The Curtain Rises (1967)
What a year this has been! In the past six months we have lived through centuries of Jewish history. In six days within this past year, we have turned full cycle: ha-zor’im be’dim’ah, be’rinah yiktzoru, those who sowed with tears reaped in song. In April and May, the noose of encirclement tightened about the neck of Israel, and Jews throughout the world knew that if, Heaven forbid, the State of Israel falls, all of us are doomed. In May, the Government secretly ordered 30,000 sets of takhrikhim (shrouds) and consecrated seven new cemeteries in anticipation of frightful casualty rates. Many women are known to have prepared poison to take in case of an Arab victory and the inevitable consequences. Ha-zor’im be’dim’ah. But in June, victorious generals and toughened paratroopers wept tears of joy at the Kotel ha-Maaravi, no longer to be known as the Wailing Wall, but as the Western Wall. Be’rinah Yiktzoru.In May, one Arab government after another promised to annihilate us, the international community ignored their threats and our danger, and one friendly government after another abandoned us. But in June – God was with us. From tears to song, almost delirious song!In May, a shudder passed over American Jewry as we dug in for possible tragedy, and our spirits sank. In June, we were ecstatic, our spirits soared as never before, and we expressed our gratitude in the greatest outpouring of philanthropic funds in human history. Be’rinah Yiktzoru.In May, the Shofar sounded in synagogues throughout the Holy Land to signal fast days proclaimed as an et tzarah, a time of mortal danger and national peril. In June, the Shofar was sounded joyously in Jerusalem, at the Temple Mount, to “proclaim liberty throughout the land and for all the inhabitants thereof.” What a fantastic voyage from tears to triumph!And now we are about to sound the Shofar again, as we stand before the Almighty God of Israel – happy but humble; relieved, but not relaxed; grateful, but not arrogant; wiser than…
