‘The Jewish people are returning to their Father in Heaven’

Amid the media portrayal of turmoil and collapse, a prominent rabbi hails the unprecedented number of Israelis engaging with the Bible.

By Ryan Jones | | Topics: Bible, Prophecy
The Jewish people have been returned to the Land, and now they are inching back toward God. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90
The Jewish people have been returned to the Land, and now they are inching back toward God. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90

Israel is ablaze. Weekly mass protests, widespread upheaval and social division, and chaos in the ranks of the IDF. At least that’s the way the mainstream media portrays the situation.

A prominent Israeli rabbi has a much different perspective informed by statistics the mainstream media is either ignoring, or can’t be bothered to highlight amid its reports of doom and gloom.

According to Rabbi Hagai Lundin, this is shaping up to be the best year since Israel’s rebirth in 1948 in terms of Israelis turning back to God.

In an op-ed published by the national religious press, Lundin noted that the coming Jewish year (beginning on Rosh Hashanah in mid-September) will see over 180,000 Israeli Jews formally studying Torah in recognized institutions across the country, a 6%-10% increase since the Corona pandemic.

And that’s not all.

“Yeshivas are filled to capacity, houses of Bible study for women are popping up like mushrooms after the rain, and for every open spot in IDF infantry brigades, there are eight graduates of religious pre-military preparatory courses ready to take it,” wrote the rabbi.

On top of that, he stressed that in contrast to the refusals to serve on the left-wing fringes of society, more and more young religious Jews are volunteering for military service, and an increasing number of ultra-Orthodox Jews are joining the workforce.

“According to the prophets of doom, the youth is crumbling, awash in smartphones, disobeying their parents and the institutions they grew up in, debating between clinical depression and leaving the country. But it turns out that reality, as always, is different from the media portrayal,” Lundin continued. “True, there are problems, and many; But there is something stronger – the desire for meaning, or what we call ‘closeness to God.'”

Israel has indeed been leaning ever more toward religious conservatism in recent decades. Rabbi Lundin says that today some 80% of Israeli Jews can be considered at least mildly religious, and he estimates that a whopping three million out of Israel’s seven million Jews will pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem during this upcoming High Holy Day season.

“I suggest everyone stop being fearful,” the rabbi concluded. “The Jewish people are returning to their Father in Heaven, and there’s nothing that can stop it.”

Rabbi Lundin is currently head of the Hesder Yeshiva in the central Israel city of Holon. The Hesder program allows young religious Israeli Jews to combine Torah study with their military service.

You Might Also Like
Load more
Members

Israel Today Membership

Read all member content. Access exclusive, in-depth reports from Israel! Free Zoom events. Connect with Israel right from your home! Raise a voice of truth and hope. Support Faith-based journalism in Jerusalem!

Monthly
Membership

$5
/ month
Full access to Israel Today's Member-only content on all Digital Platforms.
Become a Member

Yearly
Membership

$46
/ year
Full access to Israel Today's Member-only content on all Digital Platforms.
Save 18% Per Month.
Become a Member

Six Months
Membership

$28
every 6 months
Full access to Israel Today's Member-only content on all Digital Platforms.
Save 9% Per Month.
Become a Member
Israel Today comments guidelines Kommentar-Regeln

3 responses to “‘The Jewish people are returning to their Father in Heaven’”

  1. Susan says:
    August 20, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    So heart warming and I am blessed to hear this. It seems Israel is now going in the opposite direction that the nations are going, who are embracing other gods as if they were candy.

    Perhaps, the spirit of Elijah as mentioned in Malachi is already alive in Israel: the hearts of the fathers is turning to their sons and vice-versa, which turns Israel’s national heart to their Father since Israel is God’s first born!

  2. Paul Henkel says:
    August 20, 2023 at 6:47 pm

    It goes without saying that I love this kind of beautifull and uplifting messages from Israel.

  3. psalm100al says:
    August 20, 2023 at 7:17 pm

    Prayerfully, that will lead them to Jesus Christ and the New Testament.

Leave a Reply

Israel Today Newsletter

Daily news

FREE to your inbox

Israel Heute Newsletter

Tägliche Nachrichten

KOSTENLOS in Ihrer Inbox

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter