Friday, September 26, 2003
Sparks from Israel
The Second Aliyah
There are two Aliyah’s. The first Aliyah is to come over the ocean and make your home in Israel. This can begin at sea level in Tel Aviv. From there one can travel to the lowest point on earth next to Sodom, or one can continue to trek upward towards the hills of Yerushalayim and further still to the mountains of Hebron.
Certainly the first Aliyah is a huge step. To leave ones family, friends and comforts, to forge ones ideological path in a foreign culture alone, is a difficult step to take. However, in modern day Israel, the culture shock does not have to be as dramatic as it was 70 years ago when people drained swamps and fought malaria to make Israel their home.
Today, everything one has in the west, he has more or less here. Of course there is a silent war going on as well, and the local dissidents rather than protest as they do in the west, have a tendency to blow themselves up, taking innocents with them. There are some risks in living here, but of course the quality of life, the friendships, the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to the future of the Jewish Nation far outweighs any thoughts of danger, and in fact only strengthens ones faith and purpose.
Having said that, one can still live their lives here, more or less like the way they lived them in America or France or Canada. The same creature comforts can be found and the transition of culture is not too difficult if one has the desire to adapt to it. This is the first Aliyah – to take part in the building of the Jewish Nation and live among your brethren.
There is a second Aliyah however, one that takes even more determination and ideology. One that requires moving deeper into the homeland of our people and settling new territory both geographically and spiritually. The price one pays is higher but so are the benefits. The danger is greater but so is the resolve to defend our homeland.
Physically speaking one can acquire land and housing much cheaper there, but spiritually one acquires a greater vision of eternity and each footstep has purpose. So much so, that a friend of mine simply moved into a new flat in this region, and this action became an international incident that the United Nations had to meet about. Imagine that, Jews prospering and developing beautiful new neighborhoods makes the world meet in a frenzy to stop this spread of light.
Twice a year the inhabitants of these new development towns, and friends of the Yishuv movement meet in Hebron for a two-day music festival. Thousands of Israeli’s flock there to pay their respects to the founders of this great Nation, Avraham, Itzchak, and Yacov, buried next to the founders of all humanity – Adam and Eve.
Unlike some Israelis who graft a mismatched American culture on themselves to the point of parody, the builders of the frontier resemble the ancient Hebrews in modern hippie attire. Seeing thousands of these charismatic souls dancing and singing by the tombs of their ancestors is a sight to see.
Here the appetite for Western fads is non-existent. The same thirsty souls that take idolatry past the limit of its inventors can take letters of Torah from parchment to pavement as they rebuild the ruins into beacons of light. The Jewish soul distinguished among the Nations finds the source of its distinction here in the land of its origin – from the sea level to the mountaintop.
These same Jewish souls that are tolerated in the West, condemned in Israel and despised in the re-settlements of its ancient glory reflect a glow that darkness dreads. The greater the light, the greater the animosity, for the manifestation of this light will uncover all the lies that empires and religions are built upon.
The first Aliyah brings one home to Israel and to the fact that despite all the attempts of history Israel remains and prospers. The second Aliyah brings one deeper into the source of that light. The faces that most resemble the glow of the original Hebrews are found here among the hills of Judea and Samaria. Faces that are fearless and devoted to furthering the purpose of creation.
The Second Aliyah
There are two Aliyah’s. The first Aliyah is to come over the ocean and make your home in Israel. This can begin at sea level in Tel Aviv. From there one can travel to the lowest point on earth next to Sodom, or one can continue to trek upward towards the hills of Yerushalayim and further still to the mountains of Hebron.
Certainly the first Aliyah is a huge step. To leave ones family, friends and comforts, to forge ones ideological path in a foreign culture alone, is a difficult step to take. However, in modern day Israel, the culture shock does not have to be as dramatic as it was 70 years ago when people drained swamps and fought malaria to make Israel their home.
Today, everything one has in the west, he has more or less here. Of course there is a silent war going on as well, and the local dissidents rather than protest as they do in the west, have a tendency to blow themselves up, taking innocents with them. There are some risks in living here, but of course the quality of life, the friendships, the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to the future of the Jewish Nation far outweighs any thoughts of danger, and in fact only strengthens ones faith and purpose.
Having said that, one can still live their lives here, more or less like the way they lived them in America or France or Canada. The same creature comforts can be found and the transition of culture is not too difficult if one has the desire to adapt to it. This is the first Aliyah – to take part in the building of the Jewish Nation and live among your brethren.
There is a second Aliyah however, one that takes even more determination and ideology. One that requires moving deeper into the homeland of our people and settling new territory both geographically and spiritually. The price one pays is higher but so are the benefits. The danger is greater but so is the resolve to defend our homeland.
Physically speaking one can acquire land and housing much cheaper there, but spiritually one acquires a greater vision of eternity and each footstep has purpose. So much so, that a friend of mine simply moved into a new flat in this region, and this action became an international incident that the United Nations had to meet about. Imagine that, Jews prospering and developing beautiful new neighborhoods makes the world meet in a frenzy to stop this spread of light.
Twice a year the inhabitants of these new development towns, and friends of the Yishuv movement meet in Hebron for a two-day music festival. Thousands of Israeli’s flock there to pay their respects to the founders of this great Nation, Avraham, Itzchak, and Yacov, buried next to the founders of all humanity – Adam and Eve.
Unlike some Israelis who graft a mismatched American culture on themselves to the point of parody, the builders of the frontier resemble the ancient Hebrews in modern hippie attire. Seeing thousands of these charismatic souls dancing and singing by the tombs of their ancestors is a sight to see.
Here the appetite for Western fads is non-existent. The same thirsty souls that take idolatry past the limit of its inventors can take letters of Torah from parchment to pavement as they rebuild the ruins into beacons of light. The Jewish soul distinguished among the Nations finds the source of its distinction here in the land of its origin – from the sea level to the mountaintop.
These same Jewish souls that are tolerated in the West, condemned in Israel and despised in the re-settlements of its ancient glory reflect a glow that darkness dreads. The greater the light, the greater the animosity, for the manifestation of this light will uncover all the lies that empires and religions are built upon.
The first Aliyah brings one home to Israel and to the fact that despite all the attempts of history Israel remains and prospers. The second Aliyah brings one deeper into the source of that light. The faces that most resemble the glow of the original Hebrews are found here among the hills of Judea and Samaria. Faces that are fearless and devoted to furthering the purpose of creation.
Friday, September 19, 2003
Sparks From Israel
The Final Revolution
Like the Dharma Bums of another generation the truth seekers of today tramp from yishuv to yishuv with a book of Tehillim in their bag and a Dhjarbuka drum slung over their shoulder. These are the new generation of ‘revolutionaries’ and poets that have dropped out of the western world, to join the Final Revolution - the oldest one of all. What is the battle? What is the protest? Where is the war? How big is the revolutionary army, and what are the forces that seek to crush it?
Well, on one side is the whole world, the United Nations, 100 armies ready to destroy once and for all that tiny little nation that refused to be baptised. And on the other side is a Jewish shepherd playing his lute, putting on his tefillin, and building his house. Although there are no neighbors for miles and thousands of dunams of open fields bequeathed to this tiny Nation as an inheiritance, a shepperd building a small home is cause for the United Nations to have an emergency meeting and for the army of mice to come with handcuffs to prove to the cats that they too are against this mans hammer. But all the kings horses and all the kings men cannot stop the tide from turning under them, and the tide is indeed turning and Israel continues to be built.
Just as Israel came into being despite the abandonment of the world, and the betrayal of many good Jews by our own mixed multitudes, so too do the hills of Judea and Shomron nurture the future kings and scholars that wander from town to town without any fear. These kind and simple souls who have returned to till the land of their forefathers, are oblivious to the ranting and ravings of a world that despises their existence. They hitch a ride to a spring in the mountain where many meet and camp, or to a festival where thousands dance and beat their drums until they fall asleep under the stars.
This is a quiet revolution of the children of prophets sitting on hilltops and studying the books their fathers left them. This is the final evolution of the Jew, who resembles the original Jew surviving each day by manna falling from heaven. Whether one observes the laws of the Torah or not, all have a connection to this Holy Land, and all can see the Hand of G-d in whatever they do. These young men and women who are building the Nation are the hero’s and the spirit that is keeping the Zionist dream alive. The original Zion, that shone forth from Mount Zion.
The Final Revolution
Like the Dharma Bums of another generation the truth seekers of today tramp from yishuv to yishuv with a book of Tehillim in their bag and a Dhjarbuka drum slung over their shoulder. These are the new generation of ‘revolutionaries’ and poets that have dropped out of the western world, to join the Final Revolution - the oldest one of all. What is the battle? What is the protest? Where is the war? How big is the revolutionary army, and what are the forces that seek to crush it?
Well, on one side is the whole world, the United Nations, 100 armies ready to destroy once and for all that tiny little nation that refused to be baptised. And on the other side is a Jewish shepherd playing his lute, putting on his tefillin, and building his house. Although there are no neighbors for miles and thousands of dunams of open fields bequeathed to this tiny Nation as an inheiritance, a shepperd building a small home is cause for the United Nations to have an emergency meeting and for the army of mice to come with handcuffs to prove to the cats that they too are against this mans hammer. But all the kings horses and all the kings men cannot stop the tide from turning under them, and the tide is indeed turning and Israel continues to be built.
Just as Israel came into being despite the abandonment of the world, and the betrayal of many good Jews by our own mixed multitudes, so too do the hills of Judea and Shomron nurture the future kings and scholars that wander from town to town without any fear. These kind and simple souls who have returned to till the land of their forefathers, are oblivious to the ranting and ravings of a world that despises their existence. They hitch a ride to a spring in the mountain where many meet and camp, or to a festival where thousands dance and beat their drums until they fall asleep under the stars.
This is a quiet revolution of the children of prophets sitting on hilltops and studying the books their fathers left them. This is the final evolution of the Jew, who resembles the original Jew surviving each day by manna falling from heaven. Whether one observes the laws of the Torah or not, all have a connection to this Holy Land, and all can see the Hand of G-d in whatever they do. These young men and women who are building the Nation are the hero’s and the spirit that is keeping the Zionist dream alive. The original Zion, that shone forth from Mount Zion.
Friday, September 05, 2003
Sparks from Israel
Bone Yerushalayim
What interesting times we live in here in Israel. On one hand we see the Zionist dream rotting away and losing all its basis and foundation, and on the other hand we see a new Zionism rising from the ashes like a Phoenix. Just as angels climb up and down the ladder, so are some Jews driven out of Israel and others beckoned from far away.
Who are those leaving and those returning? Who are the men of simple faith who quietly build the Jewish Nation despite all odds? Who are the newcomers who hardly speak the language yet forge ahead undaunted by adversity? Who are these strangers in a familiar land? They are all dreamers and lovers of Zion.
They come in all colors and all religious persuasions. From those who work on Yom Kippur to those who wear the crown of Torah, and walk the streets with Eliyahu Hanavi. They all have one thing in common, which is a love of this Land and its people. They are poets and writers and businessmen and scholars, each one aware that he is being brought here by reasons beyond their understanding.
While those who lost the dream are troubled and worried and desperate for solutions, the men of simple faith sow and till and reap their fields. To those obsessed with the news and world opinion, the incongruity of Zionism and Democracy can no longer be plastered over. The flaw in this man-made ideology has been exposed and they are falling apart. To the man of simple faith this is a good sign.
One can even see this social evolution reflected in the buildings. The old buildings were built in haste with little workmanship and you can see them crumbling alongside the secular Zionism that built them. The new buildings are made of Jerusalem stone, and each one has beauty and uniqueness and is built to last for generations. Even in the architecture one can see a new Israel emerging, one that is learning from its past as it builds its future.
The gap between the religious and the secular is hardly as wide as it was years ago. Both are learning from their mistakes. The devout have had a lesson in faith by the non-observant who left everything to settle the Land of Israel, and those who believed Israel was conquered without G-d have learned that all their victories can be taken away if He so chooses.
The small group that is vocally ‘anti-religious’ is usually made up of individuals from religious backgrounds that have some personal ax to grind. But the majority of the people, even though they have a love affair with the west, are basically traditional at home and even if religion plays no part in their life, they all fulfill the mitzvah of defending their brothers, and this national self-sacrifice equals all the other rituals. To those who defend their Jewish country each day the ‘theory’ of spiritual concepts are easy to understand because they put them into practice each day even if they don’t’ yet know why we eat matzos on Pesach.
Those who still think that Israel is too divided and impure to participate in its evolution are behind the times. There is a new Jew that is coming of age in Israel. A two legged Jew that has both a country and a G-d. A new generation is emerging from the body of Israel, giving birth to its soul. Whatever divisions exist within this nation pales in comparison to that which connects us as brothers isolated by our genius and opposed by a violent world jealous of our light.
Bone Yerushalayim
What interesting times we live in here in Israel. On one hand we see the Zionist dream rotting away and losing all its basis and foundation, and on the other hand we see a new Zionism rising from the ashes like a Phoenix. Just as angels climb up and down the ladder, so are some Jews driven out of Israel and others beckoned from far away.
Who are those leaving and those returning? Who are the men of simple faith who quietly build the Jewish Nation despite all odds? Who are the newcomers who hardly speak the language yet forge ahead undaunted by adversity? Who are these strangers in a familiar land? They are all dreamers and lovers of Zion.
They come in all colors and all religious persuasions. From those who work on Yom Kippur to those who wear the crown of Torah, and walk the streets with Eliyahu Hanavi. They all have one thing in common, which is a love of this Land and its people. They are poets and writers and businessmen and scholars, each one aware that he is being brought here by reasons beyond their understanding.
While those who lost the dream are troubled and worried and desperate for solutions, the men of simple faith sow and till and reap their fields. To those obsessed with the news and world opinion, the incongruity of Zionism and Democracy can no longer be plastered over. The flaw in this man-made ideology has been exposed and they are falling apart. To the man of simple faith this is a good sign.
One can even see this social evolution reflected in the buildings. The old buildings were built in haste with little workmanship and you can see them crumbling alongside the secular Zionism that built them. The new buildings are made of Jerusalem stone, and each one has beauty and uniqueness and is built to last for generations. Even in the architecture one can see a new Israel emerging, one that is learning from its past as it builds its future.
The gap between the religious and the secular is hardly as wide as it was years ago. Both are learning from their mistakes. The devout have had a lesson in faith by the non-observant who left everything to settle the Land of Israel, and those who believed Israel was conquered without G-d have learned that all their victories can be taken away if He so chooses.
The small group that is vocally ‘anti-religious’ is usually made up of individuals from religious backgrounds that have some personal ax to grind. But the majority of the people, even though they have a love affair with the west, are basically traditional at home and even if religion plays no part in their life, they all fulfill the mitzvah of defending their brothers, and this national self-sacrifice equals all the other rituals. To those who defend their Jewish country each day the ‘theory’ of spiritual concepts are easy to understand because they put them into practice each day even if they don’t’ yet know why we eat matzos on Pesach.
Those who still think that Israel is too divided and impure to participate in its evolution are behind the times. There is a new Jew that is coming of age in Israel. A two legged Jew that has both a country and a G-d. A new generation is emerging from the body of Israel, giving birth to its soul. Whatever divisions exist within this nation pales in comparison to that which connects us as brothers isolated by our genius and opposed by a violent world jealous of our light.
