Current Events

March, 2008

By Ariel Schneider and the Israel Today editorial staff:

“In the same way that Israel military commanders depend on the total obedience of their soldiers, so God demands total obedience from His people.  The Lebanon War in the summer of 2006 showed Israel what the consequences are of a lack of obedience.  The final report of the Winograd inquiry commission places the main responsibility for the failure of the war on the Israeli army because soldiers did not have confidence in their superiors and therefore followed orders hesitantly.

“Without total obedience victory is impossible.  God reminds us of this in the weekly Torah portion, Mishpatim, which was read two days after the publication of the Winograd report. – ‘If you will indeed obey My voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto your enemies and an adversary unto your adversaries.  For my angel shall go before you’ (Exodus 3:22, 23)  When Moses read the book of the covenant to the people, they responded:  ‘All that the Lord has said will we do and be obedient.’ (Exodus 24:7)

"This is where Israel’s total obedience to God is tested.  It is like following orders on the battlefield.  In both instances – following God’s commandments or commanders’ orders – obedience brings life and victory.  God has always proved faithful to His people, but Israel has not remained faithful to Him.

"The Lebanon War showed that even with the world’s best weapons and technology, Israel cannot win.  But if Israel returns to God and obeys His voice, He will fight for this nation and its enemies will be vanquished."

By Ariel Schneider Israel Today - The Prodigal Son Returns

“The children of Israel are beginning to turn back to God …..He is stretching out his long arms towards His people,” said an article in Israel’s biggest newspaper Yediot Ahronot.

“Sixty years after the establishment of the State of Israel by secular Zionists, something is happening among secular Israelis – profound questions about God and a return to their Jewish roots.  There is a shaking within the Israeli cultural scene, on stage, in books, on TV and Radio, where spiritual and ssecular biblical themes are more common than ever before.

“'The face of Israel is changing, religiously and socially,' wrote Orthodox commentator Uri Orbach on the website Ynet.  While not becoming officially religious, some secular musicians have become freelancers who serve God in their own way.  They sing songs of praise…..and some have spoken about their own relationship with God in the Israeli media.

“The change is not so much seen outwardly, by wearing a kippa (skull cap) or Tzitzit (tassels) under their shirts.  It is more an inward, spiritual transformation, put in motion by Israel’s difficult political situation in the Middle East.  The failure of the Oslo Accords of the 1990’s and the Gaza pullout of 2005 to bring the promised peace has brought soul searching among the secular population of Israel.

“’Israelis, especially non-religious Jews, are beginning to understand that without God nothing works.  …..Both groups, secular and religious have matured and are finding common ground, centered on God.  The sudden interest in God among the non religious is, in part, the result of the decay of secular culture in Israel.  Many Israelis found themselves in a spiritual no-man’s land, connected neither to shallow materialism nor to their Jewish roots nor to the political system that has grown increasingly corrupt.’  (Rabbi Binyamin Mizrachi)

“A glance at the bestseller list of Israeli literature from Ragen, Savato and Daum, put God in the center of their writings in contrast to bestsellers of the past ….. world-renowned liberal author Amos Oz is in a state of transformation ….. in his latest book, we can see that Oz is looking for his Jewish roots.

“The time is ripe for God, says Noa Yaron who has written a book about her personal return to Orthodox Judaism, and the people are in a tremendous process of return.  'The People are Searching' Television series which deal with the spiritual side of life are among the most popular programs on primetime TV.  Furthermore, God and the meaning of life are themes in numerous recent Israeli movies.”