Israel Today

Israel Today What I Love About Israel

By Rafi Sackville

There inevitably comes a time for every new Oleh when the dazzle of having made Aliyah wears off; life assumes a routine that has nothing to do with rose gardens or dreamy visions of being a pioneer. Daily life with its unadorned challenges is far removed from the dreams of living in the Holy Land. However diminished it may be, the aura of those dreams remains in a hidden drawer that we occasionally open – to ponder, to reminisce, to sigh over.

I recently contacted a large group of friends who have been living in Israel for many years to ask them why they love living here. Their answers ranged from the spiritual, the sublime to the practical.

I present them to you here in no particular order: • “How on Shabbat our neighbors place a table covered with different spices outside their front gate so that passersby can make brachot. I’ve watched total strangers walk into their house during the Shabbat meal to thank them for their effort.” • “At a young age, I was taught that Hashem gave us this land.” • “Surrounded by Jews is a great feeling; how good is it when the news reader wishes everyone Shabbat Shalom and then plays songs that resonate.” • “It’s great to be protected by my own Jewish army.” • “We have a Jewish government and have even had a PM who wears a kippah.” • “I never feel strange sleeping in a sukkah.” • “keeping one day Chag and not having to cook so many meals.” • “Antisemitism doesn’t exist here. In France, I was reminded that I was a Jew every day.”

• “The natural and spiritual history of Israel is akin to living in a magical kingdom.” • “I have a fetish for taxes and bureaucracy.” • “In Israel, I feel that I am participating on the stage of history. Outside Israel, one is in the audience.” • “Education is far cheaper than chutz la’aretz.” • “Hashem is always looking at Israel. It has a heightened spirituality.” • “Living here gives me the opportunity to do favors for fellow Jews. The FedEx guy who won’t come out of his truck when it’s raining. I’ll run out to him with something to drink.” • “I love feeling that I am at home and not a member of a tolerated minority.” • “I love that I can be anywhere in the country and be able to go into almost any grocery store and everything is kosher.” • “I don’t feel defensive when I read things anti Israeli in the foreign press.” • “Better to be part of the majority than not.” • “I love the constant roller coaster ride in politics, security and co existence. ”

• “Family and friends from all over the world come to visit you.” • “The proximity to Europe.” • “It’s home.” • “I love the fact I can keep Shabbos and holidays without it being awkward, because mostly everyone is keeping or recognizing them.” • “When new Olim are learning Hebrew, the first word they learn really quick is ‘mah, mah.’” • “To constantly experience the knowledge that wherever we are in the country we are walking on holy ground.”

• “That despite the political divide Israeli society functions, for the most part, respectfully and congenially.” • “Despite its growing affluence, life is easier than in America.” • “I‘m comfortable, and I love being home.” • “Being in the land my ancestors dreamed of for 2,000 years.” • “Being part of Jewish history in the making.” • “The chag sameach signs on the buses.” • “The energy, madness, frustration and inspiration I experience daily.” • “Bringing my family back to be an active part of an amazing Jewish historical adventure.” • And then there’s this: one friend told me that within a three minute period he experienced the many faces of Israel. He was on the beach when the lifeguards left at the end of the day. He noticed that, except for a large group of elderly Russian men and women, most of the Israelis left the beach when the lifeguards finished work at the end of the day.

He decided to take a walk south towards the mechitza, the area designated for religious bathers. Behind it, he discovered a large group of Chareidi men dressed totally in black from head to toe, listening to a shiur by their rav who was standing before them lecturing from a shtender.

As he was talking, a unit of soldiers doing a stretcher march walked into view, trudging along the sand in formation.

All this occurred within a few meters and all within moments.

Only one respondent had a negative take on her almost-30 years here. She caught me off-guard when she wrote, “If I had the chance, I’d leave.” She is an anomaly among the dozens I contacted.

There were also more than a few who didn’t answer me. One reply to my persistence was curt; she was too busy. Another friend completely ignored my request.

What I did find interesting was the fact that so many of my friends took a while to respond. When I asked them why, they admitted they were not accustomed to having to respond to such a question. There tended to be a need to think about the question.

Taken together, these responses do not help us understand Israel any better. They prove nothing statistically. And yet they do say something about the nature of those who have made Israel home. One can detect an undercurrent of mild surprise, of delight and honor in being Israeli citizens.

No, we were never offered a rose garden, but one thing is certain: many of us have planted our own flower beds and still revel in having made the choice when we were young to leave family and friends behind and carve out a life for ourselves here.

If given the chance, I’m sure all of them would try to convince you to make Aliyah. I certainly would.

So what are you waiting for?

Rafi Sackville, formerly of Cedarhurst, teaches in Ort Maalot in Western Galil.