                                                               
                      A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                    The true Canopy of Peace
                        October 21, 1997
                                
     Chag Succot, the Festival of Tabernacles, was a very unusual one this year in Hebron. 
Coming, as it does, during the time of year when the weather is unpredictable, it is always a challenge
for the Jew to express his faith by leaving his home and moving out into the frail succah.
     This year, we had just begun to experience a cooling trend in the weather, and the clouds
threatened possible rain.  Yet, on the first night of the holiday, it was so warm that the evening meal
was held in a summer like atmosphere.  While, in former years, we were used to wearing sweaters and
even light coats inside the succah, this year we were as comfortable as if we were inside our permanent
homes.
     But the real marvel of the holiday in Hebron came on Shabbat.  As we began to partake of the
evening meal suddenly the sky burst out in repeated flashes of lightning and loud claps of thunder. 
Yet, despite the "sound and light show", the atmosphere remained warm and dry!  It wasn't until after
we finished our meal that the rain began to come down.  For nearly a half-hour we sat and watched
and listened to the "show" as we remained safe and comfortable in our succot!   Even after we had to
leave, owing to the rain, it soon stopped and the winds dried up all the dampness enabling us to return
and sleep in the succah!
     This experience is a clear indication of the real meaning of the holiday.  It is called the holiday
of our rejoicing.  We are actually commanded by G-d to rejoice on this holiday even more than on any
other.  One can hardly imagine the need for a commandment to rejoice.  That is one activity most
people find easy and pleasing to do.  Yet, given the situation under which we live in this country, it is
not always such an easy thing to do.  
     When you are having your dinner in a little frail hut and you can see lightning and hear
thunder, the immediate instinct is to run for cover.  Yet, until the rain actually falls, or the wind causes
genuine discomfort, we are required to remain in the succah.    This is a test of faith.  
     When you live a country where terror abounds, where our leaders negotiate the terms of our
self-destruction, and where every nation in the world seems to be siding with our enemies, the natural
instinct would be to get out of here as fast as possible.  But, we must remember that Israel is just like
the succah, only on a larger scale.  Yes, it is a tiny country.  Yes, it certainly appears frail and
vulnerable to threats from powers greater than we.  This, like the lesson of Succot, is just a test of our
faith in G-d.   
     The G-d of Israel has brought us home to take possession of our homeland which was given to
us by Him as an everlasting possession.  We have an obligation to do everything in our power to hold
on to all of it.  If it is taken from us by force, that would be proof that we have no right to it.  But for
us, in advance of our own efforts to hold on to it, to willingly part with any part of our homeland is a
slap in the face to the Living G-d of Israel by whose grace we exist from day to day.  We should be far
more terrorized by the irresponsible acts of our leaders, who ignore our greatest "Ally" of all in
deference to puny Earthly powers, than we are of Arab hoodlums and American pressure.
     We only have a Jewish State because it is the Will of G-d.  Jewish return to the Land of Israel
is the beginning of fulfillment of Jewish prophesy.  Can anyone imagine such miracles taking place
only to be undone by the Peres Peace Center?   Is it possible that Netanyahu can bring world peace by
giving Arafat an airport and limiting the right of Jews to build in Israel?  Will Israel find honor and
reward by extraditing yet another Jew to be tried in a gentile court in the Exile, regardless as to
whether or not he is an "Israeli" citizen?
     No Jewish leader, not even a genuine Jewish King, has the right to "negotiate" the birthright of
the Jewish people.  It is just not negotiable.  Aside from this fact, it is difficult to understand, even on a
logical and mundane level, how anyone could as much as  hope that peace could be achieved with
Syria even were we to give her all of the Golan.  Our leadership is presuming to run our country via
policies based upon desperation.  They continue to trust in meaningless agreements whose terms are
already violated by our "partners".  To sit and continue to make more "agreements" with our enemies
where Israel makes very real concessions in return for less than nothing is just plain stupid.  A genuine
Jewish leader would stand up to the world and announce that we have nothing to negotiate.  It is time
to stop playing foolish and dangerous games and just be honest.  
     World peace is definitely attainable.  But you won't find it at the Peres Peace Center or in the
Oslo accords.  It is to be found in Jerusalem when a true Jewish government acts in total submission to
the Will of the G-d of Israel while ignoring the threats of its enemies.
     The process of redemption has clearly begun, despite the fact that we fail to take notice.  All of
the stupid and foolhardy steps taken by Jewish leaders of little faith and even less knowledge of
Judaism, only prolong our agony even as the redemption continues.  It is only by ignoring the
"lightning and thunder" and continuing "our meal" with trust in our Creator that we will find true
rejoicing under the "Canopy of Peace" in the fulfillment of Jewish Destiny.