Let’s face it. Zionism happens. It has to. And it happens in one of three ways: 1) by force 2) by choice after Moshiach or 3) by choice, prior to Moshiach coming. The grim reality now may cause us to think about any one of these three scenarios. Mistress America isn’t looking as attractive as she once was and it may be time to strengthen our true marriage: the Jewish people and Hashem in His Land.
We are familiar with forced aliyah. Many Jews have had no choice but to make aliyah to Israel over the past millennia, whether conditions were too hard to bear in Europe or the Middle East, or by simply expulsion. Most would agree that the least desirable way to make aliyah (or anything else) is by force. In this familiar scenario, the Jew is oft left with nothing but the bag on his back and a figurative tail between his legs. And while the consolation prize of a forced aliyah is Israel herself, the process of being forced out of one’s current living space is a hard pill to swallow. Of course, one can cite the fruits of past forced aliyot—from the vast halachic and mystical literature generated in Tzfat to the agricultural infrastructure of the modern State of Israel. That said, Israel by a forced divorce can be painful.
The second form of aliyah would occur after Moshiach comes. Two aspects are easy about adopting this approach, which many seem to follow. One, waiting it out in galus until Moshiach may be a safe bet with minimal risk of getting one’s hands dirty. Second, making the choice to move to Israel after the king of Israel declares himself is an obvious and easy choice. Hashem, the ultimate friendly mediator, in this case, will proclaim that His name is finally One. He will divide the synagogues and her spoils equally. He will say, “Miss America was sweet to you, but it’s time to move on.” Torah, Israel and Hashem will become easily unified. Making aliyah to Israel is a no-brainer after the king of Israel is anointed and Hashem’s presence is obviously imminent and transcendent. There is no true choice. This common “wait it out” approach has been idealized and is the status quo, more or less.
Yet, the third and final way to make aliyah is by exercising one’s true free will, packing one’s bags now, knowing that Moshiach is coming today. He is not here yet, but about to come, and as the Rambam states in his 12th principle of faith, “and even though he tarry in waiting, in spite of that, I will still wait expectantly for him each day that he will come.” Doesn’t our faith demand this approach? Yet, are our bags packed? Moving to Israel by choice is an admirable trait and action in the Modern Orthodox, Zionist world, but does it get more than just a pat on the back? In Europe, the Zionist movement had urgency, even prior to the Shoah. Petach Tikvah rose up out of the swamps, founded in 1878, mainly by Orthodox Jews of the Old Yishuv. Bnei Yisrael, American branch, is facing the truly free choice of putting down its collective iPhone and exercising her faith and optimism in the marriage.
Perhaps it may take a global pandemic, riots and political chaos to wake us up that the love affair with America is coming to an end. The current generation may indeed be what the Rambam, based on the Talmud, called “the face of a dog.” We may indeed be witnessing the time where morals and practices are culled from YouTube and “youth will shame the face of elders, and elders will stand before minors” (Sotah 49b), God forbid.
Yet, if we really concentrated this past Shabbos and Shavuos, we may realize that the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings of nature-based Judaism are finally coming to a head. Torah is returning to her simple outdoor roots. The birds are finally praying with us again. We nearly hear the angels over each blade of grass that causes many to think, “Do I really want to go back inside?” The millennia of holding on to our faith by the skin of our teeth led to our current ossification, yet is crumbling as the Beis Din shel Maalah is waking us up to true love. Israel is on the verge of smelling like Gan Eden, as the proverbial barren har just turned green with sprouts. The incense of the Mikdash is about to burn and heal us and the world. Perhaps this is a call of opportunity from Hashem to re-write the communal ketubah and for us to freely choose Him and Israel—now.
Dr. Yosef P. Glassman, IDF Reserve Lieutenant, mohel, and Harvard-trained geriatrician, is the CEO of Hadarta.org, which integrates Torah concepts to applied geriatric medicine.
