Words From Rabbi White

This Sunday, 29 May (American Memorial Day) is the 28^th of iyyar.  The number 28 in Hebrew stands for “strength.” This day has become known as Yom Yerushalayim, commemorating that miraculous time, back in ‘67, when the strength of the Israeli army, with the help of HaShem, defeated the three neighbouring armies that had been determined to wipe out the country, God forbid. Many synagogues say Hallel on that day.

I happen to be reading now a Hebrew book by a well known Israeli author and broadcaster, Mordecai Naor.  The book describes his experiences growing up as a soldier and youth leader in Israel in the ‘50s. Here is a question I can ask you: many people say that if Israel would only return the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan, there could be a “2 state solution,” and peace would surely. How does the following passage from the book disprove that argument?

Here is my translation of the passage: “3 days before Purim, an Egged bus was attacked by terrorists who had come from Jordan… the results of that attack were unbearable: 11 Israelis were killed: mowed down by the terrorists who entered the bus and shot at men, women, and children.”

The answer to this question should be obvious:  this passage referred to an event that happened in 1952: 15 years before the 6-day war!! There was no “Israeli occupation of the West Bank.” In those days, Israel was just a sliver of its current size.

And we pray for the time, in the near future, when the words of this week’s parasha will be realized: “you will dwell securely in your land...I will give peace in the land, and you can go to sleep without being afraid...and no sword (i.e. weapon) will pass through your land...and I will cause you to increase, and I will establish My covenant with you...I will be your God, and you will be My nation.”

May thus be Hashem's will!

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P.S. Every Hebrew letter has a numerical value. The word for "strength" is spelled with 2 letters: the kaf and the het. The former has a value of 20, and the latter of 8. Thus, the Hebrew word for "strength" has a numerical value of 28!

Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Menahem