As we prepare for the last Shabbat of the year there is an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between keeping Shabbat and the security of Jews in Israel and throughout the world.

The old saying that "more than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews" is as true today as it always was.

Not only is Shabbat observance a merit that protects us physically, but it is also a guarantee of maintaining our Jewish identity. "Shabbat," says G-d, "is an eternal covenant between Me and the Children of Israel." This special relationship that entitles us to a land of our own depends greatly on how we keep our part of the covenant.

May this last Shabbat of the year be the first properly observed by so many of our alienated brothers and sisters and thus secure Israel forever.

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