In former days when I watched movies, before I became a baal tshuva, I used to like prison films. A different twist on the old-style prison movie came to me this week while I was reading the Torah portion of Va’etchanan. What if there was a film about a convict who had a life sentence. One day, unexpectedly, he discovers the door to his prison cell unlocked. All of the corridor doors are unlocked as well. And the main prison gate is also wide open, without a prison guard in sight.
He flees. Suddenly, as he reaches the gate, he freezes. He gazes outside at the freedom before him, at the buses, the birds overhead, the pedestrians walking freely on the street. For a long moment, he stares at the beckoning yet frightening world before him. Then he does an about face, retraces his tracks, and returns to the familiar comfort of his prison cell, where all of his needs are taken care of for him - his food, lodging, work, daily exercise, even prayer.
The parable is clear. Whether it’s Moscow, Boca Raton, Monsey, or Melbourne, the exile is a prison. In most of the lands of the exile today, there aren’t any bars preventing the incarcerated Jews from escaping, but they remain in exile all the same, even though the gates are wide open. Perhaps that’s what makes it so difficult to leave - the fact that there aren’t any visible bars and barbed wire fences, so the inmates don’t realize that they are imprisoned. But it is a prison all the same, more difficult to escape from than the former Soviet Union, where the Iron Curtain was a constant reminder, inspiring brave Jewish inmates with a yearning for freedom.
Make no mistake, my friends, exile is a prison, even if the prisoners believe that life is good. Three times daily in the Amidah Prayer we ask Hashem to set our captives free, meaning the Jews in exile. We beseech Hashem to save us from the prisoner’s yoke of the goyim. Our Sages comprehended with their deep understanding of Torah that every foreign country, even during good years or during good decades when Jews believed they had found a new Jerusalem, the prison gates would crash closed on them and their wardens would label them “Jews.”
Being outcast from the Land of Israel is no different than sending a convict to St. Helena or Alcatraz. A Jew living in someone else’s land is not a free man. His mind, aspirations, and values are polluted by the foreign, non-Jewish culture around him. He is always dependent on the gentiles who control the government. He has no national existence as a Jew. No Jewish national freedom. He is always a defenseless minority, waiting for the next whack on his head.
Why was I reminded of this as I studied this week’s Torah portion of Ekev? Because again and again in the Book of Devarim the Torah emphasizes that a Jew is meant to live in the Land of Israel:
“Now therefore hearken, O Israel, to the statutes and to the laws which I teach you to do, that you may live and go in to POSSESS THE LAND….” (Devarim, 4:1).
“I have taught you statutes and laws that you should act accordingly IN THE LAND whither you go to possess,” (Idid, 4:5).
“And the L-rd commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and laws that you may do them IN THE LAND into which you go over to possess,” (Ibid, 4:14).
“But you shall go over and possess the GOOD LAND,” (Ibid, 4:22).
“Thou shall therefore keep His statutes… that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, that you may prolong thy days ON THE LAND which the L-rd your G-d gives thee” (Ibid, 4:40).
“I will speak to thee all the commandments… which thou shall teach them that they may do them IN THE LAND which I gave them to possess” (Devarim, 5:28).
“That you may prolong your days IN THE LAND which you shall possess,” (Ibid, 5:30).
“Now this is the commandment… that you may do them IN THE LAND which you go in to possess,” (Ibid, 6:1).
“That you may increase mightily IN THE LAND that flows with milk and honey,” (Ibid, 6:3).
“And thou shall do what is good and right in the sight of the L-rd, that it may be well with thee, and you will go in and possess THE GOOD LAND,” (Ibid, 6:18).
“He brought us out of Egypt that He might bring us in, to give us THE LAND which He swore to our fathers,” (Ibid, 6:22).
“And He will love thee and bless thee and multiply thee… in the Land which He swore to thy fathers to give thee, (Devarim, 7:13).
“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall you observe to do that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the Land which the L-rd swore to your fathers (Devarim, 8:1).
"For the L-rd thy G-d brings thee into a good Land, a Land of water courses, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a Land of wheat, and barley, and vineyards, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a Land of olive oil, and honey; a Land where thou shall eat bread without scarceness, thou shall not lack anything in it” (Devarim, 8:7-9).
“When thou hast eaten and are satisfied, then thou shall bless the L-rd thy G-d for the good Land that he has given thee” (Devarim, 8:10).
Because of our sins, we were exiled from our Land to the many St. Helenas and Alcatrazes around the world. For nearly 2000 years, we were imprisoned. But now, the doors of the prison are open. People have money for airplane tickets to Israel and there are subsidized fares. There is a Jewish airline that serves kosher food. The Nefesh b’Nefesh organization is eager to help.
Apartments and villas are waiting, including beautiful cities with modern industrial parks and idealistic pioneering communities throughout the country’s biblical heartland. For those who prefer a more rural environment, there are pastoral towns and agricultural moshavim. Secular Jews can find open lifestyles in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Haredi communities abound. The Israel economy is strong with an abundance of work places. No country in the world has more Torah learning, yeshivot, heders, and ulpanot for girls. Not to mention Jerusalem, the Holy City of our dreams and our prayers, resplendent with beauty and rebirth, the most spiritual place on earth.
Yes, freedom and change can be difficult and challenging, but millions of former prisoners have escaped their former prisons and found a wonderful new life in Israel. True, the country has problems – nonetheless international studies determine that the Israelis are among the happiest people in the world.
The gates are still open. In a wink of an eye, with a little courage and faith, you too can be here, a free Jew in the Jewish homeland. We hope to see you soon!