While reading Rifkah Zyntag's disturbing opinion piece, I kept thinking about Nachshon ben Aminadav, from the tribe of Yehuda. Sometimes, it takes a courageous man of faith like Nachshon to walk alone into the Red Sea when others around him are fearful and disillusioned. The Torah teaches that only Nachshon bravely "entered the water first" (Exodus 14:22), while the rest of the nation of Israel "entered ... on dry land". (14:29). See: http://www.aish.com/tp/b/sw/48962246.html
Ms. Zyntag, having chosen to live your life in the diaspora --and we all make choices, as did Nachshon-- it seems that you are now a retired American with options before you. No one could object if you carry on as you see fit. What is unnecessary is the attempt to delude readers by declaring that the relatively recent events that (you say) are now preventing your aliyah are central to your decision to remain overseas. The occurences of the past two decades are hardly at the core of the issue, n'est-ce pas?!
Clearly, something else stopped you before the expulsion from Gush Katif and prior to the earlier Oslo disaster. Perhaps you could have come before Oslo, but chose not to try. It was always something, wasn't it? If you were old enough to come in the post 1967 era of euphoria following the miraculous 6 Day War, that didn't happen either. Even then, something stopped you.
Whatever your age, let's confront one truth: you could have come at any time since entering adulthood, yet you have not yet done so. You remained in place. You have lived your life by your own rules, and we wish you peace and nachat until 120. Reflect upon your life choices any way that works for you.
At the same time, understand that the public description of your personal decision spreads exactly the type of message for which the meraglim (representatives of each of the 12 tribes sent during the Exodus to spy out the Land of Israel ) were punished! See: http://www.learningtorah.org/DvarTorah/ViewDvarTorah.aspx?dtID=202
Concocting external reasons to avoid aliyah is hardly a new phenomenon. The misnamed "Aliyah Under a Microscope" opinion piece is a showcase for the selfsame behavior which it criticizes in certain others. It's just a new version, circa 2010, of "hotzaat diba al haAretz," libeling the Land.
It's understood that aliyah is difficult for some. Yet, since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the exile of most residents from the Land, there have always been Jews who tried to return home. Some succeeded despite the hardships. Long before anyone created frameworks like Nefesh b'Nefesh to enable aliya, there were individuals that acted alone upon the understanding that this is the homeland promised to the Jews by the Creator. Today, most immigrants are privileged to enjoy conditions and benefits the likes of which their predecessors never dreamed.
If one feels that she or he is not cut out for life in Israel, this is no justification for projecting one's shortcomings onto the Holy Land. Remember the result of the tragic sin of the spies? They and the rest of their generation died in the desert without ever entering the Land. As Yehoshua Bin Nun and Calev Ben Yefuneh spoke up and defended the Land, only they merited going to Israel.
The foregoing indicates a clear directive from the Torah. Persist in speaking well of the beautiful, good Land with which HaShem has blessed the Jewish nation in perpetuity. It is erroneous for a Jew to proclaim that fleeting societal problems and ephemeral government policies are legitimate reasons for not living in Israel.
From this perspective, it is also hard to fathom Ms. Zyntag's claim that her words --so critical of the merits of living in the modern State of Israel –were written in response to an article by Rachel Saperstein. Clearly, she missed the essential point of the latter writer!
Rachel Saperstein is among those who didn’t hesitate to make aliyah. Forty two years after their 1968 arrival in Israel, the Saperstein family is being forced to start over due to being ethnically cleansed from their home in Gush Katif five years ago. Their strength and courage to continue to build this land is remarkable. Despite years of living with constant exposure to terror attacks and losing her home, Rachel recently wrote, “What a privilege to be almost seventy and to be a pioneer in Eretz Yisrael”.
For Ms. Zyntag to focus only on the years of difficulties succinctly described by the foregoing Israeli citizen is to ignore the point of Saperstein’s writing, her faith in G-d, her brilliant perspective born of experience in Israel, and her ability to inspire others to rise to the looming challenges of the future.
How privileged are Jews who live and plant and build in Eretz Yisrael among people like Rachel Saperstein. To read her words is to receive an inspirational message of Jewish faith across the generations in the spirit of Nachshon ben Aminadav, Yehoshua Bin Nun, and Calev Ben Yefuneh.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem, Eternal Capital of the Jewish People.