My parents, both well into their AARP years, made aliyah this past winter, fulfilling a dream of many decades. At a time when most people their age are looking for comfortable chairs in which to rest on their laurels and take life easy, my parents packed up their lives to start over in Jerusalem. They are an inspiration. From the day they gave me my name, they planted a seed, which they gently pruned throughout my youth.
Shouldn’t parents and educators be instilling in the next generation a love of the Land that might, just might, be strong enough to take them over the threshold? To at least plant the seed? I think that many leaders in the frum world are afraid to talk too much about aliyah because they do not want to encourage an exodus from their midst and the potential unbuilding of their communal infrastructure.
But you can’t hold back destiny. The flights are full, the Nefesh B’Nefesh seminars are booked, and residential projects targeting olim are going up all over the land. We are excited to be part of the critical mass of Jews who are going home to Israel. We pray that Hashem watch over us, help us navigate the bumps in the road, and bring the ultimate berachah – shalom – to all of Israel.
