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Israel has been a cursed nation. Over the ages, the remnant of Israel has lived a life of pain and misery. Israel has been disgraced beyond imagination, yet it still survives and its hope has never died. G-d Has Made His people into a sign, for Israel has been Marked by G-d. What kind of nation would survive what Israel has lived through? What kind of nation could possibly be eternal? None but G-d's people!
When Israel was rebellious and disobeyed G-d, it was thrown off its Land, twice, and has suffered calamity after calamity. Its people had become wanderers and fugitives. They have always run from their enemies and been consumed by the lands of their residence. The remnant of Israel has been like straw in the inferno. It has been like flax in the firestorm. That which remained has survived by a miracle. And most that survived have died, while even their children had not succeeded them. Israel has been faint and its name has been erased over the ages. Its numbers have been constantly cut off and its strength repeatedly rubbed off, yet somehow it has remained.
Like a well in the desert that bubbles up by a miracle, Israel has appeared with marvel and wonder. Yet the lucky water hole that happens to spring forth amidst the desolation, is quickly consumed and dried up, and forgotten once its glory has faded. But Israel is an oasis that can never be buried. Destroy its appearance and deprive it of a livelihood, yet it will continue to spring forth and bloom above the ruins. For Israel is a water hole with a limitless Source. On the surface it may seem shallow, but within, it extends to the depths of the Infinite; for Israel is as limitless as is its Infinite Source. Were it a sapling, that yearned to grow, none could stop its growth. Trample it, trim and cut it, tear it down, poison it, reduce it with disease, burn it, dry it up, dig it up, uncover and pull out its roots, try to distort its identity and disorient its form, yet it will still live and it will continue to grow. For Israel has survived every calamity and recovered from every infirmity, and it hardly bears a scar of all the torment it has known.
Israel continues to give light and it lights up all the world. As small as it is and as weak as it might have been, Israel shines as proudly as the sun, while it should be more faint than the moon. And the Land of Israel, that has been like the Garden of Eden, as splendid as were its people, has been as desolate as death, as has been the misery of its remnant. Yet all these things stand for nothing, because Israel is not merely a memory; it is a living legend, as vibrant and ever present as Is the Living G-d. Israel has walked into the furnace more than once, yet it has emerged more alive than it ever was. And the wasteland that was Israel, springs forth with life, for Israel has been Returned to its Land and the Land flowers with wealth. And what else could be expected? Has this not been Foretold long ago?
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Deuteronomy 30:3-5 And the Lord your G-d shall Return you from your captivity, and have Compassion upon you; He shall Return and Gather you from among all the nations... And the Lord your G-d Will Bring you into the Land that your fathers inherited. You will acquire it, and He Will Make you even more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. Isaiah 41:18-20 I Will Open up rivers upon the hilltops and springs in the midst of valleys; I Will Turn the desert into a pond of water and the parched land into sources of water. In the wilderness I Will Set cedar, acacia, myrtle, and pine trees; I Will Place in the desert box trees, firs, and cypresses together, so that they may see and know, consider, and understand together that the Hand of Hashem Has Done this, and the Holy One of Israel Created it. Jeremiah 16:14-15 Therefore, behold, days are coming, Says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, "As the Lord Lives Who Brought up the children of Israel from the land of egypt;" but "As the Lord Lives Who Brought up the children of Israel from the northern lands, and from all the lands into which He had driven them." And I Will Return them to their Land, which I Gave to their forefathers. Jeremiah 31:6-7 For thus Says G-d, "Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: 'O G-d, Deliver your people, the remnant of Israel!' Behold, I Will Bring them back from northern lands, and Gather them from the ends of the world..." Jeremiah 33:10-11 Thus Says G-d, "In this place--of which you say, 'How desolate it is, without man or animal!' in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are now deserted, without man, without inhabitant, without animal--there shall yet be heard the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of those who bring a thanks offering to the House of G-d, singing, 'Give thanks to the Lord of Hosts, for the Lord Is Good; His Loving Kindness endures forever.' For I Will Restore this country as of old," Says G-d. Ezekiel 11:17 Thus Says G-d: "I Will Gather you from the nations, and Assemble you from the lands where you have been scattered, and I Will Give you the Land of Israel." Ezekiel 36:8-11 As for you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for they are soon to come. For behold, I Am with you and I Shall turn to you; then you will be tilled and you will be sown. And I Will multiply man upon you, the entire House of Israel... Then I Will multiply man and animal upon you, and they shall increase and be fruitful. I shall Cause you to be inhabited as in your former times and I Will Make you even more numerous than you were in your beginnings. You shall know that I Am Hashem. |
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