Because of this view, they put Israel off till the last, and let everything else in life come first.
If only we knew.
If only we knew Israel is just the beginning of the journey.
We should be pushing to get to Israel to start our real lives.
There are no destinations in this world, olam HaZeh, the whole thing is but a narrow bridge.
In the same way many people push off marriage or children, knowing they will get there eventually.
If only we knew that marriage and children are just the beginning.
Being a Jew means taking things head on, not delaying and avoiding.
Look out on all of your eventual destinations and recognize that they are really just beginnings.
Who knows what exciting destinations are waiting behind those beginnings?
I believe this explains a difficult teaching of Rav Avraham Azulai:
When Moshiah comes and gathers the exiles back to Israel, the Jews who lived in Israel at the time will be transformed into glorious spiritual beings who fly up to heaven, and the exiles will complain to Moshiah, why don't we also get to be spiritual beings?
The Jews who moved to Israel before Moshiah came recognized that Israel is the beginning of a long and arduous spiritual journey. When Moshiah arrived they were rewarded with yet a deeper spiritual ascension. The Jews who lived in the exile, who looked at Israel (the place) as the destination, the eventual goal of all their spiritual labor, received a physical existence in a physical land of Israel. Essentially we each make our own terms.
If only we knew.
Come home and start your life.
Comments
