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FROM THE
Editor

Safety or Destiny? up our lives to fulfill a mitzvah, but rather heroism and pride as the Maccabees did
“you should live by them, and not die by
when they rebelled against the Greeks.
N ow is the time to come home. them” (Sanhedrin 74a). Unlike our radical After our neighbors Lucy, Maia and Rina
Islamic enemies, who happily sacrifice
Dee hy”d were murdered, I remember
I know what you’re thinking:
their children for jihad, we recognize the
having an open conversation with my
“Now? Of all times to call on
Jews to uproot their lives and infinite value of every Jewish life. Never- brother about what it means to live in
theless, there is far more to being a Jew
move to Israel, you chose this moment? than ensuring we and our children remain Israel. We agreed that we would rather
Israel is a war zone! Who in their right safe. our children grow up here and be a little
mind would leave the safety of suburban traumatized but deeply connected to our
America to move to Israel? We all hope When G-d commanded Avraham to leave people than have our children grow in the
to be in Israel one day – but today is not everything he ever knew for “a Land that Diaspora without that trauma, but distant
that day.” I will show you,” was He telling Avraham from the joy and suffering of Am Yisrael.
to play it safe? When David the shep- As strange as this may sound, I thank G-d
But are Jews in the Diaspora really safer herd boy walked into the camp of Israel everyday that we made Aliyah in time to
than Jews in Israel? The explosion of and volunteered to fight Goliath, did he be here for this war, that my family has
antisemitism throughout the world should choose the “safer” path? When Esther the merit to play a minor role in the epic
make us pause. Over the last few months, a said to Mordechai, “then I will go to the story of our nation.
Berlin synagogue was firebombed, Jewish king contrary to the law, and if I perish,
homes in Paris were spray painted with I perish” (Esther 4:16), was she making a Israel is not a “safe space,” not yet. But the
Stars of David, and over 100,000 protestors “safe” choice? When Matityahu and his present and future of our people is here, in
in London screamed “from the river to the the Holy Land. It is here, in the Land G-d
sea, Palestine will be free.” All this as Jews sons rose up to battle the mighty Greeks promised us, where we will write the next
instead of moving to Cyprus, did they do so
are violently assaulted in Chicago and New chapter of Tanach, where Jewish heroes
York and many American universities after weighing the pros and cons and con- are made every day.
become no-go zones for Jewish students. cluding that revolution was the “safest”
approach? When young men and women The day has come to embrace our destiny.
It’s true that living in Israel is not exactly a from the Diaspora choose to serve as lone It’s time to come home. G-d is calling.
walk in the park. But every Jew – whether soldiers in the IDF instead of majoring in “I will whistle to them, and I will gather
we make our home in Israel or the Dias- psychology at Rutgers, are they foolishly
pora – now lives in the shadow of October putting their lives at risk? them, for I have redeemed them…” (Zech-
7. Every Jew is a potential target. Frankly, ariah 10:8).
my family feels safer living in Efrat, where If “safety” was our highest ideal, G-d would
we are protected by our holy soldiers and have commanded Avraham to settle in a
volunteer security team. With all respect small village in Montana or the Austra-
to the many wonderful gentile police lian outback instead of a Land fought over Elie Mischel
officers of the Diaspora, I’d rather put my by empires since the beginning of time.
trust in our own warriors, who are fight- Israel was never intended to be a “safe
ing for their people and their Land. haven” for Jews, a Land where we would
no longer have to defend ourselves from
Still, it’s worth asking a more fundamental our enemies. Rather, as Rav Tzvi Yehudah
question. Should “safety” be our primary Kook often said, the strength and sacrifice
life goal? Does G-d really want us to make needed in Israel simply takes a different
the “safer” choice? form. Whereas in exile, our strength is
Preserving life is one of our greatest expressed through “For it is for Your sake
values. From the words “vachai bahem,” “he that we are killed all the time, [that] we Rabbi Elie Mischel
shall live through them” (Vayikra 18:5), are considered as sheep for the slaughter” is the Editor of HaMizrachi magazine.
the rabbis learn that we should not give (Tehillim 44:23), in Israel we stand up with

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