A Birthday Warning in Time
“You shall heed all My laws… so that the Land into which I bring you to dwell shall not vomit you out.”
How appropriate to the 58th birthday of the State of Israel are these words of G-d that appear towards the very end of the double Torah portion which will be read in synagogues throughout Israel and the world this Shabbat.
For many Jews in Israel this past year has been one of experiencing in part the fulfillment of this dread warning. Without entering into the national debate over disengagement, past and future, it is hardly possible not to commiserate with those Jews who lost their homes and livelihoods as a result of international pressures on the government to remove them. “Vomiting” can come in various forms. The present one of being forced to relinquish parts of our Land to an enemy committed to destroying us should serve as a reminder that the failure of so many of our misled brothers and sisters everywhere to “heed all My laws” may indeed be the cause of this tragedy.
May our people wherever they reside be inspired by the Divine warning and commit themselves to heeding G-d’s laws and thus securing Israel forever.
