In sadness and in joy

In a historical moment of political discord (not fondly remembered, might I add), Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion wisely remarked that it is better for Jews to live in Israel and be buried abroad than for Jews to spend their lives abroad and spend eternity buried in Israel. On Tuesday, the Jewish people accompanied four victims of Islamic terrorism to their final resting place in Jerusalem, despite the wisdom of Ben-Gurion's observation. Religious and secular Jews alike earnestly sang "I believe in the coming of the messiah."

A million words have been written, thousands of pictures have been taken and hundreds of cartoons have been drawn around the world following the recent outbreak of Islamic terrorism in the French capital, and there is still plenty more to say. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right to ignore (albeit after a brief hesitation) French security forces' request not to attend Sunday's mass rally in Paris honoring the victims of the attacks. Former Prime Minister Menachem Begin reacted in the same way when he ignored the request to stay away from the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The question is whether if, heaven forbid, there should be another terrorist attack and another 17 innocent people who are not Jewish should be murdered, will Netanyahu again participate in a rally honoring the victims? I hope the answer is yes. In any case, we have not had a chance to debate that question yet.

The debate surrounding the call on France's Jews to draw their conclusions and move to Israel is one of the most important debates of the last few decades. And the debate is far from over, even after President Reuven Rivlin joined in this week. It is a shame, however, that Housing Minister Uri Ariel took the discussion in a political direction, announcing on television that new immigrants from France should be settled in Judea and Samaria. There is no room for politics during the first days of mourning. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose," as our sages taught us. But apparently the Housing Ministry didn't attend that lesson.

But this day was about another aspect of Judaism: The idea that Jews are there for one another in gratefulness and in mourning, in sadness and in joy. At times like these, every Jew who considers himself a part of the Jewish people, regardless of his worldview, shares the pain and feels the weight of a cruel shared fate. Every Jew feels the commitment and the duty. At a time like this, the word "brother" gains a profound new level of meaning and the Law of Return, the foundation of the Jewish state, becomes ever more essential.

The four victims buried in Jerusalem on Tuesday came to Israel in coffins, but they have played an important role. They opened up the gates to the living. They invited the living to come and share their experience, love and joy in the best way for a Jew to live: as a free person.

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