Majoring in Aliyah: Why the Orthodox make aliyah - the true story

The Jerusalem Post recently published an article entitled Why Do The Orthodox Make Aliyah, in which Yizhar Hess, executive director and CEO of the Masorti (conservative) Movement gave attempted to answer that question, despite the fact that he himself is not Orthodox. According to Hess, Orthodox people are encouraged to move to Israel because the religious institutions are Orthodox. For example, only Orthodox conversions and marriages are accepted by the state.

As an Orthodox person, I have two major problems with Hess's explanation. Neither I nor any of the olim I know came to Israel because Orthodox rabbis are officially recognized, and just because someone is Orthodox doesn't mean that he or she identifies with the religious status quo in Israel.

Hess's presumptuous statement that the needs of Orthodox olim are met by the Israeli rabbinate is a major hole in his argument. At every level of observance you will find complaints. Charedim, for example, do not accept the regular hechsher from municipal rabbis; they add a special "Badatz Mehadrin" certification to ensure Kashrut. Of course, there's also the issue that they don't recognize Israel as an inherently Jewish state, which Hess failed to mention.

"Dati-Leumi," or the closest thing to Modern Orthodox in Israel (they're not the same, but that's a totally different topic), have some of the exact problems that Hess mentioned as Conservative and Reform ones. Last year, the Haredi chief rabbinate declared conversions performed by Rabbi Haim Druckman, a revered Dati-Leumi rabbi, invalid. The increased political power of Haredi parties has left much of the Dati-Leumi rabbinate impotent in legal matters. There have also been attempts to appoint more non-haredi municipal rabbis; few have been successful.

Nonetheless, I, and countless others, made aliyah. Sure, being Orthodox is easier in Israel, because being Jewish in general is easier here, but Israel isn't a halachic state, and is far from being a religious paradise. Therefore, Hess's argument on this front is not really valid.

Moving to a more positive look at Israel, I am reminded that Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) is next week. Apparently, I have been celebrating it all wrong. See, I always thought that we were happy because we have a Jewish State, but according to Hess, I'll be lighting up the barbecue in honor of all the great Orthodox institutions this country offers, because that is the reason to be a Zionist. In all seriousness, though, I propose that Hess go and ask some Orthodox English-speaking olim why they left everything to live in Israel. As Hess mentioned, the reason is rarely because of money, and from my experience, it usually is not because of anti-Semitism, either. I also guarantee you that very few, if any, will cite the rabbinate as their reason. Here are some answers I got from fellow student olim at Bar-Ilan University: "in order to live in a Jewish environment," "Israel feels like home," "because Israel is my homeland." One friend laughed when I told her about Hess's article. "If anything," she said, "I made aliyah despite the rabbis." This is a Bnei Akiva Ulpana alum, by the way.

"The Orthodox," as Hess calls us, make aliyah out of ideology. We are taught from infancy about the holiness of the Land of Israel. We live our entire lives feeling different, not matching the norms of the society we live in, because we put Judaism first. Our names, clothing and schools set us apart, as does our ideology (or the fact that we have one at all). Even if many or most Orthodox Jews don't meet this ideal, our schools and institutions teach it, and we strive to meet it.

Not only do the Conservative and Reform movements not try to reach this ideal, they are founded on exactly the opposite concept. These movements are meant to "modernize" Judaism. In other words, they are based on raising external values to the level of Judaism. The traditions of Judaism that lasted generations were, and still are, adapted to fit cultural and societal values of the time.

This is reinforced by the fact that most Conservative and Reform Jews don't find it necessary to send their children to Jewish Day Schools. Some parents send their children to "Hebrew schools" in the afternoon or on Sundays, while their non-Jewish friends are out playing, and wonder why their kids don't want to go. Also, many stop their children's Jewish education at bar- or bat-mitzva age. I never understood that. If a child is not equipped to end his or her secular education at age 13, how can he or she be emotionally and spiritually mature enough to end his religious education? Given the assimilation rates in the Conservative and Reform movements, I would say that the answer is that they are not mature enough, and this education system is a failure.

I don't mean any disrespect to Hess and the Masorti Movement, but the reason Orthodox people make aliyah is pretty obvious. Orthodox people receive a Jewish education that does not stop at age 13. For most, it doesn't stop at age 18, either; Orthodox Jewish education lasts your entire life. Therefore, we make a point to put Judaism before everything else. From such a perspective, Israel is the only place to be. When your point of view is Conservative or Reform, especially if you have not received a strong Jewish education, you can justify going to synagogue only twice a year, not sending your children to Jewish schools, and in many cases, marrying a non-Jew, because Judaism does not come first. (Note to Potential Commenters: I know that the Conservative movement does not permit intermarriage. I also know that many ignore that prohibition. The heads of the conservative movement are not representative of most of its members. Check the statistics.)

Hess said that if the Conservative\Masorti movement's campaign to encourage aliyah fails, the lack of a "warm embrace" and "pluralistic" Judaism will be to blame. I say: Stop blaming "The Orthodox" for your movement's shortcomings. The campaign won't be effective, unless the movement rethinks its priorities. Start working from the foundations; teach your children to put Torah first, and then they will understand why they need to live in Israel. If Judaism isn't the top priority in their lives, what reason is there to make aliyah?

So Yizhar Hess, next time you want to encourage aliyah, don't accuse "The Orthodox" of making it difficult. These movements are causing their own problems. We didn't make aliyah because we have better institutions than Conservative and Reform Jews in Israel. To paraphrase my friend, anyone who made aliyah did it despite whatever problems he or she had with Israel, because at the end of the day, olim put Zionism and Judaism above all.