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Leah’s Blog Jerusalem Day May 13th 2018

Leah’s Blog   Jerusalem Day -2018 – 5778

This day has me crying literally from happiness. Maybe the victory speech Neta Barzilay gave last night at the Eurovision contest said it all. She shouted not about her own personal self or about culture and the nonsense that seems to decorate these events, but “I love my country! Next year in Jerusalem!” The crowd went wild. It was a hard night for BDS and all the other forces in the world that try to hold Israel back from revealing itself as we stand with a spine and as a concert hall as big as Madison Square Garden full of Europeans from every country on the globe cheered for the sake of Jerusalem. Israel is shining its light to the world and there is no stopping her. Today we focus on Jerusalem, the heart of our national identity, the heart of the world. This is truly Mother’s Day.

As we walk down the narrow cobblestone streets of Jerusalem, stop to see the archeological digs going on in the City of David, to view the clairvoyant beauty from the Mount of olives, celebrate in the newest hangout of the city, the cave of Zidkiyahu, behold new gleaming buildings going up all over the city, the Herodian awe inspiring vibe, we recall the verse that Hillel says, “If I am not for myself than who am I? But if I am ONLY for myself, who and what am I?” All of this is meant to be shared, as the lighthouse for the world, the portal to a higher existence.

As a second-generation holocaust survivor and the head of an organization created for healing the effects of terrorism against innocent Jewish victims and as a woman, my heart beats today even more rapidly as Hashem reveals His face on a daily basis more and more like the sun rising, it is getting brighter and the clarity of the day cannot be ignored. Israel has us like dreamers reaping after many years of blood sweat and tears.

Rabbis! At the same time- Israel is being attacked on all sides! From the north, from the south, from every direction! From within! There is an enemy that wants to hold a curtain over the light, to hurt us. The only safe place is the high ground here in the heartland! I’m talking to you- Rabbis who will remain un- named because I don’t want to shame your communities! You- who endorsed Hillary Clinton! You- who shamed the greatest President of the United States! You- who turned your back on us when we came to your communities at the turn of two thousand at the height of the intifada when our holy sites became garbage dumps and hundreds of Jewish victims needed you. Salvation hardly came from you as you turned your backs and backed liberal Democrats who sided with the Devil. One of things I wanted to tell your people was what it meant for us to grow with our country but more so to show how our country is growing with us. I came to encourage at that hard time. I came to share the crack in that that darkness, of a tremendous light about to pour out. I came to talk about the verse in Isaiah “In it’s time I will hasten it!”- About the quickness of Israel perfecting, being the best, about changes taking place as the wakening from below ignites the awakening from above, about the grape vines and the softening of the harsh vista. Israel is not the shloomper country you are so scared about like the spies in the desert who perceived the times of redemption all WRONG! Rabbis, why shame Bibi Netanayahu? Why portray him as a bad leader? Why equate the terror of Iran and its proxies to me building a room onto my house – how it came to be perceived the stability of the Middle East rested on a Jew’s retreat?

With patriotic integrity we can also as a country say, “MEE-TOO” like the message in Neta Barzilay’s song- we refuse to be raped abused and under -valued for who we are -a nation of Kings and Queens. Our deep Zionist roots demand us to take the stand now in leadership as we share about our goat yogurts, cherry tomatoes, and return to Torah values. This week Israel is signing a multi-billion-dollar deal with the European Union for us to sell them natural gas. A pipeline is being built right now as we speak under the ground of the ocean that will connect to Cyprus, Greece, Italy and into all of Europe where THEY will be buying gas from US! The days of Mashiach! The earth burns here at the same time as terror kites fly over from Gaza with the sole intention of burning G-d’s land. The dichotomy of reality has a clear intention- the hour calls- It wants YOU to take a stand- This is our land! This is our Jerusalem!