search
Kenneth Cohen

Miracles and Yom Yerushalayim

The weekday Shmone Esrei is divided into three sections. The first three blessings are known as “Shevach,” giving praises to Hashem.

The second section is known as “Bakasha,” or requests. There are thirteen requests that we make daily. We ask for wisdom, forgiveness, good health, Parnassa, and even Mashiach.

This is followed by “Hoda’ah,” or giving thanks. These last three blessings acknowledge Hashem’s kindness, for which we show our appreciation.

In this last section, there is an important line that we need to emphasize. We are reminded of “the miracles that are with us each day.” If we can do this, we will reinforce the idea of how much protection we receive from Above.

Yom Yerushalayim celebrates the victory of the Six Day War. Many described this war as the greatest revealed miracles since the splitting of the Red Sea. Israel was threatened by all of its neighbors that they would be “driven into the sea.”
Nobody could ever imagine that what took Joshua seven years to conquer thirty-one kings, happened in only six days.

We must not forget for a moment the numerous miracles we are witnessing in the current war. Three hundred rockets from Iran that did not hurt even one Jew was huge. The “accident” that took the life of Raisi was another example.

The Prophet Jeremiah predicted that the day would come when the miracles in Egypt, will be small in comparison with what would be witnessed in the future. In Egypt, the population grew from seventy to 600,000 in 210 years. In Israel, we were a population of 600,000 that became over seven million in seventy-six years. It seems that the prophecy of Jeremiah is coming true in our times. Yom Yerushalayim Sameach!

About the Author
Rabbi Cohen has been a Torah instructor at Machon Meir, Jerusalem, for over twenty years while also teaching a Talmud class in the Shtieblach of Old Katamon. Before coming to Israel, he was the founding rabbi of Young Israel of Century City, Los Angeles. He recently published a series of Hebrew language-learning apps, which are available at www.cafehebrew.com