Aliyah

I have recently been pondering the question, "what makes Israel different from all of the other places I could have studied in this semester?" Like any other country it has its faults, bureaucracy, anger, frustration, and pain. Actually living in Israel is far different than just going on a prescribed program, it allows you to see Israel for what it is, to break through the veil of perfection that all to often makes Israel into a supernatural place. Since I have come here, I have been frustrated, angry, and disillusioned. It is always hard for me to grasp that things are changing, the way I view the world, my family, my place in the world, and where I am going to be once college ends. Israel has always been a place that I could rely on to help me get through even my toughest times in life. I could always go to Israel in my mind and heart and find happiness in the depths of despair and sadness. It was as if there was a tether between me and the land, always keeping me afloat. That tether was cut upon coming here now. I am older, I can see through the veil of perfection, I can see Israel for what it truly is, a place, just like any other. But that is exactly why I love Israel. It is a place just like any other, but with a spirit, a spirit that you rarely, if ever, find. It is a belief that we can make the world a better place. To love Israel is to love the ideal that Israel stands for. I have realized that while I can see through the BS spoon fed to Jewish youth about the perfect Israeli state, I also realize that what we have been grown up with is a dream that is worth achieving in Israel. Israel will never be perfect, that is too much to ask, but to believe in the country, to believe in the ideal of what it could be, that is much more important in my opinion. Just like the lonely, destitute masses of the first Aliyot who came to Israel with nothing, who perished trying to make their dream of a Jewish state into a reality, I too wish to join the ranks of those who believe in what Israel is and can be.

Suddenly, the answer to my question, "what makes Israel different from all of the other places?" What makes Israel different from all other places is its foundation in hope...hope is the most powerful link to a land that a people can have, the belief and hope in Israel is the foundation on which this nation stands and what makes it unique. Like the pioneers before me, I too have made that decision to make the giant leap into the unknown, the terrifying, to make a dream of many years come true and to contribute to the building of the foundation of belief and hope in a nation that desperately needs just that. אני אוהב את ישראל