Together we won, together we celebrate

The birthday girl is 68, very young for a country. But not for our country, the nation of the Jewish people, that has been through so much.

In gematria, 68 is "wise." Wise like the people. What does the wise son say? "What are the statutes, the testimonies, and the laws-" The wise man understands what is happening around him. Mainly, he understands the entirety. He doesn't judge reality on the basis of one specific event or another. He sees the big picture. Mainly, he sees that he has a state. He understands that three years after the Holocaust, the state was established. Certainly no trivial thing.

And yesterday, 68 years later, it was time to celebrate, and also time to give thanks. On Independence Day 5776, we were able to read the joy on the faces of the people celebrating. They are trying to tell this people that they are isolated, lepers. See, it's so bad here that new immigrants don't stop arriving, and we don't see the Arab citizens rushing to leave, either. Because it's so bad here, you see. In gematria, 68 is wise. And what does a wicked son, in contrast, say? "What is this service to you-" I didn't see any wicked people on this Independence Day. On the contrary, I saw endless wise people who judge the country from a historical perspective, who understand that they are privileged to belong to the generation that is building this country.

The wise man understands that thousands of years of hope became the reality of his life. It's no wonder that from Metula‎ to Eilat, we saw happy Israelis yesterday. Thanking God, their parents, their children, the good life, and certainly the victims for the great privilege they have to be Israeli.

As we said, we need to look at the entire picture: not complain about the long wait in line for a passport, but understand how fortunate we are to have a passport. Because in the case of France, Belgium, the U.S., or Australia, that's almost the norm. Whereas an Israeli passport is still seen as a miracle. You don't believe me? Look around. And when you're done, take a look back at history and understand why the people of Israel understand and appreciate how lucky they are.

I remember that I once asked a good friend how our generation happened to be given such a privilege, because there were people wiser and greater than us in the past, mainly in the spiritual sense. "We're dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants," my friend answered.

On Wednesday, at a ceremony at my daughter's school marking Israel's Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism, I was reminded of his words. I thought about the things he said and wondered if giants hadn't risen from our generation, too. Giants who sacrificed their lives so we could celebrate like crazy.

Today, the people of Israel are in very high places. It's not a dwarf on the shoulders of a giant, but rather giants on the shoulders of giants. From the heights our people are at today, they understand better than any other people the great privilege they have been given. Anyone who watched the torch-lighting ceremony at Mount Herzl this year, which was dedicated to civilian heroism, understands just what giants we're talking about.

So there are bad things, obviously, and there is plenty to improve -- but this wise people, who see the entirety, understands why they have 68 reasons to be the happiest of peoples. Next year, it will have 69, and in another two years, 70, and year after year more reasons and years to be happy and give thanks will be added.

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו