Efrat, Israel - Israeli Independence Day, Yom Ha'atzmaut, is celebrated this coming week, and despite the malevolent winds of fierce anti-Israelism and anti-Jewishism emanating from fundamentalist Islam and so much of Europe, we have much to be grateful for. After all, we -the eternal Jewish people - are still here in the world and in our own homeland State after almost 2,000 years of exile in all four corners of the earth, after a devastating Holocaust which claimed 1/3 of our people and 4/5 of our leadership, and after three major wars and two fierce Palestinian terrorist battles on our own soil. And not only have we survived, but we are playing center stage in the Universal Theatre of History. And despite everything, we continue to grow and to thrive, to build and to plant, to serve as a house for Jewish refugees from Argentina, France, Ethiopia and even North America.

But, in true Jewish fashion, we debate and even argue amongst ourselves as to how to celebrate our Day of Independence. Do we recite Hallel (the special Psalms of Praise recited on almost every Jewish festival including Rosh Hodesh) or do we not recite Hallel? And even if we recite Hallel, is it to be with a blessing or without a blessing?

When we look for some precedent in Biblical Jewish history, the most obvious parallel which comes to mind is King Hezekiah (Seventh Century BCE). Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, the major world power at the time, dispatched an army to destroy the remnants of Judea after the ten tribes had already been vanquished and dispersed. On the night before the planned attack, an angel of the Lord came out and smote 185,000 men in the encampment of Assyria; behold, they were all dead corpses. (Kings 2, 19:35) It was a glorious victory, with not even the loss of a single Israeli life!

The Sages of the Talmud declare that the Holy One Blessed be He wished to make King Hezekiah the messiah, and Sennacherib Gog and Magog (the last battle before the final redemption, according to the Prophet Ezekiel). But the Measure of Justice declared before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, how is it possible that after you did not make David King of Israel - who sang so many songs and praises before you - the messiah, you could even think of making Hezekiah the messiah - he who did not sing a praise to You even after You did these many miracles for him? (B.T. Sanhedrin 94a). Hezekiah was therefore not a suitable candidate for the messiah-ship.

Why didn't Hezekiah give praise to G-d? And what constitutes proper praise? After all, Hezekiah was a religious reformer, who did not allow the idolatrous practices which were so prevalent with many of his forebears! And Hezekiah was a great champion of Torah study. The Talmud records that Hezekiah implanted a sword at the entrance hall to the Houses of Study and announced that anyone who did not occupy him/herself with Torah would be pierced by that sword. They checked, and did not find a young boy or girl, a man or woman, who was not proficient in the laws of ritual purity (B.T. Sanhedrin 94b). I can understand a secularist not reciting psalms of praise to G-d, but why not a religious reformer like King Hezekiah?

King Hezekiah may not have served idols and may well have encouraged Torah study, but his image of G-d was very much that of a powerful warrior. When he attempts to boost the morale of his nation expecting an Assyrian onslaught, he says, "Do not fear, do not be afraid... He who is with us is stronger that he who is with them... The Lord G-d will help us wage our wars." (Chronicles II, 32:7,8). And after the victory, the Biblical text informs us that Hezekiah had a haughtiness of heart, and he received from his Judeans tribute of "silver and gold and precious stones... grain and cattle stables... very great wealth." (ibid., 27-29) Indeed, when ministers from Babylon traveled to King Hezekiah to inquire about the miracle (presumably, the miraculous defeat of the Assyrian army, Chronicles ibid. 31), King Hezekiah shows them his material acquisitions the silver, the gold, the good oil, the treasure houses, "his entire majestic control," (Kings 2, 20:13) he doesn't show them the Holy Temple, the Study Houses or the acts of loving-kindness. It is fascinating to note that the Sages of the Talmud record that King Hezekiah got the youngsters to become expert in Torah laws of ritual purity by threatening them with the sword if they didn't study; he did not inspire them with words of Torah or songs of thanksgiving.

The great Biblical commentator Rabbi David Kimhi even notes that it was in the days of King Hezekiah that the prophet Isaiah decried the hypocrisy of the Judeans, who were zealous in their commitment to the sacrificial order but who didn't hear the cries of the widow and the orphan (Isaiah 1 and 30, RaDak).

Apparently, religionists can also forget to properly praise G-d, especially if they use religion as a means to world power and extract from religion all sorts of materialistic benefits. At the splitting of the Reed Sea, Moses and the Israelites sing out, "This is my G-d, and I shall praise Him," -- 'VeAnvehu.' Rashi explains this last Hebrew word to mean, 'I shall sing his praises and glory;' Maimonides takes the Hebrew to mean 'Ani Ve Hu' - 'He and I' - or, 'I shall strive to be like Him, just as He is a G-d of compassion and loving-kindness, so must I be a person of compassion and loving-kindness.' Perhaps they are saying two things which must complement each other: the way to praise the G-d of Israel is not through acts of wealth and power, but rather through deeds of love and kindness.

How ought we celebrate Israeli Independence Day? By reciting Psalms of Praise (with a blessing) and giving help to those in need. And when I stand before the throne of G-d's heavenly glory, I would rather be punished for praising Him too much than for neglecting to praise Him altogether.

Shabbat Shalom & Yom Ha'atzmaut Sameah!