It was a sunny Shabbat and I was sitting on my lawn with a friend. I was very distraught. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had just signed a paper instating the decision to go on with the Gazan Jewish expulsion plan.
"What are we going to do now, Rachel?" I said. The news footage of the Prime Minister sitting and signing this document ran through my head.
She looked down at the grass and then at me and said, "Remember the Purim story. Haman wanted to kill Mordechai the Jew and even had gallows built to hang him. At the end of the story, we saw that G-d had Haman and his 10 sons hanged there instead. We mustn't lose hope."
The thought of the Purim story brought me joy. Purim happens to be my favorite holiday. One celebrates the victory of the Jews, a tiny population compared to the 127 provinces that were under King Achashverosh. It is also the holiday where things are hidden and situations that look bleak are turned into triumphs. Can one imagine if they lived in that time, walking in the town plaza and actually seeing the gallows waiting to hang Jews? And then, imagine seeing announcements posted up saying that on a certain date, the inhabitants of the country have permission from the king to slaughter the Jewish population in their midst.
How horrified and how hopeless I would feel. It wouldn't be rumors anymore, I'd think to myself, but actual letters sealed with the king's insignia. Yet, in the end, after all the schemes and evil plans that were made and even sealed, Haman was the one who was hanged, and the Jews had a decisive victory over those who wished to kill them. So, too, today. Sharon may have signed a document, there may be detention camps already built to hold Israeli citizens resisting expulsion, but in the end, G-d can turn things around.
A few days after that Shabbat, my dear husband added that he remembers when the Ramallah bypass road was built by former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Rabin had built it as part of an artery of roads in order to implement the Oslo Accords, in which most of Judea, Samaria and Gaza would be given to the PLO for their own entity. He needed to somehow remove the Jewish presence from there and so the roads were built.
The bypass roads actually improved our daily lives, as the roads we once had to take to our communities were old, ran right next to or through Arab villages and were often dangerous for Jewish drivers. And so, the road that Rabin had originally built for the purpose of giving away our land to the Arabs actually became a blessing. So much so, that even with the intifada and attacks on the roads, the population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza communities grew, and we are even stronger today. Another 'switch' on Man's plans.
When our ancestors left Egypt with Moses and the spies were sent out to check out the Land, 10 out of the 12 spies came back with negative reports. They said that the land was too difficult for us to go in and possess. The current inhabitants were too strong. Our leaders of that time, the 'princes' of our nation, scared the people and told them we were too weak. Because we believed them and lacked faith in G-d, we did not merit to possess the land. This story reminds me of the recent internal Likud referendum held on whether we should abandon Gaza.
Most of our leaders (similar to the 10 spies) told us we were weak, outnumbered and could not hold on to the Gazan region. But the people voting did a tikkun, a repairing act. They responded with an overwhelming majority: "No to giving up our inheritance! We reject what our leaders are telling us. We want the Land of Israel!" They totally rejected what the leaders were telling them. They showed they had faith in G-d's promise that we would return to our land and possess it. In this case, the people have proven more faithful to G-d than their leaders.
We are taught that the Jewish people don't have to be strong and mighty like the rest of the nations. We just have to be strong in our faith and in G-d's promises. We are only required to make a small opening, even the size of a pin hole. But when we make that pin hole, G-d will then come in and do the rest. G-d's name will be sanctified.
Many people might think fighting the government, which has an army and police at its disposal, is fruitless. They say we are outnumbered and are not able to compete with the expulsion forces. But we must remember that we don't need to have an 'even' playing field. It doesn't have to be that if they have 10,000 players, then we need 10,000 players, and if they have 500 strong men, then we need 500 strong men. I'm reminded of the story of Gideon, in the book of Judges. Gideon and his army were forced to go to battle with the Midianites, but before Gideon and his men went to fight the numerous Midianite forces, G-d made sure that Gideon's army was a mere 300 men. Why did G-d want Gideon's army so small? So it would be obvious that their victory was due to G-d's help and not due to their numbers or might.
We must also remember not to lose hope just because we can't see our salvation. When we left Egypt with Moses and were suddenly trapped at the Red Sea by the great Egyptian army, we thought we had nowhere to go. We would either have to fight or surrender. Yet, miracle of miracles, the sea split! Never before had such a thing happened. Who would, who could expect such a thing to occur? One man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, had the faith to walk directly into the sea. He had what we need to show today: faith. It was not until the waters reached his head that the miracle happened. We need to be like our ancestor Nachshon, today. We must go forward. We don't necessarily need to fight, but we also don't need to surrender. We need to walk forward with a tremendous faith in G-d and His promises.
So, from my heart, my dear brothers and sisters, I wish you not to be discouraged. Do not feel overwhelmed by what seems like an unfair or unbalanced fight. Remember that all the kings and leaders of the world can meet together and council and plan their evil schemes, but it is G-d's promises that will prevail. Man plans and G-d laughs. Man proposes, but G-d disposes.
Our test in these end times is not in numbers, nor in might. It is in faith. Everything in front of us can look bleak and scary, but will we really show G-d that we believe in Him and not in the power of mortal man? This, I believe, is our test.
May we have the courage and faith to leave our comfort zones and go out to protect our land and hold strong to it. May our leaders be blessed with wisdom and strength to stop a needless surrender. May they stand up to outside foreign interests that remove our sovereignty over our land and endanger the Jewish nation. And most of all, may we all learn to fear only G-d, not man.
"What are we going to do now, Rachel?" I said. The news footage of the Prime Minister sitting and signing this document ran through my head.
She looked down at the grass and then at me and said, "Remember the Purim story. Haman wanted to kill Mordechai the Jew and even had gallows built to hang him. At the end of the story, we saw that G-d had Haman and his 10 sons hanged there instead. We mustn't lose hope."
The thought of the Purim story brought me joy. Purim happens to be my favorite holiday. One celebrates the victory of the Jews, a tiny population compared to the 127 provinces that were under King Achashverosh. It is also the holiday where things are hidden and situations that look bleak are turned into triumphs. Can one imagine if they lived in that time, walking in the town plaza and actually seeing the gallows waiting to hang Jews? And then, imagine seeing announcements posted up saying that on a certain date, the inhabitants of the country have permission from the king to slaughter the Jewish population in their midst.
How horrified and how hopeless I would feel. It wouldn't be rumors anymore, I'd think to myself, but actual letters sealed with the king's insignia. Yet, in the end, after all the schemes and evil plans that were made and even sealed, Haman was the one who was hanged, and the Jews had a decisive victory over those who wished to kill them. So, too, today. Sharon may have signed a document, there may be detention camps already built to hold Israeli citizens resisting expulsion, but in the end, G-d can turn things around.
A few days after that Shabbat, my dear husband added that he remembers when the Ramallah bypass road was built by former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Rabin had built it as part of an artery of roads in order to implement the Oslo Accords, in which most of Judea, Samaria and Gaza would be given to the PLO for their own entity. He needed to somehow remove the Jewish presence from there and so the roads were built.
The bypass roads actually improved our daily lives, as the roads we once had to take to our communities were old, ran right next to or through Arab villages and were often dangerous for Jewish drivers. And so, the road that Rabin had originally built for the purpose of giving away our land to the Arabs actually became a blessing. So much so, that even with the intifada and attacks on the roads, the population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza communities grew, and we are even stronger today. Another 'switch' on Man's plans.
When our ancestors left Egypt with Moses and the spies were sent out to check out the Land, 10 out of the 12 spies came back with negative reports. They said that the land was too difficult for us to go in and possess. The current inhabitants were too strong. Our leaders of that time, the 'princes' of our nation, scared the people and told them we were too weak. Because we believed them and lacked faith in G-d, we did not merit to possess the land. This story reminds me of the recent internal Likud referendum held on whether we should abandon Gaza.
Most of our leaders (similar to the 10 spies) told us we were weak, outnumbered and could not hold on to the Gazan region. But the people voting did a tikkun, a repairing act. They responded with an overwhelming majority: "No to giving up our inheritance! We reject what our leaders are telling us. We want the Land of Israel!" They totally rejected what the leaders were telling them. They showed they had faith in G-d's promise that we would return to our land and possess it. In this case, the people have proven more faithful to G-d than their leaders.
We are taught that the Jewish people don't have to be strong and mighty like the rest of the nations. We just have to be strong in our faith and in G-d's promises. We are only required to make a small opening, even the size of a pin hole. But when we make that pin hole, G-d will then come in and do the rest. G-d's name will be sanctified.
Many people might think fighting the government, which has an army and police at its disposal, is fruitless. They say we are outnumbered and are not able to compete with the expulsion forces. But we must remember that we don't need to have an 'even' playing field. It doesn't have to be that if they have 10,000 players, then we need 10,000 players, and if they have 500 strong men, then we need 500 strong men. I'm reminded of the story of Gideon, in the book of Judges. Gideon and his army were forced to go to battle with the Midianites, but before Gideon and his men went to fight the numerous Midianite forces, G-d made sure that Gideon's army was a mere 300 men. Why did G-d want Gideon's army so small? So it would be obvious that their victory was due to G-d's help and not due to their numbers or might.
We must also remember not to lose hope just because we can't see our salvation. When we left Egypt with Moses and were suddenly trapped at the Red Sea by the great Egyptian army, we thought we had nowhere to go. We would either have to fight or surrender. Yet, miracle of miracles, the sea split! Never before had such a thing happened. Who would, who could expect such a thing to occur? One man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, had the faith to walk directly into the sea. He had what we need to show today: faith. It was not until the waters reached his head that the miracle happened. We need to be like our ancestor Nachshon, today. We must go forward. We don't necessarily need to fight, but we also don't need to surrender. We need to walk forward with a tremendous faith in G-d and His promises.
So, from my heart, my dear brothers and sisters, I wish you not to be discouraged. Do not feel overwhelmed by what seems like an unfair or unbalanced fight. Remember that all the kings and leaders of the world can meet together and council and plan their evil schemes, but it is G-d's promises that will prevail. Man plans and G-d laughs. Man proposes, but G-d disposes.
Our test in these end times is not in numbers, nor in might. It is in faith. Everything in front of us can look bleak and scary, but will we really show G-d that we believe in Him and not in the power of mortal man? This, I believe, is our test.
May we have the courage and faith to leave our comfort zones and go out to protect our land and hold strong to it. May our leaders be blessed with wisdom and strength to stop a needless surrender. May they stand up to outside foreign interests that remove our sovereignty over our land and endanger the Jewish nation. And most of all, may we all learn to fear only G-d, not man.