Go-North Picnic August 2015

Michele Kaplan-Greene, the director of Nefesh B'Nefesh's Go-North program, asked

me to speak at the annual Go-North picnic, held yesterday at the zoo in Kiryat

Motzkin (just north of Haifa). There were some 600 and a bit people there, people

who made aliyah to the north from English-speaking countries over the past few years.

These were my remarks. ----

Good evening. Michele asked me yesterday to say a few words about what it means to

me to have made aliyah to the north. She also asked me to keep it short. I will try to do

just that.

Debbie and I came over, with the dogs, just a few weeks short of a year ago.

We took a taxi directly from the airport to Katzerin. Debbie had been north once

before, but it was my first time in the Golan. She thought it would suit me,

and she was definitely right.

I could talk about the water: we get Mei Eden (bottling company) from the faucet.

I could talk about the views: we literally see Mount Chermon from one side of the house,

and the Kinneret from the other. We have a stream and waterfall approximately five

minutes walk from the house, and take the dogs regularly.

I could talk about the way of life: I am not a city dweller, in fact I get very claustrophobic

around hustle and bustle, and the Golan is just the opposite of that. It's calm and peaceful.

I won't deny that these are good reasons for coming north, and for staying here. They're

important to me. But they're not why I came north.

I could talk about the produce of the land, the olives, grapes, dates, grains, all of

the abundance of basic foods that the Torah talks about. The north is the main

supplier of most of them. Here, you see olive trees everywhere. Sure, you'll see some

elsewhere, but those of the north are the ones that produce the largest crop, the

best and purest wine, honey and oil. These are the ones that go back to the times of

our ancestors. When we bentsch after a meal, it's the abundance of the land here

in the north that I picture in my mind during the blessings.

When we read of the last battle of Moshe Rabbeinu, his victory -- well, G-d's

victory -- over Sichon and Og, that was just prior to Yehoshua crossing the

Yarden with the people, into the land. It was just prior to the tribes of

Reuven, Gad and half of Menashe taking up residence in the area, the very

first of the Children of Israel to take up their inheritance. That was here in the north.

When I think of Aliyah, I think of Jews returning to their homeland to make the

desert bloom. That, of course, happens wherever we settle, but it relies on certain things

to succeed. The Talmud discusses one of those things at great length in the prayers for

rain and the great need for water. We are fast approaching Sukkot, probably the time

of year with the greatest attachment to water. This most valuable of resources

is provided in the north in abundance, in fact enough to supply most of the

needs for the rest of the country.

The land of Israel is the source of kedusha, holiness, for the world. I picture it as

bubbling up out of Israel, to be spread throughout the globe, just like a spring of

water. Torah has often been compared to water, so my analogy is not a new one.

The water of the north supplies physical life to Israel, and Israel supplies

spiritual life to the world. This dates back to Moshe Rabbeinu, and is still

true today. Our ancestors walked this area here in the north. I can still feel

their footsteps resonating in the land today. The water still flows here in the north,

we can see it wherever we go. Life, both physical and spiritual, still stems from

the north of Israel.

I wanted to be a part of spreading that spiritual and physical life, both to

the country and to the world. The only place to do that is here in the north.

I am probably not saying anything new to any of you here, but every once in a

while, it's a good thing to remind ourselves of why we are so attached to this

land. This is where kedusha stems from. It is our role to keep that kedusha

spreading.