The Jews of the diaspora were very alive and influential people. It is said that Rome had about one million Jewish inhabitants, Alexandria, in the province of Egypt, nearly as many, and the entire Roman empire was about 10% Jewish. I'm not sure how valid this historic data is, but it is certain that there were many Jewish people living in the diaspora, so much so, that had Jews not been so indiscriminantly slaughtered over the ages, the Jewish population today would number in the hundreds of millions. Especially since Jews were not limited to Rome. There were Jewish people throughout the world, and many lived in what was once called Babylonia, and then became the Persian empire, later on the empire of Alexander of the Greeks, and then the Parthian empire in the time of Rome.

Yet it wasn't for nothing that so many Jews were killed. It was the world against Israel, while Israel was without G-d. When Israel is not with G-d, and G-d is not with Israel, the Jewish people fall victim to their enemies, for Israel has many enemies. The world is against Israel because Israel claims to speak Truth and represent the True G-d, thus telling everyone else that they're wrong. But when Israel turns against G-d, then Israel is wrong. And as wise as the people of Israel might be, they are fools to reject the Word of G-d and not follow His Laws. For when the world sees that Israel contradicts itself, then Israel's enemies are given a reason to turn against Israel, and G-d is no longer there to prevent a calamity. As a consequence, Israel is destroyed without sympathy or remorse. For it is Israel's purpose to teach goodness to the nations. When Israel fails to achieve its purpose, then evil has its way.

Such was the story of Israel's exile. A story that repeated itself again and again, over a period of nearly two thousand years. A story that hasn't ended even today, when Israel has been rebuilt. This is the story of war and peace. A cycle of history that has yet to be broken. It is a story of death and calamity. A story that describes the suffering of Israel and the failures of humanity. It is the story of mankind, that was begun from day one. I'd like to see the story end, but not in death.

You see, there's more to man than human nature. But alas, man is not a reflection of his soul. The moment man is reawakened, is the time when illusions will not deceive him anymore. When man looks Beyond himself, his soul will be released from the flesh and he will no longer be the slave of his body. This happens most commonly in death, when a spirit leaves the flesh. But man need not die, before he'll know The Truth. People need not look for G-d, for He is not lost. He is no more lost than man. When man sees himself and finds his soul, G-d is found. The soul is the Breath of G-d, and it is only through the soul that man "sees" G-d. When this happens; when man becomes his soul once more, realizing the body is merely his link to the world, then man will take on his true form. When man fulfills his role and sees Truth in G-d's Laws, war will not be necessary anymore. But until then, it is necessary to defeat those who reject G-d and seek to destroy Israel. And even though Israel has not taken on its true form, as it is deprived of G-d, the Jewish people must be defended, because they will soon become a nation of G-d.

Everyone knows modern Israel is not a rebirth of the Biblical Israel. Modern Israel is much more similar to the second Israel--the Israel of the second Temple period. It is a reflection of what the people of Israel had become and what they still are. This is the issue, and this is what we are faced with. It is an Israel without G-d; one that yearns to be with G-d, although it does not change its ways and follow G-d's Laws. Yet I'm not worried. Israel will soon enough become a nation of G-d. The children of Israel are a Treasured people and they are capable of achieving much, as they have achieved much in the past and until this very day, they achieve great things. G-d has never punished the Jewish people, for there is no need to chastise them; their failures have reflected upon themselves. G-d is with Israel and His people will become a great nation once again, and will remain a nation of G-d forever more.

It is not for nothing that Israel has been Restored in its Land. It is not for nothing that Israel gained independence from the British, nor is it for nothing that Israel has become its own nation. Israel has not survived beyond all odds, just to become like everyone else and fade out of existence. Likewise, modern Israel is not doomed to fail--it will become a great nation; a Light unto the nations. The five major wars of modern Israel are a hint of what is to come. Although Israel is a blessing for the world and the nations can claim to have blessed themselves through Israel, the Jewish people have not exactly fulfilled their role and lived according to their Covenant. And yet, modern Israel has had more success than the second Israel. Modern Israel was built by secular Jews. It was built by Zionists; Jewish nationalists who merely wanted to be a nation like everyone else. But even though it was built by those who had rejected G-d, it was a Divinely inspired endeavor.

The people who built modern Israel did so because they were sick of living amongst the nations and being persecuted. They said a Jewish state with a Jewish army is the only way to prevent anti-Semitism. They had mottoes like, "if there is a will, there is a way," and "rak kach," meaning, "this is the only way." There was Something special about them, and Something special enough that Israel's enemies have the strongest enmity for them. It wasn't so important that they followed the Jewish laws, as it was that they remembered Israel is a nation, and a nation worth fighting for, rather than dying for its memory.

Many Jews of that time didn't really care about G-d. It's true that Judaism in general is somewhat distanced from G-d's Laws, but that wasn't the issue. At the time, new movements of Judaism were branching off from the version of Judaism that was commonly accepted. The Judaism that had survived over the ages was a religion that was based upon the Bible and G-d's Laws, but was reinterpreted according to the thoughts and arguments of the people (mostly sages and rabbis), and these interpretations were said to be the Laws of G-d as had been passed down through the "oral law." The reform movements that branched off from this form of Judaism, which is today called orthodox, were only further distancing themselves from G-d, but their true intention is what's important. Most of them just wanted to throw away the ideas and teachings of the rabbis so that they could be more normal and the nations would accept them. However, there were some who didn't care about being accepted and assimilated into the nations, and wanted instead to be freed from the rabbinic constraints so that they could rebuild Israel and not have to wait for a miracle. These were the Zionists, and it's a miracle that these people even exist, because no one before them was willing to stand up and act on behalf of Israel.

Most religious Jews refused to support the Zionist movement, and in fact, some of them were even against it--they were antagonists. They said G-d would rebuild Israel when He wanted to, and the matter is not in our hands. They refused to go to Israel until the moshiach would appear, and were against the Zionist movement because they thought it was acting in place of G-d. The religious Jews thought G-d had banished Israel from its Land and the Jews were not allowed to return until they had proven themselves and deserved the privilege of living in the Holy Land. This was a bit ironic, since the Land of Israel was a desolate wasteland and it was somewhat of a curse to live there, for it was a very hard life--a pioneering enterprise. The religious Jews never really appreciated this fact; that the Zionists who moved to Israel were struggling with G-d and with themselves. Which is what Israel does, hence the name "Israel," which means to "struggle or wrestle with G-d." Israel is a nation that has raised itself above the foolishness of men, and instead it struggles with G-d and with itself, in order to achieve the greatest goal of man--which is the perfection of himself.

While the religious Jews said that they must suffer in exile for their sins until G-d chose to forgive them and return them to their Land, the Zionists' response was that Israel's suffering had little to do with G-d and was instead a consequence of their position of weakness in exile. The Jews in exile were living on borrowed time, in borrowed lands, with borrowed friends and a borrowed success, and eventually these things would have to be returned, as they always were in the past when the nations would turn against Israel, driving out the Jews and killing them. The nations don't belong to Israel and Israel doesn't belong in the nations. Israel must stand alone and live up to its Role, and this can only be done in Israel. The Zionists just said the Jews belong in Israel, and they were right. The Land of Israel belongs to Israel, and Israel belongs in its Land. When Israel lives in exile its message gets obscured and lost, and Jewish people die for no reason because they are unable to fulfil their task.

Israel is not a religion so much as it is a form of government. When the Jewish people live in exile they must follow the laws of the gentiles. It is only in Israel that the Torah can become the Law, and therefore only in Israel can G-d Rule Israel and Justice be served. Therefore, only in Israel can the Jewish people become a nation of G-d, for in any other land they are forced to follow the laws of men in place of G-d's Laws. When Israel doesn't exist as a nation, Jewish people are murdered merely for preserving the memory of nationhood. The gentiles killed the Jews only to bury the memory of Israel, so that the Jews could not return to become a nation once more. But the Zionists did exactly that--they made Israel a nation once more. No longer must the children of Israel die for a memory; they can fight for their life and defend their rights, because Israel is a living nation, that will soon be Ruled by the Living G-d.

The Zionists have fulfilled their role and they are not important anymore. It's amazing, but Israel does exist. Therefore nobody needs to build Israel anymore. The pioneers have come and gone, and in their place lies a modern and flourishing nation. It's true that Jews remain scattered upon the face of the earth, but the ingathering of the exiles is not the role of the Zionists. What remains of Zionism is Jewish nationalism, but the Zionists don't understand what nationhood is for Israel and what it means for the world. The Zionists didn't, and Israel doesn't, follow G-d's Laws. Israel is ruled by men and the thoughts of man, and has become the puppet of the nations from which it struggled so hard to free itself. Therefore the Zionists built a Jewish state, but what they built is not exactly Israel.

When the Zionists fought for the establishment of the state of Israel, they weren't fighting for G-d. When the Zionists fought to defend Israel in its wars against foreign nations, they weren't fighting to defend G-d's Laws. They were fighting for democracy, so that Israel could remain the puppet of America, but of course they didn't know that. The people thought they were fighting for survival, while for Israel survival is distinction. If Israel is just like everyone else, it ceases to exist, fades out of existence, and becomes only a memory of what it once was. What the Zionists accomplished was a miraculous feat, but a miracle is not what Israel needs. Israel has the means and the will to become a nation of G-d, so all that is left to be done is for Israel to follow G-d's Laws. And this is not the role of any specific group of Jews, it is the role of all of Israel.

Israel is sick of fighting wars and its people are sick of defending themselves, because they don't value the laws and the government that they are defending. The government of modern Israel is not a special or Chosen government. It is a government of foolish people. The laws of modern Israel are not worth fighting for, and so the people think Israel is not worth fighting for. The people know there's Something more and because of that they don't value what they have.

An Israel that doesn't follow G-d's Laws, can't claim to represent the Truth. Therefore Israel is willing to compromise on issues of national concern. It's willing to give away its Land; the little Land that it has. It's willing to give power to the Arabs and let them form their own nation within Israel. Israel runs from its enemies and has become the slave of its allies. Israel allows itself to be ruled by the UN--its people let the nations control Israel. It dares to question its right to Jerusalem and entertains the possibility of making the Holy City an international city. Israel has become the property of the nations and Jerusalem is the puppet of foreigners. Modern Israel is a betrayal of its Covenant, yet it keeps the foolish covenants its enemies have made to destroy it. Israelis are sick of fighting because their wars have not achieved anything. This is because Israel is not fighting with its enemies, Israel is fighting against itself.

If you recall, a war is always fought over a dispute. In an ordered society, laws and a justice system are what settle the disputes. But between countries there are no laws and there is no justice system--there is only G-d. If the nations follow G-d's Laws then there is no need for war. The UN (United Nations) can't act in place of G-d, nor can anyone else, because no nation is foolish enough to submit to another's idea of right or wrong, and surrender its sovereignty to another person, nation, or organization. History has proven that man is not perfect, therefore mankind is in need of a Supreme Mediator Who will Judge mankind and Hand Down Decrees that are universally Just. Which is why Israel came to be; to show the world that there is only One G-d, Who makes Demands of mankind, and His Laws are for the good of all. People reject the Word of G-d because they think it limits them, but Israel teaches the world that Justice frees man and brings out the best within him.

When Israel doesn't represent the Word of G-d, it hurts its own cause. The people of Israel are not willing to accept their side of the dispute, because they know it is unreasonable. They refuse to fight for nothing and argue for no reason. They say the second Temple was destroyed because of "sinat chinam;" "hate for no reason." The people of Israel say they are arguing for nothing and fighting for no reason, because Israel has become nothing special and its laws are unreasonable. But why repeat myself any longer? The situation is best expressed by the recent history and current events...