In the first years after Israel’s independence, close to seven-hundred thousand Jews moved to the country, including many survivors of the Holocaust looking to build a new life in God’s Promised Land. Under the leadership of future Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, the Jewish Agency built absorption settlements throughout the country to accommodate the staggering numbers. One was appropriately named Sh’vut Am (שבות עם), ‘the return of the people,’ taken from Psalm 53. Though translated here as “the fortunes of His people,” the words sh’vut amo (שבות עמו) in this verse also mean ‘the return of His people.’ Over the course of a few years, over one-hundred thousand new immigrants lived in Sh’vut Am, and from there went on to build Israel’s future. Indeed, when salvation came to Israel with the return of the captivity, Israel did rejoice.
Source: Israel in the News
