|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz – Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites
The generation of King Ahab is considered in the history of the Jewish people as a generation far removed from Judaism. A generation of idolatry that symbolizes everything that the Bible rebukes. A generation whose sins brought a severe drought upon the land. But when the sages of Israel attempted to describe it, hundreds of years later, they chose to perpetuate different aspects. “Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: The generation of Ahab worshipped idolatry, and they went out to war and were victorious.
” Jewish sages in the generations after the failures of the great revolt, the Bar Kokhba revolt, the destruction of the Temple, and Jerusalem, looked with wonder at Ahab’s generation and placed it in the highest regard, for it was unbeatable despite all its sins. And why was that? Because “there were no informers among them. Therefore, they went out to war and were victorious.”
(Midrash Devarim Rabbah)
The secret of King Ahab’s generation lay in their unity. There was no one among them who would speak ill of their fellow. There was no baseless hatred among them. The sages of Israel, who intimately knew the bitter results of the civil war that destroyed Jerusalem way before the Romans struck, acknowledged that unity and elevated it as the highest virtue, thanks to which the generation of Ahab triumphed, despite all their sins.
In recent weeks, this ancient secret has burst forth from hearts in all its strength. Across the land, “like cyclamens among the rocks,” as the poet said, countless displays of unconditional love are being revealed. Unbelievable displays of bravery by soldiers and civilians who risked their lives for their brethren in distress. Tens of thousands of volunteers who come from all over the country to be with the evacuees, comfort the mourners, aid the wounded, support the farmers and business owners. Hundreds of thousands of supporters in Israel and around the world trying to help in countless ways. Millions mourn for every fallen soldier and rejoice at the return of every captive as if they were close family members.
This wonderful power of unity is not revealed by chance, especially now. These moments of crisis are an unprecedented litmus test. Moments in which a profound truth is revealed. The deep truth is that the people of Israel, at the core of their souls, are united and connected. A people who are one family, united, who know at the moment of truth to put all disputes aside and return to the deep-rooted unity of their existence – one people, united and bound, where each and every one of its sons and daughters will do everything for the sake of their brothers and sisters.
After many months of divisive arguments, which deteriorated into a bitter struggle among brothers, these turbulent days have reunited us with the secret of unity, the secret of the Jewish people, in all its glory. May it be that we continue this unity even in the days of healing, recovery, and consolation that will come afterward.
