Monday, May 22, 2006
Hello. My name is Moshe Lyons. I am in the process of making aliyah with my wife and children. My wife and I have made the decision to end the exile for the Lyons family. On paper, there is no pressing reason for us to do this. I have a great job at Trustmark Insurance Company in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. I have a terrific house in a great Jewish neighborhood. We are happy with our shul and we like the Rabbi. We live in close proximity to my Mom, my sister and her family, and we have a lot of good friends around. Our kids go to a good school where they are doing great, they are happy and have terrific friends. I have a sister in Florida which makes for fabulous winter and Pesach vacations! It is the American Dream!
So, why are we chucking this all away?
Well, for starters, you should know that at the time of this writing, we could go on living the way we are living. Investments, 401(k) managment, mortgage payments, tuition payments, budgeting, vacation time, priceline.com to find a great rate on a hotel room somewhere, road trips here and there, Saturday night pizza shop visits, credit card payments, refinancing, renting videos, parent-teacher conferences, driving tickets etc,etc,etc.. There is nothing stopping us. If I want to, right now!, I can say, all is good, I ain't going to touch it. Really, I am sameach b'Chelki right now. We are not running away from anything! I am not under any pressure to do this nor is anyone making us do this. We just have decided to stop living the American Dream and to start living the Jewish Dream!! So, you ask again, why!?!?
Here are just a couple of reasons that come to my mind right now,
Reason #1.
It is a mitzvah and I am a believer. Just like there is a mitzvah to shake a lulav and etrog on Succot. There is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisroel. And not all mitvot are easy! People in the Diaspora are misirat nefesh to have many children, to send them to day-schools, to feed them all. etc,..B"H the mitzvah of having children (And the responsibilities that come along with them) is hard! (IY"H, we should all be granted many, many offspring!) Nevertheless, many orthodox Jews (and I include myself amongst this group) have bitachon in Hashem that some how, some way we will find a way to clothe, feed and educate our children! And many of the orthodox Rabbonim will espouse this view...So it is in this same way that we need to try to preform ALL the mitzvot -without worry, and with complete faith in Hashem - that I move to Eretz Yisroel. I have no illusions. It is not going to be a cake walk. But we need to try and serve Hashem with no shortcuts. There are times in life that one justs need to step up to the plate, especially for G-d, His Torah, His children and His Land! At least I like to think that we are attempting to do this.
Reason #2.
We only have 'One Life To Live'! We need to maximize it! Who knows when my day of death will arrive (it should be in a long time) but I have no intentions of going to Shamayim and telling my Creator that I didn't at least try! While I can accept failure, I cannot accept failure in the attempt phase. One cannot fail to try.
Reason #3.
Last summer, my people were thrown out of their homes. The day of the beginning of the Gush Katif expulsion (August 15th 2005 I believe) I was driving to work listening to WGN radio in Chicago. I wanted to hear the news. But instead of the news I heard some guy making a fool out of himself singing 'Take Me Out to The Ball Game!'? for a good 10-15 minutes. How could it be that fellow Jews are being kicked out of their homes and we here in America are too interested in the Cubs and (the World Champion) Chicago WHITE SOX!!! to give a hoot? Is my childrens fate going to be attached to those who eat Peanuts and Cracker Jacks? Or are they going to make a contribution to the Jewish Nation in the land given to us by God? If G-d forbid,(Chas vSholom X1000) there is another disengament (Al tiftach peh l'Satan). Instead of eating pizza and watching it on TV before the next episode of 'Desperate Housewives' comes on, my family will be there!! We will be the ones consoling our bretheren and being torn away from our land. -And we will have the zchus of living on our land untill the very last possible minute of modern times! Please G-d don't let this happen!! I would much rather my family be on the land when Moshiach comes! Amen!
Reason #4.
I am Jewish. A Jew belongs in Israel. I find it amazing that every (most) gentile I tell the news of our aliyah to responds with a 3 letter word "WOW!!" A Jew responds with another 3 letter word "WHY!?!?" I hope that the Jews who ask us why, really mean, "WHY am I not doing the same?" But, If you do happen to be Jewish and you are still reading through my list of reasons, I would suggest you do a bit of a soul check, right about now! I need to give you a reason for aliyah?!? Listen to the voice inside of you that is telling you to go, for that is your neshomeh talking to you. Much better to listen to that divine spark telling you to go then to wait for the goyim to tell you to go. (Heard from Rebbetzin Bochko , Kochav Yaakov, Israel). Unfortunatley, I am willing to put money down that comments to this posting will be from JEWS who will make drashas and chakiras on my reasons and tell me why I am wrong.
Reason #5
I want my children to have the golden opportunity of being raised (ie. experience childhood) in Israel. I didn't have this for myself and I want my kids to have better. For 2,000 years my nation turned towards Zion and prayed for their return. It is open and available to us this minute! Don't tell me that the generation to whom it is finally available doesn't want it! People pray to hear the "sounds of children playing in the courtyards of Jerusalem". Take action to answer this prayer and bring your children - we are!
These are just some of my reasons. I have more, I am just to lazy to write them down. And the purpose of my blog is NOT to justify our reasons for aliyah. As a Jew, it should be obvious. The land and the Jews are precious to us. And saying this or typing about it are just not enough. We need to live life like we mean it. So, on July 5th 2006 (our date of aliyah) G-d willing, we plan to do just that. IY"H we will be successfull.
Moshe.
So, why are we chucking this all away?
Well, for starters, you should know that at the time of this writing, we could go on living the way we are living. Investments, 401(k) managment, mortgage payments, tuition payments, budgeting, vacation time, priceline.com to find a great rate on a hotel room somewhere, road trips here and there, Saturday night pizza shop visits, credit card payments, refinancing, renting videos, parent-teacher conferences, driving tickets etc,etc,etc.. There is nothing stopping us. If I want to, right now!, I can say, all is good, I ain't going to touch it. Really, I am sameach b'Chelki right now. We are not running away from anything! I am not under any pressure to do this nor is anyone making us do this. We just have decided to stop living the American Dream and to start living the Jewish Dream!! So, you ask again, why!?!?
Here are just a couple of reasons that come to my mind right now,
Reason #1.
It is a mitzvah and I am a believer. Just like there is a mitzvah to shake a lulav and etrog on Succot. There is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisroel. And not all mitvot are easy! People in the Diaspora are misirat nefesh to have many children, to send them to day-schools, to feed them all. etc,..B"H the mitzvah of having children (And the responsibilities that come along with them) is hard! (IY"H, we should all be granted many, many offspring!) Nevertheless, many orthodox Jews (and I include myself amongst this group) have bitachon in Hashem that some how, some way we will find a way to clothe, feed and educate our children! And many of the orthodox Rabbonim will espouse this view...So it is in this same way that we need to try to preform ALL the mitzvot -without worry, and with complete faith in Hashem - that I move to Eretz Yisroel. I have no illusions. It is not going to be a cake walk. But we need to try and serve Hashem with no shortcuts. There are times in life that one justs need to step up to the plate, especially for G-d, His Torah, His children and His Land! At least I like to think that we are attempting to do this.
Reason #2.
We only have 'One Life To Live'! We need to maximize it! Who knows when my day of death will arrive (it should be in a long time) but I have no intentions of going to Shamayim and telling my Creator that I didn't at least try! While I can accept failure, I cannot accept failure in the attempt phase. One cannot fail to try.
Reason #3.
Last summer, my people were thrown out of their homes. The day of the beginning of the Gush Katif expulsion (August 15th 2005 I believe) I was driving to work listening to WGN radio in Chicago. I wanted to hear the news. But instead of the news I heard some guy making a fool out of himself singing 'Take Me Out to The Ball Game!'? for a good 10-15 minutes. How could it be that fellow Jews are being kicked out of their homes and we here in America are too interested in the Cubs and (the World Champion) Chicago WHITE SOX!!! to give a hoot? Is my childrens fate going to be attached to those who eat Peanuts and Cracker Jacks? Or are they going to make a contribution to the Jewish Nation in the land given to us by God? If G-d forbid,(Chas vSholom X1000) there is another disengament (Al tiftach peh l'Satan). Instead of eating pizza and watching it on TV before the next episode of 'Desperate Housewives' comes on, my family will be there!! We will be the ones consoling our bretheren and being torn away from our land. -And we will have the zchus of living on our land untill the very last possible minute of modern times! Please G-d don't let this happen!! I would much rather my family be on the land when Moshiach comes! Amen!
Reason #4.
I am Jewish. A Jew belongs in Israel. I find it amazing that every (most) gentile I tell the news of our aliyah to responds with a 3 letter word "WOW!!" A Jew responds with another 3 letter word "WHY!?!?" I hope that the Jews who ask us why, really mean, "WHY am I not doing the same?" But, If you do happen to be Jewish and you are still reading through my list of reasons, I would suggest you do a bit of a soul check, right about now! I need to give you a reason for aliyah?!? Listen to the voice inside of you that is telling you to go, for that is your neshomeh talking to you. Much better to listen to that divine spark telling you to go then to wait for the goyim to tell you to go. (Heard from Rebbetzin Bochko , Kochav Yaakov, Israel). Unfortunatley, I am willing to put money down that comments to this posting will be from JEWS who will make drashas and chakiras on my reasons and tell me why I am wrong.
Reason #5
I want my children to have the golden opportunity of being raised (ie. experience childhood) in Israel. I didn't have this for myself and I want my kids to have better. For 2,000 years my nation turned towards Zion and prayed for their return. It is open and available to us this minute! Don't tell me that the generation to whom it is finally available doesn't want it! People pray to hear the "sounds of children playing in the courtyards of Jerusalem". Take action to answer this prayer and bring your children - we are!
These are just some of my reasons. I have more, I am just to lazy to write them down. And the purpose of my blog is NOT to justify our reasons for aliyah. As a Jew, it should be obvious. The land and the Jews are precious to us. And saying this or typing about it are just not enough. We need to live life like we mean it. So, on July 5th 2006 (our date of aliyah) G-d willing, we plan to do just that. IY"H we will be successfull.
Moshe.
