PESACH
First off all, there's precious little my blog can add to the wealth of Jewish knowledge that is available today on the web. Pesach is the holiday of our initial independence, which led to the formation of the Jews as a Jewish nation with the Torah and with Jewish law. This happened only after our Exodus from Egypt, when, as newly free people, we received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Prior to the events celebrated on Pesach (and later Shavuot), we were a Hebrew-speaking monotheistic ethnic group. Hence, the act of fleeing our slavery and gaining freedom was the key step before accepting the Torah and with it - the Jewish way of thinking and living. Pesach is the original Independence Day for the Jews.
Sadly, I am spending my Pesach seder tonight in the cold, rainy outdoors, gripping a cold gun and dreaming of the light and warmth of home. An IDF rabbi will come by our post and do a quick 30 minute seder, with all the essentials in a special weather-proof box. At any part of it, 2 soldiers participate, and 2 will cover the approaches to the border, on a rotating basis. As one country singer put it "Freedom ain't free."
The whole point of Pesach is freedom from the slavery of galut (the Diaspora). For 2,000 years Jews the world over said "Ha'Shana Ha'Ba b'Yerushalaim!" (next year in Jerusalem) at the end of the Pesach seder. They still say it. But now that we have Israel, and it's a free plane ride away, most comfortable Jews aren't keen on coming. So I recommend, if you don't plan on aliyah, don't say you'll be in Jerusalem next year at the end of your Pesach meal. It's plain hypocritical. But if you do want to come, then declare it with all your heart, and I'll see you at next year's seder, right here in Jerusalem.
Hag Sameach to all my readers!
First off all, there's precious little my blog can add to the wealth of Jewish knowledge that is available today on the web. Pesach is the holiday of our initial independence, which led to the formation of the Jews as a Jewish nation with the Torah and with Jewish law. This happened only after our Exodus from Egypt, when, as newly free people, we received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Prior to the events celebrated on Pesach (and later Shavuot), we were a Hebrew-speaking monotheistic ethnic group. Hence, the act of fleeing our slavery and gaining freedom was the key step before accepting the Torah and with it - the Jewish way of thinking and living. Pesach is the original Independence Day for the Jews.
Sadly, I am spending my Pesach seder tonight in the cold, rainy outdoors, gripping a cold gun and dreaming of the light and warmth of home. An IDF rabbi will come by our post and do a quick 30 minute seder, with all the essentials in a special weather-proof box. At any part of it, 2 soldiers participate, and 2 will cover the approaches to the border, on a rotating basis. As one country singer put it "Freedom ain't free."
The whole point of Pesach is freedom from the slavery of galut (the Diaspora). For 2,000 years Jews the world over said "Ha'Shana Ha'Ba b'Yerushalaim!" (next year in Jerusalem) at the end of the Pesach seder. They still say it. But now that we have Israel, and it's a free plane ride away, most comfortable Jews aren't keen on coming. So I recommend, if you don't plan on aliyah, don't say you'll be in Jerusalem next year at the end of your Pesach meal. It's plain hypocritical. But if you do want to come, then declare it with all your heart, and I'll see you at next year's seder, right here in Jerusalem.
Hag Sameach to all my readers!
posted by Felix at
1:32 AM
3 Comments:
Regarding the last entry. I spoke with a guy who had recently been dropped after several months in קורס טייס and sitting among a group of college kids drooling around a guy who was heading back to Israel for a week of interviews with top combat units he told us "dont do what i did, dont wait till your in the army to get in shape, go to the gym, run, run a lot, actually if it you had time for only one i would say run". then this summer talking to a group from מגלן i heard "just run, run more than you ever have in your life, then run more". i have been though i feel like its not the kind of thing you can prepare for. though in the meantime ill try to keep up the one hour, long slow distance runs.
By
johnny kosher, At
1:36 PM
#2. i dont know the specifics of you background but its one thing to be a younger guy and go back by yourself and to move a family with kids and established careers. that not to say its impossible but lets not rush to order everyone back.
especially since the 'next year' refers to when moshiach has come. now people take different approaches but im not conviced that having everyone move back would make that happen.
finally, as i heard an anglo-israeli say, im not so sure i would want everyone to move to israel. do you actually think Israel could handle that? not a chance. not in terms of jobs, natural resources, space, etc.
bottom line, im all for people going back, and would encourage a family that wanted to but lets be more realistic and less seemingly self-righteous.
By
johnny kosher, At
1:43 PM
First of all, as regards physical preparation, I repeat what I said in my blog - forget the gym and go running with weights. Start with a small amount of weight, and just walk 3 times a week. Over time, add weight and start jogging. Eventually, you should be doing 30 minute runs, 3 times a week, with 40 lbs of weight. Running with no weight is just not the same.
with regard to US Jews making aliyah, I know it's harder for families than for young people. I don't judge people, that's not my place. But I know what's the right thing to do for a Jew to do. A single, independent Jewish guy or girl, with no dependents, is pretty much free to make their life whatever they want. It is definitely possible to build a life in Israel, it's just tough in the beginning. But the nearly 200,000 American Jews in Israel are testament to the fact that it is possible. And there's an upswing in American aliyah, mostly because of the work by Nefesh b'Nefesh. So, no, not every single American Jew can or will make the move, but there are a lot who definitely can if they just had the willpower and sense of purpose.
Also, aliyah is not a make-or-break-it type of deal. If you give it a shot, you do the army, you learn Hebrew, you study, you work, and as the years go buy, you still feel like this place isn't for you, then you are free to get on a plane and move back to the US.
But Israel is continually becoming more advanced and the opportunities for work are only growing. Zionism is the essence of Judaism, and there's no good Jewish reason not to act on it. The whole concept that the Jews will only ingather into Israel when the Moshiach comes - that's an opinion that's out there but it is the minority opinion in the religious world. It's not Tanachically supported and it is surely not Jewish law that Israel is only going to happen for us at the last stage of the Redemption. Also, nearly all American Jews are not Orthodox and shouldn't be using the opinion of random ultra-Orthodox rabbis to decide whether to make aliyah. Nearly 90% of US Jews are pretty much secular and accept none of the rules or ideas of the Orthodox community. So it's totally wrong of them to take an opinion that exists in the Orthodox community and say that they are going to abide by it. It's just not genuine.
By
Felix, At
5:01 AM
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