Over the last few years, there has been a growing movement and trend called “Thank You HaShem”. I applaud the work they have done… but, sadly, there has been a major part that has been forgotten. It’s called thanking HaShem on the national level. Allow me to explain what this means.
Thanks to the wonderful people behind “Thank You HaShem” – with their shiurim, songs, stickers, websites, chat groups and more… people have indeed started thanking our Father and King for everything He does for us. Saying “thank you” makes you aware of what you have received and cognizant of the fact that most of these gifts are undeserved. HaShem showers His blessings upon us minute-after-minute and we must thank Him constantly.
There is however one “thank you” that has been greatly forgotten.
Something that HaShem gave us that most Jews take for granted… Medinat Yisrael – the State of Israel.
Thanking HaShem for that priceless gift is something most of us simply ignore. We take it as “a given” that our beloved country will be ready and waiting for us. We erroneously believe that the Mir will always be there to accept our sons with open arms, the Waldorf (Jerusalem) and Ritz-Carlton (Herziliya) will always have those yummy 10 course breakfasts, and the Dead Sea will forever have enough mud to cover our bodies.
Unfortunately, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Israel is fighting for its life and very existence. For years our brave brothers and sisters near Gaza ran into bomb shelters on a regular basis… just to hold on to Jewish life in the south. From the first days of the settlement movement – until this very day – heroic young families stood strong in the face of horrific terror in Yehuda and Shomron. Now, it’s time for the residents of Israel’s northern communities to show just how tough they are. Thousands of rockets have been fired into Haifa, Kiryat Shemona, Metulla, Akko, Migdal Ha’Emek, Afula, the Golan Heights and much more… but these Yidden – over 1.5 million of them! – are standing their ground while the IDF attacks the enemy.
We need to thank HaShem for giving those amazing, fearless Jews spines of steel. We need to thank HaShem for making His army – Tzahal – one of strength and courage. In short, we need to thank HaShem for Am Yisrael – the nation of Israel – which carries His flag and bears His Name throughout the challenges facing them. And most of all, we need to thank HaShem for returning His people to His land – for the Torah that is studied there, the fields that produce the sweetest fruits and the fact that – in a very short time – the majority of world Jewry will be living in Eretz Yisrael.
Let’s all thank HaShem for these gifts and pray that He continue to bless us – His chosen nation – with good health, happiness, Torah observance and the ability and willingness to smash our enemies until their name has been erased from the world.
Am Yisrael Chai!
