Assimilating happily
Op-ed: Jews who prefer to live far from Land of Israel rather than take part in Zionist adventure are living a lie
A wise editor once said that it is a mistake to talk about "American Judaism," when what we are really referring to is "America's Jews." Our brothers in America
have not created their own version of Judaism, they merely live there. Their ancestors immigrated to the US from the other side of the ocean, and since then they have been living there happily and comfortably, but they are assimilating themselves senseless.
According to recently-published data, the rate of mixed-marriages among the vast Jewish community is nearing 60%, and a Christmas tree is placed in a third of Jewish homes in America around the time of Hanukkah. "We must wake up," a stunned Jewish figure said. And what if they do wake up? So what? Will they hold conferences to explain the severity of the situation? Read from Psalms at Times Square?
In God We Trust
Pew Research Center study shows 94% of American Jews proud to be Jewish, yet nearly one in five of them describe themselves as having no religion. Seven out of 10 feel attached to Israel
The problem of America's Jews is not a lack of awareness or adrenalin, but the very insistence to continue to live abroad. Their hearts may go out to us, but their bodies are not present at the focal point of Jewish events in the 21st century, the Land of Israel.
As humans it is their right to live wherever they please, but as Jews they have a problem. Judaism rejects the legitimacy of "life in exile" and, over time, does not allow it to persist. Jewish life outside the State of Israel is a paradox that eliminates itself. Prior to the inception of Israel, the Diaspora Jews could pledge that they would make aliyah along with the messiah, but the messiah has yet to arrive, the promise was broken, and now comes the punishment. When Jews live a lie, the son marries a shiksa and the daughter marries a sheigetz.
Maimonides called it the "magnificent shemad (forced conversion)," meaning a non-violent Holocaust. Of course, this time we cannot blame the goyim, only the Jews who prefer to live far away from here rather than participate in the Zionist adventure. We in Israel can't do much to change this preference. The political correctness of 2013 is preventing our leaders from condemning the exile-by-choice phenomenon. Finance Minister Lapid did well when he at least denounced the emigration from Israel. Perhaps he should have refrained from referring to the Holocaust in order to make his point, but it is very good that he spoke publicly about the weak character of those who leave Israel.
An Israeli who emigrates in order to improve the financial conditions of his children should take into account that he is condemning them to assimilation. The likelihood that his descendants will remain Jewish in a generation or two is much smaller than the probability that they will own an apartment in Israel within a generation or two.
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