Economics is an area where one does not necessarily look for miracles. Rarely, however, has a modern miracle been so evident as in the development of Israel. Modern Israel experienced a veritable economic miracle, in some ways reminiscent of Joseph in Egypt, of whom Genesis 39:2 tells us, “And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.”

Unlike Joseph, for the first time in 2,000 years, the Jews in Israel are not working for foreign masters but for themselves. Success belongs to them alone.

First challenges

When the European countries started to rebuild after the Second World War, despite all the destruction, an infrastructure that had grown over centuries remained largely intact. Israel, on the other hand, had to start from scratch, from clearing large areas to creating a central bank.

Large parts of the country were swamp or desert, others uninhabitable due to natural obstacles. Opening it up required extremely hard physical work.

In the first three years of the State of Israel’s existence, its population doubled as a result of mass immigration....