Lately I've been pretty unsettled by a few things on the internet, and the reason I am unsettled is because on the one hand Torah is taught here, and I feel some kind of responsibility to keep things real. But on the other hand, this is a Geula blog, and therefore I link to some blogs predicting doom and disaster for all of us, as that's all part of the Chevlei Moshiach.
But ..... I personally do not believe that all Jews need to make Aliyah.... I was taught that when Moshiach comes, the entire world will be Israel. Reading the never-ending horror predictions for all of us in the diaspora is not very uplifting, and yet we've heard it all before many times.
So I've uploaded a Poll asking whether I should continue to link to blogs predicting disaster for the Jews in the diaspora - with statements such as: "In the diaspora, protection over the Jews has ceased!" - I need to know what you all think. If you have any further comments to make on all of this, please leave them here.
52 comments:
i would blog as such, but with proper context, that chevlei moshiach is a part of geulah; while being practical is also part of being jewish; when and if the time arises to make mass aliyah, im assuming it will be clear to do so, as part of mby is to harness in the gulios.
Protection of the Jews in Galut HAS ceased because now is the Kibbutz Galuyot -ingathering of the Jews to bring them Home. It's not what the Jews who are very comfortable there want to hear, but the German Jews didn't want to hear it either.
devorah please continue. whoever has the means definitely if they want to should go back. its their G-d given heritage. when the time comes, Hashem will bring all back home. i think its more for people who have the means to go back but just dont want to let go. we gentiles also have alot to think about . as the rebbe says every jew will be saved. the rabbis are saying what they feel they should say. later no one can say, they were not warned. i am sure when the time comes for jews to live, Hashem will shove them, it will go from push to shove. so dont worry. just keep it on please. if we dont discuss the mosiach, sometimes our sufferings may jsut about make us give up.
Thank you for this important poll. I so enjoy your blog. Thanks for all you are doing and may you enjoy much hatzlocha and brocha!
That said, though it may seem unpopular and I hesitate to open myself to gratuitous bashing, while I may be accused of "being in denial" since I do live in the U.S., I have to say that although I believe the bloggers and comments are well-intentioned I find them not helpful and moreoever not at all in line with the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe zechus yagen aleinu by whom I hold. And quite frankly, as far as I'm concerned, who is to say? If they hold by someone predicting that then zei gezunter heit. I have yet to find someone I hold by that is predicting this. And yes I am clear that my heart is in E"Y and I am ready to go when it is right for me and my family, parents, etc., and I know why I am currently staying in the US, and I'm not staying for reasons of the golden calf etc claims which I do find patronizing, condescending, and judgmental. There's more I could say but this is plenty for an off the top of my head reply.
Best,
Aviva
Thanks Aviva, I agree with you totally.
Devorah,
Then indeed I find myself in good company.
Thank you for letting me know.
Best,
Aviva
Devorah,
Yes do post them we all have our own mind and its good may lead to repentance .
I think that those saying this are being silly. Yet I don't think this is a reason for delinking them.
I am fully aware by now that just because you link to a story or opinion, this does not mean you yourself endorse it.
Everyone has an opinion.
Some hold by this, some by that.
It's fine to read them all.
HaShem helps us to connect with the things that we as individuals need to hear.
Thanks for all you do….
Beware: We listened to bloggers"Leave America before Rosh Chodesh Sivan" made aliya suffered terribly,one of our kids SNAPPED, we came back and this child of ours LEFT JUDAISM AND DOESNOT BELIEVE IN ANYTHING!!!
I read all of these things, but to tell you the truth, I don't feel that they're helpful and also don't really believe that they're true.
I base my belief on the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who literally told many people that they must stay where they are on their shluchus, bringing other Jews closer to Judaism (or whatever it is that they do) until Moshiach comes - and NOT to go to Eretz Yisroel before then. The Rebbe said that we need to make Eretz Yisroel (the kedusha and awareness of Eretz Yisroel) wherever we are, and it is not "every man for himself... run while you can and woe to those who don't."
I cannot believe for one instant that Hashem is going to protect the Jews who live in Israel and abandon those who are working for HIS mission (or even those who are doing their soul's mission, (i.e. living in the place where Divine Providence put them, etc.) around the world.
And what about the prisoners of Zion? Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin? Jonathon Pollard? Is Hashem going to abandon them because the geula is closer and the shechina is moving east?
The Baal Shem Tov taught us that every single thing that happens in this world, even to the falling of a leaf from a tree, is by specific and personal Divine Providence. Even though, in the cosmic sense, Israel is clearly rising (and my family is hoping to move there very soon!) geula is through Moshiach, and Moshiach will take every Jew out of golus regardless of where they are.
If you add to this the idea, supported by both Torah and quantum physics, that our observations of reality shift that reality, I would say it's far more productive to focus on the positive signs of geula, and on the Divine protection for Eretz Yisroel, and Hashem's revealed love for EVERY Jew.
Just my two cents.
Dear Anonymous,
My heart goes out to you. If you want to post a Hebrew name we can daven/say tehillim for you and/or your family/child.
Aviva
I imagine if web sites had existed in the '30's that there would have been plenty of sites that would be questioning just the same as you are now. What would have been the right answer?
Do you really feel that this is a tempest in a teapot? There's nothing to the destruction of the financial system that is going on right now?
Please understand that there has been a couple of incidents since '08 that have brought the entire financial system to within a hairsbreadth of collapsing. You can search these things out very easily on Google. There's more coming, soon. Try to imagine what this would mean for you and your family. Nothing that you take for granted right now would ever be the same again.
When it happens. I believe you will be fine, but will come to Israel penniless. We will all work together to make sure that we all have what we need and Hashem will make it so. The question is, do you want to be a host family or a hosted family? There is a difference between those that had no choice, those that did and chose to stay in the galut and those that actively fought against those that want to make aliyah because they carry a guilt about their own choice. Everyone knows where they actually fit in this equation and there's no need to discuss the details.
Your website has been very helpful up to now. I think I understand the specifics of the question, but I don't want you to necessarily broaden it to all circumstances that deal with aliyah and whether that would be a good thing for others to do or not to do.
May Hashem bless you with wisdom in your decision.
There are no prophets today. How many times do we need to be reminded of that? Yes, idiots and children but the method being used, Facilitated Communication - placing the hand of the autistic person on top of another person's hand with a alef bet card in front of him, is highly controversial. Who's hand is directing the "prophesy?" The constant strident calls for JEWS COME HOME NOW OR FACE DOOM AND DESTRUCTION!! only ticks off the reader. How arrogant. Moreover many deadlines for the end have come and gone and now what? It's like crying wolf. How many more lines in the sand will be drawn? Also telling Jewish women who are modest in their dress they must wear shawls, black tights and soft soled shoes so men cannot hear the sound of their shoes is patently ridiculous and infuriating.
I agreed with one of Ari Goldwag's posts that all of the forecasts are distracting from living life. But, ignoring information because you don't like what it says, sounds a little like an ostrich to me.
Up until now none of the geula predictions have come to pass. However, that does not mean that current ones won't either. We are in the process of the final geula and have been for a while. But we don't know exactly how long the process will take, or its form.
Having said all of this, it is obvious that the world is being shaken physically and economically, and people should be preparing accordingly. Jabotinsky begged the Jews of Europe to leave in the 20's and 30's. He was largely deemed to be an alarmist. (Would you have not allowed his posts back then?) If anything can be learned from that it is that change can be slow in coming and then be lightening fast, leaving little time to act. (Anyone who follows the news can see that there will be a huge change in the US, all your freedoms and money will soon be not worth the paper they are written on).
*Until* Moshiach comes?
*In 1991, the prophet of the generation –The Lubavitcher Rebbe, clearly announced that all preparations to bring Moshiach have been done. He said that Moshiach is already here, and all we need do is to open our eyes and see that we are seated together with The Almighty at the table of the celebratory feast. *
http://www.chabad.info/index.php?url=article_en&id=16062
You can't use this as an excuse for not making aliyah anymore. Moshiach has been proclaimed as already being amongst us.
My personal opinion is that you should post both. I honestly don't know whether the Jews in diaspora will be brought to Israel on the "wings of an eagle" in the future or if they will leave the same way that they did from Germany. Still, since I really don't know...it's only fair that all the information should be given so that each person can make his own decision and not point a finger at someone else saying "It's your fault!"
"I cannot believe for one instant that Hashem is going to protect the Jews who live in Israel and abandon those who are working for HIS mission ...around the world".
Shifra, you write as if all the Jews in chul are on a big shlichut for Hashem and that Jews in Israel just happen to be here. When the truth is the opposite. Apart from the small minority who are truly suffering by not being in Eretz Yisrael, the vast majority of Jews in chul are not undergoing mesirut nefesh in order to live in Los Angeles or New York.
I have heard it said that at the time of the geula shleima all the Jews will be saved unlike in Mitzraim, but that Jews who came to Israel after Moshiach will complain to Hashem that they aren't given wings like those who were living in Israel before Moshiach. Maybe if your heart is truly in Israel you will also get wings. I don't know how it works exactly.
I love your blog. please keep up the good work. As to the 'prophetic' and more gloomy blogs, would call them more REALISTIC and probable. As a businessman, and an economist, I can say that myself, and several of my colleagues are extremely concerned about the economic catastrophe we may be facing. Several of the top forecasters such as Roubini, and Prechter expect no less than a total collapse of the current mountain of debt in the world. The next five years promise to be extremely difficult. As to the Aliyah blogs, and the idea of moving to Israel, in my opinion, many people will HAVE move out of necessity. and, it's already happening.
So, YES keep up the more realistic blogs, the ones that describe things as THEY ARE, and not as we think they should be.
Good luck to all.
Hashem is running the world. Hashem will bring Geulah. I live in E"Y -- Made Aliyah 6.5 years ago. One child is back in Chutz right now. We daven and pray for all Jews. Yes, we all know that Jews in E"Y are 'supposed' to merit special protection -- but that is for the real righteous. We live in a world of sheker and R"L even in the 'religious' world we have unfortunately issues. Any Rav, Rebbe, or Leader will tell you -- believe in Hashem, daven for Moshiach, put your heart in E"Y and Moshiach and YOU WILL BE FINE.
Oh, PS -- I still would love to see all Yidden move back home now... :)
agree with shifrie above . Even though my soul is with settelers and feel they are the ikker of emunah of the jewish people . We believe in mby mbd not hertzl . Look at tel aviv what a screw up a society based on hertzl is .
One of the bloggers who frequently comments on your posts said that the US dollar was tanking. So I took a huge amount of my money and converted it into shekels. Now it's up over 40NIS per shekel. Man does not know what G-d wills. Only He does.
I am sick and tired of reading about how next week this will happen and next week that will happen etc... and it doesn't coupled with joy and glee about the downfall of other nations.
We should never celebrate other's misfortunes.
Personally, I am undecided as I believe that they may somehow be of value though I also believe that they are not helpful.
I already have an idea on what I need to improve on and am doing what I can to better myself every day, despite the fact that I and countless others outside of Israel are unable to fulfil the Mitzvah of making Aliya and helping to build up the land.
Judging then Condemning Jews outside of Israel for not making Aliya (as well as inside of Israel on other matters) and believing like a hybrid of a prophet and a prosecuting-angel that Jews in general are undeserving of Hashem’s mercy or redemption (woe to Israel since we are never good enough in heaven’s eyes), at times makes one question whether we all believe in the same G-d that appeared at Sinai and if so, how can a merciful G-d be willing to leave behind those trapped and awaiting to be redeemed from their individual circumstances (while also removing their portion to Olam Haba)?
I do believe that at some point maybe sooner than we realise, that all Jews will be required to make mass-Aliya and that depending on whether it will be under the current government of Israel similar to past mass-Aliyas or under a more G-d-fearing governmet that the Land of Israel will probably be larger than it currently is though at the same time, history has always highlighted the fact that one needs to not only have faith and trust in G-d but also to be prepared to be practical and proactive on our part when the time comes.
Also Fwiw, I have constantly read some sites rallying against restaurants serving Kosher food just because the food was originally invented by non-Jews (like Pizza, Burgers, Chips, etc), while implying that restaurants / bars / inns of some form or another never existed in the Land of Israel. With others in Israel calling for more impractical out-of-touch stringencies, supposedly in the name of returning the ways of the ancient Israelites that do not take into account things like the climate in Israel, i.e. Medieval Eastern European Noblemen clothing in the case of men, Islam-inspired Jewish Burqas with subsequent vitamin D deficiency in the case of women, despite past dual Biblical associations of the veil / frumka with both weddings e.g. Leah and Rachel as well as prostitution e.g. Judah and Tamar.
Yes, Devorah, you should continue to link to blogs [speculating on re-compensatory] disaster because sobering wakeup calls are healthy on occasion.
Dear Devorah,
I believe that these " You Jews of Diaspora are doomed.." are causing hate and separation between Jews who live in Israel and us. When I read Nir Ben Artzi' s word from last week I was very upset. He basically told us Diaspora Jews to send our money and support the Jews living in Israel only, and oh, by the way only us Jews who live in Israel will be saved! What are our people thinking in Israel? Who has the money to make Aliya or even think about it? They are insulting us by saying send us money, you are doomed anyways.... Then he says to buy property and sell all your things and send all your Torahs to Israel? Why? Are we not deserving of life? Who decided that? If he was truly a seer he would know and see that many Jews want to leave but can not...not that they don't want too is that they can't! People like the blogger above Zilpah, who said that we are all too comfortable to leave...what is that? Now the Jews in Israel are profiling us like some antisematic goys? So they all do really believe that all Jews in Diaspora are rich, spoiled and loves the golden calf? This is hate speech in my opinion...if Jews believe that about other Jews we are in trouble! Shame on those Jews in Israel that could made Aliya and are now criticizing us and the Jews who think all of us are wealthy and are forecasting our doom! Also many of us here feel betrayed and outraged that this is happening under the words of " don't say we didn't tell you so, you are just like the Jews before the Shoa who didn't want to listen..." you get my point. I say they are in Diaspora as well they are just too self righteous to admit that. If you strong in your faith in HaShem no matter where you are, just stick to him and love him and know there is no one but him to save you .....we will all be okay. HaShem will save each Jew that recognizes that. All these Jews in Israel that act as if they really love us but don't and predict our demise will see that they were preaching hate and division and are not teaching what HaShem wants now and needs from us - all Jews must unit! They are so sure like Nir Ben Artzi that we are doomed that they are demeaning and demoralizing us just because they can- like bullies!who allowed them to do this to us? Are they all being granted permition from heavens to become neviim? Haven't we all supported and love them and Israel for all these years? So now We don't deserve to live like them? I guess as long as we keep sending our hard earned money (yes, we work for it) its all okay...
I guess I am more disappointed about how they treat us, as if they matter more then us. they forget we are all Jews and HaShem loves us all not just them....
Thank you.
M.M
To the anonymous who changed money into shekels:
The dollar may rise temporarily in response to the euro crisis, but may crash after that. (I'm not claiming to have any special knowledge, just from following the news).
It's impossible to know what will be with exchange rates and whether you got a good deal or not is only in hindsight. Personally, I believe that moving your wealth to Israel in various forms is the way to go. The American government has so much debt it will probably start stealing from its citizens quite soon.
And whilst we have to make our best efforts in all matters, we also have to believe that Hashem is in charge, and it ultimately doesn't make any difference what we do. Each person gets what's coming to him from Hashem.
i think its a severe error to give advice to jews in the diaspora or anywhere to do anything in the name of our Torah. we do not have neviim these days, finding imaginative words from the text using gematrias or whatever to give directions are for fools, and daas torah is a bunch of crock adopted from the infallible christian leaders of 1000s years ago. learn torah, perform the mitvoth, and bring holiness to yourself, family, and community. thats just the opinion of my sephardi ravs. god help you if you disagree.
From ha Rav Pinchas Winston.
Read the full article here :
http://wap.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5771/shlach.html
"Indeed, the latter group may even dream of making aliyah one day, and some, who can afford it, even have a second home in the Holy Land, visiting it at least once a year, if not more. Furthermore, many of them may even send their children to learn in Israel or on special programs, and support the country in whatever way they can, short of moving in permanently.
The main thing is to do something that shows that one’s heart resides in Eretz Yisroel, even if one’s body will not. Personally, I tell people, at the very least, open a bank account in Israel and put some money in it on a regular basis, even if only a minimal amount. It is a way of fulfilling the verse:
You will arise and show mercy to Tzion, for the time to favor her, the appointed time will have come. For Your servants desire her stones and cherish her dust. (Tehillim 102:4-15)
And, doing so is extremely important at this time of history, and why the borders of Eretz Yisroel are playing such a prominent role in international politics today. This is not Divine Providence’s way of saying that the Land of Israel is not important and irrelevant to the Jewish people at this time, as some would like to think. Rather, it is Divine Providence’s way of saying just the opposite, that Eretz Yisroel matters tremendously, and may be the test of our generation."
PLEASE... CHERISH HER STONES AND DUST no matter what.....HaShem will do the rest.
As long as you are publishing what is and not manufacturing what is not. I affirm your past history and encourage you not to deviate from it.
The world as we have lived in it is in a process of change such that our children will not see in their lives what we have seen in ours. They will not live with the peace that we have live with.
A current assessment of world allows me to track the days we are in and despite its troubles heightens my anticipation of the arrival of Moshiach.
The Tanach speaks to doom and disaster during the time of Yacov's trouble and it is...as you say..."all part of the Chevlei Moshiach."
Be strong and of good courage, continue with your work.
One doesn't have to be a genius to contradict this statement:
"In the Diaspora, protection over the Jews have ceased!"
Are we all so blind to the countless terrorism being committed if not daily in EY? How come nobody ever said, "Protection in EY has ceased as well?"
When Moshiach comes, we will know. There will be a siren in our heads. Not everybody will hear it at first. But eventually, everyone will.
The saying "The grass is always greener on the other side" unfortunately has creeped into Jewish minds. If you water your grass, it will be green wherever you are. If you spend your time learning Torah and doing mitzvos, you won't have time to think about the other side. Every Jew should bloom where they are planted, not think about why they are not in another place.
Linking to blogs that spew nonsense are counter to the spirituality of the Jew. The Yetzer Hara wants to confuse you. Spend your time helping other Jews with their problems and doing lots of chesed, do outreach and how to bring the Geulah in the least painful way possible. Wasting time reading blogs that confuse is just bitul Torah. If you want to read blogs, make sure you learn Torah in those blogs.
Protection in Eretz Yisrael Has NOT ceased. But the Jews in EY are fighting a war. Our numbers are small, on the fronts and within communities. We fight for a Land we love and which to we connect fully, without compromise or priorities of mammon. It is for the Zchut of Return. It is for the Love of Hashem and His covenant in which He gave this Land to us. Jews cannot love Israel from afar any longer. You must return and fight for the Zchut to live here. What the rabbis are saying is do it now before the war on your front become a losing battle. Join the only fight that can ever matter. To love Israel is to protect her. To connect with her body, mind and soul. You cannot do this from the Golah. That is not marriage. That is a long-distance relationship.
Let's pause for a moment.
Let us clear our minds and hearts from all unnecessary clutter.
Let stillness and peace and joy surround you.
Please take out your 'little' book of Tehillim and recite Ch. 121.
"Shir La'Ma'alos.
Eso enai el he'horim, mei-ayib yovo ezri.
Ezri me-im Hashem, Oseh shomayim vo'oretz....
Hashem yishmor tzeisecho u'voecho- mei ato, v'ad olom...
BASICALLY, KING DAVID IS TELLING US THAT HASHEM GUARDS EVERY SINGLE JEWISH PERSON FROM ANY BAD THING.
HE GUARDS YOUR GOING OUT AND YOUR COMING IN "FROM THIS TIME [onward] AND FOREVER MORE...
PUT YOUR TRUST IN HASHEM,YIDDEN!!!
Please put your COMPLETE FAITH IN HASHEM - and chas v'shalom - in no other...
"BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE!"...
Dear Devorah,
You ask: should you blog or should you NOT blog those scary stuff???
DO NOT BLOG THEM! PLEASE!
As a mother, pray tell me, would you find it HELPFUL to hear all those horrible LABOUR WARD stories??? Of course NOT!
(Besides some births can even be blissful...)
I know, 'cause it's happened to me.
I truly believe that:
A POSITIVE APPROACH NEVER HURTS!
Eli says:-
There are many people who have good reason to be living in chutz le'Aretz; elderly relatives, good Torah education etc.
If all Jewish people move to Israel, what are all the armies of meshulochim going to do? How will they raise money if there isn't anyone in chul?
I have nothing against you reposting or not reposting, it's the same to me, and what I don't want to read, I skip. Of course if people asked their own rabbis some actual questions (such as "should I abandon a comfortable life in a country because of internet rumors in order to become a poor man in Israel and possibly having my family break up, losing my equilibrium, etc") it is pretty clear what they would be advised.
My heart goes to the victim of those monsters. Actually, many of these monsters, once were average people, who later went to Israel and/or became religious, not because of a genuine desire, but because they had mental health troubles and hoped they'd feel better. They should have seen a psychiatrist and saved boundless pain to themselves, to their families, and to their victims.
"Every Jew should bloom where they are planted, not think about why they are not in another place."
To Bas Melech: WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! This kind of thinking is exactly the problem. Eretz Yisrael is not just "another place" it is Eretz Yisrael, Tsion, and even if you do not merit to live there now, or are able to be making concrete plans to make aliyah now you should be yearning for it. (I like Joe's idea of the bank account).
To anonymous who agrees with Shifrie, "Look at tel aviv what a screw up a society based on hertzl is." You should be very careful about talking lashon hara about Eretz Yisrael and its Jewish inhabitants. Even if you believe it to be true. (Better to live with idol worshippers in Israel than in a Torah centre in chul, that includes Monsey and Gateshead) Anyone who speaks lashon hara about Eretz Yisrael will have a very hard time making aliya. Yes, we have problems, but remember that living in Israel is cneged col HaTorah culo, and even those of whom you disapprove have that zchut, and many of them underwent mesirut nefesh for Eretz Yisrael.
Both of you seem to have a problem accepting the centrality of Eretz Yisrael to Torah and Mitzvot. I strongly recommend you reading Em Habanim Smeicha.
As for the whole debate about living in Israel or chul, the aim is not to create divisions, but the opposite, unity, but unity according to the Torah. The Torah commands us to live in Eretz Yisrael, Moshe prayed 515 times to be able to enter the land, the gemara is replete with sayings of its importance. However, unfortunately, the vast majority of Jews in chul do not want to make aliya, and prefer to live where they are. Those who really do, but feel unable to do, are in a minority. There are many different predictions of what will be bechevlei moshiach, including dire ones for the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael. The point is not just where we can best save our own skins, but to be in the place where we belong. Each person must decide for themselves where that is, according to the Torah. We should also remember that all our mitzvot, Torah and good deeds in chul are reckoned to the nations merit and not that of am yisrael. Only in Israel are we a klal (spiritually speaking).
To those who disagree, I am only repeating what is in the mekorot. And if your rav disagrees, well, this would not be the first time that a rav thought that Jews should not make aliya.
I agree that those of us who merit to live in Eretz Yisrael should not feel smug about it. It is truly a zechut. Personally, I made aliya twice, as the first time it did not work out. B"D the second time, many years ago now, did, but I am very much aware that I cannot take it for granted and that I have to merit it constantly. But neither should those in chul be so critical of Israel, saying how screwed up it is, and taking pride in their galut. I have heard frum, frum people turn their noses up at us,saying that Israel is not frum enough for them.
"ve techezna eineinu beshuvcha lezion berachamim"
Can anyone imagine being in the Medinat and having to ask help from some of the commentors? Or being in front of them, with our paperwork and their supposed "power" to destroy our life and property, our health and family and well-being, in some immigrant absorbtion office, kupat holim, etc? Or, G-d forbid, in a courtroom?
Em Habanim Smeicha.
I'm in total agreement with the last poster. Every Jew living in galut should read Eim HaBanim Semeichah by HaRav Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal zt"l. This is a very important book. I am afraid that what happened to him will happen to us.
Do some of you really think that the reshaim in Israel will be spared, and the righteous in chutz l'aretz will be wiped out?
Does that make sense on any level?
Why would G-d go to the trouble of ensuring that Jews were dispersed throughout the world, in order to rectify the sparks [as per chassidic teachings] - and then destroy all those lands that were spiritually rectified by the Jews?
What would be the point?
Devora, why do you draw the lines so starkly ("Do some of you really think that the reshaim in Israel will be spared, and the righteous in chutz l'aretz will be wiped out"). I've read all the comments and only one said something about protection being removed for Jews in chul. No-one has said anything remotely along your black and white lines. It seems to me that you are projecting.
I think that there are two main problems in this debate:
1) There is a difference between being aware of what is happening in the world, and in the US, especially (and understanding that it is possible for things to change drastically and beyond your wildest nightmare) and making definite predictions. NO-ONE knows what will be exactly, because decrees can be changed etc, etc. As such, I don't know how much weight should be given to specific predictions. That is a personal decision. However, it would be wise to be aware of what is happening around you, as your freedoms are gradually being trampled on and removed. TSA is just the beginning. Next is the National Defense Authorization Act and if you have not heard of it and its implications that is part of the problem. Then there is that awkward debt issue. Where is the US government going to get the money to cover it? All it's got left is its citizens. None of this comes from kabalistic predictions, but are some thoughts that have arisen amongst political and economic analysts given the current reality.
2)The second issue is that many of your commentors do not seem to grasp the centrality of Eretz Yisrael to Torah and Mitzvot. And even worse than, they are spreading lashon hara about Israel. And as we all know, this is the sin of the spies. (Sorry to say this, but it's true.)
If you're in chul now, at the very least you should be yearning for Eretz Yisrael, and strengthening your connection to Israel, learning Hebrew, and asking Hashem for a miracle to bring you here. You should also be encouraging others to make aliya, not the opposite.
I actually just wanted to post again with some practical info for your readers. In case this helps anyone:
http://www.nbn.org.il/about/special-programs/gonorth-program/go-north-frequently-asked-questions.html
You may be entitled to a grant, as well as to subsidies for being a new immigrant and moving to a national priority area. It doesn't hurt to ask. In addition you get the beautiful scenery.
Anonymous, I really wish you had a name.... I'm not projecting, I'm asking a question. Do you think that everyone in Israel, including the reshaim, will be spared, while everyone in the diaspora, including the righteous, will be wiped out?
Because that is the impression I'm getting from some blogs, seers and comments.
To those in the heartbreaking situation of being desperate to make aliya, but in such limiting financial straits:
Even though it seems impossible to you right now to make aliya the first thing is that you have to believe that Hashem can do anything, including turning around your situation. I strongly recommend following Rav Brody’s shiurim and website, and being in touch with him for advice and chizuk.
On the practical side, contact Nefesh B”Nefesh and the Jewish Agency to see what kind of assistance is available to you. Regardless of what people tell you, make sure you get your information directly from these sources because the conditions change and everyone’s situation is different. Look into making aliya to a kibbutz, at least for the ulpan, and right now start learning as much Hebrew as you can. There’s lots of free stuff on the internet. A knowledge of Hebrew will greatly improve your employment prospects.
Also, try to get your affairs in order as much as possible. Sell as much as your non-essential stuff as you can. (And most of what we have is non-essential). And set up the spiritual aliya fund (this is from one of Rav Brody’s shiurim). Set up the account, and deposit one dollar a week and let Hashem do the rest.
And to end with a story I heard first hand from the son:
A Jewish family was sent to Siberia in the forties. Somehow they heard about the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the father was ecstatic. His wife said to him, why are you so happy we’re still here how are we ever going to get to Israel. Well, Stalin died, they were released and were among the first Soviet Jews to make aliya. B”D they prospered in Israel, and one seder night, many years later, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, the same father said, “I’m the happiest man alive”, and then he passed away.
None of us know why we (as a people) have to go through so many trials and tribulations, but we do know that Hashem is with us and can turn anything around. Just imagine how this man felt when he heard about the creation of the Jewish state. And just how impossibly far away he was from it. Yet, as his son told me, his father was always optimistic throughout the FIFTEEN YEARS(!!) IN SIBERIA (that was the son’s whole childhood from age three), and that is what sustained his family. (Unfortunately he told me about other families that were literally broken by their terrible experiences.) Of course, the point is not to judge, (I can hardly survive a thirty minute power outage), but to be inspired by the amazing faith of this man.
I wish you all strong emuna and yeshuat Hashem bekarov, memash. B”D.
Devorah, you're right, I should have a name. I was just thinking that and then I saw your comment. Is there a way I could go back and use a name for my comments?.
As for your question, first of all I can't comment on what other people write. It will only be from hindsight that we will know who was right. As for me, I don't know the answer to your question. I barely know what I'm going to have for breakfast tomorrow morning. But I'll ask you this in return: since when did being righteous protect a person from a horrible death (lo aleinu). A million Jewish children before bar/bat mitzva with no sins were murdered in the shoah, as were tsadikim gmorim, and countless other pure yidden. Rabbi Akiva, had a terrible death. Not only that, when you see who so many of the victims of the terror attacks in Israel, it is so often the completely righteous, Mercaz Harav, the Fogels, Dr. Appelbaum. It's never a member of the mafia.
Moving on, I am concerned, principally for American Jewry, as the major community in galut, mainly on account of what is happening over there, and only partially because of moshiach predictions. It is obvious that "something" is happening in the world and that this is not the world we grew up in. And it is also obvious that we as Jews never, never learn, each time, thinking that it will be different.
I also find the attitude of the connected Jews to be very sad. I always loved Israel from a young age and living here was a life's dream for me. I made aliya out of love, despite having excellent prospects in chul. Now, I see Israel being discussed either as a last escape to save their skins (and when the predicted armageddon failed to materialise, people feel cheated!) or alternatively being dissed as these connected Jews try to justify their existence in galut. This is an insult to Eretz Yisrael. (and I mean this seriously).
Sorry for only adding this now, but I just want to say that your site is phenomenal. The only thing I would add, is that you should be careful not to allow lashon hara on it as this is clearly against the Torah.
"Everyone in Israel will be spared, while everyone in the diaspora, including the righteous, will be wiped out"
This is not accurate. In galut when The Time comes - When G-d reveals Himself through nature, for example if the Cascadia fault causes massive earthquake and tsunami from northern California to British Columbia or there is a tsunami on east coast, or Syria, NKorea and Iran send missiles our way, is it possible the righteous will be missed completely? The righteous received the punishment of the Holocaust along with the wicked. I don't count myself among the wicked. I hope Hashem considers me mostly righteous, but I do not feel at all comfortable thinking I'm safe here in galut. I keep my head on a swivel and pray for redemption. There's a deadline for safely getting out of here. After the red line has been crossed it will be very, very dangerous and anything, including flights being stopped to Israel, can happen. And when the money is gone and the people are hungry and want to drink and the welfare checks and SSI is no longer coming in they are going to take what they want from whoever has what they want.
To all the people with their nightmare aliya stories, you know, some people get married and have nightmare marriages. Mentally ill people get married and destroy their spouse's lives too. Does that mean that people shouldn't get married either? Or maybe that they should take the usual precautions when making a major life decision.
Also, there are plenty of Jews in cults in chul. So all these stories don't really say much about Israel, but the lesson is that one should be sensible in one's dealings in general and take responsibility for one's decisions. And stop making them based on something they read on some blog - except for my comments of course :)
B"D, I know many people who years later can tell of their successful aliya, they got/stayed married, their children are doing fine, they have a nice home and work in professional jobs. For every disaster you can tell me I'll give you twenty such success stories. So please stop with all the melodrama.
Yes, they do. Upon aliyah we are vulnerable. We would never move to any other country unless we had very solid arrangements, a house, parnasa, friends and colleagues, arrangement for our spouse and all our children. But any person who is scared into immigrating to Israel, will forego all those steps. In addition there are "rabbis" - all of them are fake - which are preying upon people. I have personally received obscene letters - in print, and along with "religious" material - from one of those supposed rabbis. I brought the piece of paper to a rabbi and guess what! He had a drawer filled with those, and showed me a few. He added that this particular "rabbi", who is no rabbi at all (and is married), had attempted to seduce someone else's wife. This person I am talking about is very well known as an impostor (and likely chayav misa), but, he is still around. These people have power and money, and will have no hesitation to use against anyone, chachamim and real rabbis included.
Anonymous, ask the "successful stories" to hire perspective olim, give them an apartment and security of a well-paying job. Guess what! They can't. They barely stay afloat with their families. It is not easy to make a living in Israel, and it's even more difficult for newcomers.
Bloggin bloggin bloggin, Devorah should keep on bloggin. Keep on bloggin, Devorah, rawhiiiiiiide!
Ok, yes keep on blogging. Look, there are thinkgs that you blog, that I do not necessarily listen to -Nir Ben Artzi. The rest? I love! I appreciate that you blog seriously and from many angles. I also like your links. You are the only website that I log onto and from your site I log onto the links- not the other way around. Especially that these years are so critical and because I believe that not enough people out there are pushing strongly enough about the upcoming redemption that it is even more important that you sta in the forefront. Look, even if moshiach does not come this year (lo aleinu) you need to stay here.
This is the site that comes from a good many angles and from spiritual angles, too. The rabbanim you quote (like Kanievsky and the sefardic rabbanim in EY) to Rabbi Fisch etc...all of them are the legitimate sources and they are accepted by the mainstream. From the torah codes of R' Glazerson are accepted sources. One will always fond someone who will dispute them, yet they are widely accepted so to read it here is amazing. Rebbetzen Jungreis is a woman full of emuna and you post her articles here and you know what? SOmetimes you have to shake people up a bit. So, Devorah if you believe that Moshiach is truly coming then print the articles and the like. Everyone can take or leave what they want.... always a fan....
Leah I'm not quitting the blog, just asking what people think about linking to some sites, and whether some dodgy predictions detract from the Torah teachings on my site, in which case it would be a chillul Hashem to continue linking to them.
But from the reaction I think everyone still wants to read the latest predictions, whether they believe them or not, so nothing will change.
1. Regarding specific unscrupulous people: under the guidance of a real rav, you MUST publish all the details, and publish them in newspapers and blogs etc to warn people. This is NOT lashon hara, but the opposite, a mitzvah to protect the unsuspecting. However, this is about the charlatans themselves not Israel. There are charlatans in chul as well. Some people marry charlatans. Does that mean that you rule out marriage as well? These days you are blessed to have this phenomenal, professional organization called Nefesh B”Nefesh. Anyone making aliya from America should consult with them all the way. There is no need for anyone to be making aliya to an isolated cult
2. “A person who is scared into aliya”: this is also part of the problem. See above comments. People make aliya from fear and not love, living their nightmare not their dream, and thus everything is a burden to them. Eretz Yisrael is acquired through yissurim (lo aleinu). It is for each one of us to decide how we will accept them - in love or in anger.
3. You have VERY high expectations. Do you have the right to a well paying job and an apartment where you are or do you have to work for it? Part of making aliya is about lowering expectations in gashmiut. Unless you are rich, you will probably have less gashmiut in your life. Although you should also note that real food (ie not processed), education and medical services are all much, much cheaper in Israel. You have to decide whether or not you can live with less consumer goods. However, spiritually you will be living in a different dimension.
4. And the “success stories” are indeed that. I know plenty of people who have set up businesses and employ other olim, and others who are well employed in their professions. It may be hard for you to hear that if your own aliya didn’t work out. My first aliya didn’t work out either for various reasons. B”D I was able to try again.
5. “It is not easy to make a living in Israel, and it's even more difficult for newcomers”: these days making a living anywhere is not so easy, and you are more likely to be unemployed in the US than in Israel. Top companies have branches in Israel: Microsoft and Intel are old news, Apple is joining them, just for example. Also, I know that Israel is crying out for nurses and English teachers. If you are TRULY interested in making aliya, I suggest that you contact Nefesh B’Nefesh, and explore your options in the Israeli job market, with people whose job it is to help you succeed. Whilst there are opportunities for monolinguals, it is advisable to learn as much Hebrew as possible, it will really help, and be a bit flexible to learn new skills or even change profession, as appropriate to your circumstances.
6. On the other hand, if all you are interested in is putting other people off of making aliya, I kindly request that you stop, and I request from Devora to stop allowing these comments. Being aware of dangers and challenges is important, but just to spew forth all this negativity about Israel to put other people off is a big aveira.
So is there a way I can go back to claim ownership of my comments?
No, if you want to own/edit your comment, you need to sign in to a Google account or other ID. Anonymous commentors can't edit.
dooms day garbage just makes fun of the whole idea of redemption in the first place.
Anonymous:
In regards to lashon hara, I am not sure whom this is referring to. What I can say is that the situations I know are already public. But really there is no need for us to have a list of fake rabbis, only to check those we put our trust in. Yet, people don't do. I also imagine the "famous kiruv rabbi" is the one who recorded music and whom we all heard about, and he is passed away. It is not necessary to repeat stories we all know.
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