TEMPLE ETZ CHAIM ETZETERA
May 2017
Iyar/Sivan 5777
Rabbi’s Message Rabbi Richard Spiegel rabbi@templeetzchaim.org
For those of us who are old enough to remember the frightening days before the Six Day War and the dramatic days that followed, it is still astounding to realize that this seemingly miraculous victory took place fifty years ago. For the first 19 years of her existence, Israel was a small, struggling state. Impoverished immigrants arrived every day; food was scarce, and enemies were literally on every border. There was no peace and Jews all over the world worried about Israel’s survival. Jerusalem was a divided city and Jews had no access to our holiest sites—including “The Kotel”—the western wall of the Temple Mount. When the Egyptians and Syrians lined up their troops on Israel’s borders in the spring of 1967, there was great fear in Jewish communities everywhere. Barely more than 20 years after the Holocaust, we worried another Holocaust was about to occur involving all the Jews in Israel. Would we lose our newly established homeland so soon after its founding? The result of the Six Day War was beyond our wildest dreams. That Israel won such a resounding victory in such a short time was unimaginable. That Israel could be more secure was thrilling. Seeing the shofar being sounded at the Wall was exhilarating. To honor this significant event in Jewish history, we are dedicating our Tikkun Leil Shavuot on Tuesday, May 30th (our night of study on the first night of Shavuot) to this significant jubilee. Please check page 6 of the Bulletin for the excellent study sessions and presentations we will have following Erev Shavuot services. This promises to be a most interesting, stimulating, and enjoyable evening for us all. Rabbi Richard Spiegel
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