In the month of Nissan we celebrated Pesach, the beginning of the redemption and freeing from Egypt. In the weeks following, the people of Israel miraculously made their way through the Red Sea all the way to Mt. Sinai, making their way towards the full redemption.

In the month of Iyar (usually partially falling in May), we celebrate Independence Day at the beginning of the month and Jerusalem Day at the end of the month. Independence Day speaks of the day that Israel became an independent Jewish State, and Jerusalem Day is the day that the city was reunited during the Six Day War. These historical events represent a fundamental change for Jews around the world, but especially for Jews living in Jerusalem. Independence Day provided for the first time in many centuries that Jews from everywhere could make Aliyah and, according to some of the rabbis, fulfill the greatest mitzvah—the Yishuv HaAretz—the inhabiting and settling of the Land of Israel by the descendents of Jacob. Jews were given a homeland, a place they could come to in joy or crisis, in need or in abundance.