Gush Katif hothouses. Yet, all their efforts at recreating the agricultural success has met with abysmal failure. They are frantically trying to discover the secret of the Jews. They will never discover the secret within the ground. They will need to look elsewhere; into the very heavens.
The fruits continue to tell their story.