Arise, Let us ascend to Zion
Jeremiah 31:5
Operation Solomon-a mass migration event- made history in 1991. Approximately 2400 years before this event, the Prophet Jeremiah recorded prophetic words which became part of the Hebrew Bible.
Are these distant temporal events connected? Can an ancient Prophet be intimately tied to the 20th Century Beta Israel Ethiopians? Finally, does this relationship connect to the belief of Zionism?
In 1991, while the song “Losing My Religion” was topping the Hot 100 chart, something faith inspiring took place in Africa. The chaotic two-day affair entitled “Operation Solomon” airlifted 14,000, Beta Israel Jews out of Ethiopia and brought them to Israel.
The Beta Israel is an ancient Jewish community. Their origins date back to the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586BC. Essentially, they lived in isolation from the international Jewish Community. Their practice implied is so old that they did not celebrate Chanukah. Chanukah, considered a minor holiday, accounts events from the Second Temple period. Further, the Beta Israel created their own holiday Sidg which is based upon scripture. Post migration to Israel, it has been adopted as a state holiday. The Beta Israel’s isolation further implies that they were not involved in the late 1800s political Zionism movement.
Throughout their time in Ethiopia, the Beta Israel have been subjected to oppression. Other times, their communities were at risk due to regional conflict.
In 1991, Ethiopia experienced political instability. This particular conflict created an opportunity to take additional Beta Israel out of the region. Their final destination was to be their Promised Land. Finally, they would be returning to their Zion- Jerusalem- to pray.
Operation Solomon was one of a number Beta Israel immigration operations conducted by the State of Israel. The result from these multiple initiatives is a population of over 160,000 Beta Israel in Israel. I vividly recall news of Operation Moses, the initial one. In 1984, there was special gathering at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. The message was spreading that something big was happening and there was an appeal to raise funds. The Beta Israel required financial support when they arrived to their homeland.
While Operation Solomon was not sui generis, the chaotic Operation made unique marks. The two-day affair was record setting. It marked the most people ever carried on a 747 airplane. More remarkable about the statistic was that the carrier record set on take-off had to be revised mid-flight. It is reported that two children were born while the plane was in transit. In the operation’s entirety, a total of eight children were born. Wikipedia
The Prophetic Connection?
“See I will gather them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth, among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor”
Jeremiah 31:8
The Prophet’s language somehow rang true in 1991. Women in labor did travel to return to Israel. There a babies to prove it! Even skeptics and non-believers must take a pause and scratch their heads. While one must concede that coincidences can lead one to superstitious beliefs, this one actual moment perhaps exceeds imagination.
Who in their right mind would have contemplated children being born on a flight destined to Israel? The thought of someone intentionally flying so close to going into labor is quite inconceivable.
The New Year’s Haftarah
For the Second Day of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana), a chapter from the Book of Jeremiah which included the above-stated passage. Haftarahs are supplemental scriptural readings that are supplementary to the actual Torah reading. The source of the Haftarah readings are from the Books of the Prophets.
Some of these Prophetic Books, like Jeremiah, confront the reality that the Israelite nations’ days are either over or are numbered. There is the reality of the loss to the Assyrians followed up by the Babylonian conquest. It would be the Babylonian defeat that would include the destruction of the First Temple.
The New Year’s (Rosh Hashanah), passage differs from the Torah’s expressions of Zionism. The Torah presents as a forward thinking scripture addressing a worldview from the perspective of a nation’s future. The Prophets, in contrast, address the actual fall of nations. They address the prospects of exile and diaspora. These Prophets capture nations in the throes of crisis, catastrophe and defeat.
At these troubled times, the people were inspired by the Prophets as to the vision of what was to come. The language from Jeremiah Chapter 31, offered the promise of a future. It contains passages such as “And I have loved you with an eternal love, therefore I have extended kindness to you. I shall yet rebuild you and you shall be rebuilt, O Maiden of Israel. Jeremiah: 31:2-3. It also talks of the gathering of peoples which included women in labor as aforementioned.
There are other lines from the Haftarah which express Zionism. “Hear the word of the Lord, O Nations, relate it in distant islands, and say, ‘the One Who scattered Israel, He shall gather him in and guard him as a shepherd [guards] his flock.” Jeremiah 31:9 Additionally, there was envisioned the notion of a celebration of the gathering. “And they will come and sing joyously on the height of Zion.” Jeremiah 31:11.
Conclusion
As also noted in a previous post with respect to the Torah, scripture serves as the primary source of Zionism. To ascribe Zionism to a late 1800’s political movement ignore that the scripture records Zionism as belief as to what was to occur.
The Torah and the Prophets explicitly delineate a vision of the gathering of the Jewish People and their return to their Promised Land. The events in 1991, eerily connect to the Book of Jeremiah. Operation Solomon gives a moment of pause for both believers, non-believers and skeptics. Some things in life are stranger than fiction.
Be well!!
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