As I’m writing this message, President Trump is wrapping up his trip to Saudi Arabia before flying (directly!) from Riyadh to Tel Aviv. The timing is most interesting — the President arriving in Tel Aviv on May 22, the same day that Israel celebrates a Jubilee—50 years since the unification of Jerusalem after the Six-Day War, which started on the 26th of Iyar (June 5, 1967). I was born into this reality, that even though Jerusalem has not yet been well integrated, still, both sides of The Temple Mount have been under Israel’s governance. Not only that, but 50 years earlier, in 1917, The Balfour Declaration permitted Jews to reestablish themselves politically in their land after 2000 years. Shouldn’t we consider this a miraculous blessing?
This Shabbat, in Parashat BeHar (in the Mount), the Torah speaks about counting the Shemita—the Sabbatical year that occurs every seven years — and then to count seven cycles of Sabbatical years. Accordingly, the 50th year becomes a Jubilee year, when all agriculture stops to allow the land to rest, when debts are forgiven, slaves are freed, and we surrender to the providence of God.
“And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee to you; and you shall return every man to his possession, and you shall return every man to his family.” (Lev. 25:10) This is a rest for the land, no matter who occupies it. Perhaps it makes sense, then, that when Mark Twain toured the land in the middle of the 19th century, he reported that the land was desolate.
As we are expected to count the Omer for seven weeks and celebrate Shavuot on the 50th day, to reenact receiving the Torah on the Mount, we are required to count 49 years and celebrate universal freedom in the land on the 50th. The Talmud discusses the difference between the two countings: Omer is a private counting, and Yovel is a public counting. Just as we privately climb the mountain of the Omer, we are required as a community to arrive at the top of the jubilee mountain. In both cases, we are expected to rest when we get to the top, not simply run back down. It is at that place that we take the time to contemplate the inequalities and injustices in the world. It is there that we trust God and let Him lead us. What should be the next door to enter?
Our evening prayer begins with the phrase, “Praised are you Adonai our God, who rules the universe, Your word bringing the evening dusk. You open the gates with wisdom, design the day with wondrous skill, set out the succession of seasons, and arrange the stars in the sky according to your will… You create day and night, rolling light away from darkness and darkness away from light….” Every night, we surrender our lives to God and say, “We trust You that You will lead us on the right path.” More importantly, we don’t want to miss the opportunity. The next opportunity in life, according to the cycle, may not reappear for 50 years.
Forgive me for not being cynical. I am a believer, and I believe that God puts opportunities in front of us that we may not have expected or chosen. This week I am praying that President Trump will build on the hard work of previous American Presidents, and that God will open the gates of mercy and peace with wisdom. “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid. (Isaiah 40, 9)
May we have a blessed new month.
—Rabbi Gadi Capela