Sunday, October 29, 2017
Elder of Ziyon
“Go forth from your country, from the land of your
birth and from the home of your father to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis
12:1)
Land. God’s first commandment to Avram (who would
later become Avraham the father of the Jewish people) was about land.
In the Bible, description and order is significant. Here
the description is one indicative of understanding the difficulty in uprooting
oneself, leaving behind the known for an unknown land. The order of the
description is from the general to the personal, from the least difficult to
the most difficult to leave - country, place of birth, family.
It is profound that this commandment comes before any promises
to Avram and without explanation. Before discussion of his future, before the
tale of the birth of his son or the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before Avram
became Avraham, a specific land was chosen for him.
Israel.
The 7th day of the Hebrew month of Heshvan coincides
with “Lech lecha,” the Torah portion in which Abraham is told to leave his home
to go to the promised land. That is the date the Israeli government chose for
Aliyah Day, to celebrate the contribution of immigrants to the State of Israel.
Accordingly, Aliyah Day was (officially) this past Friday. There were different
events and celebrations most of last week (leave it to Israelis to celebrate
one day with a week of events!).
Aliyah is the Hebrew word for immigration of Jewish
people to the State of Israel. The word literally means “ascending” and is the
same word that is used for pilgrimage and for reading from the Torah. These are
spiritual events, where the person transcends the norm, ascending to a higher level in fulfilling this activity. This
means that, for a Jew immigrating to Israel, returning to our homeland, is an
act of spiritual significance.
Israel
was waiting for Avram before he became the father of the Jewish people. Before
God granted Moses the 10 Commandments. Before any other element that would form
our Jewishness, this land was waiting to become our homeland.
Following the commandment to emigrate was the first
step on the path that transformed Avram from a regular person to the father of
the Jewish people (as well as the father of the Arab people), to becoming the
person he was meant to be.
As an immigrant myself I can testify to the
difficulties of emigration. Life in America was comfortable. We had a nice home,
a good life. Moving to Israel meant a new language, a different culture,
figuring where to live, how to live, work… the challenges, almost impossible
anticipate and seem endless. Why bother? Why should my family leave and move to
Israel?
Because we are Jewish.
We stepped in to the unknown, not for a more
convenient or comfortable life but for self-actualization. For a life that is
more real. To be who we are supposed to be.
“Go forth to the land that I will show you.”
For
a Jew, moving to Israel goes beyond changing environment or culture. It is
ascending to a place of higher spiritual fulfillment and actualization. Being
in the Land is no less spiritually important than any religious activity or
ritual. In some ways it may even be more important. There is a reason this is
the first commandment.
A
Jew can be Jewish anywhere but aliyah to Israel and living in Israel is one of
the main ways a Jew fulfills his or her Jewishness. It is a matter of
strengthening the tribe and actualizing oneself.
Whenever
a Jew makes that step is a reason for us all to celebrate.
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