Israel Independence Day "You shall rejoice in your holiday" (Deuteronomy
16:14)
Dr. Aaron Lerner 12 May 2024

"You shall rejoice in your holiday" (Deuteronomy 16:14)

We have the privilege and blessing to be able to participate in literally
the best time of Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land since Joshua crossed
the Jordan.

And I write these words fully aware of what we are enduring.

The streets of the city I live in, Raanana, have been consecrated by the
many funeral processions taking our brave soldiers from their homes to their
final resting place in our military cemetery.

Four of these heroes were escorted from homes within a few blocks from where
I live and as I walk daily on these sidewalks I can't stop thinking how we
filled these very same streets following the caskets.

And yet, with Israel Independence Day following our Memorial Day, "you
shall rejoice in your holiday".

Jews over the many centuries honored this mitzvah under circumstances many
many magnitudes more challenging.

So I feel it is an afront for us not to celebrate.

Again, I don't deny that the situation is challenging.

But it is a challenge which we are facing and overcoming.

And at the risk of angering readers, I will suggest that this painful period
saved us from the fate of the frog in the slowly simmering pot.

Happy Israel Independence Day!

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