If you are Jewish then, whether you are religious or not, the Land of Israel holds a special place in your heart. Throughout the ages, our people have longed to settle in the Holy Land, coming back time and again after exile. Making Aliyah has been a historical dream for the Jewish People and continues to be so nowadays.

It’s not for nothing, whether the reason is genetic, spiritual, or emotional, we all love the Land of Israel and seek how to immigrate to Israel. Somehow, every Jewish soul feels attached to Israel, but what is this drive about? How can we understand it?

Here in this article, we will explore a few aspects of moving to Israel, from a political and economic point of view, as well as religious ones.

Economic and social reasons

Since the beginning of the Corona pandemic and now with the war in Ukraine, the world has been in turmoil. Uncertainties and dangers are rising, and many fear what will be in the near future. Making Aliyah has never been in so many people’s minds as we from Paveway have noticed.

Israel has one of the world’s most stable and advanced economies. Contrary to the rest of the world, it’s already on its way to recovery from the pandemic crisis. It’s home to the highest number of start-ups per capita, and its unemployment rate is one of the lowest among the nations. The schools in Israel have also not stopped functioning.

In fact, online research about the law of return Israel’s application has never been so high, and many people have been retiring to Israel.

So, if someone ever asks you, “how are you going to make ends meet there”, don’t worry because everyone ends up finding something to sustain themselves, as we explained in our previous article here.

Also, despite news and gossip about terrorism, Israel is undoubtedly one of the safest places to be. We are not even talking about the apparent land advantage of not having volcanoes, tornados, or other natural disasters. The death rate in 2021 was as low as 5.2 deaths per 1.000 inhabitants (174th in the world), and life expectancy is, on average, 82.7 years, the 8th highest in the world! Terrorism in Israel is still a lower cause of concern than the mafias in Italy, the Yakuza of Japan, and heart problems in the US.

This is a place where miracles happen on a daily basis. Sure, sometimes it’s not easy sometimes, but, as our sages say in the Talmud (Brachot 36) “The Land of Israel lacks nothing”!

We also see that Israel also boasts a unique symbiotic environment in which we all respect and help each other, whether we are religious or not.

This might come from the ancient Talmudic teaching (Tractate Sanhedrin 49a) which states:

“Were it not for David who sat and occupied himself with Torah, Yoav ben Tzeruyah (David’s nephew) would not have been victorious in war. And, were it not for Yoav who fought the battles, David would not have been able to sit and occupy himself with Torah.”

Religious reasons

Of course, this article would obviously be incomplete without mentioning the spiritual aspects of living in Israel. This is, after all, the destiny of all Jews with the coming Geulah (Redemption).

One of the greatest Mitzvot (commandments) written in the Torah is that of living in the Land of Israel, as it’s written:

And Hashem your G-d will bring you to the Land that your forefathers possessed and you shall possess it… And Hashem your G-d will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, to love Hashem your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live. (Devarim 30:5-6)

Our rabbis of blessed memory immensely praised this Mitzvah of living in Israel. The Ramban, one of the most critical commentaries from the Middle Ages, discusses this obligation at length in his Sefer Hamitzvos:

“We are commanded to take possession of the Land G-d gave to our forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. We must not leave it to others or in desolation, as G-d told them: ‘And you will take possession of the Land, for I gave the Land to you to possess. And you will settle the Land which I promised to your father’.“

He further explains that we may not relinquish the Land to any nation at any point in time.

“If any nation should flee the Land…we are commanded to conquer those cities and settle our tribes therein. Indeed, after we have destroyed the other nations if our tribes should wish to leave the Land and go conquer other lands, they are not permitted to do so. This is because we were commanded to conquer the Land and live in it – and this applies throughout all the generations.”

None less than R’ Chaim Ibn Attar (the Or HaChaim HaKadosh, Devarim 30:20) explains that settling Eretz Israel is a Mitzvah that encompasses all of the Torah! This idea is also brought in Sifrei (Parshat Re’eh) in a similar vein. There it’s written that “Dwelling in Eretz Israel is the equivalent of all the Mitzvot in the Torah”. This is quite a motivation to start living in or even retiring to Israel!

Concluding Remarks

Making Aliyah is, without a doubt, the most significant and most beneficial move a person will ever make. We feel in our blood that this is where we belong and where we achieve our full potential. The Zohar HaKadosh (Shemot 151) explains that “even the dwellers of Eretz Israel meet their death at the hands of an angel of mercy who reigns in Eretz Israel”.

And, of course, Olim Paveway is here to assist you in everything you may need. We are working our best to bring as many people as possible to Eretz Yisrael and you could be the next one!

Contact us to see how we can make your Aliyah a lot easier!

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“In Israel, they are one nation, and not outside of it.” (Zohar haKaddosh Emor, 93)