Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, head of the Ramat Gan hesder yeshiva, spoke at the Ynet booth during the "B'chol Levavcha" conference and described what he sees as a growing spiritual awakening across Israeli society. He said his yeshiva released the song "Le'orer Libi" ahead of the event, and it unexpectedly became a hit.
"Love of God awakened hearts and lit up joy," Shapira said. He said the yeshiva had only wanted "to awaken our own hearts" and let people enjoy some light, but the words seem to have reached many listeners. "It seems to me these words touched hearts and stirred something there. We are in a generation that is thirsty and waiting for words like this to touch it. We see it from the right and the left," he said.
He pointed to what he described as a broader change among Israelis, saying that a whole generation once kept away from religion now has grandchildren putting on tefillin, even against the wishes of teachers and parents, and fighting for that right in the Knesset Education Committee. "Something awakened there in the heart," he said, adding that a dormant heart does not always welcome being stirred.
Shapira also said that Israel has gone through three historic breakthroughs, in his view, in 1948, 1967 and during the current period of the "Am Kalavi" operation. He said the country has moved from exile to redemption, from the margins of the land to its center, and from being a state to being a power. He argued that the world understands this and that Israel now needs more independence, saying, "It is time that 'a people that dwells alone' and the Holy One, blessed be He, will give us divine assistance."
