Jubilee of the Reunification of Israel

A Modern Day Miracle...

Photo credit: breakingisraelnews.com

THE REUNIFICATION OF ISRAEL…JUBILEE!

I can almost hear the shofar’s wail

cutting through cries and cheers

that miraculous morning, fifty years ago

as the paratroopers

breached the Lion’s Gate

and Colonel Motta Gur exclaimed—

The Temple Mount is in our hands!

The Temple Mount is in our hands!

It was then Rabbi Goren prayed the Shehecheyanu[1]

He lifted the ram’s horn to his quivering lips

and blew

The sound resonated at the Western Wall

a sound, profoundly unforgettable

like the mighty voice of God

At that moment

the Jewish nation

by God’s orchestration

found itself victorious

in the face of astonishing odds

and the divided city became reunified

It was June 7, 1967—

Day Three of the Six Day War

when greatly outnumbered, the Jews

defeated the combined forces

of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan

Israelis soon flocked to pray at the Wall

for the first time in more than 2000 years

Christian holy sites were opened to Christians

and Muslim sites to Muslims

Now is the Jubilee! Hallelujah!

There is jubilation

in the streets of Yerushalayim[2]

and paeans of praise

rising up, up, up, like incense

before the throne of God

Maude Carolan Pych

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[1] The Shehecheyanu blessing is a common Jewish prayer of thanks, said to celebrate special occasions.

[2] Yerushalayim is Hebrew for Jerusalem.