I’ve visited Israel a number of times and each time I left, it was more and more difficult. You’ll see throughout this site as it grows that moving to Israel (making Aliyah) is not simply relocating your family to another state or country, it is answering a calling that comes from inside. At least that is my perspective.
Some 30-35 years ago, I went on a student UJA trip to Israel as one of the college campus leaders. We had put on programs about Israel and being Jewish, raised money, and were about to see where it went. The mantra was about the importance of the work we were doing for Israel and the people there. They were going to take us to important sites, listen to important people, and they were going to be impressed with us. I was ready to see where our efforts went…
First, we landed on December 25th, which coincided with Chanukah. (We were able to light candles at the airport before we left thanks of course to the Chabadniks in NY). Yes, it was impressive to see so many menorahs wherever we went in Israel. It made sense that one of the first places they took us was to Mod’in to see an excavation that may have gone back to Yehuda Maccabbi. Not a good follower of instructions, I kind of wandered off on my own to look around. There were farms all around, cars driving on the roads, and a clear sky. I can’t say that it was a breathtaking view. But it struck me like all of the rocks being dug through:
You have it all wrong, it isn’t that a piece of this land
is something yours because you raised money for it,
it is the opposite,
… you belong to this land.
Forward to the present, it is time to figure out how to make good on that!