This Pesach Become An Active Part of the Jewish Nation!

First of all, I must apologize for not posting for a while (and for the lack of photos in this post). Unfortunately I am in America for Pesach (my parents like to have me around for the Seders), and I had to spend my last few days in Israel finishing a final project so I can graduate Machon Lev this year (maybe I'll write more about that another time).
Anyway, after my first Shacharit minyan back in the old country, my rabbi asked me if I could speak at the shul's Shabbat HaGadol luncheon. I jump at the chance to teach the Torah of Eretz Yisrael to the Jews of the diaspora, and I'll take every opportunity I can get to tell them to make Aliyah. So I agreed and put together a Dvar Torah about Jewish nationhood, final redemption prophecies coming true including the day's haftarah, and the Aliyah Revolution. This can also be good for your seder table, especially if you're with Jews who don't live in Israel yet.
Chag Kasher V'Sameach! Enjoy:


Some of this Dvar Torah is from Rabbi Ari Waxman (much of the background of the nation idea), some is from a couple of friends (the V'Haisheiv idea), some from an old Kumah post (the miracles of the Final vs. Egyptian redemption), and some is my own.

When we sit down at the Seder on Leil Shlishi, this Monday night, we will be telling the story of our exodus from Egypt. The Torah tells us that when Hashem took us out of Egypt, He took a nation out from amidst a nation (Devarim 4:34). We came down to Egypt as a big family, but we left as a nation, Hashem's nation. The prophet Yechezkel also refers to the exodus from Egypt as the birthday of the Jewish nation, "the day that you were born" (Yechezkel 16:4). Along with our release from the shackles of bondage placed upon us in Egypt, our collective existence was broadened as we gained the new status of "Am Yisrael."

However, there is more to our nation than this. We received the Torah "like one man, with one heart" as we stood united at Mount Sinai. The Torah is our national guidebook and without it, our nation would not be complete.

There is yet another part to our nationhood. The Maharal of Prague explains (Netiv Hatzedaka, Chapter 6) that true "arevut" - mutual responsibility of every Jew for every other Jew - was only achieved when we crossed the Jordan River and entered into Eretz Israel. It is only here in Eretz Israel that we are able to reach our full potential as an interconnected and unified nation. We can also see that there are parts of our nation that depend on being in Eretz Israel – setting up a kingship / government, the Sanhedrin and court system, the Beit HaMikdash and sacrifices, Mitzvot that are connected specifically to the Land of Israel (like Shemitah and others), etc…

Unfortunately we are still in exile, Mashiach is still not here, and there is no Beit HaMikdash. However, we are starting to see the sprouting of our final redemption and the rebirth and revival of the Jewish nation in Israel. Hashem has revealed so many miracles to us in Israel throughout the last 59 years, and we are starting to see prophecies coming true. The desert is blossoming, Israel has won wars in which it was heavily outnumbered, and even amidst the attempted terror attacks (suicide attempts, rockets, etc…) there are so many miracles happening every day to save us. One of the clearest signs of the redemption is the ingathering of the exiles. Jews are coming home from far and wide, from the four corners of the Earth. Even Jews from Western countries, who are not leaving their countries because of pogroms, but are leaving good lives willingly, are coming home. Nefesh B'Nefesh has brought over 10,000 English speaking Olim in the last 5+ years. According to most censuses taken, Israel has more Jews than any other country (recently surpassing America), and with the unfortunate trends of world Jewry, Israel will have the majority of the Jews in the world by the next generation! The course of Jewish history is changing in ways that have never been seen!

Another prophecy that is coming true is that of the end of today's Haftarah: "He will return the heart of the fathers upon the children, and the heart of the children upon their fathers." (Mal'achi 3:24) We can understand the first part easily – fathers teach their sons Torah, thus returning a Jewish heart unto them. However, the second part sounds a little strange. We see today that so many young people are making Aliyah by themselves. A number of youth from this shul have made Aliyah by themselves and I can tell you from all the Nefesh B'Nefesh welcome ceremonies I have attended, that there are many young olim coming by themselves these days. We in turn are returning our hearts of Aliyah and redemption upon our families. We see that through Aliyah, this prophecy is to fruition as well.

This Pesach, as we celebrate our national birthday, I urge you to pay attention to the events beholding our people. It is said that our final redemption will be so great that people will stop talking about the exodus from Egypt: "Behold days are coming... when they shall no longer say, 'The living G-d who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt,' but 'The living G-d who brought... the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them, so that they dwell in their own land.'" (Yermiyahu 23:7-8) In other words mass Aliyah itself is such an awesome miracle that it will actually replace the great miracle of the Exodus from Egypt as what will be used to describe Hashem's glory! What would be greater than to see this happening live; to get a front row seat as prophecies come true; to be there when Mashiach comes and the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt?!? Well you can! All you have to do is join the Aliyah Revolution! Get the exile mentality out of your system, and come home to Israel! This Pesach - take an active role in Jewish history and become an active part of the Jewish nation!

Am Yisrael Chai!
May we see our Final Redemption speedily in our days, even this Pesach!
Chag Kasher V'Sameach!