Goel Jasper's talk in Baltimore

“How to do Teshuva … In One Easy Step”

by Go'el Jasper goeljasper@yahoo.com

Needless to say, this is an important time of year. We’re spending our time right now working on our neshamas (souls) … working on our midot (personality traits) … working on our observance of mitzvot … working on our interactions with people around us.

And we do this same thing year-after-year.

And sometimes we do it well. And sometimes we do it … not as well.

And it’s not my job to speak with you tonight about how to go about that important work. I’ve got enough of my own work to do.

You may have heard, for example, that I have a problem with a certain community in Germany – and its rabbi – that decided to ship 19 tons of Eretz Yisrael to that place – mission control of the darkest years in modern Jewish history – for the purpose of building a replica of the Kotel – the Western Wall. This same community has spent millions of dollars building a new Jewish Community Center to serve its 12,000 Jews.

And during the media blitz that took place during – of all times – the week of Tisha B’Av, that community’s rabbi was quoted as saying, "This is a sign that people are putting their trust in the Jewish future of Germany."

All this would be bad enough. But to provide a poetic epilogue to the story, this rabbi happens to be the great-grandson of The Eim Habanim Semeicha, Rabbi Yissocher Shlomo Teichtal, who, from Hungary, advocated during the Holocaust that all Jews should return to Eretz Yisrael and said about Jews of the time, “They only care and desire to make an honorable living and build a big house with a courtyard made of hewn stones… to last for many years, so that they can bequeath it to their children and grandchildren who will be born on foreign soil.”

And now his great-grandson is doing exactly that same thing. Building a big house made of stones – 19 tons of which will come from Israel – to last for many years, so they can bequeath it to their children and grandchildren.

Anyway, I have a tough time with this, and I have made public my thoughts about it. So I guess I have some forgiveness I need to ask … at least from one rabbi in Berlin.

And I’m not about to provide you with a roadmap for your own teshuva efforts this year, although I’m open to any advice you may have for me, because I think I am in serious need of it.

Why?

Because I have a major problem. And my problem seems all but unsolvable at this point in Jewish history.

My problem is that I believe we are suffering from an issue of symantics and technicalities. And I think we are so wrapped up in it that even our leadership isn’t aware of how big the problem is.

But first, we’re going to learn a little chumash lesson to get started. Then we’ll get to the main topic of this evening.

Today’s Parshah – Ki Tavo. The very first pasuk:

וְהָיָה, כִּי-תָבוֹא אֶל-הָאָרֶץ

And it will be when (because) – not if - you come into the land

אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱלֹקיךָ, נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה; וִירִשְׁתָּהּ, וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בָּהּ.

That HaShem your G-d gives to you for an inheritance; and you will – not you are allowed to – possess it and settle (dwell in) it.

Now, let’s move ahead a little bit to Pasuk י"ז:

אֶת-ה' הֶאֱמַרְתָּ, הַיּוֹם: לִהְיוֹת לְךָ לאלקים וְלָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו, וְלִשְׁמֹר חֻקָּיו וּמִצְו‍ֹתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו--וְלִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקֹלוֹ.

You have confirmed HaShem today to be your G-d, and that you would walk in His ways, and keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.

Now, let me ask you a question:

Where is the room for interpretation here?

First pasuk, Moshe, G-d’s spokesperson says: “When you come into the land that HaShem has given you and you will possess it and settle it.”

Seventeenth pasuk: “You’re gonna walk in His ways, and keep his statutes, and His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.”

Where’s the big debate? Kinda makes you scratch your head, doesn’t it?

It seems very clear. You gotta come into the Land. Period.

Unless …

And this is the point of the talk this evening …

Unless you see the Torah as nothing more than a history book. Because you can’t have it both ways.

Why is it that we all think it’s quite normal to wave around four species of vegetation on Sukkot and we blow into a ram’s horn on Rosh HaShana?

Because the Torah says it, right?

Why is it that we wear leather bands on our arms and on our heads, and we don’t eat pig but we do eat cow.

Because the Torah says so.

Why don’t we all live in Eretz Yisrael …

Because the Rambam doesn’t include Yeshuv HaAretz in his list of the 613 mitzvot.

But the Rambam did write this:

Based on the Mishna (Ketuvot 110b), the Rambam rules that husband or wife may coerce their partner to immigrate to Israel. Should the wife refuse, the husband may divorce her with no obligations to pay the Ketuvah. Should it be the husband who refuses he must divorce her and pay the entire Ketuvah.

Sounds pretty Zionistic, no? Basically, if you want to make Aliyah and your spouse doesn’t, that’s grounds for divorce, according to the Rambam.

He also says the following, in Hilchot Melachim, Chapter 5, halacha 15:

לעולם ידור אדם בארץ ישראל, אפילו בעיר שרובה גויים; ואל ידור בחוצה לארץ, ואפילו בעיר שרובה ישראל: שכל היוצא לחוצה לארץ--כאילו עובד עבודה זרה

You may have heard this before from others, but I’ll say it again anyway. The reason the Rambam didn’t include Yeshuv HaAretz in his list is because, to him, living in Israel is an assumption.

It’s the same reason he lists the mitzvah of building a mishkan, but not of building the aron inside the mishkan. To him, if you have to build the mishkan, of course you have to also build the aron.

Similarly with Aliyah, one of his mitzvot is that we have to destroy all the inhabitants of the Land. He doesn’t mention inhabiting it, but why do you think we’re destroying the inhabitants? So we can have an empty Eretz Yisrael? In other words, it’s Rambam’s version of saying, “Duh?!”

But you know what? It doesn’t even matter if its one of the Rambam’s 613 mitzvot or not. Because the Torah doesn’t say that we only have to follow the 613 mitzvot as outlined by the Rambam. Let me repeat:

Perek כ"ו ,Pasuk י"ז:

אֶת-ה' הֶאֱמַרְתָּ, הַיּוֹם: לִהְיוֹת לְךָ לאלקים וְלָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו, וְלִשְׁמֹר חֻקָּיו וּמִצְו‍ֹתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו--וְלִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקֹלוֹ.

You have confirmed HaShem today to be your G-d, and that you would walk in His ways, and keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.

There are five categories of, for lack of a better term, “stuff” that we have to do.

So there’s nowhere to hide, when it comes to the mitzvah of Yeshuv Ha’Aretz, of living in Eretz Yisrael. Maybe it’s not one of the Rambam’s 613 Mitzvot, but I think it fits quite comfortably into either “walking in His ways, statutes, commandments, ordinances or at least listening to His voice.

So why has the ordinance of Aliyah fallen off the radar screen? As you can imagine, I’ve done a lot of thinking about this. And I think the reason why Yeshuv HaAretz isn’t taken seriously today is sociological, not mitzvah-related. For 2000 years, we had not been able to go to live in Israel. Do you know how much time that is? It’s 100 generations. 100 generations of rabbis and students. 100 generations of no light at the end of the tunnel. A one hundred-generation story that was going so poorly for the Jewish people that it ended with the ultimate of punchlines. Six million dead.

Do you really think the leaders of all those generations had Aliyah on their minds?

We’re in a different time today. I mean, how many of us in this room remember a time when we couldn’t go visit the Kotel, let alone remember a time when there was no Israel?

Well, for almost 2000 years, that was the deal. No Israel. No Kotel. No hope.

Oh, the special people still did it, or tried to do it. The Ramban – we’ll get to him later – did it in the year 1267. Rabbi Josef Caro – the writer of the Shulchan Aruch – our code of Jewish law! – Made Aliyah in 1536. More than 500 of the Vilna Gaon’s students and their families made Aliyah between 1808 and 1812. The Gaon himself tried, but had to turn back and return to Lithuania. In 1933, the Chazon Ish – at the age of 55 – made Aliyah, where he held no official position – yup, no job and he still made the big move.

So the special people still managed to do this mitzvah of Aliyah. But for most people, it was not even a thought.

We are less than two weeks away from the beginning of the Shmita year in Israel. I know. When you think of Shmita, you think, uh oh, that’s probably going to drive up the price of my etrog next year. Or, oh no, how will I know which restaurants I can enjoy when I go to Israel to visit this year?

Well, I’ll spare you the details, because there’s a lot more to shmita than that. I’ll just give you a couple of examples instead, to demonstrate to you how significant Shmita year is for us in the Holy Land. I have to post a sign outside my front gate outlining to anyone walking by that all the fruits in my yard – and we are blessed with figs, persimmons, pecans, pomegranates, loquats, mangos and lemons – are free for the taking. That’s right. Anyone who wants can just ring our bell and come into our yard to take our fruits. Of course, I can go to someone else’s yard and do the same thing. In fact, there’s a particular peach tree I’ve had my eye on for a while …

Another example: Everyday, when we send our kids to school, if we send them with a fruit, we have to remind them to bring home the core or the pit or any piece they don’t eat, because these fruits are holy. So we can’t just throw them in the garbage.

Why am I talking about shmita? Well, first of all, it’s an example of how much more complete one’s Jewish existence is when living in the Land promised to our forefathers. But there’s another reason also.

Remember, for 2000 years we couldn’t live in Israel, right? So who do you think was keeping shmita? And which rabbis were giving the rulings? How did our ancestors who were fortunate enough to be living in Eretz Yisrael – and there were many, many people who were fortunate enough to merit living there – how did they know what to do?

I’ll tell you how I learned what to do. I can tell you because I just learned it all within the last two months. I learned from a young rabbi in Tel Tzion, just north of Jerusalem. And one of the things he told me was that most of the material regarding shmita has been generated by the rabbinical leaders like the Chazon Ish and R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach within the last 80 years. So just about everything we learned, other than the Torah sources, was fairly recent.

Because shmita wasn’t on the radar screen. It was almost in the same category as korbanot and mitzvot regarding the bet hamikdash.

And that’s what I think the situation is with Aliyah. For 2000 years, it just wasn’t on the radar screen. But as Avi Mori – my father – likes to say, there is absolutely no way for a Jew who is serious about his Jewishness to justify not making Aliyah.

And if you say that maybe my dad’s wrong … well then so is the Torah.

וְהָיָה, כִּי-תָבוֹא אֶל-הָאָר! ֶ& #1509;

And it will be when – not if - you come into the land

אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱלֹקיךָ, נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה; וִירִשְׁתָּהּ, וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בָּהּ.

That HaShem your G-d gives to you for an inheritance; and you will possess it and settle (dwell in) it.

It’s ridiculous. How many times does the Torah talk about kashrut? About keeping Shabbat? About being kind to your fellow man?

Several times each. Fair enough. So we do them. Heck, we do things that are only mentioned once.

And how many times does the Torah tell us to settle the Land of Israel?

Dozens of times.

So I ask you: Is the Torah a guidebook for our lives or is it a history book, a storybook?

And you can’t say, well, when it comes to the book of Vayikra, it’s a guidebook. That’s why we don’t eat rabbit sandwiches.

But when it comes to Bereishit, Shmot, Bamidbar and Devarim, it’s a storybook. That’s why we like reading about Avraham leaving the good life behind and going to the place that HaKadosh Baruch Hu will show him. And isn’t it nice that he paid for Hevron in that storybook. And isn’t it a sad story when Moshe asks HaShem one more time to please let him into Israel.

It’s a storybook, right?

Of course not. Of course it’s a guidebook. And you know it. And I know it. And our leaders know it. But for some reason, most of us don’t act like it when it comes to Aliyah.

Instead, we say things like, well, we need a lot of Jews to be living in the Diaspora because that way, we can influence the governments of the world to protect us.

Oh really? Have you taken a look at how wonderful the world’s governments – including the United States – have been to Israel in the last 15 years? Are you enjoying the results of the Oslo agreement as much as I am?

We say things like, how can we leave all the Jews behind by making Aliyah?

Unbelievable. When it comes to figuring out how to send our kids to college, we have funds set up from the day the child is born … sometimes earlier.

But no time is long enough to plan for Aliyah.

I have an idea, and I’d like to bounce it off you …

What do you think of the concept of a rabbi standing up in front of his congregation and saying, “Chevreh, I have an announcement to make. Three years from now, I will be going to the airport to do the mitzvah of Aliyah – you know, the one that is mentioned ten times more often than the mitzvah of not eating pork. I’d like us to work together over the next three years to rebuild our community in Israel. And I don’t want to leave anyone behind. We’re all going to go together. Because we’re Jewish, and that’s where G-d wants us to live.”

Wouldn’t that be terrific? But more importantly, wouldn’t it make sense?

Instead, they say that they’re needed here.

You know what I say? I say the only reason they are needed here is to bring Jews there … to bring Jews home.

We all sing the praises of those who do it. Isn’t it beautiful that the Dresslers made Aliyah! Such an inspiration! Isn’t it incredible, that after years and years of wishing and dreaming, the Friedenbergs finally did it, and with teenage kids!

It can be done. If the Dresslers and the Friedenbergs and the Golombs and the Jaspers can do it, anyone can do it. And the rabbis can lead the way.

But we have to help them understand that it can be done.

You know why? For the same reason people in the time of Ezra and Nehemia didn’t do it.

Life is too darn good here. You have everything you need here. And you don’t want to leave it.

And as long as being a rabbi pays four times better here than being a doctor pays there, it’s going to be very tough to convince Diaspora rabbis to change their tune, and, as one Baltimore rabbi said, to begin walking the walk.

Don’t get me wrong. There are exceptions. Rabbi Zev Shandalov, rabbi of a small congregation in Chicago, just announced a few months ago that he’s leaving two years from now to make Aliyah, and that he’d like his whole congregation to come with him.

Then, on the other side, there’s Rabbi Avi Weiss in Riverdale, New York, who really tells it like it is. I had him on my show a few months back and asked him point-blank – How can you preach Aliyah and not do it yourself? Why should your congregation listen to you if you don’t walk the walk.

And he said, - and I give him a lot of credit – “You’re right. I have grandchildren in Israel and when it comes to the mitzvah of Aliyah, they are my rebbes. I know I should be there … but New York is where I’m comfortable. I know I’m not whole when I’m not in Israel, but this is where I am comfortable.”

But he’s the only one I’ve heard who has said it. He’s comfortable. New York is what he knows. It’s his world. Life is good for him there.

Good for Rabbi Weiss. He’s big enough to tell the truth. And I respect him for that.

But if the most pro-Aliyah rabbis, like Rabbi Weiss … and others who talk the talk, aren’t walking the walk, what’s the solution?

I believe the solution is that we’re going to have to do this the hard way. We are going to have to push them. We are going to have to challenge them. Ask your rabbi, “How is it a mitzvah to keep kosher, but not to live in Israel, when the whole purpose of the Torah … even if we think of it as just a storybook, is for the Jews to go from the Diaspora to Eretz Yisrael?”

And I can already tell you their answers: They’ve unfortunately been so conditioned regarding this fundamental mitzvah, that they will either come up with a cute, clever response, like “well, someone has to turn out the lights here when everyone else is gone!” or they will, for a moment, gaze longingly beyond you and tell you how much they wish they could do it. But their kids are in school here, and education is tough in Israel. Or they have grandchildren here, so how could they go away like that? Or my favorite … “Do you know how tough it is to make a living in Israel as a rabbi?”

And every time I hear that, I think to myself, do you know how tough it is to make a living in Israel as a public relations professional. I’m making approximately half of what I was making in the States. But I bite my tongue. Because they don’t know better. They’ve been influenced. Influenced by 2000 years of exile.

But not to worry. Because although they have been conditioned, they’re wrong. Life can be pretty darn good in Israel.

How good? Let me tell you:

How many of you are Shomer Shabbat? Now, how many of you wear a kippa to work? Now how many of you feel 100% comfortable wearing your kippa to work?

How many of you send your kids to Jewish schools? Now, how many of your kids – at the age of 10 – can pick up any sefer and read it, understanding every word to the point where when you learn it with them and you translate, they ask you, “Abba, are you translating for me, or for you?”

How many of you have children who have had a “siddur party” when they received their first siddur? How many of those parties were held at the Kotel?

Listen, I know the United States is a great place to be Jewish. I lived here for most of my life. I even lived in Baltimore, which I refer to as the most dangerous place for a Jew to live in the Diaspora. Why? Because it’s so darn great. You’re Jewish? Anything you need is right here in Baltimore. Five (or more) different schools? Check. Restaurants? Check. Supermarket? Check. 26 Orthodox shuls of one kind or another? Check. And that’s why it’s so dangerous. Because it’s so great. And because we’re not supposed to be living here.

And there have been people far greater than you – far greater than we – who also got it wrong. There were ten of them. They went to Israel to scout out the Land, and they returned with the best and worst of reports.

“It’s an incredible Land – they said – it has fruits like you wouldn’t believe.” And they showed the Bnei Yisrael those fruits.

“But there are giants there and the Land devours its people.” – they said. And that was the end of that.

And that entire generation died, except for two. And those two – Yehoshua and Calev – made it into Eretz Yisrael.

How important is it to make Aliyah?

Moshe Rabbeinu was dying, and he had one last request for HaShem: Please, let me go into the Land.

Moshe Rabbeinu … OUR TEACHER!!! What is he teaching us there? He’s teaching us that if you have the chance to go into the Land, you go. Because you may not have another chance!

The generation of Ezra and Nehemia also got it wrong. Ezra told people – he sent letters – come back to the Land with me. We’re going to rebuild Jerusalem!

And they told him no, you go to the great Jerusalem there. We’ll be fine here in our little Jerusalem here.

Ezra was a leader. But no one followed. They decided to stay in the Diaspora because, well, Seven Mile Market has all the Israeli products we need. And Rambam does a great job of making us FEEL Israeli on Yom HaAtzmaut.

Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s wonderful that Baltimore has all the resources it has. And my wife Gilla and I always say that if we weren’t living in Israel, we’d want to live in Baltimore.

But for us, for Gilla and me, we want to live in Israel. And it’s time for the Jewish people to correct our history of messing up big-time, when it comes to the mitzvah – or ordinance – of Aliyah.

Which gets me to the title of this talk:

“How to do Teshuva … In One Easy Step”

You may think that the title is a play on words regarding the literal meaning of “teshuva.” Returning. Ah, Go’el’s being clever. Teshuva, as in returning to Israel. We get it.

And if that’s your takeaway, that’s fine with me. Because at the end of the day, that’s what I want from everyone in this room.

But that’s not what I meant. You see, I do marketing for a living, so I know there’s always got to be a “What’s In It For Me,” in any sale you are trying to make. So those of you who may be dozing off, now’s the time to listen …

I know what we are all going through this year… and every year. We look back and we think, my gosh. I’m right in the same spot I was in last year. I promised Hakadosh Baruch Hu that I’d try hard and that I’d change my ways. And I’ve succeeded in some areas … but definitely not in all areas. And so here I am again.

But let me tell you what I do when it comes time for Yom Kippur and maybe my davening’s not going so well, or maybe I’m feeling the scale may be tipping a bit to the other side.

A year ago, leading up to last Yamim Noraim, I was a mess. Not going to minyan everyday. Missed selichot a few times. Speaking lashon hara. Not treating people with respect. You name it … I was doing it.

It was the first time in a long time that, quite literally, I felt like I had to throw myself upon the mercy of the Heavenly Court.

And there I was. Neilah.

And it was during the Amidah. And I said, “HaShem! I know! I’m a disaster! I’ve got absolutely no defense for the way I’ve conducted myself! And I wanted to do better this year, but I didn’t! I was lazy. I was selfish. I was … a disaster. But HaShem … let me just say one thing in my defense …

I came home to be with you! I gave it all up! I gave up my Yankees! I gave up good Chinese food! Gilla gave up Target! We gave up schools we loved! Our friends. Our families. We gave it all up! And we did it for one reason and one reason only!

You told us to come here, HaShem!

וְהָיָה, כִּי-תָבוֹא אֶל-הָאָרֶץ

So we did it! We’ve given ourselves over to you! We believe in You!

We’ve put our Jewishness, our Torah observance, our commitment to you above all else!

We love that our kids speak Hebrew with Israeli accents. We love that all offices are closed during Jewish holidays. We love that we are able to observe the mitzvah of shmita and that we can visit the Kotel anytime we want to and that we never, ever have to say good-bye and get on a plane, wondering when the next time is that we’ll be back in our Land.

We love all those things about being here in Israel.

But that’s not why we’re here, Hakadosh Baruch Hu!

We’re here for you!

Now, I ask you … how can Avinu Shebashamayim say no to a tefilla like that?

But you can’t do that here in BALTIMORE. You can only do it there. You can only say that you have put your spirituality first, no matter what impact it has on your material existence, in Eretz Yisrael.

As I said in the beginning, this is a time of year when we look inward and we ask ourselves, what have I done this year? What’s gone well? What’s not gone well?

How can I become a better Jew?

You want to become a better Jew? It’s a simple formula, and it starts with putting your Jewishness above all else.

And if you are saying to yourself, “He’s right. Maybe we should think about Aliyah … right after Shmuel finishes high school … right after we’ve put a little more money away … right after the security situation in Israel improves … right after I retire …”

You’ll never do it. And you’re missing the point.

Na’ase V’Nishma. We will do and we will listen.

That is one of the most famous lines in the Torah, and most people take it to mean that the Jewish people were so eager to get the Torah that they first said “whatever it is, fine. We’ll take it!” And then, after the deal is done, we’ll take a closer look and figure out the details.

Well, there’s another interpretation. First you do what HaShem asks of you, and only then will you have the mindset to be able to understand, to be able to listen to what he’s asking of you.

In other words, and this is consistent with how the Ramban sees things, you will only be able to appreciate what’s behind the mitzvot after you do them.

Let’s spend a second on the Ramban, and then I’ll take questions. Some of you may know that the Ramban says that all mitzvot done outside Eretz Yisrael are only done as practice mitzvot. They don’t count.

What that also means is that, if you live in the Diaspora, all your energy devoted to improving yourself during Elul and the Aseret Yemei HaTeshuva and even on Yom Kippur, is all just practice.

So I ask you – Do you want to live your entire life just practicing? Or do you want to actually get into the game and play it for real?

I believe it’s time to really live your life. To do the mitzvot the way they are to be done in the place where they are supposed to be done. I believe now is a great time to be doing it. I mean, there’s even an organization today – Nefesh B’Nefesh – that gives you money to do it!

There’s one more thing that needs to be mentioned.

I haven’t been completely fair to you tonight. I keep quoting the beginning of the parsha:

וְהָיָה, כִּי תבוֹא אֶל-הָאָרֶץ

And it will be when (because) – not if - you come into the land

אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱלֹקיךָ, נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה; וִירִשְׁתָּהּ, וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בָּהּ.

That HaShem your G-d gives to you for an inheritance; and you will – not you are allowed to – possess it and settle (dwell in) it.

But I’ve left out the ending.

So just in case you think maybe the ending doesn’t help my argument … Just in case you think the end of the parsha doesn’t give me something on which to hang my hat …

Allow me to quote the final pasuk of this week’s parsha, Perek כ"ט, Pasuk ח' :

וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם, אֶת-דִּבְרֵי הַבְּרִית הַזֹּאת, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם, אֹתָם--לְמַעַן תַּשְׂכִּילוּ, אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשׂוּן.

Observ e therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may succeed in all that you do.

I wish you all much success in the coming year, and that I will welcome all of you soon as you walk down the steps of that airplane so you too can begin the process of succeeding – and of living – in our Land.

Shavua Tov.