I heard a MO rabbi give a public talk where he said that in his mind the most important part of davening is the tefilla for the Medinah. He said that he is aware that the Shulchan Aruch doesn't say that but he disagrees.
Forget Krias Shma. Forget Shmoneh Esrei. The main part of tefilla is what we say for the Medinah.
That of course means that Yom Ha-atzmaut is the most important holiday. Forget Pesach and Yom Kippur. Yom Ha-atzmaut!!
Why would one want to start a new religion when the one we have has worked so well? Why start a man-made religion when we already have a G-d-made one?? Why start a religion based on an event 70 odd years ago when we have a glorious 5000 year history?? And this clown [is that too harsh? Hey, clowns are funny and entertaining!] is paid heavy six figures to poison the mind of his congregants and students. He [and many like him] pervert the Torah that we have died for over the generations for a very problematic government that is filled with corruption and dishonesty, where a former President and former Prime Minister are in jail, with a Knesset that is often a circus and countless other problems. But that is his religion. As his Rebbi, Rav Soloveitchik said [in "Al Hatshuva"]: Some people turn the Medinah into an Avoda Zara.
I am happy we have a Medinah. Better than the alternative and part of G-d's plan. If one wants to say Hallel on Yom Ha-atzmaut - not the end of the world [not my mesorah but everybody follows their rabbonim]. Tefilla Lshlom Hamedina? What the heck. I will even answer amen at the end. I learned in a hesder yeshiva for 13 years. I take issue when the State trumps G-d, religion and everything holy.
There is a limit.
