Gary Cooperberg, June 20, 2010

When a fellow Jew visiting from the states tells me how much he admires my courage and sacrifice for living in the Land of Israel, what he really is doing is trying to assure himself that he is normal. Deep in his heart he knows that he should be living here too. By painting me as an extraordinary hero, he can justify to himself the fact that he has chosen to remain in Exile. He is no hero. He is "normal".

My son, Avi, related to me a story about Rabbi Kook, Z"tl, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel. When a group of religious Jews from Europe came to visit Israel they also visited with Rabbi Kook. The rabbi asked them why don’t they move here. They replied that they made a careful financial calculation (Cheshbon), and determined that it just was not possible for them. To this the rabbi responded with the Torah portion describing how, before they could enter the Land of Israel, the Children of Israel first had to vanquish Sichon, the King of Cheshbon. When it comes to the Land of Israel, the rabbi admonished, we cannot make a financial calculation. We must rid ourselves of "Cheshbonot" and just come home. The group chose not to heed the rabbi’s advice and they perished in the holocaust.When we decided to come home we did so for only one reason -- because Israel is our only home. One cannot be complete as a Jew while willingly living in Exile. We had no guarantees, no one really does. We just expressed our faith by doing the right thing and hoping that we would manage. I must tell you that, although we certainly had our share of problems, that one act of faith has been rewarded many times over. We raised all of our children here, in Kiryat Arba, two of whom were born here. Three of our five children are already married and having children of their own, and all are living here as proud Jews.

When our son, Avi, had his bar mitzvah here, one of our guests, Rabbi Shalom Gold, who was our rabbi in West Hempstead, was very impressed with the way Avi read the Torah. He assured me that were he raised in West Hempstead he would never have been able to be so proficient. Avi truly enjoyed learning. He eventually became able to read the Torah in the synagogue on a regular basis. Today Avi is married, living in Kiryat Arba and the father of a new baby girl. And if that isn’t enough, this very afternoon, in Jerusalem, he is going to receive his official certification as a rabbi by the two chief rabbis of Israel!

When I think of how life might have turned out were I not so "courageous" and "self sacrificing", it truly frightens me. When I sound the shofar it is with the hope that I can arouse my brothers to their senses. The Exile was always and still is a punishment. For over two thousand years we had no choice but to make the best we could with our lot. Yet throughout the generations we yearned for the day when we would come home at long last. Well that day is here and the vast majority of our people choose not to think about it. Redemption certainly is not complete, but, even without Redemption it is still a tremendous mitzvah to live in the Land -- even were it not under our control! Although our government does not relate to our homeland as it should and there is much to change to make Israel the Jewish State it is destined to become, now is the time to come home and participate in that change. To remain in Exile as a passive observer is to reject miracles and display a lack of faith in Jewish destiny.

My own life is proof that we are living through a Divine Process. I sound the shofar in an attempt to share that proof with others and enable them to save their lives and that of their families both in -- a physical and spiritual sense. Time is running out.

P.S. -- I just boiled down a three hour ceremony to about 45 seconds....

Gary Cooperberg, a resident of the Jewish community in Hebron, Israel, is the founder and director of Project Shofar.

Copyright © 2010 Gary Cooperberg