OCT 3, 2013: United with Israel has just received its second-millionth Facebook fan!
UWI’s 2,000,000 “Likes” on Facebook are not just “Likes.” They are people. Two million people. And people are pretty special.
According to the Book of Genesis, human beings are made in God’s image. That means each person is a little spark of the Divine. Each person is a light. United with Israel did not just receive two million “Likes,” rather, it connected to two million lights. Lights that are helping United with Israel shine and fulfill the People of Israel’s Divine mission “to be a light unto the nations.”
United with is not just a Facebook group – it’s a network of people all over the globe, who are motivated to do good for Israel and the world. This past year, the United with Israel community raised funds to purchase and deliver several above-ground bomb shelters to protect vulnerable kindergarten children from rocket attacks in southern Israel. The United with Israel community also planted over 2,000 trees this year, including a special event in Moshav Tifrach as a life affirming response to the thousands of rockets fired by Hamas during Operation Pillar of Defense. UWI also delivered thousands of ‘warm winter’ clothing packages to Israeli soldiers and organized a very special Hanukkah party on an IDF base bordering Gaza to enhance the soldiers’ celebration of the holiday. Most recently, funds were raised to purchase additional bomb shelters for residents in northern Israel.
Rabbi Abraham Issac Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel under the British Mandate, said one of the greatest tragedies in Jewish history was the spies’ negative comments about the Land of Israel in biblical times. As a result of the spies’ bad report, the Jewish people had to wander the desert for 40 years, instead of dwelling in the Promised Land immediately.
Rabbi Kook teaches, “We have not rectified the sin of the biblical spies who slandered the land. And so we must do the opposite of what they did: we must tell and proclaim to the entire world the land’s glory and its beauty, its holiness and its honor. Then, after all these praises, let us hope that we have expressed at least one ten-thousandth of the loveliness of that lovely land: the beauty of the light of its Torah, the exalted nature of the light of its wisdom, and the holy spirit that seethes within it.”
There is so much goodness in Israel, creating positive ripples throughout the world. Most people don’t hear about it through the mainstream media, but people sense it. This may explain why in the first week of UWI’s creation in 2010, 20,000 people clicked “Like” on their computer and the United with Israel community was born. Three years later, thank God, United with Israel is now 2,000,000 lights strong. As this light gets brighter, as more and more people learn the truth about all of the good Israel does and the struggles she suffers. May we be blessed to see more lights join United with Israel, to help build a bright future for Israel and the world.