How Does Israel Celebrate its Independence Day?

I received a related message from Mark on my Facebook page:

“I want to ask about Israel Independence Day. Today, there is so much negativity around Israel, and there is so much pessimism, doubt, bitterness and tragedy in the country. Can you say something encouraging, something uplifting on our Independence Day? People will listen to you, many listen to you.”

I hope that those who listen will pay attention to my approval of our celebration of Independence Day. It does not matter how it was established, even though there are several questions here.

I believe that Israel’s Independence Day is a necessary holiday. No one can cancel it. There are many who do not welcome it because it is not a religious holiday.

Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), renowned as the greatest Kabbalist of our era, celebrated and fully supported this holiday. It is known, for instance, that Orthodox Jews of his time were challenged by the fact that the knife he used to cut the Shabbat challah had “The State of Israel” written on it in Hebrew (“Medinat Yisrael”).

We need to constantly restore this holiday, because we are obliged to fight to celebrate this day for as long as we exist precisely because the people decided that this is their independence and it must be marked once a year. In other words, there will always be a struggle to hold onto this land while our world, which runs on an egoistic program where we each try to fulfill ourselves at the expense of others, is opposed to the spiritual world, which runs on an opposite altruistic program, where we wish to benefit others and nature over self-benefit.

Moreover, for the world, Israel’s independence is a key date marking the transformation of the world from ancient to modern, and from a world where Jews existed as oppressed, persecuted and pressured people to a world where we can exist proudly in our own country.

That is, on one hand, it is a holiday for the Jews, but on the other hand, it also means a lot to the world, because it is precisely thanks to the Jews, to Israel, and to our independence that we can continue our existence in a way that allows for the world’s existence.

What does this mean? Whether discussing Jews in general, or the State of Israel in particular, both of which are tiny specks in comparison to the world population and the world map — we actually hold the world upon ourselves. I say this confidently because this piece of the world’s puzzle symbolizes striving to strengthen the world in order to make everyone equal and worthy.

In other words, Israel’s ultimate goal is to make the world for everyone. When the people of Israel realize their mission, to unite and be a shining example of unity for the world — that is, that they are specifically aimed at the world’s benefit through their unity — then then the world will accept this country and this people.