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utter desolation and the extremely diffi-
hat is the common
cult
living and financial conditions.
denominator among
Other
waves of pioneers then followed
Abraham, Moses, Queen
from
various
religious and cultural back-
Esther, Maimonides and
grounds.
We
wanted
this land and were
today's Diaspora Jewry? Besides being
willing to pay almost any price for it.
Jewish, the one thing that they and we
Then came the Balfour Declaration fol-
all have in common is that
lowed by a miraculous Unit-
none of us was born in the
ed
Nations recognition of
land of Israel.
the
basic right of the Jewish
Abraham, Moses, Queen
people
to their homeland;
Esther, Maimonides and all of
eventually
in May 1948, a
us in the Diaspora, neverthe-
formal
Jewish
state was
less, have a strong bond with
declared.
Israel. The Jewish people have
I believe that many Jews,
dreamt of Israel and have,
even
50 years after the estab-
throughout history, attempted
lishment
of the State of
to get there. Some were suc-
RABBI
Israel,
do
not grasp the mag-
cessful; others were not.
AVRAHAM
nitude
of
this
miraculous
If for most of our national
JACOB OVITZ
phenomenon
called the
history we have been denied
Special
to
"return
to
Zion."
Let us
the privilege of living in this
The Jewish News imagine for a moment any
holy land, why do we Jews all
movement or group of peo-
have an unexplained yearning
ple
approaching
the United Nations
and deep desire toward this far-off
with
a
demand
to
rectify territorial
place?
claims
of
2,000
years.
Would anyone
For anyone who studies biblical texts,
take
such
an
outrageous
request into
the answer is quite simple. The land of
consideration?
Even
if
the
Native Amer-
Israel is God's palace on earth, and liv-
icans
would
challenge
the
authority of
ing in the king's palace is a privilege.
the
United
States
over
their
former land
One must truly earn this merit.
with grievances of 300-400 years ago,
It is only after Abraham passed the
would they be given a chance?
difficult test of leaving all that was dear
Obviously the creator of the universe
to him — his family, his home, the land
again
decided to give us an opportunity
of his ancestors and all the comforts of
to
re-inhabit
this wonderful land of
life — did he earn citizenship in this
Israel.
But
are
we really doing every-
special land. Moses definitely deserved
thing
in
our
power
to ensure the conti-
to live there, but he lost that right due
nuity
of
this
great
privilege?
To what
to a minor infraction and deviation
degree
are
we
willing
to
sacrifice
or even
from divine will, which, at his spiritual
simply
inconvenience
ourselves
for
the
level, prevented him from entering the
sake of maintaining this promised land?
land. Queen Esther never made it there,
This question is really directed to
nor did Maimonides while alive (he
two
different groups. The first, the Jews
was, however, buried there).
of
Israel,
who have already paid a very
What about the Jews exiled through-
high
premium
for living there. Are they
out the world? Do we really deserve the
willing
and
capable
of meeting many
honor and privilege called Israel? We
internal
challenges:
security
issues,
respond, "Yes." We earned it through
financial
problems
and
perhaps,
most of
our collective actions and memories. In
all,
internal
stumblirig
blocks
that
they
spite of our being physically away from
face
today?
The
second
group
is
Jews
our home, we vowed not to forget the
living in the Diaspora. We must deal
land of our origin. During every mar-
with
the uncomfortable realities as we
riage ceremony, a vessel is shattered in
look
at ourselves in the mirror and ask,
memory of the destruction of the Tem-
"Why
are we still here and not there?"
ple and Jerusalem; and for nearly 2,000
The
more
relevant questions are, "Have
years, Jews have prayed at least three
we
abandoned
the dream? Have we
times a day for the land's redemption.
extinguished
the
eternal flame within
Over 200 years ago, my ancestors,
the
Jewish
soul
to
one day go back
along with hundreds of other families,
home?
Are
we
apathetic
toward Israel?
made aliyah to Israel from the city of
Are
we
fostering
such
feelings
in our
Vilna, Lithuania. They were committed
children
and
grandchildren?"
and observant Jews who yearned to
In practical terms, our children and
dwell in this special land in spite of its
grandchildren look at our actions much
Rabbi Jacobovitz is director of
more than they pay attention to our
Machon L'Torah, the Jewish Learning
words. Perhaps now, while celebrating
Network of Michigan.
the 50th anniversary of the State of
W
Israel, we need to re-evaluate our vaca-
tion destinations. Why go anywhere else
when it is as easy to spend a wonderful
vacation in Jerusalem as it is to visit
London, Hong Kong, Australia or
Chile?
We can possibly also think of more
innovative ways to encourage our col-
lege-age sons and daughters to spend a
summer, a semester or at least a winter
break in Israel. Maybe, just maybe, we
can show some courage and stop dis-
couraging them from visiting or settling
in Israel out of irrational fears or exag-
gerated perceptions of harm or for the
selfish reason that we want to be physi-
cally closer to them at all times. Statis-
tics tell us that the vast majority of
American Jews have not yet visited
Israel, let alone ever entertained for
themselves or their children the thought
of aliyah. Have we, the Jews of the
Diaspora, "earned our wings" to deserve
the land for which so many were willing
to give up all they had?
I believe that all of us can change if
we are prepared to rededicate ourselves,
not only to the love of Zion, but as well
to the love of Judaism. We must inter-
nalize the philosophies of our ancestors,
rekindling true idealism and not just an
empty and washed-out commitment to
Hava Nagila and Israel Independence
Day celebrations.
Don't get me wrong; every expression
of love for the land and Jewish commit-
ment is important and precious; but
that is not what is going to ultimately
maintain our solid connection with the
land.
I would also suggest that, across the
board, every Jewish organization should
encourage its members to educate them-
selves about Judaism, to learn about the
bonds of the Jewish people Israel, to
spend a significant amount of their
vacation time in Israel and, most impor-
tant of all, to create incentives for their
children to visit, study and live in Israel. E/\
Here in the Detroit metropolitan
area, we can take pride in the fact that a
number of positive steps have already
been implemented by the Jewish Feder-
ation and a number of other organiza-
tions. My organization, Machon
L'Torah, is planning to step up its
already existing learning tours of Israel
(the Jerusalem Seminar on Wheels) to
(_\
offer more diverse opportunities for col-
lege students and young professionals to
have a meaningful Israel experience. We
hope that more organizations will join
in this effort so that we will all be able
to proudly say, "Yes, we did earn our
wings."
See you in Jerusalem very soon.
❑
,/\