Do not bother to fast, my brothers, this Day of Atonement. It is being done for us by starving people in Shechem. Do not bother to disavow your vows, as our leaders have already done it for us and cancelled our vows to the nations. Do not ask for the gates of heaven to open and admit your prayer. The gates of heaven are as shut as the gates of Gaza checkpoint. Do not ask for mercy of Heaven: the angels have the same orders as our soldiers. They may kill, but may not admit a supplicant. A clear pool of running water removes all impurity, but a man with a roach in his clenched fist remains impure in the purification pool. Repentance removes the offence, but it is useless to repent while the siege lasts. The Lord hardened our hearts into hard rock, as he hardened the hearts of Egyptians in the day of Exodus. It is the sign that He who had lifted us high, will crush us exceedingly low. How can we ask for daily bread if we refuse it to our neighbours? How can we ask for good life when we embitter the lives of our neighbours? How can we ask for longevity when we murder others?
Our teachers of blessed memory forbade us to enter the Land of Israel until we shall see the Messiah. We thought we were wiser and rejected this commandment with contempt. But they knew what they meant and they knew the harshness of our hearts. We came into this sweet Land and devoured it like locusts. We uprooted olive trees. We caused the springs to dry and the trees to wither. We expelled and imprisoned its people. We wasted the limpid waters of the underground caverns. We sliced strategic roads through the mountain meadows. Now we are locking ourselves in a high-rise ghetto surrounded by the double ring of barbed wire and endless hostility. Inevitably we recreate the way of life of our despised and hated ancestors in a Polish schtetl. One cannot escape oneself. We carry Exile in our hearts and that is why we create Exile.
But do not despair! This curse confirms the validity of the divine plan of our exile from the Holy Land. Not a blind chance, not the might of Rome, but the sins of our fathers brought the curse of Exile. We were cursed to cause pain to the nations and to suffer in their hands, to be a stranger to Mother Earth, to wander from land to land. We can't escape this curse until we see the Messiah. Whoever does not believe in the divine plan of Exile rejects Divine providence and the teachings of our masters.
Here is salvation, for it is said "until we SEE the Messiah", not "until the Messiah cometh"! Why, we can see Him now! The Messiah is here! Whoever sees and recognizes Him is saved from the curse of exile and he can remain forever in the sweet land he lives. Whoever sees Him will become like loving brother to his neighbours, and they will bless him, and be blessed by him. Whoever sees Him will become a bountiful spring in the dry land. See Him, my brothers, witness the Messiah! The secret is that the Messiah is not a man any more but the Glory of God. His soul is with us, and when we turn to Him we shall recognize Him. It is within our reach to escape the curse and turn it into grace.
The power of Israel is great, but it goes into destruction and hatred. But the moment Israel will see the Messiah, this great force will become the force for good. We shall turn our land into paradise, slay the terrible twins of need and greed, and, every day and every hour, we shall witness Glory and Shechina, together with our Palestinian brothers who call them Christ and the Virgin, or Mesih and Sitt.
This is our faith of the Holy Land, love of the Spirit and of the Mother Earth, embodied in the boy from Bethlehem and in the girl from neighbouring Saffurie, love of the green hills of our beloved Land of Israel, Land of Palestine. We came to this land and we did not recognize it; we met our long forgotten Palestinian brothers and sisters and we did not recognize them. Like soldiers in the dark, we fought against our own brothers. But as the Sun of the Messiah is rising, we recognize their familiar faces and lower our weapons.
Before Theodor Herzl decided to save Israel by taking them to Palestine, he dreamed to lead his people into the faith of the Messiah with the bells tolling and the folks calling Hallelujah. But then he saw the harshness of their hearts and preferred an easy way of conquering Palestine, getting rid of the native population, terrorizing the Middle East. He thought it was easier than to deliver the Jews. It was easier, but quite useless: the lofty ideals of messianic Zionism could not be achieved without recognizing the Messiah.
Why, actually? Consider: a small band of chosen warriors has been sent to deliver a secret, important message to a remote besieged city. They have to cross unknown and hostile lands, face hidden dangers and deliver the secret. They were instructed to trust nothing and nobody, to remain aloof, to use and abuse strangers in order to fulfil their all-important mission. It is a long way, and the warriors get used to the idea. The right to use and abuse is quite a convenient right, and they manage not too bad. By the time they get to their goal, they form a closely-knit group, utterly hostile to the surroundings, devoted to keeping their message secret. But some of them still remember the reason for their mission and deliver the message to the city. The message had become a part of daily life for everybody, but this group of old soldiers still feels besieged in the hostile territory, still keeps in secret its message, for a long time known to the world. It is time to tell them: "you were fine, you did your best, you delivered the message, now you are free men in the city of the free. Disband, mix freely, enjoy the world saved thanks to your message."
Those who refuse to join mankind should be treated as Japanese soldiers in the jungle of New Guinea still fighting and hiding 50 years after the war was over, with strict compassion and psychological help.
Zionism became a poison without the Messiah: not in vain, our masters ("the instructions to the soldiers") forbade us to gather in the Holy Land before the days of the Messiah. The "instructors" knew what we have forgotten: such a gathering, unless by accepting the Messiah, would be used by the Antichrist and will poison the earth. Why the Messiah would change Zionism into a marvellous thing? In the days of the Messiah, all restrictions will be lifted, teaches Talmud. The separating commandments and prohibitions will be cancelled. By receiving the spirit of God, the Israelites will become free from the tenets of the Law, and join mankind.
It was known to Sabbatai Zevi in the 17th century: he blessed One Who releases from Prohibitions, over prohibited food. It was known to Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav, in the 19th century: he "fulfilled the Law", much like Jesus, in the course of one night spent in the Holy Land, and became free from prohibitions and commandments. It was hinted at by Nachmanides who said a touch of the Holy Land is more important than the prohibitions and commandments.
It is felt by the settlers, and Rabbi Ariel, one of the more radical settler Rabbis, lamented: "We believed that, by encountering the Holy Land, the Jewish hearts will be united with the heart of the land. But for the majority of Jews our settlements failed to restore that sacred linkage." Rabbi Ariel did not understand why the scriptures connected the miracle of the sacred linkage, with the miracle of the Messiah. That is why he did not understand the reason for the failure. There is no way around it: the only way to God is through the union of our hearts with the hearts of the people of the Holy Land.
Those who feel the spirit of the Messiah and join the Palestinians, are the true remainder of Israel coming back home after the long exile; while those who reject it are the sons of the multitude who joined us, attracted by the privileges of the chosen people. Our turn to the Messiah and to our Palestinian brothers and sisters in one communion would separate grain from waste, and complete the redemption.
Do not fast this Day of Atonement, my brothers. Instead, share bread and wine with your Palestinian brothers and sisters. Do not observe the strict rules of Sabbath but go out and remove the fences. Seek the Spirit of God in your souls and you will find it. The Messiah is here. It is not a man you should look to for deliverance, but the Glory of God.
If the Messiah is here, the Third Temple is here, as well; it is the temple of all people of the Holy Land. The Third Temple is the people of the Holy Land praying together to one God in the Divine Presence of Shechina. The wish of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, will become true: the Jews shall worship Allah together with the Muslims. The wish of the Jews will become true: all the nations will worship God in Jerusalem. The prophecy of St Paul will become true: the remainder of Israel shall come to Christ. The first commandment of the Torah will be fulfilled: instead of waiting for man, Israel will turn to God.
Then, the sons of Abraham shall pray together on the Temple Mount, eat at one table, drink together wine of al-Halil and celebrate Easter, Passover and Adha in one day. Jews call themselves by referring to their father: Isaac son of Abraham; Palestinians refer to their sons: Isaac, father of Jacob. Then, we shall refer to ourselves as grandfathers of our common grandchildren, sons of the covenant of the free communes of Palestine. The wars will be over, exiles of Suba and Vilna, Kakun and Cordoba will return home, and in the feast of pilgrims the people of the Holy Land will gather at the foot of Kubbat as-Sahra to listen to the New Covenant of the Divine Presence and the Spirit of God.
*Israel Shamir is an Israeli writer and journalist living in Jaffa.