Those who should not move to Israel

Those who should not move to Israel

1. People who are not Torah observant because they'll bring sin to the land. Additionally, they oftentimes are disappointed to find that Israel isn't really home, isn't full of idealistic people, is a difficult place to be. It's not Hebrew class at Brandeis University come to life. Rather, it's more like this: It's not me, it's you

2. Yeshivish or Chassidic people because the country wants to draft them into the military, which is an anti-religious tyranny. As Rav Moshe Sternbuch phrased it, "its fundamental purpose is drawing young people away from religion and educating and accustoming them to 'unburden' them from the yoke of Torah." Additionally, they are coming to a society that holds them in contempt and discriminates against them in employment and other matters. 

Any Haredi who lives in a decent Western country that honors religious freedoms and allows them to earn a living should never move to Israel. It's not easy living on the edge of society, feeling despised, getting glares, being screamed at just for following a certain path in life. It can wear on you big time. On top of that, Haredi schools don't participate in Ulpan-Hebrew language learning programs, so any Haredi with children above the age of five certainly should not come. The kids sit in school bored all day losing their minds and their self-confidence.

Much of Haredi leadership and publishing comes out of Israel today, and idealistic Haredim want to be near it. It's an understandable yearning. Some (far too many) come to study here and fantasize about living here, not realizing that being in school for a year in a Haredi or American Haredi enclave while being supported by their parents in Far Rockaway is a far cry from living in this lunatic asylum. I might have fun on a week long trip in the Amazon jungle, but that doesn't mean I should try to become a tribesman there.

3. Middle of the road-Hirschian, American yeshivish, or right-wing YU people. There are two reasons for this. The first is that they will be forced to move more to the right because there's no middle of the road in Israel, and this might not sit well with them religiously. It can get very lonely. Those who move to the left often fall apart religiously because yeridah is unhealthy. The children see the decline and that affects them enormously. The second is the draft.

4. So that leaves us with the Modern Orthodox. But many of those should not immigrate to Israel. Which ones? 

A) Those with health issues as the health care system in Israel is far inferior to that of Western countries. I know of people who died because they weren't brought to the hospital on time, as the nearest one was an hour from their apartment. 

B) Those who don't have financial backing. An apartment here costs $700,000. A pair of polyester pants that will fall apart in four months costs $70. In America you can buy pants that will last ten years for $25. Not having financial backing includes not having a profession that will transfer to Israel. And if you are not fluent in Hebrew, that will be a problem for most professions. 

C) People over thirty should not come -- unless they are coming with two million dollars in retirement money -- because it is very difficult to acquire proficiency in Hebrew after thirty. Even retirees who come should be prepared to live in relative isolation in a country whose language they do not speak. Don't believe all this nonsense that you are coming home to family, to your brothers and sisters. What you are coming to is an unfriendly society that is rife with internecine battles. I have lived for years on the same floor with Israeli neighbors who never spoke to me, never invited me into their homes even once even as I tried to be friendly with them. When you try to be friendly, they look at you as if there is something wrong with you.

D) People who don't know Hebrew and are not adept at learning languages should not come. Anyone who tells you that Hebrew is not necessary because Israelis speak English is a liar. (One Aliyah salesmen told that to me. Ironically, he is one of those who died  because he wasn't brought to the hospital quickly enough.) 

Most Israelis do not speak English. Most customer service people I have dealt with do not speak English. Most government employees do not speak English. The same with most store clerks, secretaries in the doctor's office, taxi drivers. They don't speak English! This is not Norway, Belgium, or Switzerland. And official documents, contracts, bank statements, scary letters from the government, and even websites are in Hebrew. Sometimes, they'll be in Russian too. Do not expect to see English. It's the same with phone lines. They are not in English.

E) People with children above seven. The transition is painful for them. Leaving their friends is painful. You can put some real confusion in their minds, and this can lead to confusion about religion. The streets are full of teenage olim who left the religion. Learning a new language isn't easy for anybody above five. 

F) People with children who have health or emotional issues. Support for such issues is far inferior in Israel. There's also lots of bullying here and such children are the primary target. The bullying can be downright vicious, and the parents generally do nothing about it.

G) People who are either polite or sensitive by nature. People here are rough and rude. Cashiers throw the receipt at you and slam your new light bulb on the counter. They are so abrasive. There's no, "I'll be with you in a minute sir." A sensitive person can lose his mind in this place. At the least, he will not be able to be himself. The same applies to friendly people. You can say the same for honest, orderly, and punctual people. Now if any of these Modern Orthodox people are hard-core Zionists they might be able to put up with the Israeli style even if it conflicts with their nature. But be careful with that. It's one thing to dream about living in Israel, but you might find that your Zionism doesn't run as deep as you think once you get here and see what the place is actually like.

H) People with family in Chutz. It puts tremendous strain on a family when family members are living in two parts of the world. If you have an elderly relative, it can be downright cruel to leave him or her behind. Same with a child who needs support in his or her marriage or life in general.

I) People who don't have family in Israel. The standard sales line is "come home." Home means family, but Israelis do not treat each other like family. They are not friendly, and they easily become enemies. In general in the frum world, most people are busy with family. They have no time for you. This is even worse in Israel. And it doesn't help that people don't have big houses with guest rooms. For example, to find a place to stay in Jerusalem is nearly impossible. I accomplished this only once because I rented an apartment. 

J) Baalei teshuvah. You are going through enough changes. Most aliyah salesmen are frum from birth (frum because of parents) and moving to Israel doesn’t represent as radical a change in life as it does for you. As you know, just entering frum society is like moving to Mars. Moving to Israel is like moving to another galaxy that is rife with Klingons. BTs shouldn’t even be thinking about moving to Israel.

K) People with secular interests that are important to them. If you have a strong interest in classical music, art, sports (other than soccer), the ocean – you won’t be able to do much of this in Israel. There’s little culture. They don’t have libraries. Museums are difficult to get to and don’t compare to those in America or Europe. You are thinking that a country full of Jews should have all kinds of intellectual activity. Well, if you want to design a new kind of gun or bomb you might find some people to talk to. Most intellect here is redirected to military pursuits. You won’t find a baseball field. You’ll find people who study the martial arts of course but mostly as a combative tool rather than a philosophy. 

So who is left? Not that many people actually. You have some uber-Zionistic aggressive Modern Orthodox types that can manage here. They are Israeli already. They are barely Orthodox, sort of Sabbath observant, not tzniyus, don't respect gadolim. Their god was the state before they came, so moving here doesn't change them significantly; although they become worse. I have seen lots of these people at the shiva visits of soldiers who died in Gaza. And if the parents are barely religious, the children are even less. You look at the sons and try to figure out if they are wearing tzitzis or if they are able to put down their smart phones. Let’s put it this way, it’s to the left of the most modern part of Teaneck. 

Unfortunately, many of them run around pressuring innocent Jews who aren't a match for Israel to move to here. They'll tell you it's a chiyuv when it isn't. They'll tell you that you are missing out on the mitzvah when it's likely that you'll lose far more mitzvos than you'll gain by moving here. They'll tell you that you are staying in chutz only for luxuries when there's a thousand valid reasons not to move to Israel, and you likely aren't living in luxury in chutz at all with the $50,000 in tuition bills. They are manipulating your idealism and playing on your guilt.

Many of these aliyah pushers are rabbis who get jobs leading American communities and teaching in American schools. They are more religious than their followers so you get fooled by them. Their source of income is America, which according to some poskim means that they do not get credit for yishuv ha'aretz. They deal with Americans. They aren't really living in Israel. Many of them come in their thirties or later and didn't have to deal with the military, although their children do, and in their rabid zionistic zeal that pretend that they have not put their kids through a living hell. In my opinion, rabbis like this are some of the most disreputable, hypocritical lowlifes that we have today.  They ruin lives and don't really care. They are narcissists. I can think of ten names right off the bat. They are terrible people who see themselves as wonderful people because they live in Israel. And that's true of many here. The Torah gets replaced by a single mitzvah, that isn't even a chiyuv. The satan is so clever.

Part of their trickery is to tell you that criticism of anything in Israel is the sin of the spies, as if the Torah doesn’t allow you to use facts and logic when making life decisions when it involves the secular State of Israel. Meanwhile, the Baba Sali came here and left three times because of his displeasure with the state of affairs here. He only stayed in the end at the advice of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who thought it would be an opportunity for him to work with Sephardic youth. So obviously, he had criticisms of the place as have many gadolim including the Brisker Rav, the Chazon Ish, and the Steipler.

Hashem commanded the Jews of the Midbar to enter Eretz Yisroel. He didn’t command us. This entire religion is built around what Hashem commands and what He does not. So there’s a world of difference between us and them.

Beyond that, they were not coming to mingle with the Canaanites. They were coming to displace them. The only question was could they succeed militarily, and for that task they should have trusted Hashem because He openly promised them success. But people who come to Israel today aren’t coming to chase the Israelis from the land. Rather, they will live under Israeli rule. And Hashem didn’t make any promises that they’d succeed. Generally, we should run from bad environments as even the best people are vulnerable.

The Netziv says that while Avraham’s ability to prophesize was actually more advanced than that of Sarah, his ruach hakodesh was not as strong because he was affected by his involvement with the people of his city during his kiruv work. So Avraham, who was the pinnacle of a person who overcame his environment, was affected by his environment. 

How about us? We have to examine all the factors before making big moves for our families. Don’t allow aliyah salesmen, who are some of the most despicable people I have ever known, trick you into silence with their manipulation of the Torah. Moving to Israel isn’t this wonderful action if only you can find a way to earn a living. It may be a terrible action even if you can find a way. Research. Weigh out all the factors. Don’t believe a word that Nefesh b’Nefesh tells you because they are a pack of liars as are most rabid Zionists. They are idol worshippers, and the idol that they worship is really themselves, but I’ll have to explain how that works on another day.