?Some people dream and ask, ?why?? I dream and ask, ?why not??? - JFK
The exile is real and painful. While the gentiles gloat at our misfortune, we accept Hashem's judgment as punishment for our ancestor's sins. Wait, is that fair?
Yes.
Every day that the Temple is not rebuilt, had it been in existence, it would have been destroyed that same day, as we are sinning no less than our forefathers that caused the destruction. While as a people, we are in exile, individuals who have redeeming qualities have the inordinate power of challenging the decree from Heaven and, like Abraham challenging Hashem over the fate of Sodom, some Jews threw themselves in the fire and forged a country in part of Biblical Israel.
Rav Nachman Kahane, the Mei Menuchos, told me that there are two forms of Aliya: Aliya to the Torah and Aliya to Israel. With Aliya to the Torah, people don't just go up and take an Aliya, they must be called up by the gabbai. So, too, with Aliya to Israel; the individual has to be called up, kaveiyochul, by the Gabbai in Shomaim, who declares such and such should come up. Similarly, when someone leaves Israel, it is the decree from above.
If we are not necessarily, inherently worthy, perhaps the adage that Eretz Yisroel nikneh b'isurin, implies that despite our unworthiness, we can be beaten and kicked in the teeth by our Master, but we will stubbornly cling to Him and serve Him. It is this stiff-necked characteristic that endears us to him and permits us not to be thrown out, at least for the time being.
I recently asked my children individually, ranging in age from 3 to 13, if they were prepared to return to the comfortable American life that we maintained. Each one in turn, despite having endured the loss of friendships, the comforts of America and the difficulty of learning a new language, opted to remain in Israel. My six year old eloquently stated that if Hashem gave us this land, we must live here and die here. In the United States, both I and my wife, a real-estate attorney, worked 10 hours a day to afford yeshiva education for our children and a two-week vacation in Israel. Now we subsist on 20% of what we made in America. As it turned out, the quality of life became excellent and it is more like living in a bungalow colony all year.
If Hashem wanted all of us here, he wouldn't make living here feel like riding a bronco in a rodeo. Rabbi Kahana also said that not everyone could go to the kodshei kedoshim, not everyone to the Heichol, and not everyone to Har Habais, etc. The concept of kedusha is this separateness, as only Moshe went up Mt. Sinai, Aaron got closer, etc. There is a place for everyone, and while no one, not even Moshe, can see Hashem face to face, we all aspire to get as close as we are able to and worthy of. There is a place for the Kohanim, another for the Leviim, and another for the Yisraelim. They all have their place, their individual functions, and one could not function without the other.
You know the fisherman story?
Two fishermen were fishing in an idyllic setting. After a while, one fisherman went to the second, and told him that he is a very important executive in a Fortune 500 company, makes a great deal of money, and without fail takes two weeks off to fish in this most beautiful spot on earth. The other fisherman answered that he's not an important executive, doesn't make a lot of money, but he fishes in this same spot every day.
The question is which fisherman you want to identify with. You may be doing very important work and are busily in demand around the globe. If you stubbornly decide to uproot yourself, I believe that you will feel like the second fisherman. You will be able to visit the grave of Binyamin or the grave of Shmuel the prophet every day. You will be able to savor every day, what you only infrequently are able to enjoy. This privilege is what we have been praying for tearfully for the last two thousand years. Of course, it is hard: it is meant to be that way.
Yet, for visionaries, there is the unparalleled opportunity to actively change history and take actions that challenge Bush?s racist view that Jews should not inhabit Biblical Israel. New ?Anglo? communities are being setting up in the Shomron, some with elegant mansions that are unattainable anywhere else in Israel. Join the crazies, like Nachshon ben Aminadav, and the sea of anti-Semitism will part, allowing us to survive. Until you are bitten by the burning fever for clinging intimacy with the executor of Absolute Justice, you can keep your home and business in Exile as a second home and make your first home in Israel.
The Vilna Goan said that the land of Israel is like a princess who has the magical power to appear extremely beautiful or extremely ugly. She peeks through the curtain before meeting prospective suitors. Those that are unworthy see her as the most ugly hag. Those that are worthy see her as the epitome of beauty and of perfection. In the same way, some people come here and see the unbearable burden, while others come and welcome the burden as well worth the rewards. It sometimes takes time to develop that second vision.
For those that are here - hang on; and for those who aren't here yet, I implore you to join us.
--------------------------------------------------------
Shmuel Neumann, Ph.D., is actively involved in creating communities for English-speaking olim, and in an emigration program for Palestinians. He currently resides in the Shomron.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.
The exile is real and painful. While the gentiles gloat at our misfortune, we accept Hashem's judgment as punishment for our ancestor's sins. Wait, is that fair?
Yes.
Every day that the Temple is not rebuilt, had it been in existence, it would have been destroyed that same day, as we are sinning no less than our forefathers that caused the destruction. While as a people, we are in exile, individuals who have redeeming qualities have the inordinate power of challenging the decree from Heaven and, like Abraham challenging Hashem over the fate of Sodom, some Jews threw themselves in the fire and forged a country in part of Biblical Israel.
Rav Nachman Kahane, the Mei Menuchos, told me that there are two forms of Aliya: Aliya to the Torah and Aliya to Israel. With Aliya to the Torah, people don't just go up and take an Aliya, they must be called up by the gabbai. So, too, with Aliya to Israel; the individual has to be called up, kaveiyochul, by the Gabbai in Shomaim, who declares such and such should come up. Similarly, when someone leaves Israel, it is the decree from above.
If we are not necessarily, inherently worthy, perhaps the adage that Eretz Yisroel nikneh b'isurin, implies that despite our unworthiness, we can be beaten and kicked in the teeth by our Master, but we will stubbornly cling to Him and serve Him. It is this stiff-necked characteristic that endears us to him and permits us not to be thrown out, at least for the time being.
I recently asked my children individually, ranging in age from 3 to 13, if they were prepared to return to the comfortable American life that we maintained. Each one in turn, despite having endured the loss of friendships, the comforts of America and the difficulty of learning a new language, opted to remain in Israel. My six year old eloquently stated that if Hashem gave us this land, we must live here and die here. In the United States, both I and my wife, a real-estate attorney, worked 10 hours a day to afford yeshiva education for our children and a two-week vacation in Israel. Now we subsist on 20% of what we made in America. As it turned out, the quality of life became excellent and it is more like living in a bungalow colony all year.
If Hashem wanted all of us here, he wouldn't make living here feel like riding a bronco in a rodeo. Rabbi Kahana also said that not everyone could go to the kodshei kedoshim, not everyone to the Heichol, and not everyone to Har Habais, etc. The concept of kedusha is this separateness, as only Moshe went up Mt. Sinai, Aaron got closer, etc. There is a place for everyone, and while no one, not even Moshe, can see Hashem face to face, we all aspire to get as close as we are able to and worthy of. There is a place for the Kohanim, another for the Leviim, and another for the Yisraelim. They all have their place, their individual functions, and one could not function without the other.
You know the fisherman story?
Two fishermen were fishing in an idyllic setting. After a while, one fisherman went to the second, and told him that he is a very important executive in a Fortune 500 company, makes a great deal of money, and without fail takes two weeks off to fish in this most beautiful spot on earth. The other fisherman answered that he's not an important executive, doesn't make a lot of money, but he fishes in this same spot every day.
The question is which fisherman you want to identify with. You may be doing very important work and are busily in demand around the globe. If you stubbornly decide to uproot yourself, I believe that you will feel like the second fisherman. You will be able to visit the grave of Binyamin or the grave of Shmuel the prophet every day. You will be able to savor every day, what you only infrequently are able to enjoy. This privilege is what we have been praying for tearfully for the last two thousand years. Of course, it is hard: it is meant to be that way.
Yet, for visionaries, there is the unparalleled opportunity to actively change history and take actions that challenge Bush?s racist view that Jews should not inhabit Biblical Israel. New ?Anglo? communities are being setting up in the Shomron, some with elegant mansions that are unattainable anywhere else in Israel. Join the crazies, like Nachshon ben Aminadav, and the sea of anti-Semitism will part, allowing us to survive. Until you are bitten by the burning fever for clinging intimacy with the executor of Absolute Justice, you can keep your home and business in Exile as a second home and make your first home in Israel.
The Vilna Goan said that the land of Israel is like a princess who has the magical power to appear extremely beautiful or extremely ugly. She peeks through the curtain before meeting prospective suitors. Those that are unworthy see her as the most ugly hag. Those that are worthy see her as the epitome of beauty and of perfection. In the same way, some people come here and see the unbearable burden, while others come and welcome the burden as well worth the rewards. It sometimes takes time to develop that second vision.
For those that are here - hang on; and for those who aren't here yet, I implore you to join us.
--------------------------------------------------------
Shmuel Neumann, Ph.D., is actively involved in creating communities for English-speaking olim, and in an emigration program for Palestinians. He currently resides in the Shomron.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.