1967: Expression of Divine Will
By Rabbi Mordechai Willig

Shavuos 5727, about 5:00 in the morning in Heichal Shlomo, Yerushalayim. All of the Kerem B’Yavneh talmidim who were not in the army had spent the night learning Torah in the traditional mishmar. Exactly one week before, the Old City came under Jewish control for the first time in nearly 1900 years. At dawn, after a frantic effort to clear mines and other obstacles, the Kosel Hama’aravi was opened to the Jewish public for the first time in 19 years.

The last month had been an historic one, and the hand of Hashem was apparent for all to see and for all to feel. The Israeli government, for reasons still unknown, moved the then annual Yom Ha’atzmaut military parade from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim. The Arab world, led by Egypt’s Nasser, blockaded the shipping route to Eilat, amassed troops at all of Israeli’s borders, and threatened to drive the Jews into the sea.

The American talmidim in Kerem B’Yavneh were subjected to varying degrees of pressure to leave the country by terrified parents and relatives. (The situation was not unlike that of last year’s Gulf War.) Yet, with one medical exception, nobody left. While most of the Israeli talmidim were mobilized, we dig trenched and learned Torah.

Lev Milachim b’yad Hashem

The Israeli Air Force began the Six Day War with a pre-emptive strike which destroyed the entire Egyptian Air Force on the ground. A desperate Nasser assured King Hussein of Jordan that Israel was being routed. The normally cautious King believed him and attached Israel. In three miraculous days, Israeli forces reached the Suez Canal and the Jordan River, entering Yerushalayim on 28 Iyar. The charged emotional atmosphere of that moment, which was recorded and broadcast worldwide, is perhaps unparalleled in recent Jewish history.

A week later, after a mishmar, shacharis k’vasikin, and Krias ha-Torah, we stepped into Rechov King George. To our amazement, the street was completely filled at 5 A.M. We walked past the old border, into what was No Man’s Land. Police barricades were used for crowd control, allowing only so many people at a time to enter the narrow safe zone. Suddenly, a voice cried out and led us in song.

Somachti b’omrim li bais Hashem nailaich

It was the voice of Rav Yeshayahu Hadari, a former mashgiach ruchani in Kerem B’Yavneh, now in Yeshivat Hakotel. I have not heard the tune, almost a chant, in 25 years, but it remains seared in my memory. All the talmidim, and most of the other people in our group, joined in unison.

Omdos hayu ragleinu bish’arayich Yerushalayim

Just two months earlier, the Yeshiva’s tiyul guide, Zev Vilnai, had described all the gates of the city to us from afar. We never dreamt we would be entering through them so soon. As we approached Sha’ar Yafo, the song turned into a dance. As soon as a police barricade was removed, we danced to the tune and the p’sukim until we reached the next barricade and had to pause.

Yerushalayim Hab’nuya k’ir shechuubra la yachdov

The scene was unforgettable. Jews of all persuasions danced shoulder to shoulder into the Old City. On one side of me was a man in a streimel and white stockings. On the other was a non-observant Jew with a camera. Incredibly, all barriers disappeared. I saw with my own eyes the fulfillment of Chazal’s words on the pasuk we were singing – shen’asu chaverim ze la’ze. Through Yerushalayim, they became friends with each other.

Shesham alu sh’vatim l’hodos l’shem Hashem

We danced and sang our way down to the Kosel. Every tribe of Israel was represented in force. Some 250,000 Jews came on that day of Shavuos. One couldn’t help but think of the once and future aliyah l’regel the pasuk described. As we approached the Wall, we were all overcome by a feeling of gratitude for the momentous events we were privileged to witness – l’hodos l’shem Hashem. Sha’alu sh’lom Yerushalayim.

We davened Musaf, a t’fila which describes the Avoda in the Bais Hamikdash and prays for its return, in the shadow of the Har Habayis. We poured out our hearts. For the first time in our lives and the lives of most people there, we were as close as one may come to the site of the Bais Hamikdash. We hoped and prayed for its imminent rebuilding – b’nei baischa k’vatchila.

Yehi shalom b’chailaich

As we returned through the shuk, the local Arabs stared and cowered. We felt no fear then, or when we toured Shechem and Chevron a week later. A resurgence of t’shuva swept the land. The non-Jewish community hailed the Israelis as heroes, and Jewish pride swelled in Europe and America. A great sense of anticipation filled the Jewish world. Unfortunetly, the watershed of June 1967 did not bring the final redemption or ever-lasting peace. Now, 25 years later, we still thank Hashem for the return of Yerushalayim, Yehuda and Shomron. And having tasted just a bit of “Mashiach Zeiten,” we are inspired to pray for a complete Geula.

Uv’nei Yerushalyim Ir Hakodesh – Bimhaira B’yameinu Amen.
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Rabbi Mordechai Willig is the Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth Chair in Talmud and Contemporary Halakhah at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. This article originally appeared in The Commentator (May 18, 1992) and is reprinted with the permission of Rabbi Willig and The Commentator.