The Hebrew word “galut” means exile. When the Jewish People are exiled from the Land of Israel to outside of the Land they go into galut. The Torah vividly describes galut as a punishment and curse. When a Jew resides outside the Land of Israel in a foreign, Gentile land, he or she is in galut. For example, we begin the Passover Haggadah by saying: “Now we are here; next year we will be in the Land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year we will be free men.”
It matters not if Jewish life in a foreign country is one of persecution or pleasure. The Torah, the Prophets of Israel, and our holy Sages define all Jewish life in a foreign country as a punishment and a curse. In ancient Egypt the Jews were in exile even during the good years when Yaacov and Yosef were alive because they were no longer living in the Land which Hashem gave them. The curse of galut is not dependent on our being oppressed. Our mere existence in a foreign land under foreign rule without our own Jewish sovereignty is a punishment, in and of itself. In his writings in the book, “Orot,” Rabbi Kook explains that if a Jew in galut doesn’t feel the unpleasantness of his situation then something is wrong with his connection to Torah and Hashem (Orot, Eretz Yisrael).
Hashem hates the galut. The Talmud teaches us that Hashem roars out in anguish throughout the night because His children live scattered in alien lands (Berachot 3A). This is the reason that our Sages instituted the Midnight Lament, called “Tikun Hatzot” (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 1:2). Our Sages also decreed that our mourning over our exile from the Land of Israel be expressed by the recital of Psalm 127 after our daily meals: “How can we sing the L-rd’s song in a foreign land?” (Mishnah Berura, 1:9, in the name of the Shlah). These practices are to be carried out not only when Jews live under oppressive regimes like Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia, but also when Jews live in the comfort of Boca and Beverly Hills.
Thus, a Jew who believes that Hashem is perfectly pleased with his good life in France, Australia, or America is grossly mistaken. Notice that on Purim we don’t recite the joyous prayer of Hallel like we do on Hanukah. Why? Because after the great salvation the Jews still lived in Persia under foreign rule. Even though the Jews found new acceptance, social standing, and wealth under the protection of Ester and Mordechai, we were still in galut nonetheless. We were in physical galut outside of our own Jewish Homeland, and we were in cultural galut in adopting the ways of the Persians, and we were in psychological galut in identifying ourselves as loyal citizens of Achashverosh before our loyalty to Hashem and His desire that we live in the Land which he gave us for all time.
The universal classic of Jewish Belief, “HaKuzari,” compares our national health in exile to a body riddled with disease: “In the same way that the heart may be affected by the disease of other organs, thus also are the Jewish People exposed to illness originating in its inclinations towards the Gentiles, as the Psalm says, ‘There they were mingled amongst the heathens and learned their ways’ (HaKuzari, 2:44; Tehillim 106:35).
When we understand this, we can rightly ask, “If this is the case, why do so many Jews choose to live in foreign lands rather than making Aliyah?”
In the book “HaKuzari” the king asks the Rabbi this very embarrassing question. The wise sage answers in shame:
“This is a severe reproach, O king of the Kuzars. It is the sin which kept the Divine promise with regard to the Second Temple “Sing and rejoice O daughter of Zion” (Zecharia, 2:10) from being fulfilled. Divine Providence was ready to restore everything as it had been at first, if they had all willingly consented to return. But only a part was ready to do so, while the majority and the aristocracy remained in Babylon, preferring dependence and subjugation, and unwilling to leave their villas and their business affairs. The words, “I have put off my coat” (Shir HaShirim, 2-4) refer to the people’s slothfulness in consenting to return to Israel. The verse, “My beloved stretches forth his hand through the opening” may be interpreted as the urgent call of Ezra, Nechemiah, and the Prophets, until a portion of the people grudgingly responded to their call. In accordance with their unwillingly disposition, they did not receive full measure. Divine Providence only gives a man as much as he is prepared to receive – if his receptive capacity be small, he obtains little, and he receives much if it be great. Were we prepared to meet the G-d of our Forefathers with a pure mind, we would have found the same salvation as our Fathers had in Egypt. If we say, “Worship at His holy mountain – worship at His footstool, He who restores His glory to Zion” (Tehillim, 99:9) and other words to this effect, this is but as the chattering of the starling and the nightingale. We do not realize what we say by this sentence, nor by others, as you rightly observe, O prince of the Kuzars.”
