20 Marcheshvan 5775
Guest post by...
Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)
Rosh Midreshet Tal Orot
Michlelet Orot, Elkana
The Centrality of Eretz Yisrael to Judaism
For most of us who were raised as orthodox
Jews in America
Indeed, there is plenty of room to give the benefit
of the doubt and say that Aliyah was not mentioned because it, by definition,
weakens American Orthodoxy in quantity and quality by removing many of the most
idealistic and altruistic members from each community. If “American Orthodoxy”
is the goal of Judaism than, it is true, Aliyah is not the solution but rather
a self-defeating part of the problem.
On the other hand, as orthodox Jews,
undoubtably all agree that the Jewish community in America is temporary and
that they not only yearn for, but actually believe, that all Jews will return
to Israel in their own lifetime. As such, they cannot see the ultimate goal as
vitalizing “American” Orthodoxy but rather strengthening the entire Nation
(State) of Israel
In fact, our sages tell us that practicing
mitzvot in the galut is not the goal of Judaism (even while in exile) but just
a preparation so that we don’t forget how to observe them when we return
home, to Israel Israel America Israel
For believing Jews, the very planning of an
agenda for the next century, implies a feeling of continuance in America which
infers a lack of belief in Hashem (as a swift redeemer), in the Torah (which
states that “Among these nations (in exile) you shall find no ease neither
shall the your foot find a place to rest”),[5]
in the speedily coming of Mashiach, in Am Yisrael (implying that we do not and
will not do t’shuva to merit redemption,[6]
nor will we fulfill the mitzva of Aliya in our days), chas v’chalila.
I am not so naive as to think that “in the
meantime” as long as there are Jews in America
RELIGIOUSLY:
a. First
and foremost, to be orthodox means to observe the mitzvot, one of which is
living in Eretz Yisrael. "והורשתם את הארץ וישבתם בה", “You shall possess the Land and dwell
there”.[7]
Not only is it a mitzva but our sages laud it as one of the most important and
basic of all commandments: “Residing in Eretz Yisrael is equivalent to the
rest of the mitzvot combined”[8].
It is “the peg upon which the entire Torah hangs”,[9]
a mitzva which “encompasses the entire Torah”.[10]
All this in addition to the mind-boggling fact that this is the only mitzva
which one can fulfill whether at work or in the Beit Midrash, whether
standing,sitting or jogging, every second of his life he accumulates another
mitzva.[11]
If “whoever lives outside of Eretz Yisrael is as if he has no G-d”,[12]
and “is as if he worships idols”,[13]
as opposed to “whoever lives in Eretz Yisrael is promised a share in the World
to Come”,[14]
“is without sin”,[15]
and Hashem tells us that “ Eretz Yisrael is more beloved to Me than
anything”,[16]
I should think that this spiritual void should top the religious agenda.
b. How
much more is it crucial to emphasize this all-important mitzva if many, even orthodox Jews, are not aware of its centrality to Judaism.
When any particular mitzva is being neglected, it is the obligation of
that generation and its leaders to “save” the forgotten
mitzva.[17]
For 2,000 years, while our deserted Homeland was lacking in water, food and
economy, this mitzva was obviously removed from the practical agenda and placed
in the forgotten warehouse for all intents and purposes (despite the many
prayers instituted for that very reason, to prevent forgetting Zion).
Nevertheless, just as the day school movement “saved” mitzvat Talmud Torah, and
individuals like the Chafetz Chaim and Max Schreiber single-handedly “revived” the respective
mitzvot of Shmirat HaLashon and Mikveh, so too today, when 6,000,000 citizens
prove that Israel
c. Aside
from the fundamental and constant mitzva of living in Israel Israel
Even though many Jews like to justify their
residence in chutz laAretz, claiming they can donate more from there (even
though that is not an halachic factor, nevertheless) the average Israeli
tax-payer donates a much higher percentage of his income and his time to the
Jewish people than his brother in the exile. When I spend three weeks a year
away from home in miluim (army reserve duty), not to mention several years
regular service in the army, I can honestly and proudly say that I have chosen
for myself a most altruistic (or should I say: “Jewish”) place to live. If one
of the problem of today’s “Me Generation” is self-centerdness, may I suggest
Aliyah as the practical solution. When my children discuss their future plans,
the question is not whether to dedicate a week or a month or a year of their
lives to Am Yisrael but whether to spend one, two or three years(!) in the army
or Sherut LeUmi (national service for religious girls). As I write these words,
I cannot but think of the greatness of the soldier who gave his life this
morning to save a school-bus of children from a suicide bomber in Gush Katif.
I revel in the altruistic framework
of life in a Jewish State where חסד של אמת (selfless giving) is an
essential part of every (whether religious or not) Jew’s life as is mandated by
the Torah. Some may see this aspect of Aliyah as a frightful deterrent. All I
can answer is that if altruism and giving to Am Yisrael is not a top priority
on your agenda than you’re in the wrong religion! For the orthodox Jew, altruism (which also
includes lowering one’s standard of living, if necessary, in order to make
Aliyah[23])
and serving in the army is a reason to live in Israel
d. In
addition to this essential, as well as quantitative advantage to living in
Israel (many more mitzvot), we mentioned above that even the mitzvot that can
be observed abroad (such as T’filin, M’zuza, Shabbat) have a
qualitative difference when done in the Holy Land. The Chafetz Chaim says
that the very same mitzva when done outside of Israel ,
brings only 5% of the reward one receives for its observance in Israel
e. How much more so is Aliyah important in
our particular generation which is witnessing the prophetic fulfillment of kibbutz
galuyot. At a time when Yishayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel, Rachel and
all of our forefathers in heaven delight in every traffic jam and those ever so
long lines at Ben-Gurion airport, what observant Jew can stand by passively and
not wish to be part of the national redemption?
Our rabbis sress that every
historical period has one particular mitzva which takes upon special
importance and through which that generation’s Torah and spirituality must be
focused and expressed.[27]
At different stages in history, the evil decrees of the gentiles, for example:
forbidding the study of Torah, circumcision, mikveh, kiddush haChodesh (the
Jewish calendar)- although often motivated more by political or imperialistic
aspirations rather than religious zeal-[28]
forced us to focus upon that specific issue, even granting it the status of “ייהרג ואל יעבור” (obligating death rather
than transgression) for that particular period.[29]
“In the advent of (this, our) messianic age, this central point is Eretz
Yisrael.” Accordingly, it is no
surprise that in today’s age of world-wide religious freedom, the only mitzva
which any nation wishes to deny us is the Moslem “Jihad” (Holy War”) against
the return of the nation of Israel to Eretz Yisrael. The famed rabbi of Jerusalem ’s Sha’arei Chessed neighborhood, Rav Ya’akov
Moshe Charlap zt’l, wrote more than 50 years ago, that the international
efforts to prevent our return to the entire Eretz Yisrael are meant to focus world Jewry upon Israel
The mitzva of living in Israel Holy Land . The estimated 1,000,000
orthodox Jews in Israel[33] number almost three times (!) the
size of the estimated 370,000 (and
shrinking) observant Jews in America,[34] and considerably surpasses the total
of all religious Jews in all of the exiles combined! From all around the world
and all streams of orthodoxy, those who wish to learn in yeshiva, be close to
g’dolei hador, and live in a Torah environment today, come to Israel. The high
standards and great variety and diversity of thousands of yeshivot and ulpanot
for boys and girls, men and women, (over 600 in Jerusalem alone), booming religious
youth movements, and the quantity and quality of religious communities is not
found anywhere else. The all-encompassing atmosphere of Torah and chesed found
in Kiryat Moshe, Kiryat Sefer, Har Nof, Bnei Brak, Emmanuel, Mattersdorf ,
Ge’ula and scores of other religious neighborhoods is seldom found, if at all,
in the Diaspora. Not to mention the
multitude of religious-Zionist kehilot
such as Beit El, Elon Moreh, Alon Shvut, Kochav HaShachar, Nof Ayalon and Ramat
Sharret, as well as religious kibbutzim
and moshavim all of which have no
parallel whatsoever in America
Yeshivot, g’dolei Torah,
and anshei midot (righteous) abound today in Ramat Gan ,
Petach Tikva and Tel Aviv and there are kollelim sprouting even in Eilat, Haifa America
have suggested “importing” g’dolim from Israel
because the atmosphere in Israel
is more conducive for producing Torah giants,[35]
may I suggest alternatively that a more successful and far-reaching option
would be to utilize that positive atmosphere by residing and raising all of our
children in Israel
The Rambam writes about the
obligation to live in a Jewish State and not in a non-Jewish State.[36]
Indeed, everyone is influenced by his environment, and therefore must decide by
whom he is to be influenced- by Jews and
Judaism or by gentiles and their religions. Orthodox Jews in America La
Goyim. I think it tragic that the orthodox minority among a
minority (comprising a pitiful 7% of American Jewry which itself is just 2% of
the national population!)[37] could be living as a significant
segment among the Jewish majority in a
Jewish State where the average person (i.e. most people) sits in a
sukkah (76%),[38]
fasts on Yom Kippur (67%), always light Chanukah candles (71%) and Shabbat
candles with a bracha (51%),[39]
intermarriage is nil, and the Ba’al T’shuva movement is a national
phenomena. 515,000 Israelis, comprising 17% of the adult population, report
having come significantly closer to religion during the past six years, of
which 212,000 have become totally observant and 280,000 have become more
traditional, 77% consider themselves as religious or more so compared their parents.[40]
In contrast, the overwhelming majority of Jews in America America
There is a common condescending stereotype
prevalent among Jews in America Israel Zion
already comes Torah and the word of G-d from Jerusalem ,
and "אין
תורה כתורת ארץ ישראל", “There is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel
f. Even if there are individual fairly orthodox communities in America Israel
Another point to consider: Just as the entire Jewish community in
America unites in action if, G-d forbid, a Jewish child is missing or orphaned,
if a chasid is stabbed, or if a fire consumes a Jewish home, in our natural
status in a Jewish State, every kidnapping or stabbing, every fire, or personal
tragedy one hears or reads about, is meant to unite us all in constant,
non-stop chessed. It is a difficult challenge but that is the framework the
Torah clearly has in mind!
g. Kiddush Hashem, Or LaGoyim, Tikun Olam are all some of the goals of
the Jewish people. Even a brief glance at these terms in the context of their
sources,[47]
will reveal that our main influence upon mankind is meant to be implemented not
as individuals but as a national example in the framework of the State of
Israel in the Land of Israel. There are
plenty of righteous individuals found in every nation, but our role is to show
that an entire nation, which includes the lower class as well as the affluent,
the more educated and the less, the white collar and blue collar, can all live
according to the G-dly ideals as the law of the land.[48]
Even the public domain, the army, politics, and economy are meant to be kodesh,[49]
as our sages teach: “לית אתר פנוי מיניה”, no domain can be without Him.[50]
Our ideal heroes throughout the Tanach, Moshe, Yehoshua, the Judges, Shaul,
David, Shlomo, et al, were not only great scholars and righteous individuals
but they also brought G-dliness into the government, army, economy and all
national life. Israel was created to show G-d to the world through our national
history[51]
(the exodus from Egypt, the revelation at Sinai, prophecy, the conquering of
the Land and subsequent victories over invaders, our eternal survival despite
difficult exiles, and in modern times: the miraculous War of Independence, Six
Day War, the turn-around of the Yom Kippur War, the Entebbe operation, the
ingathering of the exiles, the blooming of our deserted Homeland and other prophecies which have been
fulfilled) and national example: “ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש”, “a kingdom of priests, a
holy nation”.[52]
To relate only to the individual
“influencer” and to forget our national role and destiny would be a tragic neglect
and misunderstanding of Judaism.
Consequently, in response to the question, how the orthodox can
influence without the danger of being influenced, and to what extent should we
mix or separate from the gentiles and the modern world, as we have seen, the
Torah provides the answer. By living together in a Jewish State, we can have
the gentiles come here where we have the “home-court” advantage, (“Gentiles
will come to Z’vulun’s land to do business...and they will say, once we have
traveled so far, let us go visit Jerusalem and learn about the Jewish
religion...after which they will
declare: There is no nation as great as Israel.”[53]
Alternatively, we can visit briefly abroad. In such a setup, we are separate
enough to be atmospherically, socially, and religiously concentrated, and strong enough to be
respected and recognized as a separate and unique national entity which will,
in turn, bestow our special message to mankind. As such, assimilation and
intermarriage will be just about eliminated, as it is in Israel
HISTORICALLY:
Hundreds of leading rabbis, poskim, and
roshei yeshivot over the past century
have unequivocally and confidently proclaimed our current State of
Israel to be part of the final redemption (especially significant in light
of the obvious historical dangers of
such a daring statement).[55] Consequently, most congregations declare
weekly in their Prayer for the Welfare of Israel: “Bless the State of Israel,
reishit tz’michat ge’ulatenu” ( the dawn of our redemption). After seeing the
desert of Israel bloom, the miraculous turnaround within three years from
Holocaust victim to valorous victor, the rise and meteoric development of the
State, the gathering of over 5,000,000 Jews from literally all corners of the
world, from ….. countries and speaking …. languages, and much more, the
aforementioned statement is an
irreversible historic fact,[56]
seen not only by current religious leaders but by historians, demographers and
political analysts as well.
Among the Jews in America, the high rate of
intermarriage (64%) and assimilation (statistically, only 7% are orthodox,
numbering just 370,000, out of which -unless things change-58% will not remain
so and 10% will even intermarry), and the low Jewish birthrate (1.6 children
per family far lower than even the replacement rate of 2.1) mean that in just
two generations (not a long time by any standard), 7 out of every 10 Jews in
America will vanish (from 5.5 million to less than 2 million).[57] Just as nothing can revive the
Jewish communities of Eastern Europe and the
Arabic countries, nothing can stop the rapid evaporation through assimilation
of western Jewry. Within several years (if not already),[58]
Israel will pass the U.S. Israel
From a historic and statistic (I stress, not
religious, messianic or wishful) point of view, syndicated columnist Charles
Krauthammer writes: “Today, 80% of world Jewry lives either in the U.S. or in Israel
In light of the
religious, historical, logical and may I add, inevitable, importance of Aliyah,
most other topics on the possible agenda
for the “Next One Hundred Years of American Orthodoxy” seem secondary if not
academic. With all due respect to building yeshivot and strengthening orthodoxy
in America ,
it is still, in the words of the Torah giant HaRav Ovadiah Yosef, like building
a palace on ice.[61]
Although one may argue, that in a world of
nuclear weapons, the concentration of all Jews in Israel may seem risky, the
religious mitzva of Aliyah, the historical visions and promises of our Biblical
prophets and sages (that tell us that once 600,000 Jews return, there will not be another exile),[62]
and l’havdil, the harsh reality of assimilation (yes, even among the orthodox),
do not leave us much choice. The time of decision has arrived for the final
time in Jewish history, “מי לה' אליי,” Those who are for G-d will come Home, to Israel
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Rabbi Ari Chwat is
the Rosh HaMidrasha of Tal Orot, and
lecturer at the Michlelet Orot Israel Teachers College in Elkana , Israel
[1] See Sifre, Rashi, Ramban, and R. B’chaye on Dvarim 11,
18. It should be stressed that this idea is often mistakenly attributed to the
Ramban, while the true source, as mentioned above, is in the Torah itself, and
in the oral law of chazal, in the Midrash Halacha (Sifre).
[2] Dvarim 4, 5. See similarly Dvarim 4, 14; 5, 28; 6, 1.
[3] Musaf prayer for festivals.
[4] Otzar Hamidrashim (Eisenstein), p. 508.
[5] Dvarim 28, 65. See Eichah Rabba 1, 29 “…for if they
would find a place to rest, they would not want to return (to Eretz Yisrael). See also the Torah Tmima, ibid 1,3; R.
Ya’akov Emdin, Siddur Beit Ya’akov p.13; Meshech Chochma, VaYikra 26,42; Resp.
Chatam Sofer, Y.D. 138, who warn of the prohibition and danger of feeling
secure and permanent in any exile and the consequential problem of forgetting
that we are supposed to be in Israel.
[6] R. Y.M. Charlap, M’maynei HaY’shua p.11.
[7] Bamidbar 33,53.For a comprehensive compilation of
sources, see R. Yisrael Schepansky, Eretz Yisrael B’Sifrut HaTshuvot.
[8] Sifre on Dvarim 12 and Tosefta Av.Z. 5,2 and cited by
the Pitchei Tshuva Ev.H. 75,6.
[9] R. Ya’akov Emdin, Siddur Beit Ya’akov p.13.
[10] Or HaChayim, Dvarim 30,20.
[11] Sefer HaCharedim, ch. 59; Resp. Mishneh Halachot, II,56
and III, 189; R. Moshe Shternbuch, sgan n’si HaEida HaCharedit of Yrushaliyim,
Mo’adim Uzmanim 5, p. 203.
[12] Ktuvot 110b.
[13] ibid.
[14] Psachim 113a.
[15] Ktuvot 111a.
[16] Bamidbar Rabba 23,7.
[17] Sefer Chasidim 105, and Shmirat HaLashon, epilogue,
ch.3.
[18] Sifre and Rashi on Dvarim 11,19; Y. Shab.1,3; Gra on
Y.D. 245,10; Mishna Brura 307,63; Igrot Moshe Ev.H. III 35; Chatam Sofer (resp.
Ev.H.11); See extensively in Kuntres Safah LaNe’emanim, by R. Baruch HaLevy
Epstein (author of the Torah Tmima), Warsaw, 5653, and my article, “Hadibur
Bilshon Hakodesh”, Talilei Orot 2 (5750) pp. 87-101.
[19] M’chilta and Ramban
on Shmot 20,8; Chaye Adam Shabb.1,1; and Shmirat Shabbat KiHilchita
42,3.
[20] Rambam, M’lachim 5,1; Shulchan Aruch Ch.M.426,1
and Or.Ch. 330,6; Resp. Nodah B’Y’huda II Y.D. 161.
[21] It should be noted that
this is the answer to the oft-asked
question, why the moral obligations in the Torah are directed towards Jews
alone. The reason is that the natural situation to which the Torah is addressed
is to Jews, living among Jews, in the Jewish State, in the Jewish Land.
Similarly, the directions of the world as found in the Torah, ימה, קדמה, צפונה ונגבה
(Breishit 28, 14) are only logical when read in Eretz Yisrael where the sea (ימה) is in the
west, “before” ((קדמה precedes Y’rushalayim, and the desert or
Yemen (נגבה
or sometimes תימנה) are in the south. Even in Egypt ,
where the Mediteranean Sea is in the north, a western wind is still referred
to as "רוח ים"(Rashi Smot 10, 19), because the reader is meant to be located
in Israel .
So too, the term ,עבר
הירדן “the other side of the Jordan ”, refers to the east bank, even when the speaker
in the Tanach is located on the east bank (), because the reader is
meant to be in Israel ,
on the west bank. For more examples see my article, "ארץ ישראל- יסוד התורה", עלוני
ממרא 106 (ניסן, תשמ"ט), עמ' 97-133 .
[22] Resp. Tzitz Eliezer IX, 1,5,(2).
[23] See the article on
“’Economic Difficulty’- An Halachic Examination and Definition of the Most
Common Excuse for Not Making Aliya”.
[24] Resp. Tzitz Eliezer 7, 48,
Kuntress Orchot HaMishpatim, 12. This obvious idea should go without saying,
were it not for the oft-given excuse that some boys from America don’t (rather than do) stay in Israel because
of the draft! Halachicly, there is no difference whatsoever between a Jew who
resides in Israel
or in chutz laAretz regarding the milchemet mitzva of army service, see Rambam
Hil. M’lachim 7, 4; ibid 5, 1; Hil. Shabbat 2, 23; Shulchan Aruch Or. Ch.
330, 6.
[25] R. M. Ch. Luzzatto, Derech Hashem 2,2 and
Da’at Tvunot p. 5; R. Moshe Kordevero, Tomer D’vora 1; R. Kook, Midot HaRe’iya,
Dveikut, 1-2. As is well known, loving our neighbor encompasses the entire
Torah (Y. Nedarim 9,4).
[26] Cited by R. Z.Y. Kook, L’Ntivot Yisrael,
p.202.
[27] R. Sh. N. Barazofsky,
Netivot Shalom, Shmot p. 152. See next footnote.
[28] R. Kook, Resp. Mishpat
Kohen, p. 354.
[29] Rambam, Hil. Y’sodei
HaaTorah 5, 3.
[30] R. Y. M. Charlap, Mimaynei
HaY’shua p.196.
[31] R. Z.Y. Kook, Eretz Zvi, p. 201.
[32] Ktuvot 111a; Tosefta Av. Z. 5,2; Rambam
M’lachim 5,12; Shulchan Aruch Ev.H. 75,3; In all of the above sources, our
rabbis unequivocally state that if necessary, it’s preferable to live in Eretz
Yisrael, even among idolators (despite the obvious dangers of negative
influence on him or his children), rather than among righteous Jews in Chutz
laAretz. Although one can see the opposite logic, it is difficult to understand
how the Trumat Hadeshen 2, 88, seemingly contradicts these explicit
aforementioned sources. See also R. Shaul Yisraeli, Resp. Eretz Chemda 1, 8.
[33] Survey by the Guttman Institute of Applied Social
Research, Tzohar 11 (Av, 5762/2002) pp. 89-91. Over the last decade, the number
of religious members of Knesset has been between 28-33%, which infers that the
number of religious Jews in Israel may be as high as 1,300,000 (acknowledging
that some non-dati vote for religious parties, while not a few datiim vote for
non-religious parties.
[34] “American
Orthodox Jews:Demographic Trends and Scenarios,” by Sergio DellaPergola and Uzi
Rebhun, “Jewish Action” Fall, 5759, p.
30. See footnote 37.
[35] “Our Next One Hundred
Years”, Jewish Action, ibid.
[36] Ma’amar Kiddush Hashem, Igrot HaRambam, p.64 in the
Mossad HaRav Kook edition.
[37] According to “A Study of Jewish
Denominational Preferences” in the 1997 American Jewish Yearbook, the
statistics are even more alarming. Only 6% of the Jews in America are
orthodox (p.125) and 3 out of every 4 (76%) Jews raised as orthodox does not
continue as such (p.135)! Della-pergola (see footnote 34),
p. 31, differentiates between those above the age of 40, of whom 81% left
orthodoxy, as opposed to those under 40, who’s upbringing already included
orthodox day schools, youth movements, summer camps, the “year in Israel” etc.,
where “only” 58%, or most, still leave orthodoxy. That’s still
not very encouraging. In stark contrast, A. Radoszkowicz, “Not So Many Youths
Throwing Off Their Crocheted Kippot”, Jerusalem Post, 15/8/03, reports on
similar studies in Israel, which show that about 6% of those raised orthodox
leave, almost 10 times (!) less problematic, than in America.
[38] Gallup
survey, quoted on Israeli radio, Tishrei, 5759.
[40] Dachaf national survey polled by Dr. Minna Tzemach , “Hatshuva
Hashkufa,” Y’diot Achronot , 6 Iyar
5757 (16/5/97) p.53.
[42] Dell-Pergola, see footnote 34.
[43] A. Ben-Chaim, “Chagiga”,
Ma’ariv, 23/6/04.
[44] Sifre, beg. of p. Ekev.
[45] Shmot 12,41, Shmuel I 10, 17 and 26.
[46] Rambam, Hil. Milachim 5, 10.
[47] Isaiah 42, 6; VaYikra 22, 26-33; Ezekial 36, 20-25; the
“V’Al ken n’kaveh” prayer.
[48] R. A.Y. Kook, Orot, p.104.
[49] R.A.Y. Kook, Orot HaKodesh 2, p.448.
[50] Bam. Rabba 12,4.
[51] Y’shayahu 43, 12, “I
declared and I redeemed, and I spoke to you… you are My witnesses and Iam G-d”;
ibid, 21, "This
Nation I created for Myself, they shall tell My Glory”. Even the epilogue of
the Torah, the very final pasuk reads, “And for all of G-d’s mighty Hand and
awe (wonders and miracles) which Moshe did before the eyes of all of Israel ”.
[52] Shmot 19,6.
[53] Sifre and Rashi on Dvarim 33,19.
[54] Ironically, together with the long-awaited mass return
of our brothers from the former Soviet Union ,
came the problem of not a few non-Jewish relatives, the result of that
Diaspora’s assimilation. The difference
is that in Israel, the non-Jew wishes to join and marry the Jews (notwithstanding the halachic problem of
wide-spread conversion), while in the exile it is the Jew who is leaving
us in order to join the non-Jews.
Another difference is that in Israel , the orthodox Chief Rabbinate
which is the only official body in the country that can wed Jews, investigates
the background of each case, and therefore officially and legally can prevent
intermarriage. Occasional problems do
arise, but that is the small cost we must
pay for praying for (and receiving!)
the return of our otherwise lost brothers.
[55] Among them, Rabbis Tzvi Pesach Frank, Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach, Zalman Sorotzkin, Y’chezkel Sarna, Sh.Y. Zevin, Y.M. Tokechinsky,
Y,I.Herzog, B.Z. Uziel, Y.M.Charlap, Ovadiah Hadaya, and many others (see HaTkufa HaGdola by R.
M.M. Kasher p. 375-378). Many leading
rabbis already spoke in such terms at the beginning of the return to Eretz
Yisrael a century ago, see the letters of the N’tziv (R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda
Berlin), the Malbim and many others in “Shivat Tzion” ed. A. Slutzky, Warsaw,
5652, and especially following the Balfour Declaration (see, for example “The
Writings of the Chafetz Chaim,” p.144
and ch.28, the Ohr Same’ach (R.Meir Simcha M’Dvinsk Eretz Yisrael
b’Sifrut haTshuvot, III, p.68) and obviously, HaRav A.Y. Kook throughout his
writings.
[56] See the article on “There
Will Not Be Another Exile”.
[57] Charles Krauthammer, “At Last, Zion :
Israel
And the Fate of The Jews,” Newsweek, 5/11/98. See above, footnotes 34
and 37.
[58] According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
5.2 million Jews in Israel .
In comparison, the Jewish population in America (which can only be roughly
estimated) is assessed at about 5.5 million (DellaPergola and Rebhun, “Jewish
Action,” Fall. 5759). It has been very difficult over the last several decades
to verify the accurate number of Jews in America . Aside from the fact that
demographers do not employ the halachic definition of what determines one’s
Jewishness, some claim that the figures are purposely inflated in order not to
weaken the political clout of the Jewish vote in the eyes of politicians and
that the actual figure may be as low as 4.5 million.
[59] See footnote 41. Prof. Sergio DellaPergola, world
expert on Jewish demography, writes, “Israel 2030,” (quoted in the Jerusalem Report, 24/24/97.
[60] See footnote 57.
[61] R. Ovadia Yosef, “The Mitzva
of Living in Israel
in our Days”, Torah SheBa’alPeh 11 (5729), p. 42.
[62] Tanchuma Shoftim 10; Yalk. Sh. Hoshea 518.
