Looking at everything that has happened in the last hundred years, any believing Jew would have to recognize that we are living in Messianic times. We went from exile and the worst destruction of our people, to redemption and the ingathering of the exiles in our homeland. We had been praying for our redemption for two thousand years, and now we had achieved it, albeit partially. We had ended every Seder and Yom Kippur service with the hopeful call of, "Next Year in Jerusalem," and now that dream has become a reality.
Religious Jews were not at the forefront of the early Zionist movement; in fact, most were against it. However, with the establishment of the state of Israel, a religious Zionist movement formed, and began to contribute to the spiritual growth of the state, as well as the return of religious Jews to our homeland.
However, for the most part, the religious world has ignored the magnitude of these Messianic events. After having prayed for two thousand years for these events to occur, one would have thought that we as a religious community would have been more affected.
Currently, we dedicate ourselves to strengthening the Jewish communities of the Diaspora. We have built synagogues, schools, JCCs, and even universities all over the world. The number and size of Jewish organizations in the United States is simply staggering. These organizations do a tremendous amount of good in spreading the message of Judaism, and reaching out to those who may otherwise have no connection. But for the most part, these organizations and schools have not been spreading the message that we are living in Messianic times, that the land of Israel is our home, and that we now have the historic opportunity to return which our ancestors only dreamed about.
Over the last two difficult years, schools and synagogues across the country and around the world have joined together in saying Tehillim for "our brothers and sisters in Israel." We have organized countless rallies to announce that "We stand with Israel." Doing so is of tremendous importance; however, we have lost sight of the fact that it is not just our "relatives" who live in Israel that have a national stake in its survival! Who is the "we" in "We stand with Israel?" Americans? Are "we" not the same "we" as those who stand in Israel? We haven't made the extra step from supporting a cause to being that cause.
Rabbis are in a tremendous position to influence their congregations. This is their job. Just this year, Rabbi Mordechai Tendler, a congregational Rabbi in New Hempstead, NY, announced to his congregation that the time had come to return home, and established a new community in Israel along with seventy families from his community. This move was inspirational well beyond the borders of his community. But why aren't more Rabbis making similar moves? Why are most Rabbis content with maintaining the status quo of a religious Jewry in exile? Should not the religious community believe that is it our leaders, our rabbis, who will lead us into the Messianic age?
But the blame does not lie completely with the Diaspora community. It seems like many of the religious leaders in Israel, while physically redeemed, are spiritually still in the Exile. What are the two main focuses of the hareidi parties in Israel? Getting money for yeshivot and avoiding the army. Weren't these precisely our goals in Czarist Russia, one hundred years ago? What has changed, now that we are in Israel? Even Mafdal, which does support more traditionally Zionist enterprises, such as settling all of Biblical Israel, does not seem to have grasped the opportunities that religious leadership in the Knesset could have.
Last Yom Kippur, MK Rabbi Michael Melchior arranged for traditional Kol Nidre and Neila services for completely secular Jews. Thousands of Jews attended who had never before been to a synagogue. It seems to me that this is this is the kind of innovative action that the religious leadership in Israel should be taking. Why aren't the majority of religious leaders in Israel focusing on helping more Jews make aliyah? Or, for example, encouraging Jews in Israel to keep shmita with financial incentives, so they don't have to sell their land, our land, to Gentiles? Why aren't more of our religious leaders looking for ways to inspire secular Israelis to a greater spiritual existence?
Furthermore, we have had sovereignty over Israel for over fifty years. Why haven't we attempted to reconvene the Sanhedrin, the religious High Court? It doesn't have to be on the Temple Mount. But if it were re-established, it would serve as a beacon of light and hope to Jews and non-Jews alike all over the world. Population surveys have shown that the majority of Jews in the world will live in Israel within twenty years. This has many halachic consequences, which have not been in effect since the time of the first Temple. Are we prepared to deal with this religious challenge with our current Diaspora rabbinic leadership?
So, where do those of us who are not Rabbis fit in to this picture? I believe that it is the job of the every member of the Jewish community to be active and speak out on these important issues. Chaza"l (our Sages) said, "I learned a lot from my friends, more from my teachers, but the most from my students." We have the ability to show our Rabbinic leadership that aliyah and Zionism should be a goal, and not just an option, and Rabbis will respond positively to this genuine desire from their students for this kind of leadership.