With only a few weeks left of summer vacation, I have a challenge for all of you. Whether you made aliyah this summer, this year or in the past few years, it is time to figure out why you came to live in the land of Israel.
In this week's Torah portion, V'eschanan, Moshe, the leader of the Jewish People at the time, prayed to enter the Land of Israel. He did not only pray, but he begged G-d to let him enter because Moshe had this immense love for the land. How could he, one could ask, if he never stepped foot inside Israel? So many people throughout history tried to come here but never succeeded - rabbis, Holocaust survivors, ordinary people - whose love for the land was so great.
You and I, however, are here! G-d allowed US to come to this beautiful land. For so many of us, our love for the land is not only intellectual but emotional. It is written in the parsha that Moshe prayed, "ciminyan vaeschanan" of which our Sages explained, he begged to enter 515 times. If Moshe's love was so deep by not even entering the land, how much more can ours be when we are living here?
Accept my challenge - ask your parents why they moved; talk to farmers who are keeping shmitta this year, despite tremendous personal strain; talk to the stranger next to you on the bus.
As my driving instructor once told me, life outside of Israel can be so much easier. Everyone has a story - find out what theirs is – and then write yours!
Shabbat Shalom