Which Dome?

The Land of Israel is won with Emuna.

What does that exactly mean? When my family first came here to live our reality was far short of our expectations. According to The Trail to Tranquility, we learn that when expectations outweigh reality, the difference between the two equals anger. We learned quickly that anger is the true test of Eretz Yisrael.

All we saw were our problems. When anyone takes on a new challenge all there is are problems. It is only after painstaking work to overcome these challenges do we alter our reality to meet our expectations. Only then do we neutralize our anger and transform it into joy.

Since arriving a few years ago our reality keeps inching towards our dreams. It’s difficult, but very satisfying work. We found out that some of the people here are warm, caring, and passionate about their homeland. We discovered the short route to Mahane Yehuda (the open air market in Jerusalem), home of the best produce in Israel. We realized that there are many playgrounds where our kids can play and mommy and daddy can enjoy some of the greatest landscapes on earth while inhaling the special air of Eretz HaKodesh.

The most essential element to beating the anger equation is patience. From the time our expectations outweigh our reality to the point where the two meet, our hearts are in limbo. A part of our inner self is out of balance.

This is the time where we rely on our emuna to fill the gap. This is where we take three deep breaths, realize that we are living life as a passenger, and trust that the Driver is taking us exactly where we need to be by way of the route that benefits us the most.

This is where we escape the confines of ourselves and connect to the Infinite. This is where our expectations no longer determine our reality, only His do. It changes all the rules. It gives us the time and space we need to do everything with serenity and peace.
 
This applies to a national level as well as an individual one.
 
When anyone mentions Israel they usually get upset. The conversation often begins with, “I love Israel but. . . The government is not doing this. Why do our enemies keep doing that. . ? The international community demands too much of . . . “
 
All we see are the problems. All we have are expectations. The Israel we have and the Israel we want are not in sync. As a result we are angry. This is natural, but not at all necessary.
 
We are simply living in the lag time of Israel. We are in the period where the reality is still inching towards our expectations. We are still waiting for Mashiach. We still want True Justice to rule over all mankind. We want all war to stop and man to recognize his fellow as a brother.
 
That’s good. We know that Mashiach will come. We know that True Justice will rule the earth. We know that there will be world peace and Israel will be at the heart of it all. The reality is guaranteed by G-d.
 
In the meantime we must be patient. This is the most brutal element of emuna. We must maintain our faith in G-d through the most agonizing times even as everything we do, every improvement we make, each new effort we launch does not make anything better.
 
This is the hardest part of the test.
 
It’s up to us to trust in the power of prayer. It’s up to us to trust that our every action is making a difference – the impact will be felt on G-d’s timetable, not ours. It’s up to us to know that things will get better even as the light at the end of the tunnel looks like its fading.
 
It’s up to us to understand that it is during these very moments where we are literally flirting with despair, we have the opportunity to make the greatest impact on everything. None of our tribulations are random. All of it was orchestrated by our great Conductor precisely so we could attain an even greater level of emunah. The immense trials of today’s salvation were not designed to bring out the worst in us they were created to bring out the best in us.
 
The Land of Israel is won with Emuna. Amalek, Gog, and Magog are attacking us not with weapons, but with doubt. They are trying to keep us in a state of despair by perverting such lofty concepts as humanity, equality, and justice to make it seem that all of our efforts to do right are pointless. Only in a world where they are winning can we dig so deep into ourselves we can tap into the most amazing sources of emuna within our own being and defeat them!
 
Thank You Hashem for this ultimate test. Thank You G-d for challenging our emunah in Your world. Thank You Father for forcing us to do exactly what will benefit my brothers and sisters in the Holy Land and the world over. Just like You did with Joshua thousands of years ago as he set out to receive our inheritance, You are fighting alongside us to make sure we secure our heritage today. You – and are connection to You – are our protective dome that guards us from the missiles of doubt, denial, and heresy.
 
G-d of Israel, Thank You for enabling quite possibly the worst generation in the history of mankind with the tools to immediately transform itself into the best. Thank You for helping us rise above our expectations and frustration in this world to neutralize our anger and to taste the joy a little sooner.
 
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Dovber Halevi is the author of Sex, Religion, and the Middle East, a book about personal holiness and happiness. He lives in Israel with his wife and three children.