Hashem said through the Prophet Isaiah (62:1): “For the sake of Zion I will not hold My peace and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still.” ​The Targum’s interpretation of this verse casts a brilliant light on the current world situation: Hashem pledges that until Zion and Jerusalem are peaceful and secure, He will allow no rest to the nations of the earth. The situation of the Jewish people cannot be viewed in a vacuum, separate and apart from the world order. ​ We are in the habit of scanning the long list of international crises and feeling that the situation of our beleaguered brothers in Eretz Yisroel would matter precious little to anyone except fellow Jews, were it not for the ever-present danger of a superpower confrontation. Energy crises, floundering Great Britain, Watergate and its threat to the American political system, French recalcitrance in Europe, Russo Chinese hostility, the sanguinary “cease-fire” in Vietnam, and the list goes on and on. People who see things in “perspective” are well aware that in terms of “the big picture” a few pieces of real estate in Sinai and Golan are of little significance on the larger landscape. So on the one hand; we are grateful that the physical survival of three million Jews in Israel is interwoven in the fabric of American-Russian relations; hence, it is important enough to demand the notice of the White House and the Kremlin. But on the other hand, we tremble in anticipation of possible Jewish sacrifices upon the altar of detente and increased petroleum production. ​ Isaiah tells us we are wrong. Eretz Yisroel is not simply one problem in isolation of myriad world problems; it is a major source of world problems. Hashem has made a pledge that as long as Zion and Jerusalem live in crises and fear, the world will have no rest. Japan will falter and suffer loss of face. Great Britain will rock with domestic instability and a trade imbalance that boggles the mind. The United States will be told that it must curb its energy appetite and change its life-style. Why? Because the Supreme Being will allow rest and security to no nation as long as His most favored nation is threatened. It was no coincidence that Vietnam threatened to erupt again shortly after the Yom Kippur War, or that Europe, France and the United States descended to levels of petty squabbling unmatched since the trade wars of two generations ago; that political upheaval has threatened almost every major power these past months. Hashem will not be silent to others so long as they look with apathy or antipathy upon the tribulations of Zion and Jerusalem. ​ When we agonize over Eretz Yisroel, we are contemplating not only the Holy Land, but the entire universe, just as the heart surgeon knows that his area of specialization controls life itself. ​Indeed, the stakes are even higher than that. The Prophetess Devorah curses those who did not come to the aid of her forces as they battled the hordes of Sisera “because they did not come to the help of the L-rd, to the help of the L-rd against the mighty men” (Judges 5:23). Rashi explains that whoever helps the Jews is as though he had helped G-d Himself. […]