Thank you to Birthright, Michael Steinhardt, Charles Bronfman and Sheldon Adelson and My Apologies to Gush Katif
Birthright has had a dramatic impact on my life, changed my life direction and I'm extremely grateful. It's also changed my perspective on many things.
My name is David Gabriel Goldenberg and I am writing this letter to say thank you to Birthright. By that I mean everyone who made and continues to make it possible. In particular, I want to thank its founders and its funders - Michael Steinhardt, Charles Bronfman, Sheldon Adelson, the State of Israel, the Jewish agency and the countless staff and organizations who make it possible.
In this letter, I'd like to share my own personal journey. Where I was, what Birthright did for me, where I am today and the direction I’m going in. That way you can best taste the fruit of your labour. And it’s 10 years since I made aliyah, and this is one way I’d like to celebrate.
My Background
I grew up in a modern Orthodox home in Cote St Luc, a town on the island of Montreal. I remember the environment being Liberal, and thought it was really cool when my dad brought me home an autographed picture of Jean Chretien, the Liberal PM of Canada.
When it became apparent that Paul Martin would succeed Chretien, I decided to study commerce in CEGEP. (Quebec replaced grades 12 and 13 of high school with CEGEP, Colleges for General Education (pre university) and Professional Education (vocational).) That seemed like the track to go, for someone who wanted to follow in the footsteps of the Finance Minister/ Prime Minister in waiting, for someone who wanted to become the Canadian PM one day.
In parallel to this, my parents and family raised us on the love for Israel. I remember my siblings visiting on high school trips, my dad going on an adult trip, my parents participating in Beth Halohem's program for injured soldiers, my aunt Linda helping young adults make aliyah etc. Jewish schooling at Maimonides grade school and Herzliah High School also had a positive influence on me.
In other words, it was a pretty mainstream North American Jewish life.
Teens and Early Adulthood
In 2005, the Israeli government planned to and then expelled thousands of Jews from their homes in Gush Katif. At that time, there was lots of coverage of the plan in Quebec's newspapers (which we subscribed to and had delivered in print form). The main idea in the newspapers was that these settler Jews were "extremists" and that there was a risk of civil war between them and the Israeli army (a risk made up to help paint them as extremists). And if they would only leave Gaza, Gaza could become a middle eastern Singapore, with economic development based on the former Jewish residents' greenhouses etc.
I believed it all and supported kicking the Jews out of their homes. If it weren't for them, the media taught me, there would be peace between the Jews and the Arabs. Who doesn't want peace? Why should I support some "extremist settlers" when they were getting in the way of peace?
Similarly, I remember visiting the Muslim students' club room in CEGEP and sharing that my view was that we could do "land for peace."
In other words, I continued to hold what were - at least in those days - mainstream North American Jewish views.
My Birthright Trip
Two years later, I visited Israel on Birthright. I had an incredible time, hiking beautiful mountain ranges and forests, enjoying delicious food and beautiful music, and best of all, celebrating my [English] birthday.
Right when we landed, our first visit was to Independence Hall, where Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel independent. At the end of listening to the recording of Ben Gurion’s speech, Hatikva was played and barely 2-3 voices from our 43-person group murmured along.
I was astonished and disappointed, and asked our group leader/counsellor why that was. She explained that people were just shy with a group they didn’t yet know.
A few days later I shared what my feelings had been at Independence Hall with our group. I shared also what our counsellor said, and asked my group if they’d go outside and sing Hatikva with me, as a birthday celebration. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a loud and proud rendition. It was the best birthday present I’d ever received and remains one of my most joyful and happy memories to this day.
We continued singing at the top of our lungs and jumping up and down afterwards in a very memorable experience. In addition, a very important highlight of the trip was that several soldiers accompanied us, giving us the opportunity to meet Israelis our age and build friendships. Of course they added greatly to that singing and to the experience.
I extended my return date and travelled around, basing myself at my aunt Linda's home in Ashdod. Inspired by my friend (and now Jerusalem City Councillor) Dan Illouz, I tried out yeshiva for a week to see what that was like. Thanks to Rabbis Atoun, Partouche, Nahon and more (shlit"a), I was welcomed warmly to Machon Meir yeshiva. I studied Torah in a more mature way than I had done in grade or high school, and was inspired in my Zionism.
The Immediate Impact of Birthright
More seriously, it’s hard to put in words why I made aliyah. The closest description I can give is that I believe that my soul just felt at home when I was here.
Birthright and the whole Israel trip was life changing. I decided to make aliyah, and only my parents' urging to finish my degree first (I had begun university a year before), kept me in Canada. I joke that I thought life in Israel was like Birthright, hiking and barbecues. Everyone knows that's only Mondays and Thursdays.
More seriously, it’s hard to put in words why I made aliyah. The closest description I can give is that I believe that my soul just felt at home when I was here. That was perhaps reflected in my being more comfortable with the Israelis accompanying us than my fellow Canadian youth. That's counter intuitive since culturally I should have been more at ease around people who grew up in the same culture as I did. If your soul knows it is home but you aren't so in tune with it, you pick up on external signals like "I felt more comfy around the Israelis."
As a result of my Birthright trip, I returned to Israel on a student exchange at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was a great experience and I am still in touch with some of the friends I made then, 10 years later. I also returned to Machon Meir for a few weeks before the term started, and again was warmly welcomed and enjoyed the studies and extra curricular activities.
At the time, to the extent my limited geographic understanding allowed, I wanted to avoid going to Judea and Samaria (what Western and Arab media call the 'West Bank'). Not because of any political reasons, but because I thought my parents would be upset if they found out that I went to this area of perceived greater danger.
(I say perceived, because by UNODC data, Israel’s total violent deaths per capita (including murders by both terrorists and “ordinary” criminals) is 1.36/100,000 . Canada has 1.76. The US has 3.6 . If I really wanted to give my parents ease of mind I should have skipped the return flight! Thanks to Rabbi Shlomo Aviner shlit”a for sharing this interesting tidbit.)
This anecdote is indicative of what my worldviews were at the time.
Aliyah
Finally, I made aliyah. the actual trip looked like this:
- A gruelling 9 hour bus ride to NYC from Montreal (the ride is usually 6-7 hours),
- An extremely generous sister who shlepped me around health clinics in 4 feet of NY snow (unlike Montreal snow, NY snow doesn’t get cleared very fast) to get important private care,
- A 2-3 hour flight delay during which my fellow olim and I got to know each other,
- We finally landed at Ben Gurion.
Nefesh b’Nefesh staff met us with warm welcome and tshirts, and we were taken to a separate terminal for expedited bureaucracy handling courtesy of the Jewish Agency.
Following a few weeks in Ashdod - again hosted at my generous aunt Linda’s home by her son, my cousin Avi - I moved to Jerusalem. My friend Guilad Levy from Machon Meir hosted me overnight in Jerusalem, as I needed to get to Ulpan Etzion’s dorms early the next day.
I mention all these details because I’ve benefitted from so much generosity from so many people. It is fitting to honour those people and to honour our nation, which excels in this trait of generosity, first espoused by our forefather Abraham.
As I mentioned, I moved to live in Ulpan Etzion. It’s a remarkable 5 month program, where you learn Hebrew 5 hours a day while living in dorms along with other young adults who’ve been to university and Six couples formed and got married (that I know of; there may be more), from the students [at Ulpan Etzion] during our term. I’m extremely fortunate to say that my wife Rosalind Miriam and I are one of those couples.made aliyah.
The age group (21-35 at the time) means you’re with peers and make lots of friends, and there’s a rich extracurricular life. The school’s staff took us on trips, augmented by Chabad Rabbi David Sterne’s Shabbat trips to Tzfat and Mitzpeh Yericho, and we had loads of other activities for the holidays, sports, and more.
Perhaps most remarkably, six couples formed and got married (that I know of; there may be more), from the students there during our term. I’m extremely fortunate to say that my wife Rosalind Miriam and I are one of those couples.
My Spiritual Journey Since Then
I have had the benefit of going on a long spiritual journey, which started with Birthright and then Machon Meir. I learned a lot from Rabbis Atoun, Nahon, Partouche et al. To this day I continue to have the pleasure and honour of learning from Rabbi Nahon.
Some of the outcomes of this spiritual journey include that I:
- Have a sense of purpose in life and understanding what Zionism is. King David refers to our nation as Zion, in the Psalms. In other words, every Jew - including those who claim to be anti-Zionists - is a Zionist. And there could be no more fitting term for the national movement of the Jewish people. My purpose in life is to build our nation, Zion, both physically and spiritually.
(The term "Jewish" is anachronistic to our constitution as a nation. We became a nation in Egypt, as the Egyptians observed and were frightened by: "Behold, the Children of Israel are a nation." - Exodus : 1:9 The term Jewish came into use only once we were exiled from the Land of Israel, as seen in Megilat Esther, "Mordechai the Jew.")
- Feel incredible belonging to this unique movement of history. It’s like watching an action movie - you know there are obstacles, but the good guy will emerge triumphant. On a deeper level, this was taught by the Rabbis of blessed memory Yehuda Leon Ashkenazi and Avraham Livni. They explained that the return of the People of Israel to the Land of Israel represents concrete proof of the possibility of redemption. Other nations or creeds believe in the possibility of redemption as a theory - we know it as concrete history.
- Am less prone to anger, which is a health bonus on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels.
- Speak Hebrew comfortably
- Live in Jerusalem with my wife and kids. Others - including many who deserved it more - dreamed of this but weren’t granted their wish. I have been given this on a silver platter. It is a dream come true.
Thanks to Birthright, I:
1. Went from wanting a career in Canadian politics to helping create jobs in Israel thanks to Birthright.
2. Stopped harbouring unjustified hatred of my fellow Jews, which had been caused by Western media. (This is the “sinat chinam” - baseless hatred - we talk about on Tisha B’Av that caused the Temple’s destruction.) Today I have met, befriended and become a settler - thanks to Birthright.
3. Stopped harbouring unjustified hatred of my fellow Jews - the haredim - to feeling sympathy, admiration and care for them, even though we are different.
4. Went from supporting the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif, to supporting the Sovereignty Movement (“Ribonut”). It is the non-partisan group leading the effort to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.
5. Got married and have had children. [Also thanks to my wife and in laws, Ulpan Etzion, the Jewish Agency etc.]
6. Went from mostly ignorant observance of the Torah, to enjoying some of the most jaw-dropping beauty of the Torah and aspiring to study/teach Torah full time. More on that above. [Thanks also to Machon Meir and countless teachers.]
Of course there are many others to thank. Some of them I’ve mentioned above - Machon Meir and its Rabbis, Arutz 7, the countless Orthodox Rabbis teaching the Torah in all its exquisite, beautiful facets, the Jewish Agency and its staff in Canada and Israel, and in particular the staff of Ulpan Etzion and my classmates there.
An Apology to Gush Katif
In parallel, I want to apologize to the settlers of Gush Katif. I was terribly wrong, on every count. About you, about Gush Katif, about peace with the Arabs. May H’ bless you and all Israel to have the faith to know what Rabbi Akiva taught, that everything is G-d’s doing, and that everything is therefore for the best. And may H’ bless you and all of Israel to have the patience to live that faith, “even though the Messiah is delayed we shall anticipate his coming.” And thankyou to those who’ve helped me understand this subject, especially Arutz 7, Sheldon Adelson and Israel Hayom, and Caroline Glick.
I’d also like to encourage you, the former settlers of Gush Katif and the millions who support and identify with them, not to be discouraged. The Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, Rav Shmuel Eliyahu shlit”a, shared the following anecdote. The holy Ari Z’L fled Jerusalem because of impure forces present here in his day. Later the holy Or HaChaim came and defeated them.
The word Aza (“Gaza”) refers to that area’s brazen impurity, like the scapegoat of Yom Kippur sent to Azazel. In time we will return to Aza, too, triumphantly. Not because I said so, but because King David did: “hazorim bedima, berina yiktzoru.” “Those who sow in tears, in gladsong shall reap.” (And there is that *small* matter of it being G-d's green earth and He promised us the chunk of it from the Euphrates to the River of Egypt.)
In Conclusion
So much work remains to be done. The great challenge of our generation is gathering in the [mostly] Western exiles.Birthright changed my life on so many levels and has lead to so much blessing. I thank G-d, and I thank those He made His emissaries to found and fund Birthright. And I thank all those who’ve contributed along the way. I didn’t address in this letter those who contributed before Birthright, but the most influential must certainly be my parents, siblings, family and teachers in Montreal.
So much work remains to be done. The great challenge of our generation is gathering in the [mostly] Western exiles. Birthright is a revolutionary program that will be remembered for all generations, but it is only a beginning. Our birthright is not to live in New York, but in Jerusalem.
I am sincerely appreciative. Thankyou.
Warm regards,
David Gabriel Goldenberg
David Gabriel Goldenberg consults on internet marketing (http://cro.seoroi.com ) and is working on a Jewish dating site at http://MatchedByFriends.com. He created a petition at HeGeulah.org, to ask G-d for the Redemption.