The following is the front page of Torah Tidbits #465
Produced by Phil Chernofsky, associate director, 
OU/NCSY Israel Center
email: tt@ou.org
http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/

The Dayeinu Message (again)

Even as I begin this piece, I'm hit with the depressing thought 
that what I'm about to say will be heard and even appreciated 
by those readers who already agree with the conclusion, but not 
by those who disagree. And I really would like to actually 
succeed in changing some minds in what I consider to be a very 
important issue. So important, that I'm addressing this topic 
again. At least let this serve as CHIZUK for those already 
convinced. 

If G-d had taken us out of Egypt and not given us the Torah, 
DAYEINU, there would be sufficient reason to acknowledge Him and 
thank Him for what He has done for us. That's a long definition 
for DAYEINU, but it cannot be more simply stated as, It would be 
enough for us. Surely, it cannot be enough to have gotten out of 
Egypt and not to have received the Torah, since the purpose of 
G-d's taking us out of Egypt was to give us the Torah.

So how can it be enough just to have redeemed us from Egypt. 
It isn't enough. 

Nor is it enough to have given us Shabbat and the Torah and not 
to have brought us into Eretz Yisrael and build the Beit HaMikdash. 
Not enough, but sufficient reason to thank G-d for each step along 
the way towards a complete Jewish Life and a complete redemption.

If G-d had given us a Jewish State that opened the door to Eretz 
Yisrael for any and all Jews to live here without a quota, and not 
[yet] given us a Torah state and a Sanhedrin, and the Mashiach, 
and the Beit HaMikdash, there would be sufficient reason to 
acknowledge Him and thank Him for this kindness. If the State of 
Israel has allowed, helped, and enhanced the learning of Torah 
to the extent that never in Jewish history have so many people 
been learning Torah, then even with all the non-religious and 
anti-religious behavior on the part of many of the founders and 
leaders of Israel, DAYEINU, there is sufficient reason to thank 
G-d for the State.

In the Hagada's DAYEINU, there are 15 steps from Y'tzi'at Mitzrayim 
to the building of the Beit HaMikdash. The first 10 all precede 
Shabbat, Torah, Eretz Yisrael and Beit HaMikdash. In other words, 
notwithstanding the fact that the Exodus was only the first part 
of G-d's plan for us, hardly comparable in impact on Jewish Life 
to the Torah and E. Yisrael (not really fair to say that, because 
G-d's taking us out of Egypt does impact upon us in many ways, 
and is intertwined with Torah and mitzvot), we still "make a fuss 
about it", remember it, celebrate it. No one says (or should say) 
that the Exodus from Egypt was the complete redemption. No one 
should say thank you to G-d; I'll pass on the Torah and Eretz 
Yisrael. Maybe there were people who did say that.

And those people were wrong to think that freedom from Par'o 
alone was the realization of the dream of the people and the 
fulfillment of the prophecy of redemption. It was, in fact, 
the fulfillment of 3 terms of redemption, contained in the 
first of three p'sukim of the prophecy to Moshe Rabeinu in 
the beginning of Parshat Va'eira. Receiving the Torah, thereby 
becoming G-d's Nation is the second pasuk, and coming to Eretz 
Yisrael and receiving the Land as our Heritage is the third pasuk. 

To repeat, the "package deal" nature of our redemption from Egypt 
does not prevent us from celebrating Y'tzi'at Mitzrayim in and 
of itself. That is the DAYEINU message.

And I believe with all my heart (yes, I'm getting personal) that 
the message applies to Yom HaAtzma'ut and the establishment of 
the State of Israel. There is what to ceberate and thank G-d for, 
in and of itself, without losing sight of the road still ahead 
towards the Complete Redemption. And there are short-sighted 
people who mistakingly believe that the establishment of the 
State of Israel is the fulfillment of the age-old dream of the 
Jewish People. We have to teach them that there is more, and 
help them find the true longing for rebuilt Yerushalayim that 
is part of every Jew's soul.

Sadder yet are the Jews with the other kind of short-sightedness 
who allow their disappointment and frustration with the religious 
shortcomings of the Medina to prevent themselves from properly 
thanking G-d for all the good that we have received (yes, together 
with the problems) since 5708.

A slight digression, but not really. You'll see what I'm driving 
at - I hope.

27 Nissan was designated as Holocaust and Heroism Day, Yom HaShoa 
v'ha'G'vura. The date was chosen to mark the Warsaw ghetto uprising. 
The choice of the date "bothers" many people in certain religious 
circles because Nissan is a halachically improper choice for a 
memorial day, and because of focus on armed resistance which is 
perceived as an insult to the memory of the vast majority of the 
6,000,000 who did not seem to fight for their lives.

Several men in the Kovno ghetto stole lumber and supplies from a 
Nazi work station and built a clandestine Sukka in an alley 
generally overlooked by the Nazi guards in the ghetto. The men 
went to Rav Efrayim Oschry, and asked him a halachic question. 
Can the mitzva of Sukka be fulfilled with a Sukka built from 
stolen lumber. They did NOT ask him if they were permitted to 
build a Sukka in conditions that would have meant death to them 
if they were found out.

Generally, one does not risk his life for the mitzva of Sukka. 
It is not one of the "be killed rather than violate" mitzvot. 
But under the circumstances of the Holocaust, their defiance of 
their Nazi captors and oppressors was an act of Kiddush HaShem, 
heroism and resistance, no less significant than an armed 
rebellion. 

Is that what some young secular Zionists had in mind when they 
spoke of heroism? Probably not. Not consciously, anyway. But they 
were closer to the true mark than they realized. We have to teach 
them. Show them. They are worth our efforts. They are fellow Jews. 

Years ago in basic training, we were being prepared for our 
swearing in ceremony. After our MEM-MEM (education officer) 
described the ceremony, I respectfully asked if we could add 
some religious element to the proceedings, perhaps a chapter of 
T'hilim and the Mi'she'bei'rach for IDF soldiers. He replied that 
he would ask his superiors. When the answer came back in the 
negative (sh'lili, as we say in Israel), I was very disappointed. 
Until the ceremony. We received a rifle from the Samal, but a 
Tanach from the Mem-Mem, a higher ranking officer (and a nicer 
person).

Then came one of the readings at the ceremony — the reading of 
the first chapter of the book of Yehoshua, chosen, no doubt, 
because Yehoshua was the first general of a Jewish army. 
A military and secular choice of text. Not so. The non-religious 
samal who was reading the chapter might have been feeling 
military pride at the passage, but look what he kept reading.

Be strong, be brave, for you shall put this people in possession 
of the Land... Only be strong and brave, taking care to observe 
the entire Torah which My servant Moshe bequeathed to you, do not 
swerve from it... This book of the Torah shall not depart from 
your lips, study it by day and night, that you may observe 
carefully all that is written in it...

I cried tears of joy and thanked G-d for the privilege of living 
in a Jewish State (albeit imperfect, as yet) and serving in a 
Jewish army — an army that the supposedly secular founders of 
the State made sure would keep Shabbat and Kashrut, and the 
Jewish values of an army.

The truth is that religious people can probably be more pleased 
with this State and its army than a secular Jew would be. It's 
the old half-empty or half-full question. We MUST be the 
optimists who will be encouraged to strive for more religious 
Aliya, better religious education, and a greater atmosphere of 
tolerance and patience — to be able to show in a constructive, 
positive light, the value and beauty of a Torah way of life, 
thereby hastening the Geula Sh'leima in our own time.

Those who were responsible for composing the official greeting 
for Yom HaAtzma'ut summed up all of the above. To the saluation 
of MO'ADIM B'SIMCHA, their answer is L'GEULA SH'LEIMA.