Jerusalem Miracle by David Basch

Miracles don't happen every day. But even when they do happen, not every one recognizes it. But can it be denied that mysterious and even miraculous things happen And when they do, they puzzle the mind.

Shakespeare makes this point in a play when Hamlet, having been confronted by a mysterious happening of seeing the ghost of his father, declares to his skeptical friend Horatio, "there are more things in heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamed of in your philosophy." Apparently, the great Shakespeare agrees with those who accept the mysterious aspects of our universe. His towering intellect and sensitivity enabled him to accept that there will ever be things that happen to defy the odds and conventional explanations.

So, have any of us witnessed miracles lately? And if we saw such a thing, would we known it as a miracle? Come to think of it, was not the event that many of us witnessed about thirty years ago in connection with Israel a miracle? What was it that happened then? It was not simply Israel's winning of the Six Day War, which some persons do regard as a miracle. But most do not do so, especially many Israelis you ask. The typical Israeli rationalist will tell you about Israel's superlative defense forces. And while he may be thrilled about the restoration of Jerusalem to the Jewish people in that war, he and few others will have noticed a curious phenomenon that accompanied this restoration of Jerusalem. Almost every adult person can tell you the date of this event, June 7, 1967, but not more than that, which is a pity.

In Isaiah 52:8, the Prophet prophesied that all, including the nations, "shall see, eye to eye, (b'shuv hashem tzion) the L-rd returning to Zion." How many recognize the signs that it was on that particular date thirty three years ago that the L-rd did indeed return to Zion before the eyes of all the nations -- except most failed to notice.

But there was something unusual about that date aside from what happened on it. One only has to take note of the numerals of the date to recognize it. This date when given in the summary form used universally in the West in the international calendar is written as 6/7/67. Let us review some of the events of that date.

It was on that date that Jerusalem, the site of the Holy Sanctuary of the G-d that hallowed the SEVENTH DAY was retaken by Israel, the descendants of the nation that "He," the L-rd, "had known" among all the nations of the earth. The war was known as the SIX DAY War. The day Jerusalem was liberated was on the SEVENTH DAY of the SIXTH DAY of the month in the year nineteen SIXty-SEVEN ('67). Of all the dates of the uncrowded calendar of history, it was that day, 6/7/67, so suggestive numerologically, that was the day when these events occurred. It was a date befitting the contrivance of a G-d Who acts in history and Who controls that history.

Let us look once more at Isaiah's remark, a remark that is said at every Sabbath processional in the Synagogue as the Torah is brought from the ark to the reading table: "They shall see, eye to eye, the L-rd returning to Zion." Not only is it referring to an event seen by all, but the phrase, "eye to eye," is itself curious. What does it mean, "eye to eye"? Will we look into the eye of the incorporeal G-d? Or should we look deeper into the meaning of this scriptural line?

The Jewish alphabet is a cipher alphabet, meaning it is an alphabet in which its letters are also numbers. The number 7 is the letter Zayin. Another Hebrew letter that is in a sense a number 7 is the letter "Ayin" which represents the 7th of the units of tens, the 70, and which name, "Ayin," is also the Hebrew word for "eye." That both versions of the number 7 (Zayin and Ayin) are related is told by the fact that there is an "AYIN" in "zAYIN." Now let us look again at the date in which Jerusalem was restored to the Jewish people:

6/7/67

Notice now that there are two "AYINS" in this date, the two AYIN's of the numeral 7. But also note the two "eyes" that show in the configuration of each of the number 6's (6/6). Notice the loop in the 6 that looks like an "eye" -- Ayins. Interestingly, the name of the numeral six in Hebrew is Vav, which means "loop," each of which in this date shows up as the "loop of the eye." Are the Jewish people seeing their rendezvous with history in this, a rendezvous witnessed by the entire world?

While some religious Jews are only willing to credit the Hebrew calendar with significance, the Prophet's vision was supposed to be seen by "all." How better for "all" to see it than by its being recorded in what is today the universal calendar, accessible universally today?

Unfortunately there are certain types, the arch secular universalists, who are determined to prove that no miracle occurred on June 7, 1967. They hope to prove this by undoing the miracles that occurred on that date, the miraculous recovery by Israel of the strategic territories of the Mandate of Palestine that had been occupied by foreign Arab nations ever since 1948. Aside from restoring the territories stolen by the Arabs, these recovered territories greatly strengthened Israel against Arab attack. By the way, as a party to the Mandate of Palestine, Israel happens to be the only sovereign nation that has a legitimate claim to these lands. There is no other such since there never was a sovereign Arab nation of Palestine. Of course, the Arabs wish to undo the miracle of that day, as do some secularist Israelis. The Arabs wish to do so as part of their continuing campaign to weaken and to destroy the Jewish State.

Interestingly, no Orthodox rabbi of any stature before 1967 ever suggested that Israel go to war to capture Jerusalem or the rest of the territories of the Mandate stolen by the Arabs, nor was there a plan to accomplish this. Yet, these lands fell to Israel like ripe plums in 1967 when the Arabs attacked. The territories that were gained had, prior to their restoration, been considered as lands that awaited return only during a later messianic time, a time in which all G-d's promises to the Jewish people would be fulfilled. Now, here these lands were in Israel's possession and were a surety that the Arabs would have a real tough time undoing the Jewish nation as long as Israel controlled the lands.

As intolerable as this situation was for the Arabs, it has proven even more intolerable for some of those fanatic secularists whose obsession it is to nullify the miracle of the Six Day war. So obsessed are they to accomplish this, to prevent forever that any Jew could claim that G-d had surrounded the Jewish nation with miracles, they are willing to risk the existence of the nation itself to accomplish that task through giving away these territories to the same enemies who had used them to attack Israel. Here is leftist mentality in action -- an irrational, secular-religious obsession -- that works against all logic and against self-survival, so dedicated are they to eradicate all signs of a G-d active in the affairs of the world. But I have bad news for them.

Even if these lunatic, overly "righteous" Jews that are surely slated for self-destruction were to succeed in throwing back into G-d's face His great gift to the Jewish people -- the gift of Jerusalem and the historic lands of Israel, strategic lands to which Israel has the only sovereign claims under the Mandate of Palestine and which enable Israel to be forever defensible against implacable Arab enemies who plot daily to destroy Israel through either war or alleged "peace" -- they will not have
eliminated the miracle recorded in the date of the miracle, 6/7/67.

If Jews fail to choose life, to use the great gifts given by their Friend in the High Place to guard Israel's future, these Jews will have to bear the consequences of their self-destructive acts. They will be squandering this gift on behalf of the impossible chance that the proven Arab enemies who forced five wars on Israel will henceforth agree to live in peace when they will have been greatly strengthened by again taking possession of the strategic territories they used to launch the 1967. Such Jews must be shown that thirty-three years ago, there was a great miracle there, an event forever enshrined in the history of the world, even if some wish not to recognize it.

In sum, the faithful G-d delivered on His promise to the Jewish people, returned them to their land with defensible borders and included historic Jerusalem. If now some lunatic Jews want to throw this back in the L-rd's face, that is their problem. The L-rd did His part and we saw Him "eye to eye" -- ayin be'ayin -- when He returned to Zion.