Editor: Batsheva Pomeranzt This monthly feature is geared towards encouraging Aliyah... AND encouraging veteran and new Olim to become more involved in encouraging and easing the Aliyah of others. Rooted in Eretz Yisrael by Hana
Ben-Dov The date was chosen because it is toward the end of winter in Israel and the earth begins to wake up. Green sprouts appear and the trees begin to bloom. The first tree to blossom is the almond. Its lovely pink-white flowers are a refreshing lift and you know spring is coming soon. We were happy to find that in Israel Tu B'Shvat is a welcome day of national celebration. All over Israel, schools, youth and adult groups, and families plant saplings, sponsored primarily by the Jewish National Fund. When Tu B'Shvat falls out on Shabbat, the plantings are on another day. The plantings have an important contemporary purpose, which is to restore green fertility to the dry and barren areas of Eretz Yisrael, after the trees and land were abused and neglected by the many foreign occupiers of our land during the long years of our exile. The land of Israel flourishes when those who love her are here to care for her. When Jews came they planted. Trees provide shade and food. Their roots soak up rainwater and dew. This helps maintain the underground water table and prevents run-off and flooding. There are challenges which we accepted
when we come here to set down our own roots, fulfilling the words of that
old and meaningful song: "Anu banu artza livnot ul'hibanot ba" - "we came to
this land to build and to grow here". Much of the road to Omer ran through dry brown, stony land. Approaching Omer, I was happy to see a grove of trees with benches and picnic tables. The sign brought tears to my eyes: "These trees were planted by the children of the Hebrew schools of New York City". It brought back a flood of memories from my childhood. "Could one of these trees be mine?", I wondered. One wall of our Hebrew school classroom had JNF posters of trees. Their "leaves" were empty circles. Five pennies bought a green leaf sticker to paste in a circle. Fifty "leaves" meant that a tree would be planted in Eretz Yisrael. We always tried to "plant" a few trees before Tu B'Shvat. That sign near Omer made me feelthat for years I had already had roots in Eretz Yisrael. With the steady return of Jews to the
Holy Land and the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael,
there is a heightened perception of the concept of redemption for the land
and for ourselves, with our heritage and traditions, and the mitzvot
connected to the land, which we now can observe. Rachel Reeder of Nof Ayalon came to Israel with her family in July 2003 through Nefesh B'Nefesh. Before Aliyah, they researched the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisrael. We are a bit of an unusual family. We have four grown children (three married) and a pre-schooler. We made Aliyah with only the youngest. We have no family members in Israel. Yes, it was a scary move in many ways, but we became convinced that it was the right thing to do. During the five and a half years that we were planning our Aliyah, my husband and I took six pilot trips, talked with many, many olim and looked at a variety of communities throughout Israel. We also researched the information on the issue of the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Israel. There is a great deal of confusion and misinformation surrounding this issue. We could not even find a reading list on the topic, and finally created our own. (See list at end of this article.) Ultimately, we were convinced by extensive reading and discussions with rabbis in Israel and the U.S. and olim in Israel that there is indeed a strong commandment to settle the Land. We are convinced that this is a unique time: For thousands of years Jews longed to be able to live here, and for so much of that time it was not possible; how could we NOT come now, when it is possible? In our readings, we discovered stories of the hardships Jews endured during the establishment of the various communities in and near Jerusalem, just to carry out this mitzvah. How can anyone compare the experience of being exposed to wild beasts, cholera epidemics, and extreme poverty, with today's experience of Aliyah? Yes, certainly there are issues for North Americans considering Aliyah. We lived in Los Angeles, with wonderful observant communities, a variety of great day schools, dozens of kosher restaurants, and wonderful programs of shiurim and Shabbatot. Certainly it is possible to have a great experience of living a religious lifethere. However, as with many things in life, it could be great, BUT not what the Ribbono Shel Olam wants of us! The United States, for all its comfortable hosting of Jews, is nevertheless GALUS. We were 100% convinced that Jews are commanded to live in Israel and that each Jew must long for this and plan for this, andultimately, actually make Aliyah. All of us eventually, after 120, have to stand before the Ribbono Shel Olam and account for how we spent the years allotted to us. I could not live with myself if I had to say "Thank you so much for giving us the Land of Israel, but I preferred to spend my life in Southern California". Aliyah Reading List [1] Eim Habanim Semeichah, by Rabbi
Shlomo Teichtal, translated by Rabbi Moshe Lichtman. The earliest battle in the Valley for which we have recorded evidence was fought by Yehoshua and the Tribes of Israel. The sun stood still long enough for Yehoshua to complete his victory (Yehoshua 10:12-14). An interesting fact: In Central and South America, the highly developed calendar of the ancient Mayan culture shows that there was a single day, over 300 years ago, when the sun did not rise. If the sun does not set over the Ayalon Valley, it will not rise over Central and South America. (Although I do not need the Mayans to confirm what we read in Yehoshua, it is interesting that a source unrelated to anything Jewish supports the verses.) The Battle of Emmaus, fought in the Ayalon Valley without benefit of an outright miracle, was led by Yehuda Maccabee. An excellent example of how to manage a battle, it is taught until today in ZaHaL officers' training courses. The Latrun police fort, built by the British in 1942, controlled the road to Jerusalem. During the War of Independence, at least five attempts of our forces to capture the fort and surrounding hills ended in failure. Since one of the attacks on Latrun involved the first use of tanks by ZaHaL and the Armored Corps, the police fort became the central memorial site for our Armored Corps. Until the Six Day War, the Green Line ran through the Valley. Kibbutz Sha'alvim (named for a Biblical town in the area) was established as a NaHaL outpost in 1951 by the Ezra youth movement. It has a hesder yeshiva and an educational center. Nof Ayalon, a "Torani Leumi" community near Sha'alvim was established 10 years ago, along the Green Line. Today there are 2600 residents. About 20% of Nof Ayalon's families are olim. As a Torani community, Nof Ayalon has at least 70 shiurim a week, from Torah stories for pre-school children through high-level shiurim for Hesder yeshiva graduates. [The Parshat
Mishpatim Homepage]
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