Two moments of Jewish Pride on my recent trip to the Holy Land

Having just returned from our JLI trip to visit the Holy Land, there is so much to share; as this is a land filled with the Presence of the Divine, where G-d can be felt in a tangible way.

I would like to share with you two different moments of true Jewish pride that I experienced while there, and was deeply touched.

On a sunny afternoon, I, together with seventeen rabbis who were on the JLI mission, participated in adding a new link in the chain of our ancestors. I had the opportunity to lead the Bar Mitzvah celebration of a young 13 year old boy, who joined the rank of becoming a young Jewish man amongst the People of Israel. I watched as the Bar Mitzvah boy wrapped the Tefilin on his arm, and was called up to have his first aliyah in the Torah at Western Wall. This was a moment of true Jewish pride as the entire plaza at the Western Wall, hundreds of visitors and tourists joined in the singing and dancing of Siman Tov and Mazal Tov. Candies were thrown on the Bar Mitzvah boy to symbolize the sweetness of this joyous day as he marched with the Torah to the Ark.

I overheard a conversation between two tourists at the Wall, one telling the other of how he never had a Bar Mitzvah, and now wanted to have one too. This young Bar Mitzvah boy, who added another link in the chain of his family lineage, had also inspired others to do the same in their own lives, and brought about a feeling of true Jewish pride amongst the hundreds of guests and rabbis who danced that day the Western Wall.

Following the Bar Mitzvah ceremony, I noticed that a group of five hundred teenagers, all about the age of eighteen, were congregating at the Western Wall Plaza. When I inquired about it, I was told that there was going to be a swearing in ceremony for these young men and women, as they took their oath and joined the Israeli Defense Forces. This was something that I had never witnessed before, and I decided to stay for the ceremony.

At 5:45 PM sharp, the music began playing, and three battalions of young men and woman formed on the three sides of the plaza. I was standing in the spectators area, near the family members of these young soldiers. The ceremony began with the chaplain reading the first chapter in the Book of Joshua, where G-d tells Joshua before crossing into the Land Of Israel, to be brave and strong, and follow in the footsteps of G-d, and how G-d will be at his side at all times.

One of the generals in the army then took the podium, and spoke about the importance of playing a role in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), as this is a land that G-d has given to our ancestors so many years ago, and we have the privilege to inhabit it, protect it, and keep it as a Homeland for Jewish people throughout the world. A flame was then lit in remembrance of the soldiers who fell while protecting their homeland. As the emotion of the moment was felt in the air, the commander stepped forward to the podium. In a clear, booming voice, he read the declaration of allegiance that all soldiers recite when they enter the Israeli military:

I hereby swear . . . to be faithful to the State of Israel, to its constitution and its authorities . . . to obey all commands and orders given by authorized commanders [of the IDF], and to devote all my strength, and even sacrifice my life, to the defense of my country and the freedom of Israel.

"And even sacrifice my...." A lump forms in your throat when you utter the words. Yet, the hundreds of other young soldiers who had assembled under the canopy of stars answered with one, strong voice: ani nishba (I swear). With these words Israelis enter the "people's army" and assume the lifelong responsibility of defending Israel.

Though they are greatly outnumbered by their foes, the IDF ultimately has been victorious in every encounter with those who wish Israel harm. For many, these military successes are evidence of the role and strength of the Almighty in Israel's destiny: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit said the Lord of Hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)

I was standing near a man who had tears streaming down his cheeks, when asked why he was so moved, he said to me. "You see that young woman standing there . . . that is my only daughter and she has just enlisted in the IDF. I asked if they were tears of sadness, and he answered, "to the contrary, this is one of the happiest days of my life, as my daughter can join the Israeli Defense Forces, and become a new link in the heritage of our people, who will defend our homeland, the Holy Land."

I too had tears in my eyes, when I saw the love of the land from the people who live there, how these young men and women feel and act upon their Jewish pride. As I am back in Nashville, I am inspired to create this sense of Jewish pride amongst our young men and women in our community.

As each of these young men and women joined the army, they were presented with their own copy of the Tanach (The Torah), as a guide to living as proud Jews. We too who live in the Diaspora, can be inspired to do the same, live our lives as proud Jewish people and be a Light To The Nations.

With blessings for a Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel