Israel for Fifty Years
The eyes of the world are on Israel; even more so the eyes of the Christian. No current event has excited the people of God more in the past century than the emergence of this ancient people from the dust bins of history to a prominent place in today’s family of nations. The "people of the past" have become firmly established as "the people of the present" and, according to the Bible, will become "the people of the future." It has been a joy to the past and present editors of THE HERALD to help chronicle this modern miracle. From its inception in 1918, this journal has looked forward to just such events as we currently see in the Holy Land. As part of our tribute to the people of Israel on their fiftieth anniversary as a state, we reprint just a small selection of these articles on the following pages. We have chosen one from the onset of each decade since their formal declaration as an independent state in 1948. During this same period, radio and television programs have been produced on this important theme. Many have been written by the Bible Student community, as well. One of these booklets, prepared in 1968 by the Pastoral Bible Institute, publishers of THE HERALD, is entitled "Israel and the Middle East." A complimentary copy of this booklet is enclosed with this issue of our magazine. Additional copies may be ordered using the booklet list on the back of the insert found in every issue of THE HERALD. Let us all keep our eyes on Israel, for it is a microcosm of the world. Its future is a harbinger of the bright and better day for which all humankind has been waiting. Israel, as God’s timeclock, will soon sound in the entrance of the promised era of peace for all the race. In full faith, let us maintain our hearts in the prayer, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." 1948 The Budding Fig Tree
J. R. Hughes, The Herald, May, 1948, pages 67,68 Our Lord’s words recorded here are manifestly intended to notify us of the fact that God had appointed the nation of Israel to serve as, among other things, a measuring rod or barometer for the Christian church. When certain things would take place for Israel, then the church would be able to determine how near it is to the fulfilment of its own glorious hopes. Among students of the scriptures it is generally recognized that the fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel. Shortly before his utterance of the prophecy concerning the events which would attend his second advent, Jesus had pronounced a curse upon a fig tree in consequence of its failure to produce anything but leaves, whereupon the condemned tree at once began to wither, as narrated in Mark 11:13-20. It seems there was a deliberate intention on the part of our Lord to establish a connection between his cursing of the barren fig tree and his rejection of Israel, the nation symbolized by the fig tree, as prospective heirs of the promises. The latter event, as narrated in Matthew 23:38, 39, came about because of the nation of Israel, like the barren fig tree, had produced nothing to reward Christ who came seeking the fruitage of their years of God’s favor and blessing but the leaves of empty profession. It is significant that coupled with Jesus’ sentence of rejection pronounced upon the Israel of his day we find the declaration, "Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of Jehovah" (Matt. 23:39). It seems reasonable then to conclude that when in accordance with the Lord’s implied prediction the fig tree begins to show signs of renewed life, the event would not only be an evidence to the church of Christ that the hour of its deliverance was at hand, but would also be marked by some recognition on the part of a substantial portion of Jewry of the truth of the realization of their long awaited Messiah. Regarding that aspect of the implied prediction that concerns their awakening to awareness of their national solidarity, there can be no doubt at all of its fulfillment. The Zionist movement with its growing power, together with its struggle for political recognition and the fierce determination on the part of the displaced Jews to re-occupy the Holy Land, gives ample proof that the revitalization of the fig tree has commenced in earnest. The battle is one that is engaging the attention of every statesman in the world. In fact, so important has the issue become that it would be no exaggeration to affirm that upon the satisfactory settlement of the Jewish-Arab problems depends the fate, not only of the Near East but actually that of the whole post-war world. The question then naturally arises, Are there yet any signs which would indicate that the scales had at last fallen from the eyes of God’s ancient people, or at least of a perceptible minority among them, which would give encouragement to the thought that the hour was at hand when Jewry would recognize Jesus, the Nazarene, as being in very truth the "King of the Jews," their promised Deliverer, and the one who should "come out of Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Rom. 11:26)? Is Israel approaching at last the point when it shall declare joyously, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of Jehovah"? Evidence is growing that the answer to this question is true. The present Jew-for-Christ movements are attracting some attention throughout Jewry and, though naturally to a somewhat smaller degree, in many parts of Christendom also, and signs are not wanting to show that ere long the influence of the Jewish-Christian will be felt in all matters relating to the future of the Jewish world. To those Christians who, like their Master before them, find themselves outside the camp of organized religion, it is doubly gratifying to note that while many of these new converts are being absorbed by some of the sectarian divisions of "Great Babylon," a few are being led by the spirit into the light of "Present Truth." Words are inadequate things to describe our thankfulness to the great Author of the Plan of Salvation for this fresh evidence of the sure working out of his glorious purposes, "for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?" (Rom. 11:15). We believe that the appended selection of extracts, some from the Jewish Christian Press, may be of interest to our readers. Relative to the proposed division of Palestine, a clipping from "Jews in the News" reads: "The partition recommendation made by the United Nations investigation committee on the Palestine problem calls to mind a charge the Lord makes against the nations of earth in Joel 3:2: ‘I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.’ "A Jewish doctor in Tel Aviv told me fully two per cent of the people in Tel Aviv secretly believe in Jesus Christ."—From "Behind the Silken Curtain," by Bartly C. Crum. "After the obvious proofs of divine guidance and divine protection in England, Switzerland, and wherever our work is taking root, there is no doubt that in Palestine God will also guide and protect our work—his work. We believe that there we approach a glorious future. The blessing which God gave to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their offspring will in all its fullness and overflowing (Mal. 3:10) come down upon us, the true Israel, the Israel of faith—if we but keep on the path of blessing in communion with the Son of God, our Messiah. We have to stand in faith and build the Temple, the Tabernacle of Christ in Israel. Neither the dead forces of the past nor the destroying powers of the present can touch us; for . . . the future is ours. However satanic the present time may be, even this our age, works for us—against its will. The same floods which covered and destroyed the whole world, carried the Ark of Noah to the summit of Ararat, as a sign that there yet exists a God who is not to be mocked. "This does not mean that our work, too, could not be drawn into the whirlpool of our time. It must be quite clear to us that particularly in Palestine the severest storms await us; battles internally and externally. We have to expect and endure them, yet with the certainty that the victory will be ours, because God fights for us. He will carry us over from the declining world into the new era, . . . of Christ. The Jewish Christian community is the bridge between the two eras, the first fruit on the fig tree (Matt. 24:32), the first natural branch grafted again into its own olive tree (Rom. 11:24), the first ray of Christ’s grace on the Jewish people. We are his heralds and messengers preparing his way; we are his workmen. We have to build his sanctuary in the Holy Land, in Jerusalem and on the Mount of Olives—not in our own strength, but in his. He has called us to dig and to fill up, to bring together stones from all over the world, to lay foundations according to his plan, to the will of the greatest Architect, the builder of the universe. Thus it is he, and not we unskilled laborers, who lays the foundation and builds—not on sand but on a rock, the rock of eternity."—Abraham Poljak, in pamphlet, "Jerusalem." Following is another extract taken from the same pamphlet, and signed by Theo. M. Seech: "Now has come the time for the ‘rising again’ of Israel. In the providence of God, that urgent message of the imminence of the Lord’s return and of the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel under their King, the Messiah, once rejected, is again being proclaimed to the Jewish people by Jewish Christians, for ‘God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew’ (Rom. 11:2). This message now does not affect that nation alone, but the prospect of the blessing of all nations is involved. As divine favor now returns to Israel, the Kingdom is seen as being also the hope of the world, of all nations. The faithful devotion of Jewish Christians, calling all in the name of Christ to repentance should have the effect upon their fellow men of ‘provoking them to jealousy.’ Their failure to achieve the blessings claimed to be within the reach of Christendom should have caused them to have repented long ago and have prepared their hearts for the appearance of God’s Kingdom, the theme of all the Hebrew prophets. Let prayers arise at this late hour that this may yet be so and that Armageddon might be averted. This is a Gentile Christian privilege and duty." 1958 Israel Today
P. L. Read, The Herald, Aug-Sept, 1958, page 121 Together with related Scriptures, the text quoted above is discussed in our booklet, The Place of Israel in the Plan of God. [Editor’s Note: This publication is now out of print.] There, in response to the question as to whether there is any way to ascertain when "the set time" would be, it is suggested that "what we should be on the lookout for is not a thunderbolt from the skies, but a noticeable change in the trend of events. We should be watching and intelligently reading the signs of the times, and noting how they are fitting in with the prophetic forecasts." Nearly four years have passed since these words were written. It is, therefore, proper to inquire: Has there been a noticeable change in the trend of events? We reply: No competent observer could be found today who would question it. Out of the maze of confusing and conflicting reports reaching us, two distinct trends are becoming increasingly evident. One relates to world powers—the other to developments within Israel itself. World Powers Before World War II, there were a number of "great powers"—the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan. From that conflict, however, only two emerged, namely, the United States (which became the leader of the Western Countries) and Russia. Moreover, as recently as 1956, an event took place which may prove to be one of the important turning points of history. In that year, Russia became a major power in the Middle East. This was an accomplishment which Great Britain had struggled, for years, to prevent. Since that time, it is not too much to say that, humanly speaking, the fate of Europe and, indeed, of the whole world, has depended on American policies in the Middle East. On January 5, 1957, President Eisenhower, speaking before a joint session of Congress, stated that the peace of the world was being endangered by subversive activity on the part of Soviet Russia, by sending its agents to incite trouble in the Middle East countries. He asked that the United States provide both military and economic aid to any nation that requested it. Two months later, his request was embodied in a joint resolution, known as the Eisenhower Middle East Doctrine. It was not long before this doctrine was put to the test—first, in Jordan, in the spring, and second, in Syria, in the fall. By the end of the year it was plain that the real struggle was between the United States and Russia. Another six months have passed. What is the situation today? Today’s ominous headlines speak for themselves. Listen: "Pro-West Government of Iraq Ousted; Regime Backing Nasser Set Up." That was last Monday. The next day they read: "5,000 Marines Landing in Lebanon." Russia, of course, "Demands U.S. Recall Troops." Instead, "’U.S. Rushes Paratroops to Mid-East," and "British Paratroops Land in Jordan." Israel The trend here can be understood only by looking at modern Israel against the background of the old Zionism from which it sprang. Zionism has always meant different things to different people. In this connection one is reminded of a saying attributed to the American humorist, Mark Twain: "First get the facts straight; then distort them all you please." The facts are that the Messianic concept with which the Zionist movement commenced under Theodore Herzl, that concept with which it was continued under Chaim Weizmann, and until recently under the leadership of Ben-Gurion, is today, to say the very least, being challenged. This Messianic concept, while including the purpose of a national home in Palestine for the Jewish people, envisioned much more than that. It looked forward to the time the kingdom prophecies of the Hebrew prophets would be finding fulfillment;—when Israel, having itself returned to the faith of Abraham, would become the leader of other peoples in the ways of truth and righteousness—of justice and love. When that time comes, as the Scriptures indeed assure us will one day be the case, Israel will have become a theocracy. But this will not come about until their great Messiah comes, not only to conquer their foes but to subdue their hearts. Meantime Israel is operating as a democracy. Before Israel achieved political independence, it made no practical difference whether a Jew were a Zionist or not. Now the situation has changed. As with Gentiles, so also with Jews, some believe in one form of religion, others in another, and some in none at all. The position of the Israeli Government is that, if it is to remain a democracy, church and state matters must be kept separate. Consequently, while making no attempt to interfere with orthodox Jews in the observance of their religious laws, it cannot grant their leaders the power to force observance of those laws on other Jews who do not subscribe to them. To quote from a recent speech of Ben-Gurion: "The Israeli Declaration of Independence proclaimed freedom of religion and conscience. It does not say that the Jewish State is to be ruled by religious laws. On the contrary, it says that the State should not become a theocracy." This question is not exactly academic. According to news dispatches which reached us only ten days ago, it brought about the resignation of two Cabinet members of Ben-Gurion’s coalition government, namely, Moshe Shapiro and Joseph Burg. We are certain to hear more about it ere long. The extent to which Modern Zionism has drifted from the Old Zionism is aptly told in the following paragraph, condensed from Time: "Even though the old Zionist, Socialist and religious ideals still rule, their appeal begins to fade as Israel changes. . . . Half the newcomers of recent years are Oriental Jews who never shared the peculiar Zionist and Socialist vision of Ben-Gurion’s generation. . . . The Sabras, the native-born Israelis, who led the Sinai war, show signs of wanting to look out for themselves, as their more communal-minded parents never did." 1968 Israel Today
The Herald, Nov-Dec 1968, pages 86 ,87 In our latest booklet, Israel and the Middle East, space limitations did not permit more than the briefest reference to Jacob’s trouble. "What is it," we there asked, "that occasions this dark hour which threatens to fall on Israel in the nighttime of her sad history? It is nothing more nor less than a gathering of envious nations against her, graphically described in Ezekiel 38:1-13. In these verses the chief actors in this yet future struggle in Palestine are named. However, we may not be too sure of our identifications. But one thing is quite definite, the battle will not end in triumph for Israel’s enemies. Does one ask: ‘Why not?’ I answer: Because it is the set time for Israel’s deliverance. God himself, represented by Israel’s great Messiah, will intervene. Of this there is no question, for after telling us it is the time of Jacob’s trouble Jeremiah goes on to say: ‘But he shall be saved out of it.’ According to Zechariah 14:2, 3, God will go forth and fight against Israel’s enemies as he fought in the day of battle. Isaiah, too, speaks in a similar vein (28:21)." In view of the interest which our correspondents have shown in this feature of our subject, we had thought to submit a few additional paragraphs in amplification of the comments in our booklet. . . . The Valley of Judgment In the days of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, a great army consisting of Moabites, Ammonites and dwellers from mount Seir invaded the land of Judah from the southern end of the Dead Sea. This confederacy of hostile nations had penetrated about halfway along the western shore of the sea as far as Engedi before Jehoshaphat was informed of the threatened assault. He received the news with great consternation for he knew how totally unable he was to resist such a multitude of foes. Jehoshaphat in faith and true wisdom looked to the Lord as his only refuge and proclaimed a fast throughout the whole land. His recorded prayer is remarkable as an impressive and earnest supplication to the God of his fathers and the God of his people for help against those who were making such an unprovoked and ungrateful attack on a people who had done them no injury. In simple and touching words we read, "All Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives and their children" (2 Chron. 20:13). The Spirit of the Lord then came upon Jahaziel, a prophet not referred to elsewhere, who gave them instructions how they were to go out fearlessly to meet the enemy, with the full assurance that they would not need to fight, for it was not their battle but God’s. Upon hearing this the king and all the people offered thanks to God in faith for the promise of such a miraculous deliverance, while the Levites sang praises of triumph as though the victory was already an accomplished fact. The next morning as the people were ready to set out, Jehoshaphat exhorted them to have no fear of the enemy but to exercise complete faith in the Lord in confident assurance of his promise that he would deliver them without any action whatever on their part. Having mutually arranged singers with musical instruments to lead the procession, the people went forward like an army returning in triumph rather than as one that was marching against the foe. As soon as the Levites began to sing praises to the Lord and while they were yet some distance from the invaders, God caused discord and strife to break out in the ranks of the vast multitude of the opposing host so that they began to fight and to kill one another. This mutual work of destruction went on unhindered until they had all slain each other so that when the children of Judah arrived at the scene of slaughter the whole of this great army had perished. For three days Jehoshaphat and his people gathered the immense spoil left by their enemies and on the fourth day they assembled in a place which they called "The Valley of Blessing," ready to return again with rejoicing to Jerusalem. As a result of this judgment by the Lord against the enemies of Israel the fear of God fell upon all the surrounding nations. The prophet Joel, speaking of the time when God would "bring again [or reverse] the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem" (Joel 3:1), referred to these latter days in which we are now living. He portrayed the gathering of all nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat where God would sit to judge all the nations round about. The name "Jehoshaphat" means "the judgment of Jehovah," and this judgment of the nations must surely be intended to have some typical allusion to the incident related in 2 Chronicles 20 which we have been considering. It is commonly but mistakenly understood that the valley of Jehoshaphat in Joel 3 refers to the narrow glen now known by that name that runs between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. This name, however, has been applied to this valley only in comparatively modern times, for neither in scripture nor in any other ancient writings is it referred to other than as the valley of Kidron or Cedron. The prophet Joel, when speaking of a valley already well known under this description, would not have used a name that was yet to be coined many centuries afterwards. In the historical records of scripture we need not look far to see that Joel was clearly referring to the account in 2 Chronicles 20 when he associated the name of Jehoshaphat with this valley and the final judgment of the nations. As we have already seen these earlier events did not take place in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem but on the shores of the Dead Sea—incidentally, at the border of "the bulge" which existed until recently between Israel and Jordan. The judgment of God upon the invading host from beyond the sea was used as an appropriate symbol of a much greater judgment of the nations who would gather against Israel in the latter days. To confirm that this valley of judgment was alongside the Dead Sea, we would point out that the burial ground in Ezekiel 39:11 will be "the valley where people pass over to the east of the sea, and it shall stop the passengers from passing" (Leeser). This has been the usual road taken by travelers for centuries past the low-lying Ghor of the Jordan valley on the east of the chain of mountains, and the self-same route used by the invading horde of Jehoshaphat’s day. It should also be noted that the bloodstained warrior of Isaiah 63 who had been treading the winepress (as in Joel 3:13) came from Bozrah in Idumea, and therefore from the same direction as the earlier invaders. The events of Joel 3, like those related in the prophecies of Obadiah, Micah, Zechariah, and Ezekiel, are now in the process of being fulfilled in our time. The nation of Israel, though lacking the absolute trust in God demonstrated by Jehoshaphat, are yet to be delivered miraculously by the power of the Lord, working in some respects in a similar way as he did in the days of Jehoshaphat. "It shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour" (Zech. 14:13). "I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother" (Ezek. 38:21). In addition the Lord will smite with pestilence, rain, hail, lightning, and earthquake to discomfort and destroy all the people that fight against Jerusalem. The unanimous intention among Israel’s enemies to destroy her as a nation, displayed so vehemently in recent years, was vividly described in Psalm 83: "They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." The judgment called for by the psalmist in reply was, "Do unto them as unto the Midianites." This was also effected in a similar way for "the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host" (Judg. 7:22). We have witnessed the fulfillment of God’s promise that just prior to the final climax in the affairs of Israel he would strengthen them so that they should tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in battle. As with Gideon and his army, however, God will ensure that the final victory is attributed to him alone. "The Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves saying, Mine own hand hath saved me" (Judg. 7:2). Therefore Israel will yet be brought to realize their weakness and cease to trust in the arm of flesh. This is shown in Zechariah 14 and in Jeremiah 30 when, although restored in their own land, there will be heard "a voice of trembling" in the hour of their extremity in "Jacob’s trouble." The hosts of Gog from the north shall cover the land like a cloud (Ezek. 38), Jerusalem shall be besieged and captured (Zech. 14), and an invading horde will have entered the land from the south (Joel 3). It is then that the Lord "shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel" (Joel 3:16). There shall be great shaking throughout the whole land of Israel, causing great changes in the physical features of the country. The armies gathered at Jerusalem, many of whom will be in the valley of the Cedron, the assembled hosts on the shores of the Dead Sea, and the invaders throughout all the mountains of Israel shall be smitten by earthquake, pestilence, and the sword. Those who escape shall go to the nations afar off to declare the fame and majesty of the God of Israel, and he will be known in the eyes of all nations. He will set his glory among the nations and all the nations shall see the judgment that he has executed. In the midst of this experience Israel shall look on him whom they pierced—their Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ the Redeemer from death and sin—and they shall mourn for him in true repentance. "They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory." Jesus associated these events with the gathering of his elect in Matthew 24:30, 31, and he added the warning in Luke 21:28 regarding the same events: "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." We have certainly seen these things begin, for already Israel has been miraculously strengthened by God in these last days against her enemies whom she has trampled down as foretold by her prophets. The military reputation Israel will have thus acquired in the eyes of the godless nations may explain the magnitude of the forces that as a result will be used eventually to attack her under the leadership of Gog. The sudden destruction that is to overwhelm this unjust and inhuman conspiracy will also be accompanied by a fire that will rage through the whole society of the present heavens and earth to make way for the new era of the kingdom of God. This sudden destruction is to follow a cry of "peace and safety" which is closely related to the coming of the Lord himself from heaven to gather his sleeping and living saints. 1978 The Rebuilding of Zion Published in July-August 1978 Herald, page 57
Max I. Reich 1989 One Jerusalem: Our feet shall stand within they gates, O Jerusalem!—Psalms 122:2 Harold Dart, The Herald, Sept-Oct. 1989, pages 13,14 On May 28, 1948 the Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem was taken by the Jordanian Arab Legion. In berserk wantonness an Arab mob burst in and wrecked shrines and synagogues without restraint. Abdallah El Tal, commander of the Arab Legion wrote in his memoirs, "The operations of calculated destruction were set in motion." Fifty eight synagogues and Jewish schools were pulverized and obliterated. Scrolls of the law were defiled and desecrated. Ritual appurtenances and prayer books were pillaged or devoured in the flames of Arab bonfires. Jewish tombstones on the Mount of Olives were deliberately destroyed and desecrated. Graves were ripped open and bones scattered. Thousands of tombstones were smashed or removed to build fortifications, foot paths, and latrines or were sold to building contractors. For 19 years following, from 1948 to 1967, Jews and Israeli Muslims were denied access to their holy places in the Old City of Jerusalem. On June 7, 1967 an Israeli paratroop unit broke through the Lion’s gate and took the old city by hand to hand fighting with no damage to the holy places. Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, entered the old city and declared "We have unified Jerusalem, the divided capital of Israel, we have returned to the holiest of our holy places, never to depart from it again." During subsequent Israeli archaeological exploration a prophetic verse from Isaiah 66:14 was found engraved in one of the stones of the Western Wall by an anonymous Jew, perhaps a thousand years ago: "And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like young grass." Those who remember the sight of Jerusalem during those tragic 19 years when it was divided cannot help but rejoice to see the reborn city. In place of the ugly concrete wall that cut through the heart of it a garden now blooms. Yellow signs no longer block every east-west road with their skull and cross bones and their black letters "Halt" "Danger" "Frontier Ahead." New residences, gardens, and newly paved roads have been constructed. At night, lights decorate the ancient walls of the old city from which Arab Legion soldiers formerly trained gunsights on passing citizens. Arabs and Jews of Jerusalem mingle freely, pursuing their personal lives in a spirit of coexistence. Ever since the reunification of the city by Israel, access has been opened to all holy places for all religions and sects. Christians administer Christian holy places and Muslims administer their holy places. The Temple Mount, site of Solomon’s Temple, is now occupied by the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the El Aksa Mosque. The police unit guarding the Temple Mount is commanded by a Muslim officer and manned by a mixed force of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian policemen. Pilgrims of all faiths visit the site freely. Since June 7, 1967, Jewry’s holiest site, the Western Wall of the temple compound, has not been deserted for a single moment, by day or by night, in striking contrast to Ottoman or British Mandate days, when the Jew approached it furtively in fear of his life or when under Jordanian rule access to it was completely denied him. After re-unification, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel went to the Western Wall for the first time. He expressed his thoughts and feelings in his book, Israel: An Echo of Eternity. "July 1967—I have discovered a new land, Israel is not the same as before. There is great astonishment. It is as if the prophets had risen from their graves. Their words ring in a new way. Jerusalem is everywhere; she hovers over the whole country. "There is a new radiance, a new awe—I did not enter on my own the city of Jerusalem. Streams of endless craving, clinging, dreaming, humanity, flowing day and night. Midnights, years, decades, centuries, millennia, streams of tears, pledging, waiting from all over the world, from all the corners of the earth, carried us of this generation to the Wall. My ancestors could only dream of you. To my people in Auschwitz you were more remote than the moon, but I can touch your stones! Am I worthy? How shall I ever repay for these moments?—Jerusalem, I always try to see the inner force that emanates from you, enveloping and transcending all weariness and travail. In Jerusalem, past is present and heaven is almost here. All of our history is within reach—Jerusalem is a witness, an echo of eternity. Stand still and listen: Jerusalem was stopped in the middle of her speech. She is a voice interrupted. Let Jerusalem speak again to our people, to all people. She is the city where waiting for God was born, where the anticipation of everlasting peace came into being. Jerusalem is waiting for the prologue of redemption, for new beginning—It may happen any moment; a shoot may come forth out of the stock of Jesse, a twig may grow forth out of his roots. God has chosen Jerusalem and endowed her with the mystery of his presence; prophets, kings, sages, priests made her a place where God’s calling was heard and accepted. Here lived the people who listened and preserved events in words, the scribes, the copyists. It was in Jerusalem where the prophet proclaimed: ‘And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken (Isaiah 25:7,8 RSV).’" |