Your Favorite Things About Israel


Jewish man fervently prays at the Western Wall (Shutterstock).
On the seventh day, they rose at daybreak and marched around the city, in the same manner, seven times; that was the only day that they marched around the city seven times.
Joshua 6:15 (The Israel Bible™)

Hear the verse in Hebrew

vai-HEE ba-YOM ha-sh’-vee-EE va-yash-KI-mu ka-a-LOT ha-SHA-khar va-ya-SO-bu et ha-EER ka-mish-PAT ha-ZEH SHE-va p’-a-MEEM RAK ba-YOM ha-HU sa-v’-VU et ha-EER SHE-va p’-a-MEEM

Protecting Israel is a 24/7 Job
On the seventh day, the Children of Israel walk around Yericho seven times. They blow the shofarot (שופרות), ‘rams horns,’ the walls miraculously fall, and they are able to take the city. The classical commentator Rashi notes that the seventh day of this process was Shabbat. This teaches us that war on behalf of defending the people and Land of Israel is permitted and required even on the peaceful and holy Sabbath. Even today, though we honor Shabbat and keep it holy, the State of Israel is required to protect itself seven days a week. Thus, in the Israeli Army, essential tasks to protect the nation must and do continue, even on Shabbat.
 

A beautiful national civil cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel (Shutterstock)
When I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands in which you are scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing odor; and I will be sanctified through you in the sight of the nations.
Ezekiel 20:41 (The Israel Bible™)

Hear the verse in Hebrew

b’-RAY-akh nee-KHO-akh er-TZEH et-KHEM b’-ho-tzee-EE et-KHEM min ha-a-MEEM
v’-ki-batz-TEE et-KHEM min ha-a-ra-TZOT a-SHER n’-fo-tzo-TEM BAM v’-nik-dash-TEE va-KHEM l’-ay-NAY ha-go-YIM

Zionism: Questions of the Past, Present and Future
Having already lived in exile, the prophet Yechezkel describes the future miraculous ingathering of the exiles, a miraculous event our generation has been privileged to witness. Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (1884 – 1963), historian, Zionist leader and the second President of Israel, reflected on the role of the State in this biblical promise: “The ingathering of the exiles is the most central and lofty ideal of this country. The redemptive reestablishment of Israel – this is a complete revolution in the annals of our days, in the chronicles of our entire nation. It serves as a counterweight, opposing our destruction and our extended exile.” For 2,000 years, Jews pondered the “When?” of these events, and Yitzchak Ben Zvi’s founding generation of Zionists dealt with the question of “How?” – how could they enable the process to succeed? Now, it is our generation’s mission to ask the next question: “Why?” – Why is it that we have merited to witness, and be involved in, such wondrous episodes? The key to appreciating our present day opportunities, and the path to enhancing our future lies in seeking these answers and working towards their fulfillment.
 
On the eve of Israel’s 71st Independence Day, its population stands at 9,021,000, crossing 9 million for the first time, according to figures released on Monday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The data show that 6,697,000 Israelis are Jewish (74.2 percent) and 1,890,000 are Arab (20.9%). In addition, there are 434,000 people who are non-Arab Christians or members of other ethnic groups. Seventy-five percent of the Jews in Israel were born in the country.

(full article online)

Israel’s population tops 9 million, including 45% of world Jewry
 

The beautiful grottoes in Rosh Hanikra (Shutterstock).
Let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains sing joyously together
Psalms 98:8 (The Israel Bible™)

Hear the verse in Hebrew

n’-ha-ROT yim-kha-u KHAF YA-khad ha-REEM y’-ra-NAY-nu

The sharp sounds of waters crashing into the rocks, as if calling out to Hashem (God), and the juxtaposition of great mountains which stand as an affirmation of God’s wondrous creations, can only be referring to one place in Israel: Rosh Hanikra. At the northwestern tip of the country, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, one can see an unusual geological phenomenon. A cliff made of soft white chalk rock hovers over the sea. Over time, the crashing of the waves into the soft rock of the mountain has created different rock formations as well as cavernous tunnels called grottoes. The grottoes weave the geology, history and spirit of the Land of Israel together.
 

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