We can no longer rely on coalition politics to protect our interests
At no time in the year do we feel Hashem’s loving embrace more closely than on Succos, when we leave our secure dwellings for the succah. The succah is a remembrance of the Clouds of Glory that returned to Klal Yisrael in the desert on 15 Tishrei, after having disappeared with the Cheit Ha’eigel. That return of the Clouds of Glory is described metaphorically in Shir Hashirim (3:11) as “yom simchas libo — the day of his heart’s rejoicing,” the day the bridegroom brings his bride into his abode.
The greater the external threats, the greater our awareness of the need for Divine protection. The situation in Israel today does not approach that of Succos of 5761, just after the outbreak of the Second Intifada. Then I spent my time looking out from my succah on our fourth-floor balcony in Har Nof expecting to see armed Palestinians coming over the hill.
But a general sense of unease would characterize most of the Israeli Jewish population, as we contemplate the possible end of the decade-long reign of Binyamin Netanyahu, with no replacement on the horizon. Netanyahu was elected prime minister the first time over two decades ago. He brings incomparable experience to the position, as well as a keen intelligence and strategic overview that no potential successor comes close to matching.
True, there is much not to like about King Bibi. Even if the three indictments pending against him do not result in criminal convictions, they leave a stench. Sending around one’s driver to pick up boxes of fine cigars and other delicacies at regular intervals, for instance, does not strike one as normal gift-giving between friends.
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