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Unity at 40,000 Feet

Rabbi Yehoshua Fass

would reconnect people to mitzvot and lead
them to Yerushalayim. This implies that
adherence and observance to mitzvot are
the means to a glorious geulah.
world, the unity of the chartered Aliyah
flight seems otherworldly. But one cannot ignore the powerful lit-
erary allusion to an ingathering that will
ver the past 20 years, I’ve had Megillat Eicha focuses on the collective occur on a kanaf, on wings, just as Hashem
the incredible privilege of suffering of the Jewish people after the redeemed us from Egypt םי ִר ָ ׁשְנ י ֵפ ְנ ַּ כ־ל ַע, “on
personally witnessing nearly destruction of Jerusalem. The theme of eagle’s wings” (Shemot 19:4).
O80,000 North American Jews shared suffering emphasizes the unity of
fulfill their dreams of making Aliyah. I have the community, as everyone is affected Perhaps Zechariah’s imagery of wings and
been inspired by their exceptional stories by the tragedy. In the aftermath of the “flying home” is not describing the culmi-
and their powerful connection to the Land destruction of Jerusalem, everyone is in nation of redemption but rather the catalyst
of Israel. From Holocaust survivors to high a state of mourning, creating a sense of for our redemption. Maybe, just maybe,
school graduates planning to volunteer in unity as people gather together to grieve there is something that we, as a people,
Sherut Leumi and the IDF – each and every the loss of their precious city and way of need to learn from those flying home that
story is a stunning expression of the fulfill- life. can inspire us to be better and do better.
ment of millennia of prayers, our longing The harmony our olim experience on their
to return to our ancestral homeland and This feeling persists even today, with our
the modern-day ingathering miracle of collective reactions to terrorism, wars, Aliyah flights is the secret to positive and
long lasting Jewish unity. United in faith
kibbutz galuyot. and antisemitic acts. The shared struggle
against our oppressors engenders unity and action, olim remind all of Israel that
Over the last two decades, some of my and solidarity as we work together to despite our differences, we are one people
most fulfilling and treasured moments resist our common enemies. However, united by an awesome redemptive vision
have come while accompanying every this unity is fleeting, dissipating when the – a vision that must always remain at the
one of our 63 charter Aliyah flights. Flying threat wanes. How tragic that we are only forefront of our consciousness.
with 250 new olim imparts a jolt of energy unified in times of danger and oppression!
that is hard to describe, and I find myself This unity at 40,000 ft. can create a con-
unable to sleep or even sit still in my seat. How is it possible to bind Am Yisrael tagious sense of unity among all of Am
I use the time to walk through the aisles together through positive means? Yisrael. By emphasizing our shared des-
to speak with the new olim during these The prophet Zechariah, who lived during tiny even after the plane touches down
incredibly intense moments of anticipa- the time of Shivat Zion, the first ingathering in the sweltering summer heat, olim can
tion while absorbing the extraordinary of the exiles from Babylonia, prophesied: become our ambassadors of unity, sharing
mosaic of our nation. the achdut of Aliyah with the entire nation.
ה ָר ָש ֲע ּוקי ִז ֲחַי ר ֶ ׁש ֲא ה ָּ מ ֵה ָה םי ִמָּי ַּ ב תֹוק ָב ְצ ‘ה ר ַמ ָא־הֹ ּ כ May the hope, pride and unity of those
ׂ
On these flights you experience the true י ִדּוהְי ׁשי ִא ף ַנ ְכ ִּ ב ּוקי ִז ֱח ֶה ְו םִיֹוּג ַה תֹונ ׁש ְל לֹ ּ כ ִמ םי ִ ׁשָנ ֲא
ֹ
breadth of the Jewish community. Jews .ם ֶכ ָּ מ ִע םי ִקל- ֱא ּונ ְע ַמ ָ ׁש י ִּ כ ם ֶכ ָּ מ ִע ה ָכ ְל ֵנ רמא ֵל magical flights motivate us to transform
ֹ
ֹ
from every walk of life, old and young, our prayers into reality and bring a better
religious and secular, Democrats and “Thus said Hashem of Hosts: In those days, and more unified tomorrow for us all.
Republicans, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, ten people from nations of every tongue
all unified in their common dream of will take hold – they will take hold of every
returning to our ancestral home. For those Jew by the corner and say, “Let us go with
few hours, we gain a glimpse of an ideal, you, for we have heard that G-d is with
a taste of a unified people. you” (Zechariah 8:23).
Reflecting on these incredible moments, I Zechariah implies that the ingathering of
wonder if this type of unity is only possible the exiles will occur by assembling a kanaf,
at an altitude of 40,000 feet. With so much literally a corner or a wing. The Malbim Rabbi Yehoshua Fass
divisiveness in the headlines and on social comments that the word kanaf refers to is the Co-Founder & Executive Director,
media platforms, locally and around the the tzitzit hanging from a tallit corner that Nefesh B’Nefesh.

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