Stop holding up the works!
Stop holding up the works!

After the first day of Pesach, we begin the mitzvah of Counting the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer) until the holiday of Shavuot. The mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer is a mitzvah indelibly connected to the Land of Israel. In the time of the Jerusalem Temple, on the second day of Pesach, the Jews in the Land of Israel would bring an omer (Biblical measure) of barley as an offering, thus permitting the eating of the season’s newly harvested grain.

Today, we are hampered in performing the complete mitzvah, since we can’t bring the omer to the Beit HaMikdash. We only have the counting.

Unfortunately, this is the case with a great many mitzvot. For instance, the mitzvot of the Sabbatical Year (Shmitta) and the Jubilee (Yovel) are considered today “From the Rabbis” (D’Rabbanan) and not from their full Torah weight. These mitzvot, and commandments like Trumah and Maaser (tithes), will only return to their original status of being full Torah commandments when the majority of Jews in the world live in the Land of Israel.

This situation is also true regarding prophecy. This unique level of connection to Hashem will only return to the Jewish people, Am Yisrael, when the majority of Jews in the world live in the Land of Israel. Since it is believed that prophecy is needed to determine the exact location of the Temple Altar, the services in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem cannot be performed until prophecy is resumed – meaning until the majority of Jews in the world live in the Land of Israel.

So too, the Divine Presence (Shekinah) will only return to Israel when the majority of Jews in the world are living here.

This is similar to a flashlight which needs three batteries to operate. If you have only two, the flashlight won’t work. While there are other things you can do with two batteries, to make this flashlight shine light, you need all three batteries. This is the same with the Torah, which only shines all of its light to the world when the majority of the Jews live in the Land of Israel, as the verse says, “For from Zion will go forth the Torah and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem.”

This is why the light shining from Israel today seems so dim - because so many Jews still reside in the Diaspora, Medinat Yisrael (The Jewish State) is operating on only a small fraction of its power. Similarly, the thing preventing our ability to observe the Torah in all of its fullness is the fact that so many Jews still live outside of the Land of Israel. In essence, their clinging to the Diaspora is holding up the Redemption. While many Diaspora Jews complain about the many problems and imperfections they see in Israel, the main reason for the imperfections is the fact that they are living in foreign places, and not in the Land of Israel, where their presence would light up all the universe.

The Arabs are not the problem in Israel, or the secular Israeli government and culture – the problem is the Diaspora. For instance, if all the Orthodox Jews of the Diaspora moved to Israel, the Arabs would flee in fright from this increase in holy manpower; the Knesset and government would become religious, the army would radiate Torah; and the Torah would dominate Israel’s culture and influence all mankind to return to Hashem in truth.

The magical connection between the Land of Israel and its returning children, which has led to the miraculous national rebirth which we have witnessed in Israel these past 67 years, would be 1000 times greater if all the Jews would come home! With the Shekinah once again empowering the Nation, Israel would become the Number 1 superpower in the world. The Torah and commandments would return in full force, with the glory of the Beit HaMikdash and Mashiach spreading light to all the globe.

So, dear friends in the Diaspora, it’s up to you. Stop holding up the works.  

Tzvi Fishman was awarded the Israel Ministry of Education Prize for Jewish Culture and Creativity. Before making Aliyah to Israel in 1984, he was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. He has co-authored 4 books with Rabbi David Samson, based on the teachings of Rabbis A. Y. Kook and T. Y. Kook. His other books include: "The Kuzari For Young Readers" and "Tuvia in the Promised Land". His books are available on Amazon.Recently, he directed the movie, "Stories of Rebbe Nachman."