Aliyah

Jews call moving to Israel, Aliyah, which means elevation or going up, conversely emigrating is known as a yerida -going down.  Aliyah is about becoming more.  I hate politics and generally try to stick to apolitical subjects for this blog but I would be remiss, if I didn't mention that the land of Israel and its spiritual significance to the Jews is absolutely central to Judaism.  So if Israel is not part of your life or your thoughts, you are definitely missing something in your Jewish education.  It's true for a long time the Jewish people were away from their land, but just like a person can learn to live with an amputation, you can hardly call it an ideal way of being.  These days there is a massive onslaught on the Jewish right to the land of Israel and on Jews in general. Every time you read the news, it's like a stab at the heart. Not a day, if not an hour passes without constant attacks, lies, hypocrisy, mudslinging and monumental pressure to wrestle our tiny land away from us.  It's nothing short of an open miracle that we live here despite all of this, surrounded by enemies that are armed to the teeth on all sides, and not only live but thrive.  Because Jewish rights to Israel have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with G-d.  The Jewish nation living according to the Torah of Israel in the Land of Israel.  What gives us the right to the Land is the Torah.  Take the Torah out of the equation and that is what leads to the separation of the Jewish nation from their land.  There is a lot of confusion in the world today, but the Torah is what gives us clarity, because it's G-d view of what the world is supposed to be.   The Land of Israel is meant to be the stage upon which the Jewish people live their spiritual lives to the fullest by doing what G-d wants of them.  It's not the UN, not the "international community", not Obama that grant us legitimacy, that  decide where we live, where we build, where our borders lie, it's G-d.  This is not about politics.  It's about truth vs. falsehood, good vs. evil, it's a battle for life itself on G-d's terms.  We are not moving and neither our land or our people are for sale.  "The eternal nation is not afraid of a long journey", goes the song.  The Guardian of Israel is in charge here, we don't need anybody's empty security guarantees.  I know in our PC post- modern, post-nationalist world (whatever that means),  this kind of thinking is considered complete radicalism. But if there is one thing I'd like to pass on to my children is that they should stand up for the truth and defend it, no matter how unpopular.  Our forefather Avraham was called an Ivri(the hebrew) - he was on one side and the whole world was on the other, funny how nothing has changed.  May it be G-d's will that He should soon grant us a geula shleima with mercy and sweetness, so we will all continue to live and thrive in all of our holy and beautiful land.