By Daniel Sperber

I HAVE BEEN ASKED HOW I VIEW THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN ITS SIXTIETH YEAR. Do I FEEL PROUD OF its achievements and do I see it as part of a positive national, spiritual, and religious process of revival? My answer is yes, to all such questions.

I do not know of any other example of a nation that lost over a third of its population in the most horrible and inhumane manner and then was able to rehabilitate itself so rapidly and in such a remarkable fashion.

I do not know of any historical parallel to a nation that had been dispersed in exile throughout the four corners of the world for close to two millennia and which preserved its identity through a visionary hope of return to its homeland, that was able to realize that vision in such a remarkable fashion.

I do not know of a nation that has so little tradition of industry that succeeded in developing national industrial complexes that rival those of the major nations of the world to such a remarkable extent.

I do not know of a nation that had a tradition of passivity that was able from virtually nothing to build up a military posture that ranks among those of the leading nations of the world in so remarkable a fashion.

I do not know of a nation that in sixty years increased its population tenfold through an ingathering of her dispersed exiles and melded them into a single unified entity in so remarkable a fashion. And all this with virtually no natural resources and while threatened on all sides by hateful hostile neighbors with enormous wealth and resources and an avowed aim of eliminating the Jewish state.

If all the above are not examples of the beneficent "hand of God," then what would constitute such a phenomenon?

Not everything here is perfect by a long way. Much remains to be improved in numerous areas. We are still suffering painful birth pangs. But one can suffer birth pangs joyfully in the hope of what they presage for the future.

We have a tendency to dwell on our faults, to point to our failings and the causes of our disappointments. But we should also remember the many positive things that are happening in our society. More people than ever before are studying Torah, including many thousands of women. There are numerous organizations involved in helping the disadvantaged, giving food and succor to the poor and indigent. There are many involved in social justice and environmental issues. True, much of these activities ought rightfully to be dealt with by the government. But in the absence of governmental involvement, non-governmental initiatives are in many ways a great blessing, since they posit a greater involvement on the part of the public and the individual.

With heightened pride in our national achievements, and with a single-minded striving after social, spiritual and religious improvements, with a greater and better-defined notion of personal and communal ethical behavior and with visionary leadership, we shall realize our age-old "messianic" dream.

Rabbi Daniel Sperber is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Advanced Torah Studies at Bar Ilan University, Milan Roven Prof. of Talmudic Research, and recipient of the Israel Prize 1992 for his research in the history of halachah.