Then & Now

“14 Million: World Jewry Matches 1925 Numbers”

This is headline of a recent article in the Israeli media.  According to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Jews in the world currently (14.7 million) matches that of 1925 but is still short of the pre-World War II figure of 16.6 million.

This got me thinking: What was going on in the world in 1925?  What was it like then?  How does that compare to now?  Especially, today on Yom Ha’atzamut – and during a time so full of Jewish memory, we are more aware than usual of the passage of time.  Think of how much has transpired since 1925!  Think about what happened between 1945 and 1948 and since then?  Think about how much has happened since March?  Remember March?

So please indulge me in a little bit of “Then and Now.”

Here are some highlights and firsts from 1925.  The first motel opened.  The Great Gatsby was published.  Mount Rushmore opened to the public.  It was the year of the Scopes Monkey Trial which put the tension between science and religion on display. 

Anyone ever drive a Chrysler automobile?  (Who says automobile anymore??)  The Chrysler Corporation was founded by Walter Chrysler.  Margaret Thatcher and Johnny Carson born.  Mein Kampf was published.

On the Jewish scene, Hebrew University opened, and that year featured a three-day yom tov for the first days of Pesach.  Rabbi Joseph Lookstein preached a sermon on Shabbat Chol Hamoed about Shir HaShirim.  (Check out the Bulletin HERE.)

A lot has transpired since.  I am not thinking about a historical timeline.  I just think it is appropriate to take a look at the headlines today.  As we commemorate and celebrate Pesach, Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom Ha’atzmaut, and as we grapple with the quarantine and uncertainty of the Coronavirus crisis, what is happening around us that will define “Now.” 

We have heroes whose stories can inspire us.

One of those who connected “then” with “now” is Benjamin Levin, who passed away from Covid-19 over Pesach.  He lived an amazing 93 years.  He was the youngest and last surviving member of the celebrated “Avengers” partisan group, who blew up Nazi trains and bridges, and helped sustain other Jews trapped inside ghettos.  Levin later swam off the destroyed Altalena and smuggled himself into the new Jewish state.  When he told his life-story to Steven Spielberg, the acclaimed director called Levin “the Forrest Gump of Jewish history.” 

Benjamin Levin, like all living survivors, helps us bridge then and now.

While we’re physical apart, some are now feeling more connected. 

An Independence Day survey shows that Israelis have a record-high sense of belonging and that the number of those expressing a shared fate with the State of Israel is surging, especially among ultra-Orthodox and Arab Israelis.  Maybe being stuck inside allows us to better realize that we really are connected.

Today, Israel is an amazing place.  There is no way anyone could have dreamed about the things that take place there today.  There are too many to count, but this image caught my attention.

In Bnei Brak's Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, Dr. Abed Zahalka, an Arab doctor, entered the hospital’s coronavirus unit in full protective garb, holding a Torah scroll wrapped in a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) for use by the patients there.  Zahalka was moved by the arrival of the Torah.  “I felt like I was making the connection even stronger, that I was a part of the place, of the people, of the tradition,” he said.  “I am a person of faith, and I see a lot of people of faith here and a lot of Bnei Brak’s rabbis.  I also think there’s a connection between faith and successful treatment,” he notes. “You see people who simply give up compared to people who were in very serious condition and are dealing amazingly with the disease and are recovering.”

Then and now.

On Israel’s 72^nd birthday, we are celebrating in a far different fashion than ever before.  (How many Zooms have you attended in the last 24 hours?)  At the same time, one thing remains constant:  Our appreciation and celebration for the role the State of Israel plays in our lives.  It is a spiritual, religious, national, cultural beacon for the Jewish people and the greatest miracle we have experienced.  When we say “Am yisrael chai,” we acknowledge the power of the present while looking back to what was, and having confidence, please God, in our future.

I leave you with a rendition of Hatikvah, which combines “then” and “now” and can give each of us pride, joy, and hope on this special day.

Yom Ha’atzmaut Sameach!