Pollard Approaches Day 9722

Arutz Sheva:

Tuesday marked 9,700 days that Jonathan Pollard has been behind bars since his arrest for passing classified information from the United States to Israel.

President Shimon Peres said, Monday, that he would discuss a pardon for Pollard when he holds a private meeting President Barack Obama of the United States prior to receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a Washington, D.C. dinner on Wednesday. He told reporters at Blair House, "I will speak one-on-one with the president about Pollard." Peres adde, "The Israeli president also has the power of clemency -- I understand all the problems associated with clemency. Clemency is not an extension of the judicial process, it includes considerations beyond and outside this area, and I'll explain this to the president."

If Tuesday marked 9700 days, then American Independence Day - July 4th, 2012 - would mark 9722 days.

Besides being Independence Day, why is this significant?

It's also the gematria of this verse in Ezra (Ezra 3:8) that discusses the beginning of the building of the Beit Hamikdash (see Metzudat David on the words החלו זרובבל):

 וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית, לְבוֹאָם אֶל-בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים לִירוּשָׁלִַם, בַּחֹדֶשׁ, הַשֵּׁנִי--הֵחֵלּוּ זְרֻבָּבֶל בֶּן-שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל וְיֵשׁוּעַ בֶּן-יוֹצָדָק וּשְׁאָר אֲחֵיהֶם הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם, וְכָל-הַבָּאִים מֵהַשְּׁבִי יְרוּשָׁלִַם, וַיַּעֲמִידוּ אֶת-הַלְוִיִּם מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה, לְנַצֵּחַ עַל-מְלֶאכֶת בֵּית-יְהוָה

Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the LORD.

It is no secret that Rav Mordechai Eliyahu ZT"L considered Pollard's release the key to our Final Redemption.