Celebrating 20
years of Aliya!

In the Book of Dvarim, B’nai Yisrael
get ready to finally enter the Land of Israel with Yehoshua. Before they arrive,
they need God’s guidance as to how they will live their national lives on their
own land. Dvarim therefore speaks about appointing a king as well as the wars
that will need to be fought in the Land of Israel. Dvarim is a book that
teaches the Jewish people how to live in the Land of Israel and is especially
important for us in our generation as we too have returned to our land.

Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook
states in Orot HaTorah (Lights of the Torah) 13:2:

In every generation we needed to
cherish the Torah of the Land of Israel, and even more so in our generation…We
can only fully feel the Torah in the Land of Israel.

We learn in Breisheet Raba 16:4:

There is no Torah learning like the
Torah of Eretz Yisrael, and no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisrael.

It says in Midrash Tehillim 105:

If you wish to see the Shechina
(Divine Presence) in this world, learn Torah in Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Kook teaches in Orot Ertez Yisrael 5:

The intellect which is outside the Land of Israel is incapable of being
illuminated with the light that exists in the Land of Israel as Rabbi Zeira
teaches in Bava Batra 158b: The air of Eretz Yisrael makes one wise.

Rabbi Zeira himself felt that he had a greater level of insight after he
moved to the Land of Israel.

As we read in Yishayahu 2:3: “From Zion shall go forth the Torah and the
word of God from Jerusalem.”

A person who studies Torah in Israel and observes the mitzvot connected
to the Land which are only in effect in Israel becomes elevated to a totally
different spiritual level. In Israel, a person reaches greater heights even
when they observe the mitzvot that are observed outside of Israel as well.

Just as B’nai Yisrael needed to prepare for their entrance into the
Land, so do we. When a person makes aliya, they are exposed to a different type
of mitzvah observance than when they were living abroad. They have to
understand the concept of Milchemet Mitzvah (an obligatory war) and why we need
everyone to do their part. They will learn the ramifications of having a
sovereign state. They will need to pay attention to the agricultural mitzvot of
the Land of Israel like Shmita, Trumot and Maasrot which are rarely practically
thought about abroad. They will observe one day of Yom Tov instead of two with
Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah being on the same day and conduct only one
Passover Seder. They will need a new siddur (prayerbook) which includes the
additional blessing of Morid HaTal (may the dew fall) and the list goes on.

As I celebrate my 20^th aliya anniversary, I am proud that I
have had the honor to learn Torah in Israel, teach Torah in Israel, raise a
family in Israel and keep more mitzvot, many of which can only be observed in
Israel.

May all those who want to come to Israel have the opportunity to do so!

Parshat Devarim is always read on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av (the
ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av) the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.
Originally, Tisha B’Av was supposed to be the happiest day of the year. How did
it happen that the happiest day became the saddest day?

The first calamity that fell on the 9^th of Av is Chet
HaMiraglim, the Sin of the Scouts which is recounted in Parshat Devarim (in
addition to Parshat Shlach, the parsha dedicated to the Sin of the Scouts in
the Book of Bamidbar).

The scouts came back from their 40 day tour of the Land and instead of
giving rave reviews and words of encouragement to the soon to be olim
(immigrants to the Land of Israel) they brought back a negative report which
caused the rest of the nation to lose interest in moving there. It was then decreed
that they would wander the desert for 40 years and only the new generation
would enter the Land.

In Dvarim 1:41 we see the nation’s response: “We have sinned to God. We
will go up and wage war in fulfilment of all that HaShem, our God commanded us.”
They then got their weapons ready to fight.

In Dvarim 1:42, God said to Moshe: “Say to them, ‘Do not go up and wage
war, for I am not in your midst; so that they will not be shattered by your
enemies.’”

Even though they repented, it was too late for them to be able to enter
the Land at that time. Their plan to conquer the land failed and they were
beaten back with great losses.

According to Rav Moshe Lifschitz, based on the teachings of Rav Dessler
in Michtav M’Eliyahu (Volume 2), Tisha B’Av is a tikun (correction) for the Sin
of the Scouts. When the scouts returned from visiting the Land, they caused
B’nai Yisrael to cry for no reason. The nation had to live in the desert for a
generation until their desire for the Land was fully restored. On Tisha B’Av,
we are crying for a reason. By crying for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash,
we are transitioning to the next step of rebuilding. We are showing that we truly
desire to be in the Land of Israel and in the rebuilt city of Jerusalem.

We learn in the Shulchan Aruch, Laws of Tisha B’Av 559:4 that Tisha B’Av
is referred to as a moed, a holiday and therefore Tachnun is not recited.

Why would Tisha B’Av be considered a holiday?

In Megillat Eicha 1:15 the word “moed” is mentioned: “God has trampled all my heroes in my midst; he proclaimed a
‘moed’, a set time against me to crush my young men. As in a winepress, God has
trampled the maiden daughter of Yehuda.”

The Shelah, HaRav Yishayahu HaLevi Horovitz, taught that the destruction
of the Beit HaMikdash is part of the process of rebuilding. Destruction brings
us to the point where (Eicha 4:22) “the punishment of your iniquity is
accomplished, O daughter of Zion.” After which the eternal Beit HaMikdash will
be built and it will never be destroyed. Therefore we give honor to the
destruction as we give honor to the rebuilding.  

The Shelah continues: It is taught in Zecharia 8:19, “…The fast of the
fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the
fast of the tenth shall become times of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts
to the house of Yehuda, therefore love the truth and peace.” The Torah hints to
us in the words of Aharon which were said on the 17^th of Tamuz (Shmot
32:5), “a festival for HaShem tomorrow,” that in the future the 17^th
of Tamuz will be a holiday of joy and gladness. And Tisha B’Av is called “moed”
since it too will be a holiday.

The Shelah adds that Tisha B’Av always falls out of the same day of the
week as the first day of Pesach, when B’nai Yisrael were redeemed from Egypt
which is the precursor to the future redemption as it says in Micha 7:15: “As
in the days when you left the land of Egypt I will show it miracles.”

We conclude Eicha with the hope that the redemption will come soon: “Turn
us to you O God that we may be turned! Renew our days as of old.”

May we merit to celebrate Tisha B’Av as a holiday in the Third Beit
HaMikdash in Yerushalayim.

In Parshat Dvarim (Dvarim 1:22-25), we read about the process that Moshe
went through in sending the scouts:

All of
you approached me and said: “Let us send men ahead of us and let them spy out
the Land and bring word back to us: the road on which we should ascend and the
cities to which we should come.” The idea pleased me, so I took from
you twelve men, one man per tribe. They turned and went uphill and arrived
at Nachal Eshkol, and they spied it out. They took in their hand some fruit of
the land and brought it down to us. They brought back word to us and said, “Good
is the Land that HaShem, our God, is giving us.”

Why did
Moshe have to say “I took from you twelve men” rather than “I took” or “I sent”?

The
Netziv, Rabbi Natali Zvi Yehuda Berlin in his commentary Ha’amek Davar answers:

Since
the stated goal was to see how to conquer the Land, it would have been better
to hire non-Jewish spies like members of the “Erev Rav,” the mixed multitude (Egyptians
and members of other nations who left Egypt with B’nai Yisrael at the time of
the Exodus), who
were experts in war and conquest. In addition, such people would have been less
apprehensive about traveling through the Land, and would not have been
recognized as agents of the Jews.

However,
Moshe Rabbeinu knew that by the laws of nature, it would be difficult to
conquer the Land without strong faith and trust in God along with a desire to
inherit the good Land. None of this could have been done by foreigners, only “from
you”, because Jewish scouts would see the pleasantness of the Land and its
special fruit. This way, the Land would find favor in the eyes of her children.

Moshe
also thought that that scouts would become strengthened like Kalev when he
entered Chevron. They would have felt confident that they could conquer the
Land. Had all of the scouts done so, it would have greatly enhanced their trust
in God as well as Israel’s fortitude. This could not have been accomplished
through foreigners, who see only the physical walls and the people inside.

We see
from here that checking out the Land was not a job that could be outsourced.
There was an element of spirituality to the mission to help the people feel
closer to God and the Land of Israel that needed to be accomplished by Jewish
scouts.

Unfortunately,
aside from Yehoshua and Kalev, the rest of the scouts did not feel enough of a
connection with God or the Land and we see in Parsha Shlach that they even
tried to scare B’nai Yisrael off from entering the Land.

Although
sending Jewish scouts was important, it wasn’t enough to make the mission
successful. It takes more than just being Jewish to be the right candidate for
the job.

Within the span of less than a week,
we will read the word “eicha”, “how”, from three different books of TaNaCh.
This Shabbat it will be read in both Parshat Dvarim and in the Haftara from
Yishayahu and on Tisha B’Av night it will be read in Megillat Eicha,
Lamentations.

In the Midrash, Eicha Raba 1:1, we
learn that there were three prophets who prophesied using the word “eicha”:
Moshe, Yishayahu and Yirmiyahu.

Moshe said (Dvarim 1:12) “How can I
myself alone bear your care, your burden and your strife?”

Yishayahu said (Yishayahu 1:21) “How
the faithful city has become a harlot! She had been full of justice,
righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers!”

Yirmiyahu said (Eicha 1:1) “How does
the city sit in solitude. The city that was full of people has become like a
widow. The greatest among nations, the princess among provinces, has become a
vassal.”

Rabbi Levi taught an allegory: An
important woman, the daughter of kings who had three friends. The first friend
saw her at the beginning, when she was calm, things were going well for her and
she was happy. The second friend saw her at her next stage, when she was rash,
mischievous and wild. The third friend knew her after, in her defilement, failure, embarrassment
and punishment.

This can be compared to Israel and the prophets:

 Moshe saw B’nai Yisrael at the
beginning, in their glory and tranquillity. He asked how he can bare the yoke
alone of leading this large and honoured nation.

Yishayahu saw them afterwards in their rash behaviour and sin while
enjoying happiness in their land. He asked how it is possible that a city that
was so loyal and straight would turn out to be full of wild and sinful behaviour.  How did their behaviour turn upside down?

Yirmiyahu saw them at the last stage, at the time of their punishment,
destruction and exile. He asked how this happened. He is astonished and
surprised. He calls out in surprise, laments and rebukes to increase the pain
of the destruction that happened to them. He questions why these bad things had
to happen.

This Shabbat, we read the verse from Dvarim
1:12 “How can I myself alone bear your care, your burden and your strife?” to
the sad tune of Megillat Eicha to remind us that the troubles already began in
the days of Moshe. According to Sfat Emet, they didn’t follow Moshe’s
leadership and the result ended being what we read in the Haftara that “the
faithful city has become a harlot!”

Now is our chance to pick up the
pieces. We are back in Jerusalem. We need to find the good leaders with good
values like Moshe and follow their lead. We need to bring back justice and
righteousness to the State of Israel. When we see wrongdoing we need to call
out in pain. On Tisha B’Av, while sitting in isolation, we can reflect on how
these three stages affect us today and what we need to do to make life in
Israel better for everyone.

In Parshat Dvarim (Dvarim 1:22), Moshe recounts: “You approached me, all of you, and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of
us to spy out the Land for us, and let them bring back word to us, the route
that we are to go up on and the cities that we will be coming to.’”

The Midrash, Sifre (20-1:22) quotes
Rabbi Shimon: The people were wretched in the fact that they asked for spies. Moshe
said to them, when you went into the wilderness, you didn’t ask for spies, now
that you are going into the “good and spacious land, the land flowing with milk
and honey” you are asking for spies?

Sifre d’Bei Rav elaborates: When you
emerged from the Red Sea and went out into the large wilderness, you didn’t ask
to send spies to see how it would work out. Rather, you followed along without
asking any questions, because you believed in God and trusted in Him. And now
that you are on the verge of entering the good land, you ask to send spies- you
didn’t believe that it was a good and spacious land.

We still have this problem today. Only
about 30% of American Jews have visited Israel. A small percentage of those who
have not visited can’t afford the trip, are unable to fly or can’t leave family
members behind. Yet a large portion of those who don’t go to Israel fly to
other destinations so it is not that they can’t get away. Either Israel is not
on their radar screens at all or they are afraid to visit based on what they
have heard or seen on the news.

Jews who have never visited Israel
may feel alienated. They only know about what they have seen in the media such
as violence and politics so they don’t get the whole picture of what is really
going on.

Birthright has been helpful in
getting more American Jews to Israel with free trips. Yet lately there have
been participants who have been taking advantage, skipping time that they are
supposed to be with the group and going to show solidarity with the Palestinians.
Also, how much commitment to Israel do people getting a free ten day trip have
in general?

Longer term, five and ten month programs
have more potential as a student has more time to live and study in Israel and
see what is really happening as opposed to quickly touring the country.

Israel is a place that each person
must experience for themselves. We see this from the story of the spies and how
they scared off the rest of the nation. The only way to know for sure what a
place is like is if you go and visit. Once you have seen the land with your own
eyes you can go back and describe what you have seen.

In Honor of My
12^th Aliya Anniversary

The Haftara for the Shabbat before
Tisha B’Av, Yishayahu 1:1-27, the third of the Haftarot of affliction, puts us
in the somber mood of Tisha B’Av. In fact some of the words of the Haftara
sound like they are right out of Eicha (Lamentations) which is read on Tisha B’Av
.

Yishayahu 1:21-23 states: “Eicha
hayta l’zonah”, “How she (Jerusalem) became a harlot! – faithful city that was
full of justice, righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Your silver has
become dross, your wine is mixed with water. Your princes are rebellious and
associates of thieves; every one loves bribes and follows after illegal
rewards; for the orphan they do not do justice, the cause of the widow does not
reach them.”

Unfortunately these sentences sound
a lot like what one will find if they pick up a Hebrew newspaper in Israel
today. Politicians who were caught conducting themselves in an illegal manner,
accepting bribes, looking out only for themselves and not caring about the
poor.

How can these problems be corrected?

At the end of the Haftara, in 1:26-27
God promises: “Veashiva Shoftayich Kivarishona, Veyoatzayich Kivatchila”, “I
will return your judges as in earliest times and your counselors as at first,
after that you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City. Zion will
be redeemed with justice and her returnees with righteousness.”

We recite almost the exact same
quote in the Shmoneh Esrei three times a day, “HaShiva Shofteinu Kivarishona,
Viyoatzeinu Kivatchila”, “Restore our judges as in earliest times and our
counselors as at first.”

We need to pray for better leaders
to guide us. Of course there are many upstanding Knesset members and former
Knesset members but we need more of them in order to turn Jerusalem back into
the City of Righteousness.

According to Daat Mikra, “Zion will
be redeemed with justice and her returnees with righteousness” refers to the
fact that those who left the Land of Israel when it was desolate will return
knowing that now it will be run with righteousness.

We have seen this in our time with
olim returning to Israel and trying to make a difference in the Knesset. Some
of these politicians bring with them values and a drive to make Israel a better
and just place.

Instead of sitting and complaining
about Israel, those who are interested in politics can get involved and make
changes from the inside.

Those who do not live in Israel can
take this opportunity as I did twelve years ago to make aliya, return home to
Israel and together we can work on making our country a better place to live.

On Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat
before Tisha B’Av, we read the third Haftara of affliction (Yishayahu 1:1-27). According
to Rabbi Mendel Hirsch, the prophet is not lamenting the destruction of the
Beit HaMikdash (Temple). Rather he is lamenting the causes for the destruction.
It is our job to figure out what went wrong so that we can correct the wrongs
of the past.

The question is asked in the Talmud,
Yoma 9b:

Why was the first Sanctuary
destroyed? Because of three evil things which prevailed there: idolatry,
immorality and bloodshed. But why was the second sanctuary destroyed, seeing
that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah, mitzvot and
charity? Because therein prevailed hatred without cause. That teaches you that
groundless hatred is considered of even gravity with the three sins of
idolatry, immorality and bloodshed together.

The Meshech Chochma points out that
the First Temple was rebuilt within approximately 70 years, while the Second
Temple is still in ruins. This proves that if the community is corrupt in its
human qualities it is worse than being guilty of concrete sins. Concerning the
sin of the golden calf (idolatry), God forgave the Jewish people, but for the
sin of the Twelve Spies (slander and ingratitude), God never forgave them. Their
fate was sealed and they all died in the wilderness.

The Netziv, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi
Yehuda Berlin called Breisheet Sefer HaYashar, the Book of the Just as Avraham,
Yitzchak and Yaakov were not just Tzadikim (righteous) they were Yesharim
(just). Avraham prayed for Sdom, Yitzchak was respectful to Avimelech and Yaakov
spoke nicely to Lavan despite how they treated them. It is not enough to
observe mitzvot, we must interact properly with those around us.

In the Fall of 1947, half a year
before the founding of the State of Israel, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook
wrote a piece called “Et Achai Anochi Mivakesh”, “I am looking for my brothers
and sisters”. While the Jews in the Land of Israel were trying to stand up to
the British, there was a lot of fighting between the Hagana, Etzel, Lechi etc.
Rav Kook pleaded with them not to desecrate God’s name through infighting. He
explained that there is more that unites us than divides us. If we work
together rather than fight each other we will bring about peace and success.

This message rings true today as
well. There are many diverse religious and political groups in Israel that
would do much better trying to find common ground, work together to enhance
Israeli society rather than attack each other.

If we want the Beit HaMikdash to be
rebuilt, first we will have to work on getting along with each other. At that
point Jerusalem can be called “City of Righteousness, Ir HaTzedek, Faithful
City, Kirya Ne’emana” (Yishayahu 1:26).

As I read through this week’s Haftara (Yishayahu 1:1-27) I feel like I am reading a prophecy that was directed towards the religious leadership in Israel today.

God is telling the Jewish people that He is not interested
in their sacrifices, prayers or holiday celebrations as they behave in a
corrupt manner. They are told in sentences 16-17: “Wash yourselves, purify
yourselves, remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; desist from
doing evil. Learn to do good, seek justice, strengthen the victim, do justice
for the orphan, take up the cause of the widow.”

God tells them that if they do Tshuva (repent) then they
shall “eat the goodness of the Land”, but if they refuse and rebel they will be
“devoured by the sword”.

In sentence 23 we read: “Your princes are wayward and
associates of thieves; the whole of them loves bribery and pursue illegal
payments; for the orphan they do not do justice, the cause of the widow does
not come unto them.”

In the past month we have seen a Chief Rabbi accused of
money laundering, fraud, bribery, embezzlement, stealing money from a number of
charities and breech of public trust.

We have also seen a former Chief Rabbi curse a potential
candidate for the chief rabbinate by calling him an “evil man who is dangerous
to Judaism and the Torah”. A day after the former Chief Rabbi’s comments, the
potential chief rabbi was attacked at a wedding by people who don’t agree with
his policies.

All Rabbis, especially those in the public eye have to
realize that these types of behavior are unacceptable. They cause a desecration
of God’s name and distance people from our religion. They must follow the words
of the Prophet Yishayahu and repent.

Luckily we have many wonderful Rabbis and leaders but they
are not the ones who usually make the headlines!

We hope and pray that the end of the Yishayahu’s prophecy
will be fulfilled (sentences 26-27): “And I will return your judges as in
earliest times and your counselors as at first, after that you shall be called
‘Ir HaTzedek’, City of Righteousnes,
Faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with justice and her returnees with righteousness.”

Parshat Devarim opens with the story of the Meraglim
(spies). Why do we need to review the story of the spies? After all, we just
read about it a few weeks ago in Parshat Shlach.

The review of the story of the spies reminds the new
generation that is about to enter the Land of Israel about the mistakes that
their parents made and the reason that B’nai Yisrael had to wander in the
desert for forty years. Their parents didn’t trust in God and were afraid to
enter the land. Their punishment was that they in fact would not enter the land
and only their children would enter the land after the older generation passed
away.

Why is this so important that it has to be emphasized twice,
both in Parsha Shlach and in the beginning of Parshat Devarim?

This story teaches us that there is a real problem with the
concept of the Jewish people rejecting the Land of Israel.

Today, there are about 6,135,00 Jews living in Israel, almost
half of the Jewish population of the world.

Aside from those living in Israel,
many of the Jews who live outside of Israel support the Jewish state in
some way. They understand that even if they are unable to move to Israel at this
time they are willing to do what they can to help out. We have seen this the
past few weeks with Jews from abroad making donations to help the soldiers in
the IDF, sending toys to children who are spending most of their summer in the
bomb shelters, participating in rallies throughout the world in support of
Israel as well as those who are getting on the plane to Israel to be part of solidarity
missions.

Jews from all over the world are showing that they care
about the Land of Israel and they will not
reject it the way that the spies and their generation rejected the land.

The date that the spies gave their evil report was on the
Ninth of Av (Tisha B’Av), the first tragedy of many which occurred on that
date, including the destruction of both the First and Second Temples.

As Tisha B’Av approaches we must remember that in order to
hold on to the Land of Israel, Jews from
throughout the world must embrace it.

Sponosred by Sharona Halickman
Celebrating Seven Years of Aliya!

When we announced our plans to
make aliya seven years ago, many people came over and congratulated us. As
well, there were those who confronted us with the following responses:

1. It is so dangerous.

2. How are you going to make a
living?

3. Everything there is so
expensive.

4. Many of the products that you
are used to aren’t available.

5. The salaries are much lower
than in the US.

Unlike some immigrants who may
move to Israel with rose
colored glasses on, we knew full well that these were the realities that we
would have to face yet we felt that it was worth the trade off in order to
fulfill the mitzvah of “Yishuv Eretz Yisrael”, “Settling the Land of Israel”.

When the meraglim (spies) scouted
out the Land of Israel, they said that there were good
things such as: “a land flowing with milk and honey” and “a fruitful land” yet
they also reported that there would be enemies and difficulties.

The difference between our
attitude and the attitude of the meraglim was that we knew that we would try as
hard as we could as well and we had faith that God would help us with the rest.
Some immigrants come in hoping that God (as well as the Israelis) will take
care of them without them doing their fair share. The attitude of the meraglim
was that moving to the Land of Israel would be too
difficult a task to handle on their own and they had little or no faith that
God would help them during the difficult transition of conquering and settling
the land.

Was everything that people told
us to watch out for true?

1. There are dangerous places (just as everywhere else
   in the world) yet there is a lot more security (guards, police and soldiers).




2. The economy isn’t great anywhere right now and it
   is very difficult to break into the Israeli job market but if you come
   with a plan and you are willing to work hard there are opportunities.




3. Some things are more expensive, some things are less
   expensive (cucumbers and tomatoes are much less expensive and taste much
   better!)




4. The reason why people making aliya take a lift with
   them is so that they can take their beloved products from home and ease
   the transition until:

a. they find an
equivalent product that they like

b. they have a
family member who can bring it for them

c.  it finally becomes available in Israel

5. The salaries may be lower- depending on who you
   are, what your job was before you made aliya and what your job is now.
   However, the healthcare plans are almost free (and no copayments), the
   rents are lower, the “public schools” here are Jewish- you can even select
   a “religious public school” and kindergarten is free!

The last few weeks in Israel there
have been protests against the government since the prices of food, rent and
gasoline keep going up. The protesters have discovered that many products are a
lot more expensive in Israel
compared to other countries. This is not news to us. We knew full well what the
prices would be (for better or for worse).

The protestors have been
successful in lowering some of the prices. If the prices do go down will more
people make aliya? We will have to wait and see. In the mean time, since I
arrived seven years ago you can now buy Swiffers and good quality paper towels
in the supermarket, you can shop in the Gap and H&M in Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv, elderly residents of Jerusalem and those with special needs can study
Torah at no charge with Torat Reva Yerushalayim and young women from abroad can
spend a year in a Modern Orthodox environment at Midreshet Devora. All that I
am waiting for now is powdered Ajax
(we already have the liquid).