Crying Out for Aliya

You are alone; no one is there to have your back. Stop lying, stop justifying. We have one home. We are a nation and we have a responsibility to one another. So with a heart pounding I am going to try to share my feelings about why Jewish people outside of Israel should be… Making Aliyah.
 
I know it sounds drastic, but I’ve been there. America, comfort, but there’s much more to life than comfort.
 
You see, last month, the terrorist attack on the Rabbis here in Har Nof took place. From my apartment I could hear the helicopters, police and ambulance sirens rushing past. I was feeding my baby but knew something terrible had happened. The city was tense. Lately here in Jerusalem people have been on edge with all of the chaos and I feel so compelled to share my message with you to bring your families here to Israel.
 
In the last sixty years the Jewish people have had a lot to give thanks for with the establishment of the State of Israel. For the first time in two thousand years, Jews now have access to their ancestral roots. But the problem is that American Jews don’t feel the urge to come. They don’t think about how Holocaust victims dreamed of coming, nor do they think of what kind of mitzvah it is to come to Israel and start a life here. Everyone is chasing money or trying to be cool like some “tough” rapper.
 
I’ve got news for these guys, they are living a lie. The wake-up calls are getting stronger and stronger. Antisemitism is growing all over the world, and it is their job to decide. Are they going to be a victim? Or are they going to be fighters, and be part of the solution? Either direction will not be comfortable, but they at least have the chance to choose between right and wrong, now before it’s too late.
 
I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona which materialistically is luxury luxury luxury… But in my own search for a connection with G-d I thankfully have found myself now in my 7^th year living here in Jerusalem. I left many comforts including having my own car, walk-in closet, friends, and large house. Living in Israel, our people’s home, I don’t need anything extra.  Apartment, wife, baby, great Shabbat food, Torah classes, job. That’s my life, I’ve cut out the excess and gotten down to a simpler life that is much more meaningful spiritually.
 
Let’s be serious for a moment, one day we all are going to die and be buried. Close your eyes and imagine that gravestone of yours. What did you live for? You had 100 years! What did you care about? ‘The Bulls?’ Great Job! You learned all the stats of your favorite players inside and out and were the big boss with a big Cadillac or Benz. When you are food for the worms, none of that matters upstairs. What matters is if you taught your children to be good people in the eyes of G-d and man.
 
The good news is that your heart is still beating. In fact in the last 24 hours it beat 100,000 times and your lungs breathed 20,000 times. For many people not in touch with their Judaism, the religion is so foreign to them that they have no idea what to do or what the prayers say. In short, Jew means ‘One who thanks.’ So go ahead, give thanks for your heart, your lungs, everything, that’s being a Jew. Not taking for granted the simple things: your wife, her food, her efforts, her smiles.  Say thank you, that’s being a Jew.
 
It’s funny how unaffiliated Jews leave religion as this fuzzy idea in the air even though they have serious questions about the Holocaust, Shabbat, the laws of Holidays and purpose to life. Yet for any other subject like health, sports, or business we consult with the experts in their fields. But when it comes to faith everyone gets all fussy about listening to Rabbis who wear black. Yet it’s the orthodox who are the experts because they have maintained and unaltered approach to Judaism going back thousands of years.
 
While the majority of Jews in exile are carrying dollar bills that say “In God We Trust,” right now is the time to wake up and reconnect with what your mission is in this world. Stop trying to show off your money and learn about your traditions. It’s time to come home, time to learn who you really are, and leave your ego before it’s ripped away from you.  The Israeli people need you and your family here in our cherished country. Together may we meet peacefully in our land.