I received an email from a sophomore at New York University, my alma mater. He writes:
“Last year at NYU there was a lot of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred on campus which motivated me to investigate for the first time in my life what it means to be a Jew. One thing led to another and I started to read “The Jewish Press” website on a daily basis. I have two questions. You maintain that all Jews should live in Israel and that the explosion of anti-Semitism is God’s way of pushing them in that direction. If that is true, why do the majority of Rabbis in America and Jewish journalists and op-ed writers ignore that thesis completely? Are they wrong for continuing to live in the Diaspora? And if the matter is so certain, the way you insist in your blogs, why don’t they agree with you? Those are my two questions.”
This is my reply:
Yes, they are wrong. All Jews should live in Israel. For the past month we have been reading the Book of Devarim in synagogue on Shabbat. Go over its chapters. The Torah clearly states dozens and dozens of times that the Jewish People should live in the Land of Israel. The punishment of Exile from the Land came when we failed to maintain the holy lifestyle which the Torah expects from us. The vast majority of Rabbis in Israel agree that living in Israel is a commandment of the Torah. It is only the Jews in the Diaspora who feel differently. That in itself should set off a red light in your head. It seems that they have made their life choice based on personal self-interest and not on what the Torah teaches.
How is this possible you ask? Unfortunately, many things in life are like this. For example, why in the world would a Jew choose to assimilate? Why would a person who is born a Jew want to abandon his Jewish identity, history, culture, language, and mission in life and become something foreign to his or her Jewish soul? Nonetheless, as absurd as it is, approximately 70% of the Jews in America have assimilated and the percentage grows all the time.
Let’s take another example, not specifically connected to Judaism and Jews. Most intelligent people in the world understand that adultery is not a positive thing. Nevertheless, myriads of people adulterate. Why? Every case has its own special reason but in general there is something in the world called the Evil Inclination. The Creator of the World has given mankind the freedom of choice to do what is right in the eyes of the Creator or to do what is wrong. Many people who know that adultery is immoral and capable of destroying families do it all the same? Why. The Evil Inclination. Or as the expression goes, “The devil made me do it!” These people follow after their personal desires doing what they want to do rather than heeding any higher command.
The same thing is true when it comes to moving to Israel. Deep down in their hearts most Jews know that Israel is the Homeland of the Jewish People. True, there are Jews who have never studied anything about being Jewish and they simply don’t know, so for them the question never arises. But Rabbis and Jewish writers in the Diaspora certainly know something about Jewish history and Judaism. If so, why don’t they abandon alien gentile lands and come to live in Israel? Personal concerns. Material considerations. Fear of having to serve in the Israeli army. The Evil Inclination. There are many factors involved. Great Rabbis like Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, the Gaon of Vilna, Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtel, and Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook have explained this tragedy in depth.
In conclusion, dear sophomore at NYU, it is very praiseworthy that the ongoing war in Israel and the tsunami of anti-Semitism which has mushroomed in its wake have motivated you to think about the meaning of being Jewish and about your future as a Jew. As is states in the Torah, and as the Prophets of Israel all repeat, the future for all Jews is in one place alone – the Land of Israel.
My advice to you is to say goodbye to NYU, pack a small suitcase and hop on the first flight you can to Israel. Don’t listen to your parents or to Rabbis who may frown upon your quixotic adventure. When you land in the Land, take a cab to the Machon Meir Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. That’s what I did over 40 years ago. Tell Rabbi Menachem Listman of the English Speakers Department that I recommend you study there for a year. They will give you a place to sleep, three meals a day, and a program of inspiring Jewish learning alongside young Israelis and seekers like you from all over the world.
Your brothers and sisters in Israel hope to see you here soon.
