Sunday, July 10, 2005
Aliyah
As another serious post in a series, I thought I'd take a moment to diverge into the topic of making Aliyah, a Jew moving to Israel.
Most Jews would hold this up as an ideal, regardless of the specific stream of affiliation. The source, however, is the first line of demarcation between different practical ramifications of how they would actually carry out this ideal. For simplicity's sake, I will deal here with only my own ideology. This is not to discount any other opinions, just merely a way of saving space.
The only premise I start with is that Gd prefers to have the Jewish people live in the historic land of Israel. Whether this is a commandment nowadays is irrelevant, as we should all strive for the ideal anways. Where the complication comes in is the modern State of Israel. In my opinion, it has no religious basis. There are two problems. One, whether there is such a thing as a religious, non-messianic Jewish kingdom (I'm not going into any detail there). Two, whether the current State of Israel is Jewish. My answer there is a clear no. While they may accomodate religion in certain ways (and many of them are very generous), they don't even pretend to be grounded in Jewish law.
This makes it very difficult for me then to identify with the State of Israel. More troublesome, however, is that they do pass themselves off as the "Jewish State." This poses many problems, from misleading Jews into believing that support for a secular state is supporting Gd, and misleading the world at large that the actions of the secular state are somehow based in the ethereal teachings of the Jewish tradition. I am of course oversimplifying everything for the sake of keeping this post somewhat readable.
So with that in place, I find it hard to take up the Israeli (government) cause. Unlike in most countries, one cannot simply move to the State of Israel and focus on whatever satisfaction one came to obtain. Among other things, the Israeli government has an automatic military draft. Without having first enlisted in some manner, the govenment will not grant a work permit. So as opposed to America where any immigrant need only obtain a work visa, which while challenging requires no ideological output (perhaps worshipping the great satan, but that's another matter.), in Israel, one must essentially fight for the government's cause before being allowed full entre to the country (if one desires to be employed). In my case, I find supporting the government's cause not only foreign, but irresponsible. As a Jew grounded only in the ideology of fullfilling Gd's word, becoming entwined in a "false Messiah" is particularly misleading. As a State purporting to speak for the Jews, my fighting on its behalf implies an unstated participation and acqueisance to its authority. To the non-religious and non-Jewish eye this results in the impression that my soldiering is one and the same as a religious backing to the government's stature. And in the case of theology, the distinction between truth and falsehood must be absolutely clear.
Are there ways to move to Israel without volunteering in the army? Sure. You could move after you're too old to fight. But you'll put your children in the same quandry, and lose out on the merit of living in the Land in the meantime. You could of course, move to Southern Lebanon, a full part of Biblical Israel. Of course, you're life may be quite at risk. You could work for an American firm in Israel, which allows you to retain your foreign citizenship and work with a foreign visa. However, these opportunities are few and far between. You can work in America and commute. Great work if you can get it, and quite draining. Similarly, you can go the entrepreneurial route, and take your earnings with you, whether your business investments are in America or Israel. Of course, if it were so easy to make millions and be an absentee landlord, I think Israel would be full to the brim. And that lifestyle can be a difficult temptation to leave even partially behind.
So the resulting question is, if I agree that it is the ultimate ideal to move to Israel, why then would I let my obviously much weaker drawbacks prevent me from obtaining my goal? The question hinges on how you react to threats in the claim of defining Torah Judaism. Some quietly go with the flow, some ignore the threat, and other's fight back. I won't say only one is right. Perhaps we are best served by all reactions, so we can each appreciate the values and concerns of the other approaches, and not be too myopic in our reaction.
There is a famous ruling related to reform Jews. If one has to hear the Shofar blown on Rosh Hashana, but the only place where he can hear it is a reform temple, what should he do? Should he take part in the reform service to fulfill the direct, Torah commandment of hearing the blowing of the horn on this day? Or should he forgo this commandment in order to preserve the integrity of the identity of the Jewish people, although that is not a Mitzvah per se? I don't want to quote a Rabbi's name, because although I do think I know the name of the Rabbi, I'm not sure enough to put it out in the public domain with his name, but the answer was given that the Jew should stay home rather than compromise on this issue, even though his only intention was to fulfill a commandment for the sake of Gd. Likewise you could learn this as a backdrop for serving in the army. While it would enable the performance of a mitzvah (ie, living in the land of Israel), it would require confusing the boundary and mantle of Torah Judaism.
I have obviously given quite an incomplete summary of some of the issues related to moving to Israel. I have obviously shortchanged the discussion considerably. I will try my best to respond to questions left in the comments, whether directly related to what I've written, or on any issue related to Zionism. Of course, you could ask me what 2+2 is. I'd respond to that as well.
Most Jews would hold this up as an ideal, regardless of the specific stream of affiliation. The source, however, is the first line of demarcation between different practical ramifications of how they would actually carry out this ideal. For simplicity's sake, I will deal here with only my own ideology. This is not to discount any other opinions, just merely a way of saving space.
The only premise I start with is that Gd prefers to have the Jewish people live in the historic land of Israel. Whether this is a commandment nowadays is irrelevant, as we should all strive for the ideal anways. Where the complication comes in is the modern State of Israel. In my opinion, it has no religious basis. There are two problems. One, whether there is such a thing as a religious, non-messianic Jewish kingdom (I'm not going into any detail there). Two, whether the current State of Israel is Jewish. My answer there is a clear no. While they may accomodate religion in certain ways (and many of them are very generous), they don't even pretend to be grounded in Jewish law.
This makes it very difficult for me then to identify with the State of Israel. More troublesome, however, is that they do pass themselves off as the "Jewish State." This poses many problems, from misleading Jews into believing that support for a secular state is supporting Gd, and misleading the world at large that the actions of the secular state are somehow based in the ethereal teachings of the Jewish tradition. I am of course oversimplifying everything for the sake of keeping this post somewhat readable.
So with that in place, I find it hard to take up the Israeli (government) cause. Unlike in most countries, one cannot simply move to the State of Israel and focus on whatever satisfaction one came to obtain. Among other things, the Israeli government has an automatic military draft. Without having first enlisted in some manner, the govenment will not grant a work permit. So as opposed to America where any immigrant need only obtain a work visa, which while challenging requires no ideological output (perhaps worshipping the great satan, but that's another matter.), in Israel, one must essentially fight for the government's cause before being allowed full entre to the country (if one desires to be employed). In my case, I find supporting the government's cause not only foreign, but irresponsible. As a Jew grounded only in the ideology of fullfilling Gd's word, becoming entwined in a "false Messiah" is particularly misleading. As a State purporting to speak for the Jews, my fighting on its behalf implies an unstated participation and acqueisance to its authority. To the non-religious and non-Jewish eye this results in the impression that my soldiering is one and the same as a religious backing to the government's stature. And in the case of theology, the distinction between truth and falsehood must be absolutely clear.
Are there ways to move to Israel without volunteering in the army? Sure. You could move after you're too old to fight. But you'll put your children in the same quandry, and lose out on the merit of living in the Land in the meantime. You could of course, move to Southern Lebanon, a full part of Biblical Israel. Of course, you're life may be quite at risk. You could work for an American firm in Israel, which allows you to retain your foreign citizenship and work with a foreign visa. However, these opportunities are few and far between. You can work in America and commute. Great work if you can get it, and quite draining. Similarly, you can go the entrepreneurial route, and take your earnings with you, whether your business investments are in America or Israel. Of course, if it were so easy to make millions and be an absentee landlord, I think Israel would be full to the brim. And that lifestyle can be a difficult temptation to leave even partially behind.
So the resulting question is, if I agree that it is the ultimate ideal to move to Israel, why then would I let my obviously much weaker drawbacks prevent me from obtaining my goal? The question hinges on how you react to threats in the claim of defining Torah Judaism. Some quietly go with the flow, some ignore the threat, and other's fight back. I won't say only one is right. Perhaps we are best served by all reactions, so we can each appreciate the values and concerns of the other approaches, and not be too myopic in our reaction.
There is a famous ruling related to reform Jews. If one has to hear the Shofar blown on Rosh Hashana, but the only place where he can hear it is a reform temple, what should he do? Should he take part in the reform service to fulfill the direct, Torah commandment of hearing the blowing of the horn on this day? Or should he forgo this commandment in order to preserve the integrity of the identity of the Jewish people, although that is not a Mitzvah per se? I don't want to quote a Rabbi's name, because although I do think I know the name of the Rabbi, I'm not sure enough to put it out in the public domain with his name, but the answer was given that the Jew should stay home rather than compromise on this issue, even though his only intention was to fulfill a commandment for the sake of Gd. Likewise you could learn this as a backdrop for serving in the army. While it would enable the performance of a mitzvah (ie, living in the land of Israel), it would require confusing the boundary and mantle of Torah Judaism.
I have obviously given quite an incomplete summary of some of the issues related to moving to Israel. I have obviously shortchanged the discussion considerably. I will try my best to respond to questions left in the comments, whether directly related to what I've written, or on any issue related to Zionism. Of course, you could ask me what 2+2 is. I'd respond to that as well.
# posted by Josh : Sunday, July 10, 2005
