Spiritual Reflection, May 2023

75 Years!

This year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel. Israel and Jerusalem are crucially important for us, the Jewish people. The covenant with Abraham, as well as all other covenants between God and Israel, are unthinkable apart from the promise of the land (cf. Genesis 15:18-21).

This means that our Jewish existence makes sense only in connection with the promised land. The land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem are at the center of all Jewish worship and theology. In prayer Jews turn towards Israel, and in Israel towards Jerusalem.

Moreover, Israel is at the core of Jewish eschatological expectation and hope. According to Jewish tradition rooted in the Bible, when the Messiah comes, he will restore Israel as a people in the land of promise. Therefore, the Jewish future and hope are unthinkable without the land.

Today there is a Jewish state, imperfect, but the one place in the world which Jews look to as the focal point for our existence as a people. As Jewish followers of the Messiah, who identify ourselves with our people, it is natural to rejoice at this 75th anniversary, and pray for divine peace for Israel, and for all the people living there. May Israel be prepared for the Second Coming of the Messiah, for only then will the Jewish people--and all peoples--experience the perfect shalom of a renewed creation.

Vladimir Pikman