The Yom Kippur of Aliyah

Yom Hazikaron, Israeli memorial Day, is not a day of sales, picnics or vacations. Yom Hazikaron is one of the most sacred, meaningful days of Israeli society. It is a day of unbearable pain and deep appreciation.

In two days, on Yom HaAztmaut, Israeli Independence Day, we thank Gd for granting us the State of Israel, the greatest gift the Jewish People have received in over 2000 years. Tonight, on Yom Hazikaron we commemorate and thank the people whose self sacrifice continues to make the Jewish State a living dream.

Yom Hazikaron should not evoke less introspection than Yom Kippur. It is an appropriate day to evaluate and question what we are accomplishing in our own lives to merit the ultimate sacrifice of our fellow brothers and sisters?

In this spirit, if there is any day in the year to contemplate Aliyah it is certainly Yom Hazikaron. If there are Jews who are willing to die for the Land of Israel, there should be Jews who are willing to live for it. TYom Hazikaron is the ultimate day to gauge the sincerity of our daily repetitive prayers of “returning to Zion”. Are we prepared to “walk the walk” and truly willing to embrace Gd’s greatest gift to our generation in Israel?

Yom Hazikaron is the perfect opportunity to evaluate the seriousness of our Aliyah intentions. Any plan, two, five, ten-year, so long as it is a very real one. For someone already living in Israel and facing hardships, Yom Hazikaron is a good time to strengthen beliefs and devotion.

Aliyah should ideally be fueled by a deep understanding of  the centrality of the Land of Israel in Judaism. The self-sacrifice of our soldiers, should be an inspiring motivator to proactively transform our prayers into a reality. No one promises it will be easy. Most important things in life are not. I know that Aliyah is not for everyone. It is only for Jews.