Spiritual Awakening
There is a spiritual awakening taking place in Israel today. It is difficult to see when the country was going through a war, and the pain of the hostages was so real.
It has also been difficult to see this awakening when the left-leaning, anti-religious media has such a loud voice.
The truth can no longer be camouflaged. The courage and determination of our brave soldiers, and the faith exhibited by the hostages in captivity, have been the main reason for this spiritual awakening.
An additional reason is connected to the ridiculous response of the world to the tragic events of October 7. Instead of gaining sympathy from the rest of the world, the war ignited the ugly flames of antisemitism. Jews were faced with the sobering knowledge that we stand alone, and are no longer welcome in most parts of the world.
It is sad that it takes tragedies to wake us up, but this is exactly what has happened. There were two short clips that came out recently that demonstrate this change. The first came from a soldier in Gaza, and the second involved a recently released hostage.
The soldier was reciting a prayer giving thanks to Hashem for allowing him to fulfill the Mitzva of defending the beautiful land and people of Israel. He was grateful to be fulfilling his fifth tour of duty in Gaza. This was quite impressive.
But even more impressive was the description of the partially tattooed hostage, Omer Shem Tov, who was previously a secular Jew. Omer described how he prayed daily to G-d, and developed an actual friendship in the darkest places. He learned how to show gratitude for the mere morsels fed to him by the Hamas barbarians. He further described how he was shielded by the Divine light in the darkest place. He even mentioned that now that he was free, he missed that special bond he had developed with his Maker.
Stories like these that we will continue to hear, are changing the overall attitude towards religious observance.
Shabbat is once again sacred for so many more Israelis. The same is true of kashrut and tefillin and tzitzit. There is a silver lining that comes with tragedy and suffering. There is an exciting reawakening to the way of life that our ancestors have been fulfilling since the time of the Torah. Great things are ahead for the Jewish people!