For years, I have been accused of wearing rose-colored glasses concerning Aliyah, Israel and our incredibly-holy Land. And for the most part, I have maintained my innocence, responding to the accusations by stating the

Today, we are feeling the effects of not even fighting.

irrefutable facts:


  1. At no time since the days of Ezra and Nehemiah has the Land of Israel been more welcoming to the Jewish people;
  1. It has never been easier for a Jewish person to move to Eretz Yisrael;
  1. The Torah is quite clear that it is our obligation to live here whether life is easier here or not;
  1. The Torah is also quite clear that, well, HaShem is not really such a big fan of people who have not-nice things to say about our Land;
  1. The State of Israel, while not always run by those of purest heart and clearest thinking, is ours, the only Jewish country in the entire world.
But today is a tough day. Today is a day when even I had the thought creep into my mind: What the heck is wrong with us? And when I saw the two coffins appear on the television screen in my office, the first words out of my mouth were, "We are pathetic."


How else could you explain a country that will give up a convicted murderer who has promised to murder again? How else could you explain a country that doesn't even know for sure what it is receiving in exchange for that murderer until the public - including the families of Eldad Regev, H.y.d., and Ehud Goldwasser, H.y.d. - sees two coffins appear on the television screen? How else can you explain watching the two coffins sitting there, knowing that in the past Israel has been able to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat? And waiting... waiting... and then, nothing.


We are pathetic.


In 1994, Nachshon Wachsman, H.y.d., was kidnapped and it seemed the whole Jewish world was praying for his rescue. Ultimately, the news we received was the worst. He had been killed in a failed rescue attempt. Yes, the news was the worst. Or at least we thought it was.


Until today. Today, we really understand what the worst news is. Today, we are feeling the effects of not even fighting. Today, we are the laughingstock of the Arab world; and even those around the world who love us - and yes, they do exist - are scratching their heads. This is the Israel of Entebbe? This is the Israel of the Iraqi nuclear reactor? This is the Israel of the Six-Day War?


Yes, this is that Israel.


These are dark days for the Jews of Israel and, as such, for the entire Jewish world. But we are still the Jewish people. We are still the nation that has survived - and thrived - throughout the centuries against all rational calculation. We are the nation that won an un-winnable war in six days, and we are the nation that rescued the hostages from Entebbe, and we are the nation that bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor.


We are also the nation that bombed Syria's nuclear facility just a few months ago. We are also the only nation to have thousands of people immigrate to its shores each year because of religious and philosophical destiny. We are also the nation that allows my sons to wear long side-curls and yarmulkes without question.


We are a nation that is far from perfect, but then again, our entire history is one lacking perfection, from the Biblical episodes of the Golden Calf to the Sin of the Spies to Moshe hitting the rock to King Saul trying to kill soon-to-be King David to our Judge Samson marrying a Philistine woman and to the modern days of the

We are also the nation that bombed Syria's nuclear facility just a few months ago.

Holocaust, and assimilation, and Moshe Dayan giving the Temple Mount keys to the Waqf leadership, and Sharon evicting 8,000 Jews from their homes.


But we are also a nation with a future.


My wife and I are raising our kids here. We are raising them to be proud, honest, caring, Torah-observant Jews. And this Friday night, when I go around the dinner table and give each of the children the three-faceted blessing, I will have another prayer in mind as well:


"May HaShem help us to raise you in our Land in a way that you will help the Jewish people to maximize our potential."


And I will look into each of their eyes and see the holiness and the potential that HaShem has placed within them and within all Jewish children.


And that is why I - and why we - have reason to be optimistic.