I'm taking advantage of the "extra daylight savings hour" before Shabbat to write this. A negative comment to one of our dear friend and former neighbor Tzvi Fishman's Arutz 7 blog really bothers me. Fishman wrote about the importance of the mitzvah/commandment to live in the HolyLand, and someone wrote that he wouldn't come, because the country isn't perfect. It's not the first time I've heard that ridiculous, irrelevant excuse for not living in Israel.
The mitzvah to live here is to live in the Land. It overrides politics, judicial, philosophy etc. If we want perfection, we must work for it and not expect G-d to hand it to us on a "silver platter." Those miracles ended with the last "mon," G-d given food which nourished us when we wandered the wilderness for forty years, in between the exodus from Egypt and entering the Land of Israel, the Holy Promised Land.
Anyone who hangs out waiting for others to do the hard, dirty difficult work may find him/herself written out of Jewish History.
Vote with your feet, hands and children. For those of you who don't want to make aliyah, because you don't want your children to serve in the IDF Israel Defense Forces don't think you love your children more than I love mine. Living here in Israel gives my kids a more precious life, something money can't buy. It's a higher spiritual level than anything any place else in the world.
G-d won't reward us with the Moshiach, Messiah for the deeds done in Golus, Galut, the Diaspora, only for what's done here. If you truly believe in G-d, you'll obey G-d's commandments.
Shabbat Shalom uMevorach
Have A Peaceful and Blessed Sabbath
20 comments:
i agree that the excuse of 'not perfect' is no excuse. your kids arent perfect either, but you need to work harder for them because of it, not less hard. you need to create perfect, or as close to it as possible. and if its not perfect, then what? are you exempt? if your esrog is not a perfect mehudar, are you not going to use it?
that said, there are valid halakhic reasons not to live in israel.
i dont know if god will only reward us with the messiah for acts done in israel. that is a bit over the top. after all, israel is one mitzvah among many, and as i said, there are legitimate halakhic reasons to live elsewhere.
Living in The Land of Israel is not just "one mitzvah among many." It's a foundation, basic mitzvah, head category.
nope, sorry. dont buy that. jews hardly bothered to return to israel for thousands of years. if it were as central as you say there would have been a greater effort to return.
and please, do not accuse thousands of years of jews of not fulfilling a basic mitzva. it insults their memory.
That doesn't make it right. It's still wrong. As my parents always said to me:
"If everyone was jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you jump, too?
...and Moshiach hasn't come and we haven't had the complete redemption in thousands of years also.
I know there are "reasons" why someone can't come. It's not all peaches and cream, but if you have your priorities right, it is absolutely the best, most beautiful place in the world for a Jew to live. If you don't have your priorities right, you find reasons why you can't come. The rabbonim throughout the diaspora should be standing up and screaming to go home at this point. Why they're not I can't fathom.
The more Jews who come here to live, the more will be able and the better it will be.
The Ribbino Shel Olam has ways of making you (the Diaspora Jews) walk.
Someone conveyed to me that a very well know American rabbi has already commented privately to acquaintances that America, as a home and safe haven to Jews, is in its twilight years and those that can, should come home.
Nothing many of us already at home haven't been saying for years.
Anonymous, the only valid Halachic reason not to live in Eretz Yisrael in this day and age is if you're a Jewish oved avodah zarah. Funny how Chazal always automatically connected the two.
good points, shy, thanks
And this is why we fight for you over here, so that the land does remain in Jewish hands. Please see the links. They are short but to the point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbL_SaGrRHs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVt-GsJoy_g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pq96eRqlM0&NR=1
JDL, come here and say that!
I believe I know which commenter you're referring to. I do believe he cares deeply about his fellow Jews in EY and would make a phenomenal activist there if he made aliyah.
Unfortantely, Mr. Fishman's constant ridicule of Jews in the Diaspora doesn't help matters. English-speaking bloggers are often the only contact we have with Israelis and he comes across as very judgmental and rigid, even if his heart is in the right place.
There are many reasons why people don't make aliyah right now but not going because Israel isn't perfect is not among them.
It's perfect in my eyes, at least. Always has been, always will be:) One of the psalms calls Zion the "perfection of beauty."
Of course, from my background Israel (Jerusalem) were always regarded as heaven on earth, so everyone living in Israel is living in heaven in my book.
I guess it's a matter of perception.
Shy, what does oved mean? I know the rest, but what does that word mean?
Shy Guy, Come where? maybe you live in an 'ivory tower' somewhere but this crap is now in our now in our backyards, they even have hezbo flags trying to convince the 'multicultural liberals' that Israel is not ours ... see for yourself and do the homework ... and thanks to Israel's 'slackness' at times it only emboldens this activity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaAfTJ7YgMw&feature=related
JDL, come on over to here - Israel. :)
The price for ivory towers in Israel is beyond my pay level. ;)
You think I don't know what flags are flying in Canada and the US? I can assure you that's no chiddush to me!
Regards from Yerushalayim Ir Ha'Kodesh.
Keli, "oved" (with an ayin - not an aleph) means "to worship" in reference to idolatry.
"Oved" can also mean "to work" or "to labor". Hence "Mifleget Ha'avodah" is the name of the political "Labor Party" in Israel.
3500 years ago in Egypt, we were slave laborers - "avadim".
Learn, baby, learn! :)
And this is why we fight for you over here, so that the land does remain in Jewish hands. Please see the links. They are short but to the point.
Your work and energy are appreciated - Todah Rabah!
The time for remaining in the diaspora and fighting is now over unless there is a reason you cannot. If you can, you should, the blessing will be there for you and for all of us!
I'm tryin' Shy, I'm trying:)
TY for the answer, BTW:)
Right on!!! the "not perfect" excuse is nothing new only the Jews of Bavel didn't go up with Ezra and Nechemia to resettle the land and build the temple after the first exile for the same reason (Jewish) history tends to repeat itself.BTW there were plenty of miracles in Eretz Yisrael, the walls of Jericho, the sun in Givon and channuka to name a few.
David, glad to hear from you. There are miracles all the time, but we can't count on them. We were both here during the Yom Kippur War and I consider our victory a major miracle.
Beth-True many miracles in the Yom Kippur war, This past week we also remembered those like Eli Solomon HYD who made the ultimate sacrifice. more on this subject in my last post
The country's very secular leadership was so depressed after the war. Do you remember that there were calls not to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut?
I'll take a look at your post. I'm glad you're blogging.
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