67 Years

Happy birthday, State of Israel.  You are now 67 years old.  What is the significance?

Here's one idea that popped into my head:

Yehuda married Bat Shua and had Er, Onan, and Shelah.  Er and Onan died, leaving Shelah.  When Shelah was born, the verse in 38:5 says:

וַתֹּסֶף עוֹד וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן, וַתִּקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ שֵׁלָה; וְהָיָה בִכְזִיב, בְּלִדְתָּהּ אֹתוֹ

And she yet again bore a son, and called his name Shelah; and he was at Chezib, when she bore him.

A few verses later, in 38:11, it says:

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה לְתָמָר כַּלָּתוֹ שְׁבִי אַלְמָנָה בֵית-אָבִיךְ, עַד-יִגְדַּל שֵׁלָה בְנִי--כִּי אָמַר, פֶּן-יָמוּת גַּם-הוּא כְּאֶחָיו; וַתֵּלֶךְ תָּמָר, וַתֵּשֶׁב בֵּית אָבִיהָ

Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law: 'Remain a widow in thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown up'; for he said: 'Lest he also die, like his brethren.' And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

A few later commentaries say that שלה (Shelah) is spiritually synonymous with שילה (Shiloh, from Yaakov Avinu's blessing to Yehuda in Bereishit 49:10), which most commentators say refers to the Mashiah (e.g. see Sanhedrin 98b)¹.   According to these commentaries, this means that "till Shelah my son be grown up" refers to having to wait for the Mashiah².

Having known that, we can now go back to verses 38:3-38:5, and explain it this way:

וַתַּהַר, וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן; וַיִּקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ, עֵר

First, Yehuda had a son named Er.  Er represents the birth of the State of Israel, showing a great hope for the future, and an awakening for Mashiah.  As Shir Hashirim Rabba says:

אני ישנה מן הקץ ולבי ער לגאולה אני ישנה מן הגאולה ולבו של הקב"ה ער לגאלני

I am asleep from the Ketz, but my heart is awake for Redemption.  I am asleep from Redemption, but the heart of HKB"H is awake to redeem me.

It can be argued that this refers to the events of 5708, when Am Yisrael was nationally asleep for almost 1900 years and after the harsh pregnancy of the Holocaust, were awakened by the miracles of the State of Israel.

However, the State of Israel in its early years did evil in Hashem's eyes (verse 7) by secularizing those who were religious to the point of taking away children from religious families and giving them to secular families, R"L.

Next, comes verse 4:

וַתַּהַר עוֹד, וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן; וַתִּקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ, אוֹנָן

It can be argued that this refers to the events of 5727, when through unbelievably miraculous events, we merited in the Six Day War to get Yerushalayim, Yehuda, Shomron, the Golan, and Aza.  These events caused the entire "International community" to take the side of the Arabs and complain (להתאונן) about the gains of the IDF during that war.  Ever since, all we hear from the surrounding nations is complaints about the Jewish gains from that war.

The first mistake of the government was not clearing away Har Habayit.  Subsequent governments made further mistakes by agreeing with the claims of the "International community" and שחת ארצה לבלתי נתן זרע לאחיו (verse 9) - i.e., not allowing their Jewish brethren to plant their seeds in the entire land that was promised to them by Hashem.

And that brings us again to verse 5:

וַתֹּסֶף עוֹד וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן, וַתִּקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ שֵׁלָה; וְהָיָה בִכְזִיב, בְּלִדְתָּהּ אֹתוֹ

With what we said above, we can explain this verse like this:

And she yet again bore a son, and called his name Mashiah.  The words והיה בכזיב have the gematria of 67, so we can say that this refers to the 67 years of the State of Israel to set the date when Mashiah is "born".

Additionally, the Ma'asei Roke'ah notes from a Mishna in Shevi'it that Keziv is the border of the Land of Israel, and says that שלה stands for שביעית לכל הדברים - until Keziv is Shemita for all matters - and he learns it from this verse (38:5).  Of course, 5775 is a Shemita year.

It is also very interesting to note that this verse (38:5) was the very last verse said by the Arizal before he passed away³.

Perhaps, it is a sign to us that this is the year we've been waiting for.  May it be Hashem's will, Amen.

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1) Even the Midrash Lekah Tov expounds Shiloh without the Yod to incidentally say that it refers to 1335 days.

2) See also Rav Hayim Vital, who says that Ribbi Akiva, a Nitzotz of Yaakov Avinu, thought that Bar Kochba was Mashiah since he was Bar Koziba, similar to Keziv, but it turned out that Shelah was true in one Nitzotz, but not totally true.  See also Divrei Hayamim Alef 4:21-23, Bava Batra 91b, Hiddushei Aggadot of the Maharal there, and Edrei Tzon pp. 17-20 (pdf pp 31-34).

3) Original quote found here.