* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
A few days ago I was at the old cemetery in Tiberias. I saw there words that moved. They were on the grave of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk. He was a rabbi and Jewish leader who came to the Land of Israel with 300 Hasidim in one of the earliest waves of Aliya, about 250 years ago. A sign placed next to the grave described this group’s attempts to settle the land, to plant, to study, to pray, to build. It was difficult, but the Rabbi said:
“It pains and pierces the Sitra Achra (that is the evil, satanic or dark side) when the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel increases — even if only by adding a single tree or even just one branch of a grapevine…”
Wow. Every positive action we take here — even a small one — is a victory in the battle against evil. It pains the dark forces everywhere that we are succeeding, flourishing, progressing — that we are fulfilling the divine plan to repair the entire world.
In recent days, many optimistic statistics about Israel have been published: a security powerhouse, rare economic success, a remarkable birthrate, immigration, transportation innovation, non-stop construction, an elite high-tech industry — and, of course, more Torah and mitzvot.
But maybe the most amazing statistic in my eyes is the one about happiness. We are ranked 8th in the world on the happiness index, and young people in Israel are ranked 3rd. (For comparison, young people in the United States are ranked 60th...)
Since we went into exile with the destruction of the Second Temple, there have never been so many Jews who are joyful, believing, and actively pursuing their dreams. All of this is happening despite our challenges. And yet perhaps our growth, our joy, and the purpose we find in living come precisely because we are challenged.
We have progressed immensely since Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk came to this land and physically felt that he was adding holiness and light to the world in opposition to impurity and darkness. But we too still have work to do.
Happy Israeli Independence Day. With God’s help, may we see the words of every prophecy of redemption be fulfilled.
