In the Kol Nidrei prayer, we say, "From this Yom Kippur until the Yom Kippur that comes upon us for good." This time, for a change, we will review what happened from last year's Yom Kippur until the upcoming Yom Kippur.
The essence of Yom Kippur is the ability to turn evil into rights. To ascend from the depths of depravity to the highest peaks. To return to complete repentance and return to being beloved sons who are nestled in the lap of the King of kings.
That is what happened to us this year. From an unprecedented low, when Jews desecrated the holy day and prevented other Jews from praying, we now enter Yom Kippur in a completely different atmosphere. It was a year in which the Jewish faith erupted with all its might. We saw it burning in the hearts of soldiers entering battle - in putting on tefillin, wearing tzitzit and chanting "Shema Yisrael.".
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We were exposed to countless stories of faith and connection to our roots.
Removing the threat
And in the campaign against our enemies, too, it was a year of complete upheaval. Indeed, it opened at a low point, of addiction to a concept that led to terrible blindness and to the terrible and painful blow we suffered, but from the rift erupted the enormous forces hidden in the people of Israel and turned the tables.
A year later, we see the southern settlements being built and developed, while our enemies' cities are completely destroyed. The massive array of tunnels and missile depots that have been prepared against us for years is being systematically destroyed. Tens of thousands of terrorists have been eliminated, and our forces continue to pursue them until they are exhausted.
The same thing is happening on the northern front. A huge army and a huge arsenal of weapons that Iran financed with huge sums and built over decades throughout Lebanon are suffering fatal blows. We are removing from our heads the dangerous threat that was prepared for a day of command, and which was intended to tie our hands from striking the head of the snake.
Indeed, this transformation comes at a difficult and painful price, but even the residents of the north, who were evacuated from their homes, are resolutely declaring that they are willing to wait as long as necessary, as long as the threat that has lurked for them all these years from the Lebanese border is removed.
In fact, a similar transformation also took place in the Yom Kippur War. Some like to portray the war as a humiliating defeat. And it was not. Although we suffered a very hard and painful blow in the opening blow, through self-sacrifice and inconceivable sacrifice we achieved a miraculous victory that surpasses even the achievements of the Six-Day War. We must thank and praise God, the Almighty, who turned the tables on us, helped us repel such a difficult surprise attack and turn a defeat into a brilliant victory.
'Nuclear' power'
It is no coincidence that these two revolutions are connected to Yom Kippur and Simchat Torah. These two days reveal the 'nuclear energy' hidden deep within the Jewish heart. On these two days we see crowds of Jews who, from the outside, do not seem connected to prayer and Torah, filling the synagogues on Yom Kippur and coming to dance with Torah scrolls on Simchat Torah.
This is the inner essence of the people of Israel, which is not always revealed in ordinary days, but erupts in all its power in times of trial. With its power, even the decline turns into an ascent, and from the low, momentum is gained to soar to the heights.
May we all have a good start to a good and sweet year, the year of true and complete redemption.
