Parshas Bamidbar

Josh has now completed the trifecta having led kabbalas shabbos last night , shacharis this morning and now mussaf. Please join me in wishing a hearty yasher koach to Josh and to his Bar Mitzva teacher David Frankel. Mazal Tov to Ben and Hilda Weissmann and Marylin Lowenstein the proud grandparents. Of course to David and Nancy, Elana and Shira and Simon (the family dog) who sadly couldn't be with us today. As we all shep nachas on Josh's accomplishment I would like you all to join me as I shep nachas on the birth of our grand daughter Tehila Rachel whose kiddush was scheduled to have taken place in Jerusalem a few hours ago. So my heart is filled with joy over events and in the Holy City of Jerusalem. I feel that this is no coincidence and that Josh's Bar Mitzva and Jerusalem are intertwined.

42 years ago the neighborhood that my daughter lives in today was in Jordan. The yeshiva my sons in law study in was as far from hostile Arab machine guns as we are from GA perimeter college. The broad plaza in front of the Western Wall that Dena prayed at Wednesday night was a narrow alley used by Moslem's as a trash dump. Then exactly 42 years ago yesterday the 28Th day of Iyar all of that changed. In six miraculous days the world turned over.

In the early months of 1967 Israel was threatened by 500,000 Russian equipped armies intent on driving the Jews into the sea. On June 5th at 7:46 am Israel launched a surprise air attack. Flying under radar Israeli jets attacked Egyptian airbases. In three hours the Egyptian air force by far the largest of the Arab countries, ceased to exist. In truth the movement of the Israeli air force had been picked up by Jordanian radar. They immediately radioed Egypt the encoded signal for war. However the previous day the Arab countries had changed their code frequencies and the Egyptians had not yet made the adjustment. They never got the message. Next Israeli ground forces attacked the vaunted Egyptian army. Without air cover the Egyptians panicked and fled in to the Sinai desert. Ultimately to die or be captured in the thousands by hundreds of Israeli troops. Actually the main tank force of the Egyptians surrendered when confronted by a small brigade of Israeli tanks. The surrendering officer claimed he had seen hundreds of Israeli tanks approaching him.


To the east lie Jordan and the British trained Jordanian legion. King Hussein had been warned by Israel "Join not my enemy lest I engage you also in battle" but the king wouldn't or couldn't heed the warning. He began shelling Jewish west Jerusalem and on June 6th Israeli troops turned their attention toward the Holy City. At two am a lone scout was doing reconnaissance of the principal Jordanian outpost to the east of Jerusalem Ammunition Hill. It was pitch black on a moonless 28th night of the lunar cycle. The scout stumbled and fell into a trench. There were people in the trench. He realized he had fallen into the fortifications on Ammunition Hill. He began firing from his hip. What ensued was a brutal battle but the Jordanians assumed that they had been outflanked by the Israelis. 36 I sraeli soldiers lost thier lives but they took Ammunition Hill and the path was open to the old city. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/122473

At this point I read from the transcript of the tape made by Israeli radio reporter Yossi Ronnen as he entered the old city together with the troops. To read the story of the tape go to http://info.jpost.com/1998/Supplements/30years/ronen.html To hear the actual recording go to http://www.isracast.com/article.aspx?ID=374
On June 7th the 28th day of Iyar the shofar was sounded in front of the Western Wall. On June 14th the army pronounced the city secure and open to civilian traffic. The next day was the holiday of Shavuos which will begin for us Thursday night. Traditionally Jews stay up all night learn Torah in anticipation of the anniversary of the giving of the Torah which is the holiday of Shavuos. That year in the darkness Jews left their homes in the wee early hours and walked to the Old City. As they approached the Old City they were joined by streams of others coming from all directions all walking silently in anticipation of the great event. They were going to pray at the Western Wall the remnant of our Holy Temple a site that Jews had been barred from for 19 years. In all 200,000 came to the Western Wall that Shavuos and the experience has been repeated annually on shavuos night. Ten years later I was among them.
The joy the liberation the sense of blessing and goodness of wholeness and love that Jews in Israel in America behind the iron curtain felt at that moment cannot be described. We felt proud and we felt right.

Josh in a perhaps in smaller way perhaps but you very deservedly share those feelings. you have been victorious. you must feel the love and joy that surrounds you in this room. We all feel proud and we all feel right. Josh you have been blessed by G-d with great gifts. You are an excellent student in Judaic and secular studies. I could talk about the immediate source of these gifts that would be your parents but I am under a severe gag order. Of all of your gifts in my opinion the most outstanding gift you possess is your easy natural way with people. People are comfortable around you. Because of this you have the ability to make a great impact on the world around you. The pride you feel in being Jewish, your involvement in services and your Torah learning can be a beacon to others. These same gifts are also. A challenge similar to that faced by the State of Israel and the Jewish people 42 years ago. Would we appreciate all of the miracles and give thanks to G-d for all he has done for us or would we focus instead on self congratulatory adulation of our military prowess and intellectual abilities all the while looking down our noses at the feeble minded enemy. Even in religious circles could we reach out and embrace our begging to be inspired brethren or would we bind ourselves in knots of bickering and factionalism. Now 42 years later we are living the results. The Palestinian problem, Israelis as oppressors, return to pre '67 borders and a virulent anti - semetism that makes the international acclaim of Israel in June '67 seem like a dream.
So Josh remember this moment of joy and love. Appreciate who you are and all of the gifts you possess. Dedicate yourself to acknowledging G-d who has blessed you and always always remember. Treasure your parents because they are most extraordinary and we love them.