The Shocking Danger Jews Faced—and Still Face—When They Ignore the Call to Israel

Welcome to the "Spot the Difference" quiz! Today’s feature: The Declaration of Cyrus vs. the Balfour Declaration.

The year is 538 BCE. The Jewish people have been in Babylonian exile for nearly five decades when Isaiah’s prophecy comes to fruition: "Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall fulfill all My purpose,’ saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the Temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid’" (Isaiah 44:28).

King Cyrus issues an unprecedented declaration: "All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me, and He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah" (Ezra 1:2).

The weight of such a proclamation is immense: Cyrus, ruler of the greatest empire of his time, opens the gates of the Land of Israel and calls the Jewish people to return to their homeland. His words go further, invoking the name of God and encouraging the rebuilding of the Second Temple. This isn’t mere prophecy or stubborn faith in the Jewish return—it’s a tangible, realistic opportunity. It doesn’t get more "end of exile" than this!

Now let’s fast forward 2,400 years.It’s 1917. The Jewish people are scattered geographically and ideologically—some suffering through World War I in Europe, while a minority, about 85,000 Jews, live in the Land of Israel under Ottoman rule. Then, the British government issues a declaration stating it will support the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.

"His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object."

Once again, an unprecedented declaration from one of the greatest powers of its era—a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the Zionist movement to realize its vision and establish a state in the Land of Israel.

But timing matters. During Cyrus’s declaration, three waves of immigration arise, yet the total number of returnees is no more than 42,000—a small fraction relative to the Jewish population of that time. Worse still, the Jewish ascent to Israel is lacking not just in quantity but in quality: those who return are often the fringes of society, people with nothing to lose from such a move.

And during Balfour? The majority of the Jewish people respond to Britain’s declaration with indifference. True, a core of idealistic Zionist pioneers emerges—people who read the reality correctly and act on various fronts to establish the State of Israel. But they’re a tiny minority; the vast majority remain in exile.

Cyrus: The Jewish people leave an opening for external cracks. The Book of Ezra describes a group called "the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin," who attempt to sabotage the return to Zion led by King Cyrus.

Balfour: As we said, most of the Jewish people choose to stay in exile, giving Arab refugees an opportunity to claim the Land of Israel as their own. This prompts the British, already in control of the land, to issue the "White Paper," aimed at severely restricting Jewish immigration and land purchases in Israel.

The outcome? You all know this story: the Megillah. King Ahasuerus rises to power, and it’s not long before his advisor Haman proposes to destroy, kill, and annihilate the Jewish people scattered across the kingdom. God corners us into a harsh, painful position to make us grasp what He’s trying to convey through reality. Yet He has mercy on us, sending saviors in the form of Esther and Mordechai, who lead the Jewish people to repentance.

Hitler rises to power, and Haman’s "Final Solution" returns—this time carried out. Only after the murder of some 6 million Jews does the Jewish people hear God’s call to return to their natural place, the Land of Israel.

Perhaps the message our sages wish to teach us through the holidays they established—Chanukah and Purim—is to read the subtext of reality, to hear God’s voice in this world, and to understand that the Holy One reveals Himself to us through history, through reality itself.