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What Should We Do
During A Miracle?

ISAAC LAKRITZ

Special to The Jewish News

T

he last days of Passover
celebrate the parting
of the sea and the
triumph of the Israelites over
the Egyptians. A number of
midrashic commentaries note
that at that time even ser-
vants experienced more of the
Divine than did the prophet
Ezekiel during his sublime
visions.
The Jewish people respond-
ed passionately, reciting the
"Great Hallel" (as we do dur-
ing the seder).
Other generations, we are
told, were not as perceptive.
King Hezekiah could have
become the Messiah but did
not attain that distinction
because he did not recite the
"Great Hallel." This enig-
matic statement is inter-
preted as underscoring the
need to take advantage of a
momentous opportunity
when it arises.
This century has seen two
critical times: the horror of
the Shoah and the triumph of
the establishment of the
State of Israel. We are now in
the midst of a third historic
period — the opening of the
gates of freedom for Soviet
Jewry. As many as 2 million
Jews may leave the USSR
during the 1990s. This almost
unimaginable fulfillment of
one of our people's fondest
dreams of this century is of
immense significance.
The drama was heightened
when Israel was engulfed in
war. Missile after missile
thundered onto the Holy
Land. With a hardened heart
Saddam Hussein defied — as
did Pharoah — logic and
reason. As if to underscore
the biblical character of the
conflict, it ended on Purim
with a crushing defeat worthy
of all Jewish adversaries.
Israel understood the
talmudic dictum that "Who is
mighty? He who conquers his
nature!' Acclaim flowed from
many diverse quarters as one
of her most potent enemies
was destroyed without the
loss of even one Israeli soldier
and relatively minimal
damage.
While Scuds fell, thousands
of immigrants continued to
arrive, proudly receiving a
gas mask as their token of
Israeli citizenship.
Is world Jewry responding
these
to
accordingly

Isaac Lakritz is executive
director, East Central Region,
American Technion Society.

miraculous events? We are
living in a time that our
children and grandchildren
will read about in history
books. Just as we may have
wondered. during our studies,
"What did people do when
that was happening?" our
descendants may ask the
same question of us. So that
the answer may not be em-
barrassing, let us note the
following:
1. This is not a time for
business as usual. It has been
well documented that during
the tragedy that befell the
Jewish people during World
War II, American Jewry did
very little, at least on an
organizational level, despite
having been fully apprised of
the horror that was continu-
ing daily on the European
continent. Individuals and

Eighth day of
Passover.

organizations throughout the
Jewish community of that
period simply continued their
usual daily affairs. It has
always been difficult to
understand how this could
have occurred, until today.
We are now witnessing the
largest single migration of
Jewish population since the
original Exodus from Egypt.
Yet, very few of us awake in
the morning or go to sleep at
night with that awareness.
While the organizations of
the Jewish world have un-
doubtedly made Soviet Jewry
a total priority, there is
precious little of the passion
and excitement that might be
expected to attend such a
momentous occasion.
After the Israelites crossed
the Red Sea they recited the
sublime Az yashir, the Song of
Moses. Who is singing songs
of praise today?
2. Historic events dictate
epic responses. As world
Jewry attempts to cope with
the implications of the ex-
odus, one finds confusion and
apprehension over the effect
of this massive population
realignment.
Concerns over tight budgets
and organizational politics
have tempered the un-
mitigated happiness that
should reign when yiden
cumin! — Jews are arriving!
This is not only a historic mo-
ment, it should be an ecstatic
moment.
Israel's finance minister,
Yitzchak Modai, graphically
noted: "What you can do isn't
enough. World Jewry must do