By Rabbi Eliezer Melamed and Rabbi Shlomo Badash, ©Arutz-7 Op-Ed: Wednesday, July 25, 2001
Me’At Min Ha’Or, Tammuz 29, 5761 – July 20, 2001 – It came the day when all the ministers of the world came before the Heavenly Court to debate the matter of Israel facing a war against its enemies among the nations of the world.
And the prosecutor came and opened by saying, “See the People of Israel, whom G-d has gathered together from the four corners of the earth, and brought to the Holy Land. They show ungratefulness and give away G-d’s Inheritance to the evil ones. It is therefore fitting that all of the goodness they have received should be made harsh for them, and their enemies should vanquish them.”
Then came one of the ministers to the defense of Israel, and said: “It is not that Israel is showing distaste for the goodness that G-d gave them, but rather that He is a Lord of Vengeance, while they want to increase peace in the world. And regarding their violation of the Divine treaty, it is only in order to make a New Middle East, and not only that but they are tired of war, and because of their great weakness they think that their enemies are also tired, as they are, and seek tranquility.”
Joy then reigned amidst the prosecutor’s faction, as it was understood that this minister who came to defend Israel had actually provided even more evidence for the prosecution.
And the prosecutor spoke: “If they truly meant well, how is it that they abandoned their righteous brothers living in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, and went to embrace and kiss murderers, enemies of their nation, and gave them weapons, and signed an agreement with their enemies allowing them to rule over great parts of Israel and cause them such pain?”
Then came Michael, the great minister, and said: “But within Israel there are also many settlers who hold tight to the Land with great dedication, and even though the terrorists attack them on the roads, by day and by night, and even though they must often bury their dead, they still are not deterred but rather adhere to and fulfill their faith.”
Immediately a great buzz arose in the Divine chambers, and it appeared that the merits of the settlers were about to tip the scales in favor of Israel.
The Satan then stood to defend his cause, and spoke: “The settlers are not such great heroes. The reason they remain in their communities is not because of their great devotion for the Holy Land, but rather because they bought their homes for cheap, and have nowhere else to go.”
One of the angels then answered: “Just now, on the eve of the Sabbath in which Israel reads the Torah portion in which is written the scouts’ words that “the Land is very very good,” in one of the Jewish communities atop the mountain range near Shechem, in the place where all Israel stood over 3,000 years ago with Joshua and accepted once again the Divine Covenant – in that place, today, six families from among the Children of Israel, stood up with strength, and despite all the difficulties from within and without, fulfilled the commandment of settling the Land, and signed a contract to build new homes there.”
At this point, the prosecutor fell backwards as the merit of the six new homes in Israel overcame the people’s transgressions. It was therefore ruled that the people of Israel would emerge victorious over their enemies and would merit seeing the building of their Land.
Note: Whether the victory will come speedily or over a long period of time, whether it will come easily or with difficulty, we are still unsure; this has not yet been decided with finality. The more Jews repent for their lack of appreciation of the Beloved Land, and the more Jews settle in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza – the closer this will bring our Redemption speedily in our days.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed is the Rabbi of the Shomron community of Har Brachah and the head of Beit El Yeshiva Institutions’ Yeshivat Har Brachah there. Rabbi Shlomi Badash is the principal of the Nachalat Tzvi girls’ school in Elon Moreh.