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Greetings from




                                                                                Israel’s Leaders



                               Chief Rabbi David Lau
                               Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Of Israel


           My Heart is in the East             redemption – “And I  will take you to Me     Because we kept these ideas
                was  pleased  to  hear  that  World   as a people, and I will be a God to you.”   alive, we have been privileged to
                Mizrachi is producing a new pub-                                   witness Am Yisrael’s revival, the
           I lication in English for the benefit   We are God’s people.              return to Zion and the establish-
             of Jewish communities around the world .                              ment of the State of Israel.
                                               After cementing our unbreakable con-
           This first issue is appearing in honor   nection to God and to Torah, the fifth   I commend World Mizrachi for its
           of Israel's 70th Yom HaAtzmaut.     expression of   redemption could be   dediction to these values and for
           A few weeks later, we will be  celebrating   fulfilled: “I will bring you to the Land,   disseminating them among  Jewish
           Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day),   regarding which  I raised  My hand to   communities worldwide. There
           and then Shavuot.                   give  to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,   is nothing more important than
                                               and I will give it to you as a heritage; I   connecting  the  Jewish   people  to
           These dates represent the essence of the   am the Lord.”                each other, to our homeland, and to
           Jewish nation. Because our story – of a                                 Torat Yisrael.
           people  returning   to  its  homeland  after   We are to live in God’s Land .
           thousands of years of Exile – would not                                 And with the dream of returning to
           have been possible without two  crucial     Praying  and  yearning  for Zion  and   Eretz Yisrael being fulfilled in our
           conditions.                         Jerusalem have always been part of a   days, I wish you all Chag   Atzmaut
                                               Jew’s daily life, whatever   the circum-  Sameach (Happy Independence Day)!
              First, our acceptance of Torat Yisrael at   stances. Even the Mizrachi Move-
           Mount Sinai.                        ment’s name was and is a constant
                                               reference to this  dream – “I am in the
           This acceptance was also an acknowl-  west, yet my heart is in the Mizrach –
           edgement of the fourth expression of   the east (Eretz Yisrael).”

                                                               Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef
                                                             Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel
           Living in Israel
           Around the World                    those who dwell in the Holy   Land:     granted the promise of long life as well
                                                                                   as all the blessings promised to  one
                                               “That your days may be multiplied,
                   n my visits to different Jewish   and the days of your children,   upon    living in Israel.
                   communities  around  the    the Land which God swore unto your
          O world, I am  always warmed to      fathers to give them”  (Deuteronomy      A synagogue is not only  meant for
           see the tremendous spirit and love for   11:21).                        prayer.  Each  and  every  Jew  should
           Israel.  Everyone is party to it – young,                                 set aside time for learning Torah,
           old, religious and less religious. Of  course   The Babylonian Talmud in Tractate   particularly practical laws such as those
           not everyone is able to achieve the great   Megillah teaches us that there are     of Shabbat and family purity, either in
           aspiration, and simply   leave their lives     places outside of Israel which have   classes at synagogue or with a   family
           and immediately make Aliyah. Despite   the same holiness as the Holy Land:   member. This is so important because
           that, even while   living in Melbourne,     synagogues and Batei Midrash   the future of the Jewish  world lies in the
           Los Angeles or Paris one can still merit   (houses of learning) anywhere in   hands of every single Jew.
           the segulot (unique   qualities) of the   the   Jewish  world,  and  they  too  will
           Holy Land.                          be moved to Israel when the Final   My best wishes and blessings to World
                                                 Redemption arrives.               Mizrachi for this publication and   for
           It  is  well  known  that  Israel  has  many                            spreading the Torah of Eretz Yisrael in
           segulot. Twice a day in the Shema   we     So, when you sit in your synagogue   communities around the world.
           read the promise of long life made to   in New York or London, you too are
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