The Good and the Benefactor

Yesterday another line was written in the modern Jewish-Israeli history. The last captive was returned to our borders; our brave soldiers never ceased to search, to seek, to fight, and to care, and all returned home, the living to the embrace of their families and the dead to burial in dignity. The blessing "the Good and the Benefactor" was instituted on the day the slain of Beitar were brought to burial, and Rav Kook explains that this is not a momentary comfort but a profound testimony to the essence of the nation. The fact that the slain did not decay is not a technical miracle, but a sign that even when Israel are counted as corpses, even under destruction, exile, and extreme degradation, their essential form is not nullified. The identity, the image of humanity, and the destiny are preserved, and out of them grows a mission of life and benefaction. Today is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and these matters connect in a wondrous way to a people that rose from dust and ashes, preserves its humanity, its strength and its might, and continues to be a light of truth in the world!

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