One of the comments by “Olive Leif” to my recent post on Aliyah stated, “I wish the author would attempt to describe the psychological and social circumstances that make aliyah so compelling that I personally would suddenly be motivated to strive to achieve it!”
Here is my answer, a partial list, including spiritual benefits along with the psychological and social. Taken all together, living in Israel brings a Jew into touch with who he, or she, truly is, strengthens Jewish identity a thousand fold, aligns a person with the mission for which he was created, and brings incomparable joy and meaning to life.
1. To get closer to G-d.
2. To fulfill the Torah commandment to live in the Land of Israel.
3. To perform the mitzvot in the place they were meant to be performed, and not in a place where we do them merely as reminders so that will still remember how to perform them when we return to the Land.
4. To live in the Holy Land of our Forefathers.
5. To live in the Land of Prophecy.
6. To live in the Land that Hashem promised to the Jews.
7. To live in the place where prayer ascends directly to Heaven.
8. To live in the place of the Shechinah, the Land that Hashem watches over from the beginning of the year to the end.
9. To live in the Land where Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov lived and are buried.
10. To live in the Land where every place a Jew walks earns him a higher place in the World to Come.
10. To play a part in the ingathering of the exiles.
11. To play a part in Israel’s Redemption.
12. To play a part in the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
13. To actualize our daily prayers to return to Israel and thus be true to the words that we say.
14. To make the annual proclamation “Next year in Jerusalem” a reality.
15. Because there is more Torah in Israel than anywhere else in the world.
16. Because there are more Torah Gedolim in Israel than anywhere else in the world.
17. Because there are more frum communities in Israel than anywhere else in the world.
18. Because there are more yeshivot, heders, Talmud Torahs, religious colleges and religious schools for girls in Israel than anywhere else in the world.
19. Because the Kohanim bless the congregation each day.
20. Because of the extra mitzvot you can only do in the Land.
21. To erase the Chillul Hashem of living in a foreign land, where the gentiles mock G-d, saying that He doesn’t have the power to keep His People in Israel.
22. To become a bigger Jew, ready to live for the Clal, for the entire NATION, ready to be a builder of our Nation in our Land, rather than living a small private life in someone else’s country driven by personal interests and pleasures.
23. To live in a place where my taxes support yeshivot, Tzahal, Jewish charity organizations, terror victims, Jewish hospitals, the city of Jerusalem, the ingathering of the exiles….
24. To be near Jerusalem.
25. To be able to drive to the Kotel.
26. To break free from being a despised stranger in gentile countries.
27. To escape gentile cultures and the spiritual pollution of the Diaspora which, as Rav Kook teaches, clouds and distorts pure Jewish thinking and the true comprehension of Torah.
28. To have a government of Jews.
29. To have a Jewish army.
30. To live in a country according to the Jewish calendar.
31. To live in a country where the official language is Hebrew.
32. So my children won’t intermarry.
33. So my grandchildren won’t intermarry.
34. So my great grandchildren won’t intermarry.
35. To forget about Xmas.
36. To live amongst Jews in a Jewish country.
37. So my children will grow up to be proud Jews.
38. So my children will grow up without dual identities and schizophrenic complexes.
39. So my children can be soldiers in the fight for our Nation and Land.
40. To be in the place where the Jewish holidays are natural to the climate of the Land.
41. Because of the beautiful biblical scenery and the magnificent deserts, mountains and beaches.
42. Because the food is delicious with the most delightful kosher pastries and cakes in the world.
43. Because you can also find good bagels.
44. Because radio broadcasts begin in the morning with “Shema Yisrael" and the signs on the buses stop writing their destinations to substitute "wishing you a good year" before Rosh Hashanah and not January 1st.
45. Because of the modern apartments and villas and modern conveniences.
46. Because of the thriving economy.
47. Because Israel is an international leader in high-tech.
48. Because of the superior medical care.
49. Because of the respect for the elderly and excellent care for senior citizens.
50. Because that’s where I truly belong and where G-d wants me to be.