Amidst Miracles, Boston On My Mind
Regardless of which direction your ideological and/or political beliefs lean, one thing is for certain: call it whatever else you want, 6,000,000+ Jewish people living in the Holy Land, Eretz Yisroel, the Land of Israel, the State of Israel, is nothing short of a miracle.
From the ashes of the Holocaust, with numbers depleted, families destroyed, innocent life cut short, the Jewish people regrouped, rebuilt and recovered. Simply miraculous.
Miraculous: The creation of the modern state, against all odds – and by odds I mean a far outnumbering enemy.
Miraculous: The yearly celebrations of Jewish statehood, the showing of Israeli nationalism and patriotism, the display of Jewish pride and vision.
Miraculous: The historical beaten-path travelled to bring us here, through persecution, expulsion and genocide. Jews kept marching. Faith and determination of some sort never lost.
Miraculous: The modern beaten-path travelled to keep us here. The War of Independence. The Six Day War. The Old City. Yom Kippur War. 1956. Lebanon. The IDF. International recognition. Intifada. Terror. Treaties. The list goes on…
Most Miraculous of all: The upbeat character and persona of the Israeli population. The will to continue, the desire to build, the need to grow. The smiles affixed to the faces of young children. The hope instilled in their parents. The ability to stand tall. Stand proud. Stand here.
As I joined my Jewish brothers and sisters Monday night in jubilation of 65 years of modern – and thousands of years of historical – miracles, I heard the news from Boston. I paused with a friend for a moment to reflect. Amidst all these miracles, I had Boston on my mind.
The thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories that have terrified generations of Jewish people, generations of Israeli people, had arrived in Boston. In the land of opportunity, in the land of the free, the home of the brave, the United States of America.
As Jewish people and supporters of Israel, we know war. We know terror. We know death. We know grieving families, orphaned children, fallen sons and daughters.
But, more importantly, we know recovery. We know resolve. We know how to come together. We know how to build. We know how to start again. We know the future is brighter.
For Boston, that brighter future starts now. For America, camaraderie and unity will aid the healing process. The formula has been tested. It works every time.
Boston, USA, trust me when I say “the people of Israel stand with you today.”
They stand with you like no other.