Shabbat Sermon – June 1, 2019 Eli Yoggev

Israel, Yom Yerushalayim, and the Case for Jewish Values In honor of the modern Israeli holidays that are upon us, Yom HaAtzma’ut a few weeks ago and Yom Yerushalayim tomorrow, I’d like to ask a pretty straightforward halachic question: are we Jews in the Diaspora obligated today to make Aliyah to ? Or put otherwise, in the context of our Parshah: if we want to abide by all of the laws of the Torah—as in the opening of the ?which means walking in God’s statutes—does that include Aliyah ,אם בחקותי תלכו Parshah If you ask the heads of my first , Yeshivat Machon Meir, the answer would be a resounding yes. I remember being fresh out of public high school, long hair and all, as I sat in one of my first yeshiva classes ever. It was on the lessons of Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook on the importance of the Land of Israel. They didn’t waste any time at this place! This was a pretty Zionistic yeshiva. So much so that on several Shabboses in my first year I was set up for meals in settlements that were on the verge of being imminently disbanded by the government. A few classes later, they were already encouraging us to make Aliyah. And you know what? It worked! I ended up making Aliyah later that year and living there for thirteen years! I recall being very enchanted by this whole vision. I had a strong connection to the Land from childhood. My father grew up there and we used to visit yearly to spend time with our Israeli family. Even our family name, Yoggev, is Israeli. No, sorry to disappoint those who still call me Rabbi Yoga: it doesn’t come from the root of Yoga! It means farmer and is straight from the Tanach (see Kings 2, 25, 12 and Jeremiah 39, 10). And my connection to Israel only grew as the yeshiva took us on walking tours through the country and learned texts with us from Masechet Kiddushin about the ’ deep love for the land. Israel was elevated so high, that I even heard it mentioned as a fourth pillar of — alongside Hashem, Am Yisrael, and Torah. I was into all of this. I loved being with my people, experiencing the history and walking on the same paths that Sarah, Isaac, King David, and Isaiah trekked; taking in the smells and sounds— and yes, frequent shoves—at the Machaneh Yehuda market. Touching stones that went back thousands of years was really cool and powerful. Israel has always been an important value for me; this messaging reinforced this. But I still was unsatisfied with the halachic piece. I kept asking: how could it be that so many religious Jews and prominent rabbis who live in the Diaspora are not fulfilling the obligation of Aliyah? At this time, I came across works of the Satmar Rebbe who, to my surprise, said the exact opposite of what I heard in yeshiva: it is a transgression for Jews today to move to Israel. Yes, you heard correctly. I will not go into the intricacies of this view, but one of the main arguments is that we should wait for Hashem to return us to the land of Israel in the final redemption. Rabbi Eli Yoggev • Beth Tfiloh Congregation • Baltimore, MD • June 1, 2019

This approach didn’t resonate for a few reasons, one of them being: we are always asked to do our part—our hishtadlut—in our service of God. This passive approach ran counter to this. So, I kept inquiring. When I came to the States the summer after my first year in yeshiva, I was enthused about Aliyah and remember speaking to people back in my hometown about it. They all answered the same thing: “It’s really not so simple.” I remember thinking to myself: “If it’s halacha, then it is simple. You just do it.” It turns out they were correct. Many quoted for me a source in Rav Moshe Feinstein—that is the approach people go by here in the Modern Orthodox community—saying that if one moves to Israel, one is doing a great mitzvah, but one is not halachically obligated to do so (see Igrot Moshe, Even ha-Ezer 102 (at the end)); Aliyah is not a mitzvah like Kriyat Shema, Tefillin, or Matzah, Rav Moshe explained. These must be performed no matter what. It’s more like eating in the Sukkah. The more one does it, the better off one is. But one is not required to do so aside from the first two nights of Sukkos. The multitude of approaches on Aliyah—and, believe me, there are many more than the three I mentioned—ended up, sadly, dulling my inner passion for the Land. I remember being so filled with innocent love for Israel, only to have it diffused while searching to apply it on a halachic level, discovering a whole gamut of approaches from Pro-Zionist to Anti-Zionist. This often happens in our religious lives. Due to the myriad opinions in Jewish law, we ignore the straight forward values that animate the law. We see the array of views on Aliyah, find the one that accommodates our lives, and, as a result, lose some of the inner connection to Israel that the Torah promotes. I speak in the plural “we” intentionally, because this is what happened to me. I went from being hot to warm in relation to Israel, due to the many positions. It is in anticipation of this kind of outcome that our parshah doesn’t stop at Bechukotai in the first .in the fourth aliyah ערכין three aliyot, but instead continues with a discussion on Arachin What are Arachin? These are assessments of how valuable different people are to us. In the beginning of the parshah, we discussed what we have to do. In Arachin, we talk about what is important to us—what, or who, we value. I believe this ordering of the parshah was intentional. In our religious lives we must be as diligent in our values, our Arachin, as we are in our halacha, our Bechukotai. You will not find a debate among our authorities on the value of and the Land of Israel for the Jewish people. EVERYONE agrees they are of the highest value. As Jews living in the Diaspora, we must especially bring this to mind tomorrow, on Yom Yerushalayim. On a halachic level, we may not have to pack up tomorrow and make Aliyah. There is some halachic complexity here. But what should not be complex is our value system. We must keep our passion for Israel and Jerusalem on high, and I am speaking to myself, also. Rabbi Eli Yoggev • Beth Tfiloh Congregation • Baltimore, MD • June 1, 2019

Tomorrow, we will join together in festive davening in shul in honor of Yom Yeushalayim, accompanied by music and singing. I strongly encourage everyone to attend. And as we sing together, I implore you to move beyond your geographic reality here outside of Israel, and tap into your inner connection to Yerushalayim. Bring to mind what you love most about the city— its people, its idiosyncrasies, its streets, its sites. Ponder its rich history and the endless prayers recited on its behalf by our ancestors for millennia. Turn up your passion, even for one day! And together we will give thanks to Hashem for our beloved city—the highest valued Jewish real estate in the world! Wishing everyone a Shabbat Shalom and an early Yom Yerushalayim Sameach.