Jews belong in Israel not Brooklyn - (so stifle yourself)

bs"d

One of my internet correspondents found out that I am presently residing in Brooklyn. His reaction was as follows:

Jews belong in Israel not Brooklyn. If you are interested in pointless intellectual activities, go to a university. We are in a life or death struggle in Israel against our internal and external enemies. Thousands of Jews have been murdered by the Arab friends of the Israeli CHILLONIM. Tens of thousands more have been maimed or crippled for life. If you believe you have a way to change all that, come home and start to work on it. As Rabbi Aryeh says; "Life is not a virtual reality game."

At 07:11 AM 1/12/2006, you wrote:
No. I am presently in Brooklyn, NY. But I would be pleased if ideas mentioned in the Blog were discussed and I would be interested in feedback. As Rabbi Nachman says "Kol Asher Ani Nosea, Ani Nosea LeEretz Yisroel".

I responded back to him as follows:


bs"d

I am also an Israeli citizen and own an apt. in Kiryat Arba. I don't believe you read my blog. You are fast to jump to conclusions.

In my opinion each and every Jew wherever they reside, is an equal citizen of Eretz Yisroel with equal obligations and responsibilities. I believe that they have the mutual responsibilities for defending the Land of Israel.


Yaakov Avinu did not want to go down to Egypt either. G-d arranged events so that Yosef was forced down first and Yaakov Avinu followed. Yes, Mipnei Chatainu Gilinu Meartzeinu. Yaakov was very worried that in Mitzraim he and his family would assimilate and Hashem appears to him and promises that He will be with him in Mitzraim and will take him out of Mitzraim. That occurs in this weeks Parsha Vayechi. Yaakov dies in Mitzraim and Yosef brings his body to Maarat Hamachepela as Yosef promised Yaakov his father in the beginning of the Parsha.

I left Eretz Yisroel December 1998 with the intention of going for a visit to Chutz Laaretz but with a premonition it would be longer. I had made Aliya around seven years prior. I remember being very afraid of going back to Chutz Laaretz and I remember crying bitter tears and reading the Parsha and being somewhat comforted. I do not think many people experienced a grief so deep as I did at the time when I left Eretz Yisroel. Circumstances brought me to the decision to leave Eretz Yisroel. Hashem is in control. It is with HAshem's mercy that we have the zechus to be in Eretz Yisroel. Yet, Hashem can change that around no matter how much we wish otherwise.

It is you who are mistaken in the way that you relate to your fellow Jews in Chutz Laaretz. You have an attitude that you are more deserving since you live in Eretz Yisroel and therefore only you can influence events and have a say in what's happening.

G-d who knows what is in each and every heart is the judge. We share a common Ancestral Heritage. We both fall into the category of Bnei Brith. That means that a Jew in Chutz Laaretz is also a member of the Covenant. You can not take G-d's gift away from another Jew just like you would not want others to take it away from you. The Covenant is G-d's promise to the Nation of Israel that the Land it theirs and that they have to keep the commandments. It makes no difference whether one lives in Eretz Yisroel or whether one lives in Chutz Laaretz. Each and every Jew has a chelek in Eretz Yisroel. If I belong to a particular tribe and I would know which tribe then I would have a better clue as to where my portion is.

It is this attitude of the Israeli which excludes the Jews of the Diaspora and the attitude of the Jew in the Diaspora that excludes himself from Am Yisroel when it comes to claiming the Land of Israel , that was a major factor instrumental in the success of the Disengagement. Because, Hashem yearns for each and every Jew wherever he/she may be to believe in the Covenant, have that yearning for the Land of Israel and a desire to keep the commandments in Eretz Yisroel.

Another reason you are mistaken with this attitude is because each and every member of Am Yisroel is necessary for a complete whole. If each and every Jew in Eretz Yisroel and in the Diaspora would stand up for the Covenant and proclaim that this Land is ours, that by definition is in opposition to the Roadmap. Why didn't enough people in Eretz Yisroel cry out to the Jews of the Diaspora "Hey, this is yours as much as it is mine. Whether you fought in the army or not is not relevant. It is ours because G-d has promised it to us via His Covenant. Don't you believe in the Covenant? Why don't you scream and object? Why didn't you at least put in a Kol Korei in your newspapers like the Jewish Press, Yated and Hamodia? We had 225,000 people at the Kotel. Why didn't you all write letters to the President of the U.S.A.? Why were the Rabbanim of America silent to the Roadmap Plan which is interpreted to mean acquiescence and implicit agreement?

The Rabbi of the Kingsway Jewish Center in Brooklyn, Rabbi Goldstein, was asked what was his take on Disengagement of Gush Katif and he replied "I feel guilty that I am not living in Eretz Yisroel and I or my children are not fighting in the army so therefore I don't feel I have a right to tell the gov't of Israel what to do. (Even though personally he was against the disengagement). This attitude, like the attitude of the Rabbanim in Chutz Laaretz is similar to yours but manifested differently. Chaim Dovid Zweibel of Agudas Yisroel told me personally that the hands of Agudas Yisroel of America are paralyzed unless the Rabbanim in Eretz Yisroel speak out against the disengagement. This same attitude caused silence among hundreds of thousands of Torah believers in America who were sickened by the disengagement and yet were silent.

Please rethink your words. Unless you start being inclusive of all of Am Yisroel and stop believing that only ones who are actually living is Eretz Yisroel are capable of changing events I can not bless your efforts. I am convinced that G-d disagrees with you.

The focus must be on The Covenant.