The Jewish exile of two millennia is not easily shaken out of the psyche of the Jew. The shackles and chains that have held down the Jewish spirit and the national essence of the people of Israel, since the destruction of our Holy Temple in Jerusalem, still exhibit strength despite the establishment of the State of Israel 56 years ago. I was witness to a sad display of exilic Jewish thinking on a recent Shabbat in New York. I had just returned from a summer in the light of redemption, back home in Israel, and was quite shocked upon hearing the words of a particular esteemed and renowned rabbi in New York.
The rabbi was addressing a crowd of around 200 young, impressionable and passionate Jewish young adults on the question of why Diaspora Jewry does not find its way back home to Israel. The rabbi at that moment had the option to inspire those 200 young Jews about the beauty of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, about the rebirth of the Jewish national existence and the incredible life a Jew can only lead in the Jewish land. However, he chose to depress and to deflate the beauty of Torat Eretz Yisrael, the Torah of Israel, and focused on Torat HaGalut, the Torah of Exile.
The rabbi argued that a religious Jew should not move to the Land of their forefathers, but should remain in America, and especially, in New York. He stressed the instability of the region and of the politics in Israel as proof that it is not safe to live in the land that G-d has chosen for the Jewish people to reside in. He categorized the Jewish state as anti-religious and anti-Yiddishkeit, that is to say, anti-Judaism.
Promptly after declaring Israel to be practically the worst state for the Jews in modern history, with the exception of Nazi Germany, another one of the students asked the rabbi if he believes that if a large majority of American religious Jews would move to Israel it would change anything. The rabbi responded that such a move is absurdly unrealistic, and even if it did happen, it would not make a difference within the State of Israel.
Where is this attitude and extremely flawed logic coming from? How can a man who is otherwise a very intelligent and rational thinker be so irrational and illogical when addressing the matter of Israel and Aliyah, immigration to the land?
Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, z.tz.l., first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, addresses these issues in his groundbreaking work Orot. Rabbi Kook taught that the Judaism that was formed after the Jews were exiled from their land and stopped leading the ideal Torah lifestyle - one consisting of a klal, a nation, with a real government and army and other instruments of society - shifted to a religion of the individual. Slowly, over time, Judaism lost the true concept of a klal and what took primacy was the mitzvot, the commandments, dealing with the individual, such as tefillin, mezuzot and tefilah.
The concept of a Jewish nation governing itself in its independent, sovereign land became foreign, despite the fact that a third of all the mitzvot are concerned with national existence. When modern Zionism was born, the exilic Jew fought it with unrelenting passion, even though modern Zionism was in fact only restoring the pure Judaism of old. We are still witness to this exilic Jewish thinking even today, and it is this mindset of shackles and chains that we, Jews freed by the forces of redemption, must work tirelessly to correct.
The government of the State of Israel is not an overtly anti-religious government. The political system within Israel is a democracy and therefore it represents the will of the citizenry. If there are parties within the government that are overtly anti-religious, that only reflects on the population who voted for those parties and not the government as a whole. There were anti-religious incidents in Israel's history, but they do not happen anymore. Just as America is not held as an anti-Native American country for its subjugation of the Native Americans centuries ago, so, too, Israel should not be held accountable for the actions of a minority of its early leaders. In fact, most of the well-known early anti-religious incidents were more based on anti-Mizrachi (Jews from Middle Eastern countries) sentiment from the Ashkenazi (Jews from European countries) elite than they were based on a hatred for religion.
Jews from North America not only want to make Aliyah, but they are making Aliyah. For the past few years, the unbelievable organization Nefesh b'Nefesh has sent thousands of Jews from North America to live in Israel. The great majority of these new immigrants are religious Jews from the major metropolitan cities of Canada or the United States. They are not the Jews of the Midwest, but the Jews of New York, leaving the streets of Avenue J and Ocean Parkway to reside on the streets of Chai Taib and Yarden. If there are Jews in America who refuse to move to Israel based on theology and philosophy, it is only because there are rabbinic leaders, such as a particular rabbi in New York, who tell their students not to move to Israel. There is no greater example of circular logic I can think of than the one exhibited by that esteemed rabbi.
Finally, the argument that one should not move to the Land of Israel because of the regional and internal instability is contrary to Judaism. The Torah places great emphasis on residing in the Land of Israel, where G-d directly oversees the events that occur there. Whereas, outside of the Land, whether it is Boro Park or Flatbush or even Monsey, the events that transpire are solely based on mazel, luck, and not under the direct oversight, so to speak, of G-d. A religious Jew, one who is bound to the Torah and seeks a relationship with his Creator, should desire to live nowhere else other than the Land in which G-d has chosen to rest His presence. In fact, according to most religious authorities, settling and residing in the land of Israel is a commandment that is applicable to every Jew in this day and age. To not reside in the Land of Israel, especially because of fears of political instability, for a religious Jew ? especially a great rabbi - is contrary to the will of G-d.
It is not enough that we, Jews of redemption, appreciate and understand the amazing time that we are living in; we must reach out to our brothers and sisters who are still living in the dark. We must not tolerate any Jew being left behind. If we are witness to an exilic Jew attempting to persuade other Jews to rejoin the darkness of exile and to forgo the sweetness of redemption, then we must intervene and correct the statements being made. The exilic Jew is not speaking logically or even from a Jewish standpoint, but rather is attempting to keep alive the Judaism of the individual, which was created as a result of the catastrophic destruction of our national existence. Hopefully, with our determination and love for our fellow Jew, we will witness the day when the will of G-d will be fulfilled and all of the Jewish people will bask in the light of redemption from Jerusalem and Hebron - and Flatbush, Monsey and Boro Park will be a distant memory.
The rabbi was addressing a crowd of around 200 young, impressionable and passionate Jewish young adults on the question of why Diaspora Jewry does not find its way back home to Israel. The rabbi at that moment had the option to inspire those 200 young Jews about the beauty of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, about the rebirth of the Jewish national existence and the incredible life a Jew can only lead in the Jewish land. However, he chose to depress and to deflate the beauty of Torat Eretz Yisrael, the Torah of Israel, and focused on Torat HaGalut, the Torah of Exile.
The rabbi argued that a religious Jew should not move to the Land of their forefathers, but should remain in America, and especially, in New York. He stressed the instability of the region and of the politics in Israel as proof that it is not safe to live in the land that G-d has chosen for the Jewish people to reside in. He categorized the Jewish state as anti-religious and anti-Yiddishkeit, that is to say, anti-Judaism.
Promptly after declaring Israel to be practically the worst state for the Jews in modern history, with the exception of Nazi Germany, another one of the students asked the rabbi if he believes that if a large majority of American religious Jews would move to Israel it would change anything. The rabbi responded that such a move is absurdly unrealistic, and even if it did happen, it would not make a difference within the State of Israel.
Where is this attitude and extremely flawed logic coming from? How can a man who is otherwise a very intelligent and rational thinker be so irrational and illogical when addressing the matter of Israel and Aliyah, immigration to the land?
Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, z.tz.l., first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, addresses these issues in his groundbreaking work Orot. Rabbi Kook taught that the Judaism that was formed after the Jews were exiled from their land and stopped leading the ideal Torah lifestyle - one consisting of a klal, a nation, with a real government and army and other instruments of society - shifted to a religion of the individual. Slowly, over time, Judaism lost the true concept of a klal and what took primacy was the mitzvot, the commandments, dealing with the individual, such as tefillin, mezuzot and tefilah.
The concept of a Jewish nation governing itself in its independent, sovereign land became foreign, despite the fact that a third of all the mitzvot are concerned with national existence. When modern Zionism was born, the exilic Jew fought it with unrelenting passion, even though modern Zionism was in fact only restoring the pure Judaism of old. We are still witness to this exilic Jewish thinking even today, and it is this mindset of shackles and chains that we, Jews freed by the forces of redemption, must work tirelessly to correct.
The government of the State of Israel is not an overtly anti-religious government. The political system within Israel is a democracy and therefore it represents the will of the citizenry. If there are parties within the government that are overtly anti-religious, that only reflects on the population who voted for those parties and not the government as a whole. There were anti-religious incidents in Israel's history, but they do not happen anymore. Just as America is not held as an anti-Native American country for its subjugation of the Native Americans centuries ago, so, too, Israel should not be held accountable for the actions of a minority of its early leaders. In fact, most of the well-known early anti-religious incidents were more based on anti-Mizrachi (Jews from Middle Eastern countries) sentiment from the Ashkenazi (Jews from European countries) elite than they were based on a hatred for religion.
Jews from North America not only want to make Aliyah, but they are making Aliyah. For the past few years, the unbelievable organization Nefesh b'Nefesh has sent thousands of Jews from North America to live in Israel. The great majority of these new immigrants are religious Jews from the major metropolitan cities of Canada or the United States. They are not the Jews of the Midwest, but the Jews of New York, leaving the streets of Avenue J and Ocean Parkway to reside on the streets of Chai Taib and Yarden. If there are Jews in America who refuse to move to Israel based on theology and philosophy, it is only because there are rabbinic leaders, such as a particular rabbi in New York, who tell their students not to move to Israel. There is no greater example of circular logic I can think of than the one exhibited by that esteemed rabbi.
Finally, the argument that one should not move to the Land of Israel because of the regional and internal instability is contrary to Judaism. The Torah places great emphasis on residing in the Land of Israel, where G-d directly oversees the events that occur there. Whereas, outside of the Land, whether it is Boro Park or Flatbush or even Monsey, the events that transpire are solely based on mazel, luck, and not under the direct oversight, so to speak, of G-d. A religious Jew, one who is bound to the Torah and seeks a relationship with his Creator, should desire to live nowhere else other than the Land in which G-d has chosen to rest His presence. In fact, according to most religious authorities, settling and residing in the land of Israel is a commandment that is applicable to every Jew in this day and age. To not reside in the Land of Israel, especially because of fears of political instability, for a religious Jew ? especially a great rabbi - is contrary to the will of G-d.
It is not enough that we, Jews of redemption, appreciate and understand the amazing time that we are living in; we must reach out to our brothers and sisters who are still living in the dark. We must not tolerate any Jew being left behind. If we are witness to an exilic Jew attempting to persuade other Jews to rejoin the darkness of exile and to forgo the sweetness of redemption, then we must intervene and correct the statements being made. The exilic Jew is not speaking logically or even from a Jewish standpoint, but rather is attempting to keep alive the Judaism of the individual, which was created as a result of the catastrophic destruction of our national existence. Hopefully, with our determination and love for our fellow Jew, we will witness the day when the will of G-d will be fulfilled and all of the Jewish people will bask in the light of redemption from Jerusalem and Hebron - and Flatbush, Monsey and Boro Park will be a distant memory.