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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

12 Reasons to Live in Israel.


Nefesh BNefesh is sponsoring an aliya awareness this week, encouraging those who live in Israel to send their own top 12 greatest things we love about Israel, to 12 friends.

I got tagged by Rafi G, with the following:

Israluv tagged me with the following message:

Today I received an email from Dudy Stark of Nefesh B'Nefesh:This coming Shabbat, the Torah portion , Shelach, that recalls the sin of the spies, is read. These were the 12 men that Moshe sent to scout out the Land of Israel before entering.

When they returned, their reports were distorted and negative and caused a 40 year delay before the Children of Israel could enter.Today despite the challenges that come with living in Israel, we are witness to all that is good and special about living here and it is in our ability to tell our family, friends and neighbors abroad what those things are.

Nefesh B'Nefesh is initiating a simple project this week called "12 to 12". We are asking every Oleh to compose a list of 12 great things you appreciate and love about living in Israel and email your message to 12 (or more) friends abroad.

If you send this out to your friends, please CC 12to12@nbn.org.il when you send it out. Please send out your letter before Friday June 8.

You can see Israluv's list of 12 things she loves about Israel at the above
link.

So...here's my list.

1. Brings Judaism to life. Improve the chances of your children continuing our heritage, by living in the land where the mitzvot were meant to be kept.

2. Be part of the future of Jewish history, and actively influence it, instead of watching from the sidelines (Rafi used almost the exact same explanation).

3. Can be Oleh LaRegel to Yerushalayim for the Chagim/holidays...or any day! Make it your city as a resident of Israel and not as a tourist.

4. The Torah/Tanach is not just some book about stories from faraway places. Watch it come alive as you can walk around chapter by chapter as you traverse our history.

5. Makes your family smachot more meaningful. Walk around the old city of Yerushalayim, visit the Kotel (or Har HaBayit if your halachik authority approves). Go to the final resting place of our ancestors; Hevron, Shechem, the Galil, the Shomron...its all here just waiting for you.

6. Every 4 paces is another mitzva (just think how much merit Egged bus drivers get!)

7. Jewish holidays are not counted as vacation days from work or school.

8. The bus driver/bank teller/felafel seller/garage mechanic will wish you a shabbat shalom. The directness and "busybodyness" is because people CARE.

9. Alot of your paid taxes go to all sorts of great places: Jewish Education, Jewish Welfare and Charity, Jewish Security and Defence, Yeshivot, Kollel, and many others.

10. You can find a gemach for anything from shabbat hot plates to wedding shoes.

11. It's a beautiful country; where you can find almost everything from coral reefs to a snow capped mountain...the lowest point on earth...the Mediterranean Sea, desert, mountains, and green pastures. It's all here, all traversable from top to bottom in less than 8 hours.

12. If you leave Israel for work or pleasure...you don't get all teary at the airport not knowing when you'll be back, since you already have a return/round ticket back home...to Israel.
I probably have more to write or would redo this list if I had more time...but don't have more time today. Maybe later...maybe later...





Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

24 comments:

  1. "Every 4 paces is another mitzva "

    source?

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  2. יש מחלוקת פוסקים בדבר הליכת ד' אמות בארץ ישראל, אם יש בה משום מצוות ישוב ארץ ישראל (ויש
    שרצו להגיד שדווקא אם הלך ד' אמות שהוא אינו מכיר). מכל מקום גם לסוברים שאין בכך משום מצוות
    ישוב ארץ ישראל - מעלה גדולה יש בכך כדאיתא בכתובות קי. "כל המהלך ד' אמות בארץ ישראל יש לו חלק
    לעולם הבא", ועיין בשו"ת הריב"ש סימן ק"א ובשו"ת ציץ אליעזר ח"ז סימן מ"ח פרק י"ב.

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  3. Beautiful! I plan to post on this, as well. Happy (secular) yom yerushalayim!

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  4. http://extremegh.blogspot.com/2007/06/12-reasons-not-to-live-in-israel.html

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  5. http://mevaseretzion.blogspot.com/2007/06/12-for-12.html

    We still have מואסים בארץ חמדה, today. Just look at GH.

    GH, we all know your feelings about anything idealistic or noble. You are childish, sarcastic and cynical of everything. The only way you sometimes let yourself be positive about ideals is after you (try to) deconstruct them until you think they are fable.

    Why don't you, on the off chance (in your mind) that there is a God, keep to yourself your repetition of the sin that forstalled the redemption of Am Yisrael once already?

    You really make me sick to my stomach.

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  6. Any news on the shmitta plan, any way to help from abroad?

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  7. I just emailed my 12 to 12 people who are thinking about Aliyah or can't understand why anyone would ever do it.
    -OC

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  8. This was great, Jameel. Thanks for posting your list. Something uplifting to keep coming back to read again and again. Yasher Kochacha.

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  9. מאיזו מקור אתה מצטט?

    מה אם האמריקאים הבאים לחג ודרים לשבוע במלון לרום (אנבל בלע"ז) והולכים ומטיילים ד' אמות ואפילו יותר לפני חזרתם לחו"ל וחיים של אי-אלהות- האם לאמור אליהם שמקיימים מצות יישוב א"י בצעדים אלו?

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  10. And another thing: being able to use the Jewish date on your checks and documents!

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  11. Mevaseret, you are the whiniest, kvetchiest yenta on the J-blogosphere. You are likeSomebody's got to temper the gullibility of the Hamon Am, including you. If emunah questions scare you, perhaps your faith is flimsier than you let on

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  12. re number three-i did it two years ago!! from lod (near the airport) to yerushalayim, erev shavuos! whatta trip that was-went w/ two friends and a huge degel yisrael (hush!) and woah woah whatta zechus. (and major sababa was all the free taxi ride offers and water bottles from strangers..)

    ok ok back to work..(thanks for letting me share that)

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  13. Lovely list, and the 'For Dummies' sign is extremely cute. However, the bit about 'wealth and luxury' does slightly raise my hackles, as a middle-class American Jew who's unlikely to ever make aliyah.

    (This is not aimed at Jameel, who didn't say anything wrong, this is just scattershot out there.)

    There's this idea out there, of affluent Anglos who give up some, but hardly all, of their standard of living to move to Israel and be fulfilled.

    When I'm asked to give up an extravagant standard of living I don't enjoy in order to make aliyah, or even better, give up a vacation in Florida I wasn't planning to take (because I can't afford it) to be a tourist in Israel in times of trouble, it does chafe my hide.

    It's not that I couldn't make aliyah if I were bent on it. I probably could, and maybe I should. God knows what I would do for a living, but I guess something would turn up. It's just that while I have an excellent first-world standard of living, clean water, lots of kosher chicken, buses that run sort of on time, and enough extra money for books now and then (even health coverage, most years), I'm clearly not the American Jew that many aliyah promotors are looking for.

    I may have mentioned before, but I have never actually gotten over a column some years ago in the JPost, an open letter to an imaginary pair of 'new olim'. They were named Josh and Alisa, and it was all about getting Noa and Asher into the best kindergartens, and finding a really good cleaning lady. I felt rather alienated, somehow. They weren't lookin' for me.

    Rant over. I'm just saying. I'm not staying in Northern California because I can't leave my Lexus and the time-share in Tahoe.

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  14. I hope I'm able to make aliya in around 10 years. I have a couple of towns in mind that I would like to live in.

    Your list of reasons for making aliya are pretty much mine.

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  15. I made a list as well.

    The e-mail is benbayit@yahoo.com

    Thanks for pointing out that it wasn't showing - I updated my profile as well as the main blog page

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  16. My sister sent me her list yesterday. :)

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  17. Shadchan,
    Really sounds like you have never read any of what I write.
    Emunah questions? What are you talking about?
    Read some of my blog before you talk.

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  18. Muquata

    You forgot one of the key reasons...One of the best places to ride a bike, off road or on road!

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  19. Wow...#12. *Teary eyed* BE"H I really want to make aliyah!

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  20. I thought there is more than that! I think it's boring to go to Isreal especially with the heat that's going on there.

    Sorry mate try something else

    Cheers

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  21. Israel is indeed beautiful ...but I would be even more beautiful when there is peace between Arabs and Israelies.

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  22. I do not like to live in Israel, i consider that Israel is a conflict and ugly place to live, the most time there are wars and there are a lot of poor, but, Israel has a lot of architectonic Places.

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