Please God, grant me the unsurpassed blessing of coming to Israel and dwelling in the Land, the Land of the Jews, the Land which my grandfathers, and their grandfathers before them, yearned to return to for 2000 years, and now that You have opened its gates and given us our own Jewish State, in such a miraculous fashion, how can I turn my back on the blessing which You have bestowed upon us and choose instead to live in a gentile land?
Please God, fill my heart with trust in You and holy courage, for I know from the Talmud that three things are acquired through sacrifice and suffering: the Torah, the World to Come, and the Land of Israel. Therefore, strengthen me on my journey and let nothing stand in my path. Draw me to You like a magnet and let me rise higher and higher in Your service, always with the joy in knowing that I am doing Your will, and always remembering that whatever befalls me is all for my good. Bring me to the Land of Delights, the Cherished Land, the Good Land, which lacks nothing, as the Torah says, and let me always see the Land only in a positive way, always as the good Land, just as our teacher, Moshe saw the Land, and please don’t let the guiles of the yetzer hara deceive me into having any negative thoughts or feelings whatsoever about Your holy dwelling place, the Land You have chosen for Your People for all generations, the Land which You love and care for out of all the countries of the earth.
Please, Father, my King, may my prayer of longing for the Land of Israel be pleasing to you, and may You bring me there as fast as possible, bring me home to our own Holy Land, along with the rest of the Jews who are still lingering in exile, before we sink into the darkness of foreign lands and become totally lost in their deceptive lures and values.
Please God, help me to always set Jerusalem above my highest joy, above every other desire and pleasure, and bring me there soon, to Zion, for on this my whole life depends, lest I die in a strange foreign land and never merit the greatest blessing of all – to be Your faithful servant in Your chosen Holy Land.
May the words of my mouth and the yearnings of my heart be pleasing before You. Amen.
[I’m going on vacation with my family for the rest of the week. As Tevye would say, “The mountains in the Galilee may be smaller than the Catskills, but thank the good Lord – they’re mine!]