Take the Hint

Musings #68
September 10, 2004

Take the Hint

Sometimes things are very obvious. This morning was a perfect example. It was freezing cold, even though the sun was bright. A brisk wind caused waves in the pool, so it looked more like a lake. I was the first swimmer at the pool this morning, even though it was almost a half hour after opening. The lifeguard, fully dressed, was shivering under her blanket-like towel. This year it was easy for us to take the hint and accept the the pool’s closing for the winter.

A year ago, when I realized that I’d be teaching fewer hours, I was able to quickly offer my daughter some of my newly freed time to help her with her baby, my first grandchild. I wasn’t looking to reduce my hours, but I quickly found something even better to do with my time, teach English to the cutest, sweetest and certainly smartest baby ever.

In the spring of 1967 when Israel found itself facing war, it had no plans of liberating (or conquering) any lands, Biblical or otherwise. It was facing the battle of survival. After six days* of fighting, when the war was over The Jewish State found itself possessing its Biblical homeland, Shechem, Shiloh, Beit Lechem and more. But instead of taking the hint and immediately returning to our ancient cities when the Arabs were accepting their fate and our rule, Israeli politicians were so “embarrassed” by our victory that they began to search for ways to give those gifts from G-d away. Actually, they had trouble finding a taker.

The only people in world history to have had been sovereign in Judea and Samaria were the Biblical Jews. The only other rulers were foreign imperialists, the last being Great Britain which handed it to Jordan in 1947/8. Jordan didn’t really want it and didn’t develop it at all. And I’m not going to elaborate on the fact that Jordan itself has no ancient national history. It was “invented” in the twentieth century when the British were enamored with Arab sheiks. I admit that it’s a simplification, but factual.

Throughout Judea and Samaria all of the modern infrastructure is Israeli, post 1967. Until well into the late 1970’s and early ‘80’s there were periodic announcements in The Jerusalem Post that (name) Arab village near Ramalla (for example) was just hooked up to for water or electricity or modern telephone service. Even when we moved to Shiloh in 1981, the nearby Arab villages still used generators, and the lights all went out by midnight. When Jews returned to Shiloh in 1978, the community was given a local (Arab) phone line. You had to speak to the operator in either Arabic or English; the connections were manual. It wasn’t until 1982 that modern phone lines were put in. Remember, that was the eve of the cell phone age. Under Jordanian rule, the Arabs in Judea and Samaria were living in conditions from the previous century.

Then, there wasn’t much opposition to Israeli rule; everyday life and the standard of living were improving rapidly. If the Israeli left hadn’t kept “hocking” everyone “a chinik” that Israel should let the Arabs rule, things would have settled down peacefully. All the Arabs needed to know was that we were here to stay, and things would have been very different.

We didn’t “take the hint.” We didn’t enthusiastically and quickly populate all the historic land G-d gave us. The agriculture business quickly realized the potential of the Jordan Valley and the Sinai for growing food for export and quickly began to establish farming communities. On the Golan Heights communities were established for the security of the kibbutzim in the valleys below and for their agricultural potential. Judea and Samaria were to be left “judenrein,” so it could be given as some sort of “compensation” to the Arabs.

*Six days, yes, like the six days of creation, followed by Shabbat, the days of the moshiach—the days to come, redemption. My neighbor, Rabbi Michael Brom, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Shiloh, frequently mentions the signs posted all over Israel after the war: “Todah Rabah L’Tzahal,” “Thanks Very Much To the Israel Defense Forces.” We were supposed to thank G-d. Even the most committed atheiest admits that our victory in 1967 was a miracle; Tzahal was just a tool, the “hand” of G-d, doing G-d’s work. We sinned, because we didn’t thank G-d sufficiently.

Today we are suffering, not only because we didn’t thank G-d but because we didn’t use the gift G-d gave us. The process of establishing yishuvim always involved fighting the authorities, lots of pressure and procedures until permits were given. We failed; we sinned. We have to repent. We have to do more to settle all of the Land of Israel. G-d gave us a gift. We must recognize that G-d gives us the good, and we are responsible for the evil.

Shannah Tovah and Gmar Chatima Tovah,
Batya Medad, Shiloh
Shilohmuse@yahoo.com
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/
http://www.shilo.org.il