Israel, the third Jewish state in the land of Israel, turns 63 this month. I believe that number is worth contemplating.
Our culture seems to regard as most significant anniversaries that are multiples of 25. From this year’s 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War and 50th anniversary of the founding of Wisconsin’s first successful Jewish day school, to the coming centennial of the beginning of World War I in 2014, to a married couple’s 25th or 50th wedding anniversaries — all these are considered occasions for exceptional celebrating or commemorating. An anniversary like the 63rd is worth celebrating or marking, but not with the same brio.
But consider: in much (though not all) of the United States and the world, 21-years-old is considered the age of full maturity, when an individual is physically, emotionally, intellectually, and legally an adult. And 63 is 3-times-21. That means that three full generations of Israelis and of Jews worldwide have been born and grown to maturity since the state’s founding in 1948.
Three generations may not seem like much compared to the some 3,000 years — about 143 generations — of Jewish history. But one has to wonder what other three successive generations of Jews or of any other people at any other time have lived through so much and accomplished so much. The United States, for example, took about eight generations (1776-c. 1950) to go from its precarious beginnings to the world leadership position it now holds and maintains.
Israel began with a tiny Jewish population of about 600,000. It has grown to a total today of about 7.7 million of which about 5.8 million are Jews.
Israel started with a tiny, impoverished economy, and it faced from the beginning war and siege, and an inflow of immigrants. The war and siege have not stopped, but they have been reduced somewhat with (fragile) peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. The immigrants have been absorbed and have created a dynamic culture that blends “memes” (a faddish term meaning something like “cultural genes”) from Europe, the U.S., Russia, the Middle East, Africa, India, plus from Jewish religious traditions. Its economy has become one of the model success stories for the world; a 2009 book captures that reality, “Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle” by San Senor and Saul Singer.
Israel went through more survival-threatening crises in 63 years than most other nations have had to face in centuries. Israel’s many enemies today deliberately and demagogically underestimate the threat that still exists and overestimate the power of Israel’s military. Israelis are only about one of every 1,000 people on the planet and are still outnumbered by ruthless enemies. Still, Israel does have a powerful and effective defense establishment that to date has deflected every attempt to destroy the country and its people.
Finally, there is something else that perhaps can be related to the number 63. In gematria — that is, numerology using letters of the Hebrew alphabet — 63 is represented by Hebrew letters samakh (S) and gimmel (G). Those are the first two letters of the Hebrew word segulah, meaning “possession” or “precious object,” and used in the Torah as part of a phrase am segulah, usually translated as treasured or precious people or nation (Deuteronomy 7:6 and 26:18).
Judaism interprets this in a spiritual sense; and in the sense of precious Jewish spiritual development and growth, Israel has been an amazing achievement as well.
Thousands of Diaspora Jews have had their Jewish identity affirmed and strengthened through visiting Israel. All Jewish religious movements have congregations and study programs there; and as Rabbi Avraham Ravitz of Israel’s United Torah Judaism party acknowledged around the time of Israel’s 50th anniversary, “In Israel today, there are more students of Torah than at any time in history, with thousands more drawing closer to Judaism” (Azure magazine, Winter 1999).
We are a privileged generation to live at a time when Israel exists. And while we run articles and worry about Israel’s problems and controversies through the rest of the year, on its anniversary we celebrate its achievements and hope the coming generations of Israelis and Diaspora Jews will attain peace and even greater accomplishments.
