Nate
P.S.
Here is a letter I wrote explaining my decision to make aliyah and serve in the IDF a few months ago right before I flew over here:
Why I am Making
Aliyah
Dear
friends and family, I am writing this letter so that I can I get down in
writing all of the different reasons, thoughts and emotions that are pushing me
to make this decision.
In a certain sense, this decision
is very selfish of me. I will be leaving you for a foreign country, where I
won’t be able to see you on a regular basis. This is probably the biggest
obstacle for me making aliyah: I of course want to be close to you because I
love you all and even more important; I would never want to cause pain or worry
to anyone.
I also understand the serious
threats facing Israel from its lovely neighbors, I understand that life there can
be difficult, and that I am passing up on the opportunity to make a lot more
money comfortably here.
So what are my reasons for making
aliyah to Israel and enlisting in the IDF?
One: As a religious Jew (or at
least one who tries to do as best he can), it is not enough to be moral people
and follow Jewish law. I think that religious Jews living outside of Israel
must ask themselves: what am I doing here? If we sacrifice to keep kosher and
Shabbat, to send our kids to private Jewish schools, and a whole host of other
things, are we unable to sacrifice for the land of our forefathers? It is a religious
value of the Jewish people that we are supposed to be a light unto the nations.
The only way we can achieve this value if we have a place of our own to
disseminate our values and way of life. In whatever small way I can, I want to
contribute to that vision.
Two: I love Israel, its culture,
its people, and the physical landscapes. There is just a feeling there that I
don’t feel anywhere else. It is our home and there is a feeling that everyone
is in it together. It is simply the Jewish home in every way. I identify myself
as a Jew. I don’t view myself as an American who happens to follow the Jewish
religion. Being Jewish is not just about the religion, but also about being
part of a people. The Jewish people have one land, Israel, and that is where I
want to live.
Three: This is the first time we
have had a state in over 2000 years. Israel is the greatest Jewish experiment
of the past century. Through this experiment we have literally re-established a
dead language, created the first authentic Jewish army in 2000+ years, built a
vibrant economy, press and Hebrew culture. Israel is still young enough that
everyone who lives there has a chance to change it for the better in some small
way. How could I live on the sidelines? In some small way I feel like I can
help Israel become even greater than it is today.
Four: When the early Zionists were
thinking about creating an Israel, one of their major goals was to create a
“new Jew”. What they meant was that they didn’t want Jews to be viewed as weak,
scholarly, and lacking the spine to stand up for themselves. They wanted Jews
to return to being strong, independent and nationalistic people living proudly
in their land. Unfortunately, in the process, they cut off many Jews from
Judaism and their history. I think however that part of their message is still
important. I want to be a proud and strong religious Jew living in my land; no
dual loyalty accusations, or hand-wringing, or “what will the goyim say?!”
sentiments. I look forward to the issues confronting Israel: how to integrate the
ultra-Orthodox, how to deal with minorities, where is the line between religion
and State, etc. I look forward to these problems because they are our
issues, Jewish issues that will require organic Jewish solutions.
I hope that you understand through
these admittedly disjointed jottings why I am making this big step. Now the
question you are probably asking yourselves is why I am putting myself in
harm’s way to serve in the IDF as a combat soldier? (A word of background, as a
23 year old, I am only required to do 6 months of service)
The simple answer is: who else? I
fully understand that I am not required to serve in the army by strict Israeli
law, but my convictions tell me otherwise. If I want to live in Israel where
native Israelis give the best three years of their lives in order to defend our
independence, who am I to shirk from the shared responsibility? I want to be
able to live in Israel knowing that I too went through hell for the right to
live here.
My blood is no redder than any
other Israelis. The truth of the matter is that at times you have to be willing
to sacrifice everything for what you believe in. I believe that those who have
the ability to donate of their bodies and time to our country, the one and
only, have the responsibility to do so.
I hope that you understand that I
know that I sound like a hopeless idealist. But in fact, I have spoken with
many Israelis, and I know that many of them are dying to get out of army service
and dream of making it to America or Europe. I will not be joining an army that
doubles as a Zionist army camp. It will be difficult, boring, excruciating, and
tiring and the soldiers in it will not be motivated. My reasons still stand,
however. I am doing this for my own sake, to know that I did my part. I am NOT
doing this to be a Rambo or play at being a soldier. I fully appreciate the
seriousness of what I am doing. This is a decision I have arrived at after five
years of thinking and deliberating on.
I hope you understand in some small
measure why I am doing this and hope you know how much I appreciate you and
your support, especially in the following years.
In terms of logistics, I am
participating in a program called Garin Tzabar. This program takes young
diaspora Jews/ sons and daughters of Israelis living abroad and provides them
with a framework and a group of people who are making the same decision. The
group is meant to serve as a framework with which to support one another on
this process. My group is religious and we will be based on a religious kibbutz
called Alumim, located in the Negev. The kibbutz will see to my room, food and
laundry, thus freeing me of those concerns during my time in the army.
After the
army, I plan on going to graduate school and making my life in Israel and I
look forward to seeing you all visit or move here!
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