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An Aliyah Letter
by
Eli Poch
Perspectives on Purchasing Real Estate
in Israel
by Zale Newman
Aliyah Dvar Torah –
Parshas Tetzaveh
by Ilan Meister
An Aliyah Letter
by Eli Poch
As I walk the streets of Yerushalayim, I am overjoyed
to see so many people (comparatively) window-shopping on Rechov Yaffo and the
Midrachov, Ben Yehuda.
It seems like old times, people in the street some yelling at each other about
nothing in specific. Others laughing and talking with friends, while relaxing in
the shade of a tree growing out of the sidewalk. Even the storeowners now have
smiles on their faces, agreeing that life seems to be getting back to normal.
Slowly but surely, people are coming back to this once mobbed area of town.
(This is inline with the recent stats from the Tourism Ministry).
As I go into the stores owned by people who visited Toronto, as part of the
Israel Mall, I see their smiles grow. A new face has come to visit. Cheerfully,
they ask, “What’s new?”
My response: “I just made Aliyah, I am now home, and I am one of you!”
Some congratulate me on a move long over due, and some give me a hug, one man
even started to dance.
And then they all ask where all my other friends are?
Imagine: people you only spoke once or twice in your life, and they want to know
where your OTHER friends are.
This past Shabbat we read Matot- Maase about all of the travels of Am Yisrael,
as they approached Eretz Yisrael for the first time. They went from desert to
desert and from town to town, through wars and peaceful travels. All of this was
a time of turmoil, for the collective nation. From the heights of receiving the
Torah at Har Sinai where the lowest Maid- servant saw more than the greatest
Navi in any future generation, to the depths of sin and plague, some of which
are still reeling from today. Am Yisrael needed this time to become one cohesive
nation, culminating in the settling of Eretz Yisrael.
We too, over the past two thousand years have seen exile and desert, wealth and
township, wars and persecutions as well as times of great personal and national
religious growth.
And now it’s time to join as a cohesive group, and finally come home, to secular
state which has tehillim engraved in gold letters at the entrance to its bus
terminals. A place where Chanukah, the celebration of Jewish renewal, is full of
Chanukiot, and where the simple chiloni cab driver can quote phrases from
anywhere in TANACH, because they live Tanach.
So, now I’m Israeli, I’m home and my travels are over. Now I have to ask, “Where
are my other friends, When are they coming home?”
Waiting for your answer,
Eli Poch
Perspectives on Purchasing Real Estate
in Israel
by Zale Newman
This is a moment in
Jewish history when we must put “our money where our mouths are”. More
than 5 million Jews in Israel require our support, both emotionally and
financially. There are few better ways of showing our support for the people
of Israel and the State of Israel than by purchasing a home in Israel. By purchasing a home
and the items that will furnish the home, we will do our share to drive the
economy during these extremely trying economic times for Israel. Every
dollar that we put into the economy will be multiplied fivefold (the
“Trickle Down” theory in economics”). Thus if only 25 families
purchase homes through this group, we will pump more than $25 million into
the Israeli economy. This will sustain many families in Israel. Perhaps even more
importantly, we will provide emotional support for people in Israel at a
time when they are feeling isolated and despised by the world and abandoned
by their Jewish brethren. By purchasing a home
in Israel we will encourage our families and friends to provide support by
visiting the country. This will further serve to drive the economy and to
connect our family and friends to the Land and to our people. In my opinion, this
is an opportune time to buy. Buying a home in Israel is a very low risk
financial strategy. Prices are low at this time. Interest rates are low. The
laws of supply and demand indicate that there is a very limited supply of
housing available in the very small country of Israel while demand is
constant internally due to the population growth. External demand is likely
to grow as Anti-Semitism drives foreigners to consider making aliyah to
Israel. In my personal
opinion, housing units will certainly appreciate in value over time as
history has proven. Homes can easily be resold or rented, as there are very
few rental units available in the entire country. These purchases can
be financed over a long period of time thus making it easy to carry the
costs of a unit in Israel. The Jewish media
will trumpet our success. We will be copied by numerous cities throughout
the Western world and as such we have the potential to create a new means of
supporting Israel. If only nine other communities copy our strategy, we will
have pumped more than $250 million into the Israeli economy Finally, it has
probably been 2000 years since a member of your family has owned a home in
the Holy Land. This is a historical moment for the Jewish people. We can
choose to stand by and observe it from afar or we can choose to be a part of
it. In my mind, the choice is obvious. Come stake your claim in the Promised
Land.
Zale Newman
Aliyah Dvar Torah – Parshas Tetzaveh
by Ilan Shlomo Meister
I was thinking about the word Aliyah and I came up with four times that I could
think of that we commonly use this word in our religion:
-
Aliyah L’Regel: There was a
mitzvah during the time of the Beit HaMikdash for Jews to literally travel UP
to the Har Habayit. This was a literal elevation, thus the term Aliyah.
Aliyah L’Torah: In most shuls,
the Bimah is a bit elevated and therefore being called to the Torah is
literally being called UP to the Torah.
The third Aliyah is Aliyat Neshama:
We often do Mitzvot, learn and daven in order to elevate the soul that has
left this world. This is a spiritual elevation.
And finally is Aliyah La’Aretz, commonly
just called Aliyah: But why is moving to Israel called Aliyah?
Obviously, it makes no sense from a physical standpoint as Israel is no higher
in altitude than all countries of the Diaspora. In fact, the Dead Sea, a spot in
Israel is the lowest point on Earth. Spiritually, it makes sense that moving to
Israel is considered an elevation in the same sense as Aliyat Neshama is an
elevation. Moving to Israel is completing the Mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael,
settling the Land of Israel and, similar to the way a Mitzvah can elevate the
soul of a deceased person, a Mitzvah can elevate the soul of a living person
too. Okay, but why would that make taking on Yishuv Eretz Yisrael for the first
time more worthy of the title Aliyah than any other Mitzvah? Also, the actual
act of moving to Eretz Yisrael doesn’t make the new Oleh any better than a Sabra
as they are both keeping the mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael. There is no
mitzvah of simply moving there. Rather, by moving there, the new oleh has
finally started for the first time to fulfill the daily mitzvah of living in
Israel. This idea is similar to Teshuva. When a Jew begins keeping Shabbos or
Kashrut for the first time, this would be called Teshuva – not Aliyah. The Jew
would be, in essence, a Ba’al Teshuva – not an Oleh. So, what is going on here?
What’s so different about moving to Israel.
The answer that occurred to me ties together this week’s Parsha with the
Haftorah. Parshat Tetzaveh has no mention of Moshe or of Eretz Yisrael. But,
Sefer Hachinuch lists 7 mitzvot mentioned in the Parsha – all of which apply
only in Israel and only in the time of the Beit Hamikdash. So, by making Aliyah,
we are no closer to keeping these mitzvoth than anyone outside of Israel, since
the Beit Hamikdash is not standing. Like the details in Tetzaveh that describe
the Kohen’s garb, in the Haftorah, Yechezkel describes to the Jews of Galut the
details of the Beit Hamikdash. But the funny thing is that, as per Hashem’s
instructions, Yechezkel describes visions of the Third Temple even though at the
time the Second Temple had not yet been built. Why would he do this?
Some commentaries suggest that while it was a difficult time - or especially
because times were so hard – Hashem wished to remind Klal Yisrael that they
could bring about the Final Redemption with their goods – thus the description
of the Final Perfect Temple in which Hashem’s Shechina can rest for eternity.
While there are those who believe that there is a set time for the Geula,
Yechezkel’s prophecy reminds us that our deeds can speed up our destiny.
So, while by making Aliyah in a couple of weeks, we will be no closer to keeping
the 7 mitzvot of Tetzaveh than anyone in Galut, the Jewish people as a whole and
the Land of Israel are closer to the Final Geulah each time a Jew starts keeping
Yishuv Eretz Yisrael. This to me is what Aliyah is all about. The individual’s
move to Israel is an Aliyah not for him or her, but for the Land of Israel and
the Nation of Israel, bringing both closer to the Geulah.
From a purely population standpoint, many believe that as soon as the majority
of the world’s Jews live in Israel, we can bring on this Final Redemption. But I
see our arrival in Israel as just the beginning of Aliyah. This is the lesson I
take from the 7 mitzvot of Tetzaveh. Just as Yechezkel’s vision was meant to
make the Jewish people crave the Final Temple enough to do whatever it takes to
speed up its arrival, the 7 mitzvot of Tetzaveh offer a glimpse of life after
the redemption, that should make us crave this time. We must do whatever it
takes to speed up Mashiach’s arrival and this starts with moving to Israel. Only
there will our Mitzvot ever be perfect. And only with ALL OF US there will
Israel ever be perfect.
So, this Kiddush is not to say Shalom to this minyan, this shul our family or
our friends. But only to this place – this city, this country. To you all, we
simply say L’Hitraot Ba’Aretz. One family, a hundred families or a thousand
families are not enough. We all need to make Aliyah La’Aretz. Not Aliyah TO the
Land of Israel but Aliyah FOR the land of Israel. For Israel to be uplifted to
its potential when it can house the third and Final Temple, we must want it and
we must start it by moving to Israel and keeping God’s Mitzvot there. We know
that our Aliyah will not be complete until your Aliyah is complete.
Here’s to seeing you all in Israel soon!
L’Chaim. L’Chaim. L’Shana Haba’ah B’Yerushalayim
Ilan Meister
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