26 years ago today, I arrived in Eretz Yisrael for the first time, with the plan to stay for good.
HaShem has been kind to me, and although i have made many visits to my family in golus, Israel has been my home since that day.
26 is the gematria of HaShem's Shem Havaya - the recognition that HaShem is was and always will be. Without complete acceptance of that aspect of HaShem, everything is meaningless. Only when we know that the Torah and Eretz Yisrael are based on Eternal Omniscience do we know what is truly moral, good and right.
Today, 26 years later , my husband and I took our son to Giv'at HaTahmoshet in Yerushalaim, where he was officially signed in to our army.
As he was going to the bus, he received his Sefer v'Saifa - a Sefer Tehillim and a lollipop. They will receive a Tanach and a weapon at the end of their basic training.
May his, and all the other soldiers', service in the army be a Kiddush HaShem, with much Siyayta DiShemaya. And may it be sweet for all of them.
