Are you an American Jew or a Jewish American?
In English, the adjective comes before the noun. We say “a good boy” or “a delicious apple.” When I say “Jewish American,” the noun – my essence – is “American,” and the adjective “Jewish” modifies what type of American I am. This suggests that Jewishness is a cultural identity within the broader American experience, similar to being Irish-American or Italian-American, where Jewish identity is one part of the American melting pot.
Conversely, if I say “American Jew,” my essence is Jewish – that’s my core identity. This framing suggests that I’m foremost a Jew, one living in America.
This perspective may seem more aligned with religious Jews who see their core as their commitment to Torah and mitzvos.
But I would argue that even identifying as “American Jews” doesn’t fully encapsulate what it truly means to be part of Am Yisrael.
Consider these lists. If I say, “Christians, Muslims, Jews,” you recognize a list of religions.
If I say “Native Americans, Arabs and Jews,” you recognize this as a list of ethnic identities.
But if I say, “Americans, Canadians, Jews?” This is a list of nations. Do we, as Jews, belong in this list? Is our identity as distinct as being American or Canadian? Do you feel the same distinction? When you go to Europe or Asia, you may feel like an outsider. Do you feel the same way in America? Avraham declared “Ger ve’toshave anochi imachem” (Bereishis 23:4). How many of us can honestly say that in the Five Towns or Wesley Hills or Boca Raton or Dallas we feel like gerim and not like toshavim? Or at least, like Avaham, feel both?
Being Jewish is not merely about culture, religion, or ethnicity; it’s about being a nation – the Am Hanivchar – the chosen nation.
Our identity as Bnei Yisrael, literally “Sons of Israel (Yaakov),” began not at Sinai but in Charan, when Yaakov fathered the Bnei Yisrael. This identity perpetuated in Egypt. It was only at yetzias mitzrayim that we were truly forged into a nation. G-d literally extracted the goy of Am Yisrael from within the goy of Mitzrayim, “lakachat lo goy mikerev goy” (Devarim 4:34). Our true Yom Ha’atzmaut is not the 5th of Iyar, but the 15th of Nissan, Yetzias Mitzrayim. That’s when G-d chose us as His nation: “asher bachar banu mikol am” – our moment of national birth, as G-d declared our independence.
Matan Torah added a new dimension. We became not only a nation but a goy kadosh, a holy nation, through our acceptance of the Torah: “V’atem tihyu li mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh” (Shemos 19:6). “Goy” means nation, and we must remember that we are the greatest goy – the most special nation to Hashem (Devarim 4:7).
This transformation – from Bnei Yisrael in Mitzrayim to Am Yisrael at yetzias mitzrayim to Goy Kadosh at Matan Torah – is beautifully reflected in the Kiddush we recite on Yom Tov. We begin with, “asher bachar banu mikol am,” which refers to yetzias mitzrayim, when Hashem chose us from all other nations, and “v’kidashtanu b’mitzvosav,” referring to Matan Torah, when He sanctified us through the Torah. This is Hashem’s vision for us: His holy nation (“v’lakachti”), keeping His Torah (“goy kadosh”), in His holy land (“v’heveysi”).
Yet in galus we can lose sight of our national identity. We often see ourselves as a people rather than a nation. Shemini Atzeres, which we just celebrated, reminds us of our national identity. During Sukkot, we offer sacrifices on behalf of the seventy nations of the world. But on Shemini Atzeres, we bring only one offering – for ourselves, the Jewish nation, celebrating Am Yisrael’s closeness to G-d.
Throughout the tefillos of the Yamim Noraim, this theme resounds. We pray, “U’v’chein tein kavod l’amecha,” for honor for the Jewish nation. We asked Hashem to inscribe us, kol amcha beis Yisrael, in the Book of Life. We declared, “ki anu amecha v’ata Elokeinu” – we are Your nation, and You are our G-d. We prayed as individuals and as a collective – a nation before Hashem.
Even in the conversion process, when Rus famously declared, ameich ami ve’elokayich elokai (Rut 1:16): first, “your nation is my nation,” only afterward, “your G-d is my G-d.” To be a Jew means not just to accept Hashem’s mitzvos, but to join the Jewish nation.
This is our essence. When the sailors asked Yonah, “Who are you?,” he answered, “Ivri anochi” – I am a Jew. His response speaks to us today. We are Am Yisrael – not merely a religion, culture, ethnicity, or people, but a nation that has once again reclaimed its homeland.
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This Motzaei Shabbat, Parshat Lech Lecha, my family and I will, b’ezrat Hashem, follow in the footsteps of Avraham Avinu to fulfill “Lech Lecha” as we board a one-way flight to Eretz Yisrael.
People often ask why we’re making aliyah. Some express concern about the challenges of chinuch, but for us, it’s precisely because of chinuch that we’re making aliyah. We want our children to know that being Jewish means being part of a holy nation, in a holy land, observing the holy Torah. We want them to identify not as “American Jews” but as “Ivri anochi,” part of Am Yisrael.
Living in Eretz Yisrael offers an unparalleled opportunity to understand and experience what it means to be part of a Jewish nation. It may not be perfect and may not fully reflect halacha but it is Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael, functioning as a nation under Hashem’s watchful eye. This is closer to the vision that Hashem had for us when He brought us out of Mitzrayim – to be the Am Segulah, a treasured nation, not merely scattered individuals or communities in galus. To live in Eretz Yisrael is to live the dream of being part of the greatest nation on earth – Am Yisrael – the “one nation under G-d.”
This is the essence of Jewish identity: to live with the awareness that we are one nation, Am Yisrael, bound by Torah, with a collective destiny intrinsically linked to Eretz Yisrael.
In America, our children learned to be Bnei Torah. They learned halachos, mitzvos, and the cultural aspects of Judaism. They learn areivus; they engaged in chesed, joined organizations like Chaveirim, Hatzalah, and Tomchei Shabbos, and developed a strong sense of responsibility for Bnei Yisrael. But they don’t fully grasp that to be Jewish is to be part of a nation. This understanding, I believe, best comes through experience – by living as part of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael.
In life, some opportunities are once-in-a-lifetime. Our generation is blessed to have a once-in-2,000-year opportunity. For the first time since Bayis Sheini, we can proclaim, as Rambam described regarding the Chashmonaim: “chazra malchus l’Yisrael,” the return of Jewish national sovereignty! The Jewish nation, once scattered and powerless, has regained its place on the world stage.
Just as Ezra urged the Jews of Babylonia to return and rebuild the land, we too are faced with this choice: to be part of Jewish history, to contribute to the unfolding destiny of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael, or to remain in America, observing from afar.
This decision is more than personal; it is a monumental choice in the context of Jewish history. By choosing Eretz Yisrael, we aren’t simply relocating – we’re embracing Jewish nationhood. We are stepping into a story that began with our forefathers, continued through yetzias mitzrayim, and is now unfolding in our generation.
Living in Eretz Yisrael enables us to live the fullness of being Am Yisrael – a nation in its land, fulfilling its divine purpose. It’s an opportunity our ancestors prayed for. Now, after two millennia, their prayers have been answered and it is within our grasp. The choice is ours: to step forward and be a part of this unfolding miracle or to watch from a distance, 6,000 miles away. “Ha’acheichem yavo’u la’milchamah v’atem teishvu poh!?” (Bamidbar 32:6).
As many families in our community have wished us tzeitchem l’shalom, we have responded with bo’achem l’shalom: may you come join us, so that “your future generations may know, children yet to be born who will rise and tell their own children” (Tehillim 78:6), how you chose to take possession of this land and be a part of Yirmiyahu’s prophecy, “veshavu banim l’gvulam” (Yirmiyahu 31:16).
