More than 75 people came to Congregation Ohr Torah (OT) in Edison for a meaningful and inspirational Yom Yerushalayim program on Monday, May 26. The event featured a multimedia presentation by noted author, educator and lecturer Rabbi Yotav Eliach with an enhanced breakfast. Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), which came out on Memorial Day this year, commemorates Israel’s regain of control over the city in 1967.
Rabbi Sariel Malitzky, OT’s rabbi, welcomed the audience to the community’s “first Yom Yerushalayim event in a long time.” He acknowledged the efforts of the event co-chairs Rabbi Benjy Kramer and Josh Caplan to organize the event. Rabbi Kramer began his introduction of Rabbi Eliach with a moving description of present-day Jerusalem, where all types of Jews live and work together and pray at the Western Wall—something our parents and grandparents could only have dreamed of before 1967. He described his personal connections to the speaker, describing him as the person who literally wrote the book on Zionism (“Judaism, Zionism and the Land of Israel,” Dialog Press, 2018).
Rabbi Eliach’s presentation, “Yerushalayim: The 3,000 Year Old Capital of the 77 Year Old State,” brought out a gamut of emotions from the audience—laughter, pride, tears of joy and sadness. He began his presentation about what the land of Israel means religiously with a historical perspective by noting his connections to Israel and his dozens of visits leading tours from Mt. Hermon to Taba and from Gaza to the Allenby Bridge and all parts in between.
Using the science fiction concept of time travel, Rabbi Eliach related how a grandmother in Nazi Germany who was forced to wear a yellow Jewish star on her clothing could have grandchildren who see the Jewish star featured proudly in blue on our nation’s flag. What would be the reaction if a time traveler from today could share their reality of the establishment of the State of Israel with Jews who suffered many times in history: under the Crusaders, the expulsion from Spain, pogroms in Poland, or under Nazi persecution? The result would be one of incredible happiness that the dream of a state where Jews of every type would have the freedom to live in a state of their own. “These people would weep with joy. Every dream they had is my reality. They would be amazed that such times could exist without Moshiach.”
The land of Israel has come a long way from the desolation of the 1920s. The area around Jerusalem had no electricity and no running water. American writer Mark Twain was “blown away about how a holy land could be such a mess. But today it is incredible. We are living the dream of over 100 Jewish generations.”
A moving video clip showed an Israeli Holocaust survivor watching her grandson, a pilot in the Israeli Air Force, fly his plane in the sky over her home. The emotional film and its symbolism had many reaching for napkins or tissues.
Rabbi Eliach noted that while we are grateful for the State of Israel on Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Independence Day) we should be grateful every day. “We sometimes forget that the casualties listed in the Tanach for settling the land were higher than all the casualties since 1948.” The historic reason why Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) is commemorated the day before Yom Ha’Atzmaut is to memorialize the brave residents of Gush Etzion whose settlement fell to attacking Arabs the day before the State of Israel was declared. Many settlements fell during the many wars where Israel defended itself against multiple hostile nations. The importance of Gush Etzion was its protection of the city of Jerusalem from November 1947 to May 1948. With the women and children evacuated to safety, Gush Etzion served as a bulwark to protect Jerusalem.
Another clip showed a soldier informing a family that their loved one had fallen in battle. Rabbi Eliach noted, “It is harder to see that as I get older. At first it was for soldiers … my age; now it is for soldiers my sons’ ages.” As the conflict with Gaza continues it is important for each soldier to understand that what they do is not just for their particular task, but for the overall mission of protecting the entire State of Israel and the Jewish people around the world. Most Americans are only aware of the few English-speaking Hesder Yeshiva programs that incorporate service in the Israeli Army with Torah learning. In actuality, there are over 75 such programs and 20 yeshivas that include learning before or after Army service. It is impractical to depend on reliance of foreign help to defend the State of Israel, he noted. This was true before the establishment of the State through present times.
In closing, Rabbi Eliach noted the series of miracles that created the confluence of events during the Six-Day War in 1967 that led to the famous words “Har Habayit Beyadenu!” (The Temple Mount is in our hands!) and the reunification of the city of Jerusalem and rebuilding of Jewish life there. Rabbi Eliach fittingly concluded the program with the singing of Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.”
“With Yom Yerushalayim coinciding with Memorial Day and a day off from work, we realized it would be a wonderful opportunity to draw a large crowd to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim,” said Rabbi Malitzky. “Rav Eliach did a masterful job with his multimedia presentation, teaching, engaging and inspiring us all about Yerushalayim.”
“We were gratified by the financial support of so many shul families and the strong turnout at both the special davening and the inspirational program,” added Caplan. “We plan to continue to bring more meaning to Yom Ha’Atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim for our members and the community at large.”
