This week we will commemorate the 39th anniversary of Ichud Yerushalayim-the reunification of Jerusalem, the miraculous military victory of the 1967 Six Day War. For nineteen years, the joy that had permeated the Jewish People with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was tempered by the somber, humbling reality that the city of Jerusalem remained divided, the ancient city, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount under Jordanian sovereignty. That all changed with the dramatic events of June 7, 1967.
Shortly after Lt. General Motta Gur’s thrilling announcement, ‘Har Habayit B’yadeinu, Har Habayit B’yadeinu!’ ‘The Temple Mount is in our hands, the Temple Mount is in our hands’, the many heroic and exhausted soldiers began to wind their way through the Old City streets, amidst the confusion and burning debris of a battle zone to the Kotel HaMaaravi- the Western Wall.
As one group of soldiers embarked toward the Kotel, they suddenly noticed an elderly pious looking man, in traditional rabbinic garb, running, almost skipping through the war-torn streets. Later the world would realize that this ecstatic, older gentleman was the great Rabbi Aryeh Levine, known affectionately as the tzadik of Jerusalem. At that moment though, as the soldiers gazed at the flaming debris, and the war- torn streets, and realized the magnitude of their accomplishments, and saw this older, holy man literally running to the Western Wall, the soldiers thought he had to be the Messiah! After so many years the Jewish People had not only returned to the Land of Israel, but now, ancient Jerusalem, our eternal capital, was once again in our hands, it had to be that Mashiach had come. How else could you explain the miraculous events unfolding before their very eyes? In the midst of the miraculous victory, these soldiers were overwhelmed, in awe, appreciation and faith in G-d’s divine kindness.
Today, thirty-nine years later we are still waiting for Mashiach, yet the events of June 7, 1967 still leave us mesmerized. How are we to view these events within the context of the ever evolving drama of Jewish history? What lessons are we to learn, what inspiration are we supposed to be left with, once a miracle has seemingly ceased, has come and gone? How are we to commemorate and continue to show our gratitude for such incredible gifts, even when time and circumstance seems to change and suddenly challenge that heightened faith that each miraculous act in our history had previously inspired?
There is a beautiful teaching in the Netivot Shalom, the collection of Chasidic discourses on the Torah and Holidays, written by the 20th Century sage Rabbi Shalom Noach Brazovsky, the Slonimer Rebbe. The particular piece is a commentary on the events of the seventh day of Pesach, when we commemorate the miracle of Kriat Yam Suf, the parting of the Sea of Reeds. As the Torah recounts this last great supernatural event of the Exodus narrative, we are told that Moses leads the Jewish people in song, expressing gratitude and praise to G-d for this and each of the miraculous events in our departure from Egypt. The Song of the Sea is a pivotal event in Jewish history that we recall each morning by reciting the entire collection of verses which make up this great song.
The Slonimer Rebbe comments on the verse: “Uvnei Yisrael halchu bayabasha b’toch haYam”- “And the Jewish People walked on dry land within the Sea...” The simple interpretation of this verse is that as the Jewish People traversed the Sea of Reeds, a miracle occurred allowing the sea to part and literally the Jewish people walked on dry land. There are several rabbinic teachings in both the Midrash and the Talmud that depict the scene as the sea actually parting into twelve sections, and each tribe walking on its own path amid the waters. But the Slonimer Rebbe cites an earlier Chasidic Master, Rabbi Elimelech of Lijensk, who offered this interpretation of this verse in his epic work, Noam Elimelech:
“The verse speaks of the idea that ‘...the children of Israel walked on dry land amidst the sea..’ that is that G-d gifted them with such revelation that even after they had passed through the sea, and were now on dry land, their faith and ability to experience G-d’s presence, was exactly as they felt while in the midst of the sea, in the midst of the miracle...
... Nachmanides taught that we know that from experiencing the many wondrous revealed miracles a person comes to recognize also the many less obvious, subtle miraculous everyday events that form the foundation of the entire Torah... The highest form of faith is the awareness that Israel achieved after our departure from slavery and the parting of the Sea of Reeds, that is the faith that every aspect of our lives is miraculous, and that nothing is random and occurring simply of this world...”
The parting of the Sea of Reeds left such an indelible mark on the Jewish conscience, that even after the Jewish People had traversed the Sea and had seen the cessation of this supernatural event, they were acutely aware of the presence of G-d, even in the subtle, less obvious miracles that occur each and every day.
Perhaps this is precisely why we recite this song each and every day to reinforce this profound lesson - the lesson that the miraculous events of Jewish history, the many revealed supernatural occurrences are meant to bring us to heightened consciousness allowing us to appreciate the many less obvious gifts, the hidden miracles that occur each and every day.
Perhaps it is in this context that we can begin to address the significance of this incredible commemoration of Yom Yerushalayim. It was evident to see the Yad Hashem, the proverbial “hand of G-d” in the height of the events, and even in the days and months immediately following the events of June 7, 1967. But today, even as we are still longing for the day when indeed we’ll witness the complete ingathering of the Exiles and enter into that era of eternal peace, we must not turn a blind eye to the many incredible gifts that G-d gives us each and every day. After 2,000 years of exile, each of us is free to visit, live, study and pray in the ancient city of Jerusalem.
In just a few weeks, many of us will be sitting in Jerusalem, in Isralight’s refurbished 900 year old Crusader building, learning Torah together during our annual Isralight Inward Bound program. (For information about joining this program, please visit http://www.isralight.org/html/Israel.htm#IB2006 ). Perhaps with this opportunity in our scope of focus, and the perspective offered by the Slonimer Rebbe, we can begin to fully understand the importance and magnitude of this incredible day of Yom Yerushalayim.
May the great gift that is Jerusalem, the united eternal capital of the Jewish People, ever serve as an inspiration for each of us to appreciate all of Hashem’s gifts, and help us to see the subtle hidden miracles we experience each and every day....
Yom Yerushalayim Sameach...Rabbi Sam Shor