I can vividly recall June 1967. Israel was being attacked from every direction. Egypt’s Nasser had sworn that he would drive Israel into the sea. In a call for worldwide support, hundreds of thousands of people converged on Washington, D.C. By the time our bus arrived, the war had ended and became known as the Six-Day War. An open miracle occurred before our very eyes… the scheduled demonstration turned into a resounding celebration. The time was ripe for Jews to return back to their roots, back to Torah. The miracle was so obvious, why wasn’t every Jew in the world propelled spiritually?
The Talmud (Berachos 13a) teaches that the miracles that took place when we left Egypt will be eclipsed by those that occur in the future. Can we imagine miracles greater than the splitting of the sea and greater than the sealed gates of Egypt freely opening wide for an entire nation? One miracle that will most definitely take place is the decimation of evil and terror in the world.
How will we respond when the unbelievable miracles of Hashem occur before our very eyes? Will we be spurred on to lofty levels of spiritual grandeur or will we remain blind and deaf? We can do a self-test. We can do it today. We can do it right now. We can ask ourselves, “Am I living each day of my life saying naaseh as my ancestors did? Do I view each day as an opportunity to become a new person? Am I satisfied with the spiritual level that I am on? Do I constantly strive to make a difference in Hashem’s world?” If the answer is no, then the greatest miracles in the history of the universe will just pass you by.
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Capital: Phoenix
State Nickname: The Grand Canyon State
State Motto:God enriches
State Flower:Saguaro Cactus Blossom
State Bird: Cactus Wren
First Shul: Emanu-El dedicated the first synagogue in Arizona in 1910 in Tucson. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and currently houses the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest
Baseball Team: Arizona Diamondbacks
Basketball Team: Phoenix Suns
Football Team: Arizona Cardinals
Hockey Team: Arizona Coyotes