110 Friday, September 9, 1983 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS A Letter to Jewish Parents About Aliya An eye can threaten like a loaded and levelled pistol, or can insult, like hissing or kicking; or in its altered By DVORA WAYSMAN World Zionist Press Service mood, can, by beams of to all kindness, make the heart JERUSALEM .— "You're dance with joy. our friends doing a terrible__thing to your parents!"" and relatives Do the words sound famil- Best wishes for a iar? Maybe you've even happy, healthy used them yourself if your New Year children have come to you saying that they want to go BARBARA & CHARLES TOBIAS on aliya — to come home to DAVID & ESTHER SILVER Eretz Israel. Several young people contacted me after reading my book, "To Any We wish our family and friends a Jewish Teenager," in which very healthy, happy and prosperous I explained the centrality'of Israel and Zionism to Jews, New Year and offered aliya as a chal- lenging adventure, and the MAE FINK & FAMILY most worthwhile thing a young Jew could do with his life. We wish our family and friends a The response from all the very healthy, happy and prosperous young people was identical: New Year "The hardest part of coming on aliya is persuading your MARLENE & PHIL OZROVITZ & parents to let you do it." SONS AARON, STEVEN & KEVIN Why are so many parents afraid of the word aliya? We wish our family and friends a The word simply means "go- ing up" — a spiritual ascent very healthy, happy and prosperous when a Jew comes to Eretz New Year Israel. Many of you think of yourselves as strong sup- MR. & MRS. PAUL L. SHERIZEN & FAMILY porters of Israel. You donate money; work for Israeli causes, use your political pressure in Israel's inter- ests; visit frequently as tourists; and send your chil- Wishing all our family and dren to summer camp, on kibutz working holidays, or friends a year of even for a year of study in a health and happiness yeshiva or for college cre- dits. But when your son or BILL & ANN ZIMMERMAN, Hollywood, Fla. daughter wants to make a real commitment,. then you panic and use all kinds of emotional A Very Happy and Healthy, blackmail to get them to their minds. New Year to All Our. Friends • change Of course it is under- standable. Aliya is not and Family possible for all parents — you may have businesses or jobs that can't be left; other children who are married, at school or simply satisfied to stay put; even elderly parents to care for. You feel that you are too old to learn a new language and a new lifestyle; to trade in the fi- nancial and emotional secu- A Very Happy and Healthy rity you now have for a big step into the unknown. New Year to All Our Friends These are all valid arguments and you may of and Family ' course be of help to Israel from your home in the Dias- pora. 1111D71 111111 Mtn DORA & LOU GREEK • tut your children . . . that is something else. You cannot understand why they would want to leave a loving home with every HANNAH & TED SPITZ To All Our ' rIlty . Relatives rIZ1t and Friends, Our wish for a ---- 1 :11 nril -, year filled with (- - happiness, health and prosperity • , . material comfort, for a new life so far from the family circle, where young men and women will also have to share the military burden. The whole thing frightens you, and although you can come to terms with the idea of them going away to col- lege, or even of having their own apartment, aliya is a terrifying concept. Most young people who want to come on aliya have already spent some time in Israel. This what they found. First, they were no longer a minority in a gentile society. The whole of Israel was their extended family . . . supportive and caring when they needed them. It is a magnificent feeling to feel solidarity with everyone • else. You celeb- rate the Jewish festivals and the national holidays together with the whole of Israel — a Jew in a Jewish land. It is not a matter of being religious. It is a mat- ter of identity, of knowing who you are; what you be- lieve in; what you stand for. It is a matter of sharing a' common destiny with everyone — a year of peace for one will be a year of peace for all; and it is a thrill to hear everyone in Israel greet each other and say goodbye. to each other with the word "Shalom," peace. Next it is an adventure and a challenge. There is nothing your son or daugh- ter can do with his life more meaningful than using it to help build a new country, a homeland. Everything that happens in Israel he will be involved with, from the opening of a new road to the I discovery of a new breed of tomato. When you're here, you bask in the reflected glory of every good thing that happens; just as you grieve communally for the bad. But you are part Of it, of everything that happens, in a way you never could be anywhere else. It is your country, your people. No work that your chil- dren undertake in Israel is considered menial. In fact there is an admiration and respect for the people who work the land on moshavim and kibutzim like the early pioneers when it was still Palestine. After all, the Jews were once an agricul- tural people and in Israel many are finding fulfill- ment in this way. Of course, there is also the academic life and univer- sities of world stature; as well as vibrant technology, industry and the arts. You are needed here, your con- tribution is valued, as nowhere in the world. And you as parents . . . you will gain, not lose. For one thing, you can almost stop worrying about inter- marriage — it is so rare in Israel as to be negligible. ; Not only will your children stay Jewish, you will have Jewish grandchildren and great-grandchildren to per- petuate your name and yoir traditions, generation, after generation. Certainly your chil- dren will have to do their share in the defense of their country, but you can be proud of this fact. The boys and girls that serve in the IDF finish their tern of duty as ma- ture and disciplined adults, able to cope su- perbly in society and with values and ethics of the highest degree. You will be proud of them! THE LESHMANS MARTIN, PHYLLIS, ROBERT & KAREN French Jews were re- ported to have visited Ire- land in 1062. Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year MR. & MRS. CHAIM BLUMENKOPF Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year JOHN & RUTH JENSEN Tucson, Ariz. Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year MR. & MRS. JOE BERKOVIC THE SIMON JOSEN FAMILY Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year Best wishe's for a happy, healthy New Year LISA.& GERALD BRODY ZOLTAN & BOZSI KREISMAN Best wishes for a happy, - healthy New Year Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year MR. & MRS. HERMAN H. (GOLDIE) DELIDOW MR. & MRS. BENJAMIN NAGEL Best wishes for a . happy, healthy New Year Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year MARVIN, LYNN, BRUCE & - RICK DUBIN HENRIETTA RUDA & FAMILY Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year ANITA & ALLAN GILBERT - & FAMILY ADELE & JOE RUTMAN Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year CAROLYN GREEN & FAMILY AARON & JAN SALZBERG Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year GERTRUDE & MYRON GRODIN BEVERLY, ARNIE & CINDY WEISS Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year MR. &. MRS. MANUEL M. GROSSMAN THE ZABNERS, JEFFREY, CIN- DEE, LAYNE & ZACHARY - , When you visit Israel — and it's no longer such a dif- ficult thing to do — you - won't be mere tourists. You . will be coming to your own land and you will have a big stake in its future. Not just a piece of real estate — but the biggest gift you can give to Eretz Israel. There is a saying: "When you love something, let it go free." Let your children take this step. Give them your blessing. It is the greatest mitzva you "cando, and you will go on being re- warded every day of your life! .