Wednesday, November 21, 2007

...unless he's a rasha

The following is a piece I posted on facebook that generated a lively discussion both on the board and off line. Reaction to the post has re-inspired me to start up "blossom as the lily" and take it in a new direction. Issues relating to the land of Israel and the Jewish people are often personal and emotional ones for me and while my writing my be impassioned it does not necessarily serve my cause to write from such an emotionally charged position. I hope to approach the issues that are important to me from different perspectives and gain insight into myself as well as present my thoughts clearly to my fellow readers. Enjoy the post.
Once again I got into an aliya discussion. My friend asked me "why should I bother moving to Israel when the prime minister wants to give away half the country?"

I'm thinking... have you read the torah? does the torah say 'make aliya... except if the prime minister is a rasha.' Did G-d say to Avraham 'lech lecha... actually, scratch that the place is full of cananites'? I don't think so.

I will never understand why people who commit themselves to living a torah observant life, people who keep mitzvot to the nth degree and are concerned about their religious growth treat aliya and yishuv ha'aretz as a non-mitzvah.