Tonight I pray for the State of Israel. And I pray in dismay and worry, having heard the statement from the Prime Minister, broadcast around the world: We are willing to become smaller, so we don’t have to think bigger; we would rather cover the bud than take this chance to bloom.

I fear that in return the statement from the international community, including the American Jewish community, will be: our support will become smaller, we will begin to think bigger without you.

It is spring in Israel and in two weeks we celebrate the Festival of Passover. We read in the Song of Songs, in the imagery of spring and rebirth, “Hinei hastav avar, hageshem halaf halach lo, hanitzavim niru vaaretz, eit hazamir higia, The winter is past, the rains are over and gone, the blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of pruning has come.”

So I pray for us. How can we in our support for Israel not stay closed and continue to be willing to share the miracle of the desert in bloom to younger generations who don’t think small, whose worldview reaches around the entire globe?

The winter has passed, the spring comes again, and our tradition forces us to slow down and take notice, to acknowledge the courage of the bud that opens to flower.

I pray for that courage for the State of Israel and for us all.