Did Gaza break my faith?

Did Gaza break my faith?

I don’t know. I have thought about this before. Often in fact. Losing one’s faith in God is no small thing. And I not only lost mine, it has died and been buried.

I literally had a dream as I was becoming secular where I was walking through the Judean Hills, a stream was within earshot, and I went to look for it. As I approached the stream, with a waterfall sounding the background I noticed a cemetery near the creek. I saw mourners, and as I approached they came to comfort me. Who had died? What was I mourning? Why was I being comforted? And then I saw it, a sefer torah was being buried, and it was my loved one, my sefer torah, that had died. I suddenly realized what was taking place, this funeral was for my loved one, these mourners were there to comfort me! Next to the sefer torah I saw the tombstones of my grandparents. My god! I cried. I said goodbye. I buried torah.


Please understand. I am not looking for theological reasons to come back to religion. It can’t happen. I have buried her. I loved her. Once. She was a major influence on my life, much like my grandparents. Will remain so. But she is gone now, dead. I am sad at this loss, but I can no more resurrect torah in my life than I can resurrect my dead grandfathers.

I woke up from that dream shaken. That was the moment when I stopped pretending that I could maintain my religious lifestyle. It was a lie, and I am not a hypocrite. From someone who dreamed of being a rav to a secular Jew. It was unforeseen. I believed so strongly, so completely. I never thought it could die. But it did.

How?

I don’t know.

I know that it happened the same time as the Gaza expulsion. I do know that Gaza still haunts me. Did Gaza cause it? Not entirely, but it certainly played a part. It must have. I wake up in the middle of the night usually once a week, deeply upset and hurt. I’m waking… what happened? What was I dreaming? Right… Yehuda was being expelled from the home he built in Shirat HaYam. My friends were being dragged from their homes. I am being dragged away from the beach house. By Jews. Because we are Jews. The orange flag flies against the orange sun on the horizon. The greenhouses spring over with their bounty.

Then.

No more. Houses torn apart, bulldozed. Greenhouses ripped asunder, crops turning brown without the water and love they were given by their caregivers.

I know that my friend’s children still wet their pants at the site of police officers. Imagine. Don’t just read the sentence. Imagine what that means. Take a minute, it takes a minute to imagine something so horrible after all. Jewish policemen, in a Jewish State, scaring children so badly for the crimes their colleagues committed that they wet themselves in fear. That their memory and understanding of a Jewish Army and Jewish police force is identical to the memory of someone grabbing them from their parents and dragging them from their homes.

I know that my belief in the power of what I assume to be a destiny to triumph over evil is not a given. That when good people do nothing evil prevails. That those who came and chanted near the gates of Gaza about how terrible this was but dared not enter Gaza chanted with empty voices. The song of canaries. It may have sounded right and beautiful, but it lacked any meaning.

I know that no one seemed to take it seriously. That at best it caused my fellow countrymen to lament how sad it was that Jews had expelled Jews, lacking any real empathy or understanding for the pain those Jews must be in. That Israel must be in. That the Jewish Nation should be in.

I know that I lost faith that I would be able to continue living where I was without facing the same fate. I would dream, no, I would nightmare, every night about the screaming and fighting and crying that would greet me, my wife, our future children, our loved ones, our neighbors, when our turn came. I suddenly feared that it would indeed come.


I know that my grandmother, a kind woman of over 90 years, a doctor, a healer, a liberal, a former German, a current American, a democrat, told me bluntly, that this was the first time Jews were being expelled from somewhere simply because they were Jews and she didn’t understand how or why Jews could do this. This, from a survivor of the Shoah. How it pained me. She never thought she would live to see it again. How empty the chant of ‘Never Again’. How empty.

I know that the beaches in Tel Aviv were full when Gaza was emptied of her Jews.

I know that we speak of Gaza and act (forget?) as if the four yishuvim expelled of their Jewish residents in Samaria are just an after thought.

I know that I still wake up with shivers, sweating, nightmaring of the expulsion of my people. I bleed orange. I love my people and my land and my heritage. I wish we had the courage to be what I know we could be.

I know we have learned nothing. Nothing. Our government is now ready to do to the Jews of Judea and Samaria, of the Jordan Valley, of my home, of the suburbs of Jerusalem, of our holy Temple Mount, of the Old City, of our most ancient graveyard, what she did to Gaza and North Samaria. Palestine must be Jew free. But Israel can have Israeli-Arabs. Why no Jewish Palestinians? If this is an issue of a majority people ruling their land? There is no logic here. No peace. Just hate. This I know. And what do we do? What do I do? Nothing.

When will this nightmare die? When will a new hope arise? Is the awakening of American Jews to the reality of Israel, to her realness, is the Arising of American Jewry as she returns Home the glimpse of this new hope amid the nightmare? Can we be our people’s savior? Certainly we have waited long enough for our turn to fight for our people (shame on us!). Are we ready for the challenge? I don’t know.

I know that when I am casually looking up fun Israeli music on the internet I can’t help but have search strings that return sites about the expulsion from Aza. And I know that I still break down and cry when I see those pictures. Those horrible pictures.

When one has buried God, has seen Torah buried, it becomes exceedingly difficult to find comfort in the words of our prophets, for all of their comforts rest on knowing that God loves us and will comfort us, will lead us out of darkness. I know that I can no longer believe that.

Man, excuse me, humanity, we make our fate. We make our destiny. We decide. And right now, we seem to be deciding to appease evil, to stand by evil, to ignore the plight of others, to pretend they deserved it, or that it is all part of a Divine Plan, and all will be alright, as if the damage has not already been done when children wet themselves at the site of Jewish police, or suicide rates among evacuees is through the roof, or divorces occur because of the trauma, or even, dare I be so self centered, a 27 year old man cries himself to bed when reminded about this trauma because he was foolish enough to think he could look up Israeli music without accidentally coming into contact with his nightmare.

I want to wake up.

Jerusalem Event - Screening of Movie on Jews of Uganda

Screening of SABC (South African Broadcasting Corp) documentary entitled

PEARLS OF AFRICA – THE ABAYUDAYA JEWS OF UGANDA

Produced by Marion Segal and Directed by Guy Lieberman
who will be in attendance to present the documentary while he is visiting Israel.

WHEN:

Thursday 27th December, 7 pm
(Doors open at 6.45 pm, all those non-reserved will be first come, first served. Limited seating)


TICKETS : 20NIS

VENUE:

3rd Ear Screening Room
8 Emek Refaim
German Colony, Jerusalem


BOOKINGS:
abayidden@gmail.com


SYNOPSIS

This film documents a unique community of Jews living in a remote corner of Uganda, close to the border with Kenya. Called Abayudaya, which means "Jews" in the local language, these peasant farmers practice a home-grown form of Judaism which harks back to biblical times. Claiming no ancestral or genetic connection to Judaism, Chief Kakangulu and his followers chose to adopt the Jewish faith about 90 years ago, despite opposition and even persecution.

Produced by Marion Segal, the story of the Abayudaya is told through the eyes of South African director, Guy Lieberman. Journeying to an area known as the Pearl of Africa, Guy's encounter with the Abayudaya raises questions of faith, identity, devotion and belonging amongst a peoples living in isolation from the rest of the Jewish world.

"It is a remarkable story of hardship and profound faith, prayer and the promise of deliverance, told with humour and joy."

- excerpt from the South African Jewish Report article, attached.

U'M'Beit Avicha - And From Thy Fathers Home: Realizing the Dream of Lech Lecha

Based on what are the Jewish People deserving of having been chosen? What did Avram do that was so special? Why is Avram chosen to be the beginning of a Chosen Nation who will serve as the vehicle through which God perfects humanity?

Let us take a look at the parsha of Lech Lecha and Chazal's commentary on her, and see whether perhaps we are given an answer to this perplexing question.

At the beginning of the parsha, God commands Avram, "Go from your land, your birth place, and from your father’s house, unto the land which I shall show you." Very interestingly, God continues and says, "I will make you a great nation... and through you all nations of the world will be blessed..." (12: 1-3) So we see already, that from the very first words that God command to Avram (go to the land of Israel) God also tells Avram the reason that God is commanding him to do this, namely that you shall become a "great nation" and that "through you all the nations of the world will be blessed."

We will begin a departure here, that only in the end shall return to our original question with what I hope you agree to be a beautiful answer.




In the Talmud Bavli (Nedarim, Page 32a) it says the following:

R. Ammi b. Abba also said: Avram was three years old when he acknowledged the Creator, for it is written, Because [Heb. 'ekeb'] Avram obeyed my voice: the numerical value of 'ekeb' is one hundred seventy two (since Avram lived to be 175 years old, he "obeyed my voice" for 172 of his 175 years of life).

The Rambam sitting both this Talmudic passage as well as another source that says Avram recognized God at the age of 40, synthesizes the two. Rambam says that from the age of 3 Avram began searching out God, but he did not come to the conclusion of a single god until the age of 40.

A point of significance here. The many stories and details of Avrams life that were just stated (he recognized God at 3, 40, etc) along with the many more to follow are not in the Torah! Why not? Why are such important details such as the reason for Avram having been chosen (for comparison, when Noach is chosen in the previous parsha to be the one saved and continue humanity we are told why. It says that Noach was a tzaddik, a righteous man) left out? We are not told anything about Avram. Why? We will come back to this later. However, already now, we can see a great example of the way in which Chazal fill in these missing pieces with midrashim, which sometimes are claimed as part of the oral tradition and as 'true' and other time are merely being created by Chazal. But even in this later case, they are no less true. Rather Chazal are trying to teach us a very important point (or points) and do so through this method of midrashim and commentary.

Let us now look at one of the most famous midrashim on the entire chumash. Midrash Rabbah, Berishit 38.

AND HARAN DIED IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS FATHER TERACH [XI, 28]. R. Hiyya said: Terah was a manufacturer of idols. He once went away somewhere and left Avram to sell them in his place. A man came and wished to buy one. 'How old are you?' Avram asked him. 'Fifty years,' was the reply. 'Woe to such a man!' Avram exclaimed, 'you are fifty years old and would worship a day-old object!' At this he became ashamed and departed. On another occasion a women came with a plateful of flour and requested him, 'Take this and offer it to them.' So he took a stick, broke them, and put the stick in the hand of the largest. When his father returned he demanded, 'What have you done to them?' 'I cannot conceal it from you,' Avram rejoined. 'A women came with a plateful of fine meal and requested me to offer it to them. One claimed, "I must eat first," While another claimed, "I must eat first." Thereupon the largest arose, took the stick, and broke them.' 'Why do you make sport of me,' he cried out; 'have they then any knowledge!' 'Should not your ears listen to what your mouth is saying,' Avram retorted.

Thereupon he seized him and delivered him to Nimrod. 'Let us worship the fire!' Nimrod proposed. 'Let us rather worship water, which extinguishes the fire,' replied he. 'Then let us worship water!' 'Let us rather worship the clouds which bear the water.' 'Then let us worship the clouds!' 'Let us rather worship the winds which disperse the clouds.' 'Then let us worship the wind!' 'Let us rather worship human beings, who withstand the wind.' 'You are just bandying words,' he exclaimed; 'we will worship nought but the fire. Behold, I will cast you into it, and let your God whom you adore come and save you from it.' Now Haran was standing there undecided. IF Avram is victorious, thought he, I will say that I am of Avram's belief, while if Nimrod is victorious I will say that I am on Nimrod's side. When Avram descended into the fiery furnace and was saved, he [Nimrod] asked him, 'Of whose belief are you?' 'Of Avram's' he replied. Thereupon he seized and cast him into the fire; his inwards were scorched and he died in his father's presence. Hence it is written, AND HARAN DIED IN THE PRESENCE OF ['AL PENE] HIS FATHER TERACH.

There are two aspects to this Midrash that I find fascinating.

The first aspect is the similarity between Avram's pattern of thinking as he comes to recognize the One True God, and the thinking that became so famous and widespread as a result of the Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle in particular. Plato was most famous for his dialectic manner of speaking, the way in which he would engage in conversation through question and answers in an attempt to arrive closer to the truth about the topic at hand. What was most unique was Plato's gifted ability to ask the right questions in the right way, thereby leading the other person engaged in the dialogue to construct their own meaningful and logical truth. How fascinating that the father of philosophy and the father of monotheism and revelation would have such similar ways of thinking and approaching the world. For we see in the midrash that Avram engages in exactly the same sort of conversations. By asking the presumably innocent question of "how old are you" Avram prepares a comment to the answer he knows is coming that will force his counterpart in this conversation to realize the idiocy of avodah zarah (idol worship). [This being done of course, when Avram retorts to the man's answer of how old are you with the following reply, "Woe to such a man! You are fifty years old and would worship a day old object!"]

We see Avram perform the same type of logical and progressive thinking with his father. This time Avram engages in the seemingly destructive act of destroying the idols, which would serve to do nothing for his father's benefit except perhaps to enrage him. This it does. But Avram has his response ready to this as well, making up the story of the idols smashing one another and that Avram is innocent. This time, Avram's set the framework for the other person involved in the dialogue to come ot the same conclusion as Avram even more perfectly than before. For this time, Avram's father doesn't merely concede the point, he states it himself! "Have they then any knowledge?!" Asked Terach. An amazing achievement that Avram should be able to think up a way in which to cause his father to realize himself the silliness of avoda zarah. Avram wraps up this discussion with his reply of "Should not your ears listen to what your mouth is saying." It is implied (through the midrashes silence) that Terach, though extraordinarily upset with Avram, excepted and agreed with his son's point.

Lastly, and perhaps most fascinating, is the way in which Avram finally comes to believe in the One God. These first two examples indicate that Avram rejected avodah zarah, but they do not say with what Avram replaced it (if anything at all). But in Avram's discussion with Nimrod, we discover the way in which Avram came to believe in God. When Nimrod declared, "let us worship fire" Avram retorted with "let us worship the water which extinguishes the fire." And with every new object of avodah zarah named by Nimrod, Avram pushed the cause back further and further. And, as many Greek philosophers also believed, if pushed back far enough, one reached a Single God. This is known as the First Cause Proof of God.

Avram was indeed a philosopher.

As a quick side point, it is interesting to note, that Avram, though he had not had any revelation yet, and his belief in One God was based solely on his thinking and philosophizing, Avram was already willing to die for this belief. Yet Haran, Avram's brother, had no convictions. He was passive. He didn't engage his brain and think for himself. He was not committed to avoda zarah, not was he committed to the belief in God. I have heard Rav Chaim Eisen of Jerusalem say on many occasions, "it is better to be committed to avodah zarah, then to be committed to nothing at all." I always had difficulty understanding that, if it were to be taken at all literally. I think, and hope you agree, that Haran's attitude, his punishment, and this midrash as a whole help to explain it.



It is at this point, at the conclusion of our midrash, that God first reveals Himself
to Avram, and declares, "Lech lecha…"

So, what did Avram, (soon to be Avraham) do to deserve being the person to whom God declared "Lech lecha" and chose as the father of the Holy Jewish Nation? It should be obvious by now. Avram recognized God! Avram recognized God, and he did so by himself. His conviction in this recognition was so fierce, he was willing to die for it, and the truth that Avram was so positive lay behind it.

I heard it suggested by Rav Kahn, that there is no reason to assume that the commandment and revelation of "lech lecha" was given only to Avram. It could very well be that it was being said to all mankind, but it was only Avram who heard it.

Or was it?

In a brilliant suggestion, Rav Kahn of Bar Ilan University stated that Avram and Terach (his father) had a much closer relationship than we often take notice of. The expression that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree has much truth to it. And I see no reason to suspect otherwise in the case of Avram and Terach.

Now, at this point, we can notice a most bizarre pasuk in the torah. For in sentence 31 of our parsha it says:

And Terach took Avram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Avram's wife, and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran, and lived there."
Now, why would Terach just all of a sudden take his entire family, including Avram, and pick up from Ur and head towards "the land of Canaan"? Perhaps, it is because Terach heard the exact same revelation that Avram did! That Terach too had this moment of clarity. That Terach also came to believe and understand that there was only one God. At which point Terach was given the commandment of "Lech Lecha" just as Avram was. And Terach, a believer of God, began to take both himself and his entire family to "the land of Canaan."

But it is difficult to make aliyah. Oh so difficult. It is not easy to travel from Ur (or Monsey, or California, or France, or many other places) all the way to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Canaan). And so, Terach, though he begins the journey, he does not finish it. "And they came to Haran, and lived there." Haran, according to many of the opinions of Chazal, was half way between Israel and Ur. Terach made it half way. But then he had to stop. Afterall, we must live in reality. Aliyah is not realistic. We must support ourselves, our family, etc. We must "live" as Terach understood, and so they stopped in Haran, "and they lived there".

God forbid this should ever happen to any of us!

Realize the greatness of the Terach's of the world, and realize the tragedy of their inability to see the mission to the end! Terach was a great human being and made an enormous achievement. He recognized God (as to so many of the Jews in galut today claim to do). And Terach heard the voice of God commanding him to leave, and go to Israel. And Terach listened. He experienced revelation and truth, both through his own thought process (as was seen with Avram in his conversation with Nimrod in the midrash) and also through the revelation of God saying 'lech lecha.'

But it is not easy to hold onto our moment's of clarity. It is exceedingly difficult. To turn dreams into reality, requires great strength. The Psalmist calls us K'Cholmim - As Dreamers. For the dream should never be seen as a fantasy. The dream can be fulfilled.

Avram did make it. Avram did continue. Avram realized the dream of aliyah, and fulfilled this most difficult test of God. Perhaps "Lech lecha" was not all uttered at once. For such would make sense. If Avram and Terach were traveling together from Ur to Canaan, then it was only when Terach gave up at Haran that God added "u'm'beit avicha" ("and from your father's house"). For it was together that Avram and Terach traveled from "m'arzicha, um'moladicha" (from his land and his birthplace). But when Terach gave in, and couldn't continue any more, when Terach "lived in Haran" then God had to say to Avram, "Do not stop! Do not forget your moment of clarity and revelation! Continue the journey! "Lech lecha m'beit avicha".

My wishes for all the members of Kumah and all who are reading this should be that we all keep our moments of clarity alive. That when we hear a "lech lecha" we chase after it, and do not stop walking until we have reached our goal.

"Lech Lecha" Those Who Are As Dreamers! Know that our God is One, that he watches over us, and that he has commanded to us (among his other wonderful and beautiful mitzvoth) to come home to Eretz Yisrael. To make aliyah. Let us not "live there in Haran". Kumah! Arise, it's time to come home.

Where Have You Come From - Where Are You Going?

This is the question that lies at the heart of aliyah. It is a question who was first asked by our sages as well as by Socrates. It is a question, that while seeming very simple to answer can prove incredibly complex.

For a Jew, the answer is even more complex. For I can not answer where I come from without also taking into account where the Jewish People comes from. While the why to that question may be complicated, in the briefest form, it is because the Jew is born into a covenantal community. The Jew is born with obligations and expectations. We are not a 'free people' in the sense that freedom is often used today. We are duty bound. To be identified as a Jew, at least in part, means to partake in the pains and triumphs of the Jewish Nation. To be Jewish is to be part of a nationality.

But that is not all. We all know much more obviously that to be Jewish is to be part of a religion. The covenantal community that is Judaism is a covenant of faith, of Sinai, of revelation, of God's truth as revealed in the Torah. So to be identified as a Jew requires our participation in torah as well.

But that is not all. The third prong to our identity is the hardest for Jews living in exile to recognize, as it requires a reworking of our own identities - a task that is never pleasant. The third aspect of Jewish identity is Eretz Yisrael.

The Land of Israel, pieces of rock, a geographical location, is part of a Jewish identity. It seems absurd, but it is true.

I will not go into the why. This is what usually attracts the most attention when someone is speaking to Jews in America and trying to prove to them why they must move. Why Israel really is so important. And everyone gives excuses ("Rashi didn't live in Israel" is always one of my favorites). People are not convinced by arguments, not when they have so much to lose, not when their hearts are telling them to stay in the rich lands of AmReika.

So I will not answer why Israel is so important. At root, my answers as to why the Torah or the Jewish Nation are so important are also weak - they fall flat on their face if you do not already agree with me. One does not partake in the torah because it was proved to him or her. One partakes in the torah because one has experienced the truth of torah, has experienced the truth of the Jewish God's existence. One has experienced reality.

To be K'Cholmim-As Dreamers, is to partake in the amazing path and mission that is Judaism. But such a path and mission is not an easy one. The reason for this is that we are entirely confused as to what constitutes a dream and what constitutes reality. We are unsure what the right path is for us to take as individual human beings. Therefore, we can not even imagine what is the correct path for us to take as Jews or any other specific group of people. We thus lack the capability to make a choice, let alone a meaningful choice about which path will lead us to take part in our greater community, in this case, to take part in the destiny of the mission of the Jewish People. This is the reason that those of us who are looked on as dreamers (by those who are so confused), and who have visions of a better future, those of us who do still believe in such things as that dirty word, 'idealism' or even worse, actually articulate such an *irrational * belief as our faith in God, or perhaps worse of all for American Jews dare to speak of our desire to make aliyah and join our people, are always met with a reply to "live in reality" and to be "realistic". It is for this reason that I am so attracted to that word K'Cholmim-AS Dreamers. For our vision and goal is not truly a dream, rather it is a goal and ideal of a better reality, a truer reality.

But not many are willing to see such a reality, or recognize its validity and existence. Such has always been the difficulty of those who speak wisdom and truth. It was the battle of Socrates, and it was the battle of the prophets. Rav Soloveitchik zt"l in the last chapter of his masterpiece "The Lonely Man of Faith" comments on our prophet Elisha, using Elisha as a model for all the prophets, that, " many a time he felt disenchanted and frustrated because his words were scornfully rejected." (Page 112) This great prophet Elisha had the same difficulty as all men of wisdom, that their words were "scornfully rejected" because most of us, are unable to tell the difference between true and false, between good and evil. We think Dream is Reality, and Reality a Dream.

Further on in "The Lonely Man of Faith" the Rav will comment on Elisha and his life, and will teach us how this relates to the great danger of living a lie and thinking it is a reality. Of confusing what is dream and reality, what is important and what is not. All of this relates to the vision required by someone living 'the good life' in America must have to even seriously consider aliyah - let alone make it. The Rav says that, "Yet unexpectedly, the call came through to this unimaginative, self-centered farmer. Suddenly the mantle of Elijah was cast upon him. While he was engaged in the most ordinary, everyday activity, in tilling the soil, he encountered God (the Truth) and felt the transforming touch of God's hand. The strangest metamorphosis occurred. Within seconds, the old Elisha disappeared and a new Elisha emerged." (Page 110)

It was not with arguments that Elisha was convinced of the falsehood in his life, but rather a life changing experience. It was the touch of God Himself that changed Elisha from the old to the new. From an Elisha of "an unimaginative, self-centered farmer" - a life of meaninglessness and falsehood to the Elisha of truth and prophecy. To an Elisha who would spend the rest of his days walking around Israel preaching God's truth, and this vision of idealism and Yahadut. And of course this is the greatest difficulty that we as K'Cholmim face, the battle for the truth and the ability to create moments of experience that will wake people up to that truth.

So the question is what experiences have you had? Elisha experiences God, and this changed his life. It wasn't with arguments that Elisha was convinced of what is true and what is not, it was with a simple but profound experience. Many of us are chozer b'tshuva, and we all have our own story about what mundane experience proved so profound as to reframe our entire existence and change the course of our life.

So too with Israel. Israel is to be experienced, not analyzed. Have you experienced Israel? Were you perhaps disappointed? When you were searching for God, were you ever disappointed there? I was. Sunday school is not a 'positive' experience of God and Torah for most Jews. But does that mean it doesn't exist, or that your teachers were inadequate? To experience the real Israel is not easy - especially when the places in Israel most laden with kedusha and history are considered 'too dangerous' to allow Jews to visit, or because low and behold, most of our holy places are on the wrong side of this magical green line and therefore we should not visit. Have you ever seen the mishkan in Shilo? Have you visited the hills of the Shomron? Have you looked over Shchem and imagined the fields in which Joseph and his brothers played, and ultimately, tragically, fought? Have you walked on the Temple Mount and infused yourself with the spirit of God - as you stand in awe of His presence? Have you sat in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, watching hundreds of religious children who at age 8 know more torah than you run around as they fulfill the words of our prophets that children will play again in the streets of Jerusalem? Have you seen the devastation caused to our people at a bus bombing because Jews don't care enough about Jewish blood to do what we must to protect ourselves? Have you seen a desert that after a year was greener because of your presence? Have you?

Israel is to be experienced. Home is a symbol - a symbol is something which has meaning underneath the apparent object. The rocks of Israel are a symbol - a symbol of our home. Chazal say that the redemption will only come when we yearn for the rocks and dust of Eretz Yisrael. Which means, when the Jewish souls remember where home is, when we return home. I can not convince you with arguments WHY Israel is your home. SHE IS! Kacha! And if you have the nerve then you will come and find out why that is true.

So for all those who don't know what the experience of Israel is - come and find it! KUMAH! ARISE! Return home.

But there is one last problem. What of those who HAVE had this experience and yet chose to live in galut? To them, I say, remember with all your might the intensity of that experience. The problem with dream and reality is we confuse them so quickly. My best friend in college and roommate woke me up one morning at 5:30 shaking me hard, "David David". "WHAT?" I asked him. We had been working together non stop to lobby for Israel and had just run two incredibly Aliyah Shabbatonim where we engaged over a 100 Chicago Jews to discuss aliyah - over 50 now live in Israel. So he woke me up and said, "David, I just had the most incredible dream." "Tell me about it" I said. "Well, I was in Israel David, and it was just amazing, I was there" and he started to cry. This friend is not one for tears and I was shocked, but I realized what had happened. He had experienced Israel - without even being there! Because of his commitment to her - she reached out to him. And he cried. And he said, "I have to go David, I have to, how can I go?" So we sat for an hour and a half discussing options and ways he could leave the prestigious education he was receiving at the University of Chicago without enraging his parents and make aliyah this summer. He was so excited. He called his parents. He went to the aliyah agency. And he never came. (I would like to happily add, that since this was written he has made aliyah, married and Israeli, and they are expecting their first native born daughter in the coming months, b?sha?ah tovah!)

But what happened that initially held him back. Why did he not come? He experienced it. There is no question about it. He experienced Israel - but in America he stayed. Why? Because dreams only last for a short while. The experience can shock us into reality, his dream made him wake up to reality - no pun intended. But it doesn't last. You must grab hold of it and act on it right away, or else it dissipates. My friend, for whatever reason, despite all his energies wasn't able to hold on to that dream - a dream with more meaning and reality behind it than many other people's lives. A tragedy. But God willing there will be other moment's of clarity for him (addendum: and there were!), and he will find his way home to Israel again.

I say to you who DO know the experience of Israel - DO NOT LET IT PASS! DO NOT LET IT SIT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND AND HEART. "One question I asked from God, to sit in the House of God all the days of my life?" The human mind is stubborn and complex, we prefer the easy 'reality' even if it is a lie. Don't live the sheker, remember your moments of clarity, remember what it felt like to walk down a street where there are more people wearing kippot than not, where there is a Jewish Army to defend us, where the air itself has a different taste - a Jewish taste.

Experience Israel, Remember Israel, Come Home to Israel. Your People await you.
Your people need you. Kumah.

Shabbat Shalom