Why Israel? Why invest your life in a country that faces such dangers? NATAN SLIFKIN

Why Israel? Why invest your life in a country that faces such dangers? NATAN SLIFKIN Lately, I’ve been struggling with the question, Why have Israel? How does it make sense? Why would I raise my children in a country with so many threats, with so many dangers - and raise them to serve in the defense forces, with all the added risks entailed? Some people say that God is on our side, but unless He has issued a new update since October 7th, I am not reassured. The picture above, from my daughter’s IDF ceremony, fills me with pride; but the thought of my oldest son being in this ceremony in two years also fills me with dread. Obviously, it’s October 7th which brought this into sharp focus. But there were people discussing this question even beforehand. A few years ago, Daniel Gordis wrote a book titled Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win a War That May Never End. He spells out the problems with brutal realism: No realistic chance of peace with the Palestinians, Hezbollah and Hamas amassing weapons, a huge Israeli-Arab population which is largely hostile, Iran and others striving for nuclear weapons. Why does it make sense for us to do this? When the State of Israel was originally conceived, some thought it would cause antisemitism to cease. We can all see that as a joke; it’s just provided antisemitism with a new mask. Many consider that the goal of Israel was to provide safety, and some still say that they believe that Israel is the safest place for a Jew to live. Unfortunately, while Israel might psychologically feel safe, the objective reality is that it is certainly far from the safest place. The odds of being harmed by a terrorist outside of Israel are extraordinarily low; the chances of being hit by a missile or being nuked are virtually non-existent. The same cannot be said for living in Israel. But we don’t always choose the safest places to live or the safest things to do. Life is about more than maximizing lifespan and minimizing risk. Life has to have meaning. Daniel Gordis provides other goals and functions of Israel, to which I would like to add some of my own. Here they are, in no particular order. Israel is an opportunity to show ourselves and others what the Jewish People can do when we have sovereignty. What has thousands of years of Torah and the Jewish experience done to condition us, and how is it expressed when we finally have a nation? In the 75 years of the State’s existence, we have accomplished so many things, in so many areas. Whether it’s incredible “social capital,” amazing accomplishments of an idealistic society, technological innovation, assistance for other countries, rescuing other Jews and absorbing astonishing numbers of immigrants, Israel’s accomplishments are extraordinary - especially against the backdrop of the dismal failures of the rest of the Middle East. Israel is our ancestral homeland. Mayim Bialik, in a recent video bemoaning the rampant Judeopathy in the US and the dangers she sees for her son entering college, says, “I feel like a stranger in my own country.” No Jew feels like a stranger in Israel, no matter how poor their Modern Hebrew. We are connected here to an astonishing three thousand years of history and ongoing presence in the land. Israel’s care for Jews is guaranteed. Any Jew, anywhere in the world, has a country that is not only his ancestral homeland, but which will welcome him to live in it. And if Jews are in trouble, anywhere in the world, Israel will try to help, with the resources that only a state can provide. Israel creates a message of hope, even amidst despair. The creation of the State of Israel - with UN approval! - after two thousand years of exile and persecution is the greatest miracle of recent history. Its timing, a few years after the unimaginable devastation of the Holocaust, was utterly revitalizing. And since its creation, there have been many more examples of hope amidst despair - the military victories of ‘48 and ‘67, the Entebbe rescue, even the rescue of Ori Megidish last week. No, things don’t always work out. But the track record means that we have reason to hope that they will. We can’t be certain that God will perform miracles, but in this country He does so pretty often. These are just some of the reasons why Israel is so important and valuable. Feel free to add more.

Jerusalem - The Seven Wonders Of The Jewish World, Jerusalem Post By Rabbi NATAN SLIFKIN

Jerusalem - A new list: The 7 Wonders of the Jewish World, with “world” not being a geographical location, but the full realm of Jewish experience.

Since ancient times, cultures have perceived significance in the number seven. In antiquity, a list was compiled of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In the 19th century, lists were compiled of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages and the Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind.

More recently, Mohandas Gandhi made a list of the Seven Blunders of the World, and just last week many Israel supporters were disappointed when the Dead Sea did not win enough votes to make the new list of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. Meanwhile, the Israel Tourism Ministry is arranging a vote for the Seven Wonders of Israel.

But I would like to propose a different list: The Seven Wonders of the Jewish World, with “world” not being a geographical location, but rather the full realm of the Jewish experience.

1. Monotheism

There is an old ditty which goes, “How odd of God, to choose the Jews.” One of the many rejoinders is: “It’s not so odd; the Jews chose God.” Yet it is that very choosing of God which is odd and remarkable. As archeologist and Egyptologist Henri Frankfort wrote, “The dominant tenet of Hebrew thought is the absolute transcendence of God. God is not in nature. Neither earth nor sun nor heaven is divine; even the most potent natural phenomena are but reflections of God’s greatness... it needs an effort of the imagination to realize the shattering boldness of a contempt for imagery at the time, and in the particular historical setting, of the Hebrews.”

Aside from its role in shaping religion, monotheism also laid the foundation for the rise of science; as several historians of science have noted, the idea that disparate phenomena all follow fundamental “laws” flowed from monotheism. And the billions of adherents of Christianity and Islam are all adopting a monotheism initiated by the Jewish People.

2. The Land of Israel

The land of Israel, promised to Abraham, is small. It does not host the greatest waterfalls or the tallest mountains. But it is nevertheless remarkable within the natural world. Geographically, the land of Israel is at the junction of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Within its tiny area, it houses an incredible diversity of landscapes: snowy slopes, tropical beaches, arid deserts and green forests. As a result of all this, the land of Israel is home to an astonishingly diverse range of flora and fauna. It is the southernmost range of many northern species, the westernmost range of eastern species, and the northernmost range of southern species. As the Midrash states, Israel is the center of the world.

3. Torah

Literally meaning “teaching,” the word Torah is often used in the narrow sense of referring to the Five Books of Moses. But in its broadest sense, it refers to the entire gamut of Jewish teachings. This marvelous body of literature chronicles a nation’s efforts over millennia to connect with the Divine, to improve the individual, to regulate society and to stretch the mind. Scripture, Talmud, midrash, philosophy, mysticism, law, ethics – it encompasses every intellectual taste and every aspect of our lives.

4. The calendar

The wonder of the Jewish calendar is not limited to the way in which it manages to synchronize three entirely unrelated natural phenomena: the rotation of the earth on its axis, the revolution of the moon around the earth, and the revolution of the earth around the sun.

The very contents of the Jewish calendar are so much richer than in the joke which describes it as consisting of two types of events: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat,” and “They tried to kill us, we didn’t win, let’s not eat.”

We celebrate national salvation and religious freedom; we observe days of solemnity, repentance and introspection; and we mourn the loss of people and precious elements of our heritage. Most wonderful of all is the Sabbath, during which, miraculously, I am able to resist checking my e-mail for a full twenty-four hours.

5. Jewish survival

The Jewish People, never large in number, have been faced with hatred for over 3,000 years. We have been exiled from our home and forced into servitude and exile among hostile nations. We have suffered persecution in every one of the numerous countries in which we have lived. Nations faced with far fewer existential threats have disappeared, and yet we have survived.

Mark Twain famously asked, “The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then... passed away. The Greek and the Roman followed. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts... What is the secret of his immortality?”

And we made it back to our homeland after 2,000 years of exile, an event completely unparalleled in world history.

6.The State of Israel

Like every citizen of Israel, and especially like every oleh (immigrant), I could rant endlessly about the shortcomings of the State of Israel (though unlike the citizens of our neighboring countries, I could do so without fear of being thrown in prison). But this would be a smallminded perspective that does not take into account the incredible challenges that the state overcomes.

Despite having to absorb an enormous number of immigrants in a short span of time, and having to devote a ridiculously large amount of resources to national defense, Israel has managed to create a vibrant democracy, an oasis of prosperity, producing astonishing accomplishments in every field, all while successfully repelling repeated attempts at annihilation.

7.Global significance

Although numbering only 0.2% of the total world population today, and never having numbered much more than that, the Jewish People have always had an inexplicably large impact upon the world. The spread of monotheism is the most significant example, but we have also made disproportionate contributions in every sphere of knowledge and endeavor. Meanwhile, the United Nations is obsessed with Israel, condemning it more than every other country put together. If anything, we’re too significant for our own good.

Those are the Seven Wonders of the Jewish World as I see them, which I think are much more wonderful than the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Colossus, schmolossus.

The writer is the author of a variety of works on the relationship between Judaism, zoology and the natural sciences. His website is www.zootorah.com.