One of Israel’s most famous secular authors recently came to Efrat, my town in Judea, to speak with “settlers” in preparation for his new book. Meeting for lunch at the local Waffle Bar, we spent two hours struggling to understand each other.
He and his wife were understandably downcast. While America surges with renewed energy and optimism under President Trump’s return to office, Israel remains trapped in a cycle of pain – exchanging thousands of terrorists for hostages in another terrible deal. We’ve seen this horror show before, and it led directly to October 7. Though I agreed with their dark assessment of the hostage deal, I found their mood unsettling – just as they found my optimism off-putting. “Yes,” I said, “this deal is a disaster. But we cannot fall into despair!”
The author dismissed my optimism as “happy-clappy Americanism.” He said that since I grew up in America, I was shaped by American culture – Americans are by nature optimistic, even when there is no valid reason to be.
There is certainly some truth in this. American culture – and this is a good thing! – is optimistic. But there is a deeper reason – a reason rooted in the Bible itself – for my irrational optimism.
At the Covenant Between the Parts, God revealed to Abraham both exile and redemption in a single breath:
The doubled Hebrew phrase yado’a teda, meaning “know well” or “know with certainty,” carries dual meaning. This double meaning is revealed in the Midrash in Genesis Rabba (44:18): “He said to Abram: ‘Know with certainty that your descendants will be strangers’ ā ‘yado’a‘ ā know that I will scatter them; ‘teda‘ ā know that I will gather them [again]. ‘Yado’a‘ ā know that I will give them over as a pledge; ‘teda‘ ā know that I will redeem them. ‘Yado’a‘ ā know that I will enslave them; ‘teda‘ ā know that I will liberate them.” In that very moment of pronouncing exile, God embedded the guarantee of return.
This pattern repeats throughout Jewish history. As Reish Lakish declares in the Talmud: “The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not strike at the Jewish people unless He has already created a remedy for them beforehand, as it is stated: ‘When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered'” (Megillah 13b, citing Hosea 7:1). Look carefully at the verse – even before the sin is exposed, the healing is already prepared. What appears to us as punishment is in fact the beginning of redemption.
The Maharal of Prague explains this through a natural law – every new existence must emerge from the destruction of what came before. Just as a seed must decompose in the dark earth before new life can sprout, and just as the family of Jacob had to experience Egyptian bondage to emerge as the nation of Israel, so too must every true redemption arise from apparent destruction. Each crisis contains within it the seeds of the next rebirth.
The current crisis facing Israel follows this eternal pattern. The hostage deal, while devastating, cannot be the end of the story. Jewish history moves not in circles but in an upward spiral – each descent, however painful, leads to greater heights. This isn’t wishful thinking or American optimism. It’s the iron law of Jewish destiny, written into the DNA of our people from our very first encounter with national catastrophe.
Just days after my dispiriting lunch with the author, President Trump unveiled a dramatic plan to transform Gaza while meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington DC. The U.S. would take responsibility for rebuilding the territory, turning what he called a “hell hole” into a place of economic vitality. Netanyahu called it “something that could change history.” This stunning development – emerging precisely when Israel seemed most trapped in darkness – perfectly illustrates the biblical pattern.
Why do I remain stubbornly optimistic despite the Israeli government’s disastrous hostage deal with Hamas? Because this is the entire secret of exile and redemption, of darkness guaranteed to be transformed into light, that is the destiny of the people of Israel. There is no room for despair – redemption arrives in ways we could never have imagined.
This biblical pattern of redemption emerging from darkness calls us to action today. As October 7th exposed the failures of establishment Jewish leadership, we must embrace the optimism that comes not from naivety but from our ancient covenant. Israel365 Action embodies this spiritārejecting appeasement and self-delusion while proudly asserting the eternal right of the Jewish people to the entire land of Israel. Israel365 Action’s commitment to strengthening bonds with Israel’s true friends worldwide and investing in Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria aligns perfectly with the upward spiral of Jewish destiny described above. If we truly believe in the biblical promise that each crisis contains the seeds of rebirth, then we must support leadership that reflects this truth.
The World Zionist Congress elections give us this opportunity to turn darkness into light. If you are an eligible voter, vote for Israel365 Action, slate #7! Let your voice join the chorus of those who refuse despair and instead choose to actively participate in the next chapter of Jewish redemption. Vote Now!
