This week we celebrated Yom HaAtzmaut—Israel’s Independence Day—and Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, when we remember the 25,648 Israeli soldiers who gave their lives for Am Yisrael. As Israel remains locked in a painful and uncertain war with Iran and its proxies, I asked myself what message I could offer today. I’ve spoken about the war, and about how it echoes the end-time prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel. Today I’d like to share how Yom HaAtzmaut itself—a holiday only 78 years old—is predicted in the Torah.
In order to follow this, you need to know a teaching from our Sages: Besides the familiar alef‑bet, there is another alphabetic system called at-bash (alef the 1st letter and taf the last, bet the 2nd letter and shin the 2nd from the last). In at-bash, the 1st letter (alef) corresponds to the last (taf), the 2nd (bet) to the 2nd‑to‑last (shin), and so on.
Rabbi Yosef Karo—author or the Shulchan Aruch Code of Jewish law and mystic—explains in his commentary on the Tur that the at-bash system reveals a remarkable principle of the Jewish calendar. He demonstrates how built into Passover—the holiday when we became a people—is the key to the ordering of the entire Jewish year.
The word seder or “order” is the central word of Passover. On the night we celebrate freedom, we declare that Gd is not only the Author of history but the One who orders it. And so, Rabbi Karo teaches: the alef or 1st day of Passover always corresponds to the holy day represented by the last letter (taf)—Tisha B’Av. Indeed, this year both fall on a Thursday.
Bet, the 2nd day of Pesach, corresponds to 2nd to the last letter or shin. What’s the shin holy day? Shavuot. This year both fall on Friday.
This is not a parlor trick. It makes deep sense that Passover—when we became the Jewish people—will guide the Jewish calendar. On the Seder plate sits an egg—symbol of mourning and of rebirth—linking Passover and Tisha B’Av, destruction and redemption—opposite ends of the same story, just like alef and taf.
And so it continues:
The gimel or 3rd day of Passover corresponds to the reysh. What’s the reysh holy day? Rosh Hashanah. This year both fall on Shabbat.
The daled or 4th day corresponds to the kuf. What’s the kuf holy day? Kriat haTorah—the completion of the reading of the Torah which is Simchat Torah. This year both fall on Sunday.
The hey or 5th day corresponds to the letter tzadik. What’s the holy day that begins with tzadik? Tzom means “fast day” or Yom Kippur. This year both fall on Monday.
The vav or 6th day corresponds to pey holy day—Purim. This year both fell on Tuesday.
But then Rabbi Yosef Karo—who lived 700 years ago—says something astonishing. He notes that in his time there was no holiday corresponding to the 7th day of Passover. Yet Passover is also the holiday of future redemption—symbolized by opening the door for Elijah at the Seder who, hopefully, will herald the coming of the Messiah. So, Rabbi Karo writes, one day there will be a holiday linked to the 7th day of Passover.
And here’s the miraculous thing: The zayin or 7th day of Passover corresponds to the 7th letter from the end of the alef-bet or the letter ayin. What new holiday—that did NOT exist in Rabbi Karo’s lifetime—do we have now that begins with the letter ayin? Atzmaut or Yom HaAtzmaut—Israel Independence Day!
And indeed, Yom HaAtzmaut always falls on the same day of the week as the 7th day of Passover. This year—Wednesday. Believe me, David Ben‑Gurion did not consult the at-bash system before declaring the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. And yet here we are, living in a time when a mystical pattern described centuries ago comes alive before our eyes. What a blessing to witness it.
And perhaps, just perhaps, the 8th day of Passover—celebrated only in the diaspora—awaits its own future holiday, one that will mark the completion of the story: the coming of Mashiach (Messiah). Chabad Hassidim celebrate this last day of Passover as Yom Mashiach, the Day of the Messiah. Tradition teaches that Mashiach will be born on Tisha B’Av—the very day that corresponds to both the 1st and 8th days of Passover. The circle closes.
I’d like to share a message from the Midrash about the 7th day of Passover—the day of the splitting of the Red Sea, the corresponding day to Yom Haatzmaut. If this Midrash seems a bit too wild and far out for you, keep in mind what I often say: “Every Midrash is true—and some of them actually happened. The truth lies in the message.”
This Midrash is about 2 notorious troublemakers in the Torah: Datan and Aviram. According to the Midrash, they were the 2 Jews fighting in Egypt whom Moses tried to separate. They mocked him: “Who made you a ruler over us?” Perhaps they were the ones who informed Pharaoh that Moses had killed an Egyptian, forcing Moses to flee.
The Maharal Diskin, quoting the Midrash, says Datan and Aviram—like many other Jews—did not leave Egypt during the Exodus. They didn’t believe in Moses or Gd. So how did they later end up in the desert joining Korach’s rebellion against Moses?
Here is the Midrash’s astonishing answer: When Pharaoh increased the workload and demanded the Jews gather their own straw, the Jewish overseers refused to beat their fellow Jews. The Egyptians then beat the overseers instead. Among those beaten were Datan and Aviram. Despite their lack of faith, they were willing to take a beating for Am Yisrael, the Jewish people.
And now the wild part: The Midrash says there was a 2nd splitting of the sea—just for them. If you look closely at the text, in Exodus 14:22 it reads: “The Children of Israel came into the sea then on dry land.” Later, verse 29 reads: “The Children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.” When they went into the sea, did they walk into the water or on dry land?
The Midrash tells us that Datan and Aviram were advisors, of sorts, for Pharoah and came with him and his army to the sea. They entered the sea on dry land after it had already split. When the waters crashed down upon the Egyptians, a narrow corridor of dry land opened up for Datan and Aviram to escape. So, when verse 29 tells us that the Children of Israel went into the sea on dry land, who were these Children of Israel? Datan and Aviram.
But why would Gd split the sea again for 2 rebels, 2 skeptics, 2 men who caused so much trouble? Because they were willing to take a beating for Am Yisrael. And that, my friends, is the bridge to Yom HaAtzmaut. Many of the soldiers we remember on Yom HaZikaron were not so religious. Some were skeptics. Some struggled with faith. But they loved Am Yisrael so fiercely that they put their bodies between danger and their people, and that’s why the sea parted for them.
Rabbi Berel Wein, of blessed memory, told a story from his childhood: Just after World War II, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Chaim Herzog, visited Chicago. Jews came from several states to see him. Rav Herzog told how on the way he had visited the Vatican and begged the Pope to return the Jewish children hidden in monasteries during the war to save them from the Nazis. The Pope replied: “Once a child is baptized, we cannot return him/her.”
When he relayed what the Pope said, Rav Herzog broke down in tears. After several minutes he lifted his head and said: “I cannot save those children. But what are you going to do for Am Yisrael?” Rabbi Wein then said: “Throughout my whole life I always heard in my ear, ‘What are you doing for Am Yisrael?’”
What’s the connection between the 7th day of Passover and Yom HaAtzmaut that they always fall out on the same day of the week? The 7th day tells the story of Datan and Aviram—flawed, rebellious, complicated Jews—yet the sea splits for them because they were willing to take a beating for their people. And that’s also the story of every Israeli soldier. Whatever their level of observance, whatever their doubts, they stand ready to take a bullet for Am Yisrael.
So my friends, the question this week for us is not, “What did they do?” It is: What are we, or what are you doing for Am Yisrael? May we be worthy of their sacrifice and may we merit to see the day when the circle truly closes, and the final redemption arrives. Amen!
