February 19 I went to a friend’s wedding in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem. Not a large wedding, but a wedding. (You remember those, don’t you?) Israel had its third election in one year scheduled for March 1, and I was asking my 92-year-old mother every day whether she wanted to vote. Some days she said yes, and some days she said no. Since she is wheelchair bound, cannot really use her hands, and can mostly only respond to yes-no questions, this was going to pose a challenge. But if she wanted to vote, it would be good for her and meaningful for her to do so.

I was trying to describe to my mother’s foreign worker, a woman from the Philippines, the political issues facing Israel, and I asked her if she was following those things at all. She responded, patiently, “The main issue that concerns most people I know is the virus that has struck China.” And I said to myself, “What? Oh, I heard about that.” On February 23, there was indeed something in the news about 200 South Korean tourists to Israel, some of whom had come down with the coronavirus. A safe route was being found for them to leave the country, and I said to myself, “Good, so let them leave.” I still wasn’t listening.

It’s a tale of twos, a story of firsts and of seconds. This Shabbos, two days ago, was the first of two Shabbosim during the Nine Days, during which we mourn the loss of the two Temples. Shabbos morning, in Daf Yomi, Temura 15, we learned about the Jews who came up to the Land of Israel with Ezra the Scribe following 70 years of exile. Some of those men were old enough to recall the idolatry the led to that exile, and the gemarIt’s a says they wept over it.

If those men could weep over the idolatry they witnessed in their childhood, idolatry that led to their 70-year exile, I can weep over the political missteps taken 27 years ago during the 1992 Israeli elections, political missteps in which I took a modest part.

Back in September of 2016 I wrote an article for WWW, “Vote Trump and Feel Good about It.” I think the things Donald Trump has done during the past 18 months have proven me right.

Fifty years from now, when people look back at the decade that began in 2010, and they ask what was most special about that decade for Israel, I think three things will come to mind: the train line now being completed that is going to put Tel Aviv just 28 minutes from Jerusalem; American’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; and America’s recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli.

The 28-minute train between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will forge a link between Israel’s two largest city centers, one largely spiritual and the other largely material, enriching both, and making Israel much stronger. Jerusalemites will be able to lead a spiritual, Jerusalem-based life and find work, 28 minutes away.

April 9, 2019, Israel is going to hold its 21st national elections, seven months before they would have happened anyway. In a parliamentary democracy such as England or Israel, it is the right of a ruling coalition to decide to schedule elections early if they think they cannot continue to function or if they think the timing is good for “producing a new first down,” to borrow an expression from football. If by holding the elections now they think they might win, with favorable results, and waiting seven months for the scheduled time, they might lose, they will sometimes hold the elections early.

Under the present circumstances, Netanyahu decided to hold elections early for any of the following reasons: 1) There is pressure right now from the Supreme Court to pass laws that will make army deferments for chareidi Torah learners a smidgeon harder to attain. Netanyahu wanted to avoid that through elections, this being the main type of protection Netanyahu offers the chareidim in exchange for their voting with the coalition on other issues. 2) Netanyahu has criminal charges hanging in the air, charges he denies, and he wants to try to squeeze in elections before possible indictments make him less popular. 3) In April, Netanyahu will still be under 70 years old, and 69 sounds younger than 70.

In its first 70 years, Israel has not produced a constitution. Because the Jewish People possess a Torah, many in Israel view that as our ideal constitution and would oppose the authoring of another. Hence the issue has remained in abeyance.

As a compromise, going back to 1950, the Israeli Knesset occasionally produces “basic laws,” laws meant to take precedence over, and override, other laws already in existence, with the secondary hope that a growing corpus of these basic laws will fill the vacuum deriving from the absence of a constitution.

Thus, back in July, the Israeli Knesset, whose present constellation is

If you’re reading this article, you probably live somewhere in the Baltimore area and you probably like it, and I can understand that. I grew up in Baltimore before moving to Israel, and I have only pleasant memories of that town.

Some people want to come to Israel and come, and some want to but don’t. I would like to suggest a third possibility, whereby you keep your options open and do yourself some good in the meantime. I’m talking about buying a home in Israel.

In plain, realistic terms, I think buying in Israel is a good idea. Whatever your reasons, it makes financial sense. It’s a good investment. The fact is this: The Jewish population is growing, through births and immigration, and sometimes immigrations are large and unexpected. This growth increases demand, raising prices. Likewise, as the country grows, as mass-transit improves, new areas of the country are constantly becoming more attractive. With today’s excellent trains running north-south along the entire coast, the south and north are not as far from the center as they used to be. Jerusalem is about to be 25 minutes from Tel Aviv, thanks to the high-speed train that is nearing completion. The country is getting smaller. The same is true in Judea and Samaria, where I live, which is gradually becoming an accepted part of the country. So prices are rising there as well, but they are still relatively low.