אריאל גליאן Ariel Galian

When Your Great-Grandfather Becomes Your Little Brother: Reflections on the US/Israel Relationship

When your great-grandfather becomes your little brother: reflections on the US/Israel relationship

With the recent celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, much has been written about the Jewish/Biblical roots that inspired the Founding Fathers. Like the Jews who fled the bondage in Egypt, the persecuted Puritans viewed their journey across the Ocean blue to the New World as a mimic on some level of the Biblical narrative. The country they built was very influenced by Biblical values, as many of the Founding Fathers were devoutly religious people. From this perspective, one can almost say that the Jewish people are almost like the Great Grandfather of the United States and a large part of the inspiration behind this modern empire 

However, when one looks at the political landscape today, the story looks quite different. The modern state of Israel is dependent upon the United States for many things. Hardly a move is made without some consideration of old Uncle Sam ( or Donald Trump). It is almost as if the reverent Great Grandfather from the times of the Founding Fathers has turned into a little brother who can’t make a move without the approval of his big, imposing brother. How do we make sense of this strange dynamic?

The truth is that the answer is very simple: A very strong distinction must be made between the State of Israel ( Medinat Yisrael) and the Land of Israel ( Eretz Yisrael). The State of Israel is only 78 years old. From the perspective of the State of Israel, the United States is a much older and established country. They are our big brother guiding us through some challenging times. 

However, from the perspective of the Land of Israel, or Eretz Yisrael, the situation is something else completely. Eretz Yisrael was given to the Jewish people more than 3,000 years ago. It is the land of King David and the Prophets. It is a land that precedes the United States by so many years- that it is hard to even make a comparison between the two. 

And this is the point: As Jews, we must accustom ourselves to start using the term Eretz Yisroel or the Land of Israel in place of the term Medinat Yisroel or the State of Israel. The Lubavitcher Rebbe would often encourage people on this point. Because if our claim is to the State of Israel, then the Arabs were here long before us. However, if our claim is to Eretz Yisroel, then we have a claim to something that precedes their whole culture of Islam by more than 1,500 years. We have a claim to a land that the Creator of the world has given to us. We have a claim to the land of the eternal covenant. 

As a young boy, I grew up in Cleveland Ohio, and davened at Heights Jewish Center. The Rabbi of our congregation was Rabbi Doniel Schur z”l. He was a very interesting person. On one hand, he was very Charedi, as he was a graduate of Telshe Yeshiva and Torah Vedaas. On the other hand, he was a very strong, passionate Zionist. Every year he would invite Rabbi Meir Kahana to speak in our shul.  He would also make a “misheberach” every Shabbos for Israel. However, he made one change from the standard text. Instead of mentioning “Medinat Yisroel” he would always change the text and say “Eretz Yisroel”. 

Some may think that this is all a bunch of semantics. However, recently even President Trump has begun to realize that the choice of words we use makes a huge difference. This is why during the second Trump administration, such terms as the “Department of Defense” have been changed to the “War Department”. And the “Gulf of Mexico” has become the “Gulf of America”. Our words make a big difference. Little changes can often express gigantic shifts in meaning. 

So let us begin to use the term Eretz Yisroel more often. ” I live in Eretz Yisroel”. ” I am going to visit Eretz Yisroel” . And who knows? Maybe one day, if we can create a strong collective energy, this will result in the actual changing of the name of Medinat Yisrael to Eretz Yisroel as well.

Ariel Galian

The Rise of Mamdani and the End of Exilic Illusions

Florida, Cleveland…..What about Eretz Yisroel?

 
For the 1.6 million Jews in the Big Apple, New York is not seeming like ‘home sweet home’ these days. 24 years after 9/11 and just two years after October 7th, the city of New York last week elected as mayor a Shiate Muslim, who refuses to condemn the Intifada, defends Hamas, and is a virulent Anti Semite. Not to be swayed by his recent overtures to the Jewish community, this man is dangerous and,if capable, would probably do everything he could to harm the Jewish people.

 

Now, it’s possible that Mamdani will realize that it is not in his best political interests to start up with the Jewish community in New York. However, the bigger issue here is not Mamdani but the troubling trend that he represents. His victory is an expression of a new generation that is taught to respect and tolerate everyone, with the exception of proud Jews who are committed to their holy, ancestral land.

 

So the option to move always exists. Many Jews from New York have already moved to Florida and Cleveland. However, it needs to be emphasized that, once you’re picking up your bags, the main place that a Jew needs to come to is our home: Eretz Yisroel.

 

Ideally, one should move to Eretz Yisroel in order to fulfill the great, constant mitzvah of settling the land. One should come to Eretz Yisroel in order to benefit from its great kedusha. There are also those who follow the path of the Gra and Rav Yissochar Sholomo Teichtal, who want to come to Eretz Yisroel in order to hasten the path of Israel’s redemption. However, these are all nice spiritual ideas. The sad truth, however, is that more people will be moved to come to Eretz Yisroel as a response to Anti-Semitism and physical insecurity. This is something most people connect to more.

 

There is a tragic misconception, however, regarding Eretz Yisroel that pervades many of the Jews in the Diaspora. They view Eretz Yisroel as a great place to visit, or even to study for a year or two. However, to move there? We’ll wait for the Moshiach. However, when looking into the matter briefly, the situation is quite different. All the major Poskim ( even the Rambam, cf. Chazon Ish Yore Deah, 65) hold that there is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisroel even when there is not yet a Beis Hamikdash. Chazal understood that, besides the great loss of the Temple, the loss of the Holy Land is also a great tragedy. This is why they instituted the fast day of “Tzom Gedaliah” which occurred after the Temple was destroyed on Tisha B’av. Yes, the loss of the Beis Hamikdash is an enormous tragedy. However, the Jews not being in Eretz Yisroel r”l, which occurred after Tzom Gedaliah, is also worthy of a fast day.

 

In Shir Hashirim ( 5:7), the verse describes the great suffering of Am Yisroel in exile. The pasuk uses two expressions to express our suffering. First, it says that the guards, which refer to the Non-Jews, hit us. Then it says they caused us to have wounds. The Vilna Gaon in his commentary on Shir Hashirim explains that the first expression הכוני, refers to the destruction of both temples. However, the next expression פצעוני refers to the destruction of Eretz Yisroel. Yes, not having the Beis Hamikdash is a great tragedy. However, it is a much greater tragedy, if beyond not having the Beis Hamikdash, we also don’t have Eretz Yisroel

 

So Hashem is sending us a wake-up call. And we all have the choice of how we will respond to it. It is much easier to just stay put. And in certain situations, that may even be the right decision temporarily. However, the question of moving to Eretz Yisroel should not be a question of ‘if’, but rather a question of ‘when’. Yes, there are many people in the diaspora whose present situation may preclude aliyah. But what will we do when the situation changes? Now is the time to start preparing ourselves, physically and spiritually, to be able to make the big move.

 

Each one of us has limited energy. Should we utilize our limited resources into building up a country that one day may spit us out, as happened to the Jews in Spain and Germany? Or should we use our energy to build up the land that Hashem has promised to the Jewish people? The late historian, Rabbi Berel Wein, in an interview a couple of years ago in the Israeli weekly ‘Bakehilla’, was asked to give his prediction for how the world will look 50 years from now. I sure hope that Moshiach is here by then. However, if we are not yet zoche, chalila, Rabbi Wein predicts that in 50 years Israel will be run by the Charedim and America by the radical left.

 

The writing is on the wall. The real question is how we will react. May Hashem Yisborach help us all come back to His holy land with peace and kedusha!
– Ariel

 

For a wonderful sefer that has numerous first hand accounts of all types of people who recently made Aliyah (and even some who have put it on hold temporarily) take a look at the book “Living in the Land” by my friend Reb Yoel Berman from Yerushalayim. The book is published by Mosaica Press.