Aliyah to the Land of Israel

28 Menachem Av 5774

Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi...

Parshas Re’eh

In [last] week's parsha, it says:

כי יכרית ה, אלהיך את הגוים אשר אתה בא שמה לרשת אותם מפניך וירשת אתם וישבת בארצם.

"When the Lord your G-d will cut down the nations, which you come to drive them out from before you, you shall drive them out and dwell in their land." (12:29)

An explanation on this called the Midrash Sifrei comments, “Perform a mitzvah stated in this context and in it’s merit the Lord you G-d will cut down the nations. And in the merit of you coming, you will drive them out.”

Another commentary called the Malbim says that, “The words, ‘which you come to drive them out’ are superfluous. The Torah could have just said, ‘When the Lord you G-d will cut down the nations from before you’. Therefore, our sages understood that when we perform the mitzvah of coming to the land, Hashem will cut down our enemies and we will succeed in driving them out.”

How appropriate is this for our current situation? The only way to defeat our enemies is to move to Israel. This is from a natural and supernatural point of view. From a natural point of view, the more Jews in Israel, less chance of the Arabs driving us out. After all, their ultimate goal is to outnumber us and defeat us. From a supernatural perspective, when we show Hashem that we are willing to sacrifice for his land, he will intervene and help us.

It is impossible to fulfill all of the Torah's commandments except in Israel. The only reason we do them out of Israel is to remember them. Therefore, [last] week's parsha provides us with two reasons to make aliyah. For our own spiritual benefit and for the benefit of all of the Jews. Whichever reason you choose, the important thing is to return home.
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A word to the wise...

Those tasked with assisting those requesting to make aliyah with government-provided funds have a responsibility to determine if it is a good investment of the people's resources. They have to try to discern how good a risk the investment will be by judging the applicant's commitment and perseverance. If the applicant communicates a will to succeed no matter what the obstacle or adversity, he will likely be approved, because this is what is required to survive and succeed in Eretz Yisrael. Those who come across as ambivalent will need to be discouraged in order to ascertain their true level of commitment. Perhaps even the applicant does not know at this point.

Even many of those who were deemed acceptable risks will eventually disappoint as they prove lacking in staying power and commitment. They give up, return to their foreign lands and then bash those who dared to help them. They cry about how they or their families lives were ruined and how they were "lied to" or that life in Eretz Yisrael was "misrepresented." Their egos prevent them from admitting the truth - that they just didn't have what it takes. They didn't have enough faith and trust in HKB"H. In consequence of that, it will be impossible for them to recognize that leaving Eretz Yisrael and returning to the Diaspora is the single biggest mistake of their lives.

HKB"H is no less able to provide for His sons and daughters in the holy land which He designated as "home." In fact, even logic dictates that He be more able and more willing to provide and HE DOES, but in such a way that we learn very deep spiritual lessons which enrich our souls rather than our bank accounts.

If a Jew really, really wants to make aliyah to the Land of Israel, today, nothing is stopping him and nothing stands in his way and nothing will prevent his success except his own ego, lack of commitment, or lack of faith and trust in HKB"H.