Rabbi Hershel Schachter is learned. I have spoken to him a few times and attended a few dozen of his public lectures. So I say the following with due respect. I believe RHS has a lot of offer, but on the subject of Zionism, he's a bit over the top.
People who don't live in SOI (the secular state of israel) shouldn't be claiming to know the place so as to encourage people to move there. He makes statements here that are not correct in my experience.
It is not correct to say that there's nothing backward in SOI, that they have all the modern inventions. Rather, Israel is 2nd world. It is quite primitive compared to America. Electronics are expensive and have limited variety. Cars cost a fortune. Web sites don't work. The Israel bus site has been non-working for years. The electronic bus signs are inaccurate.
Train service is infrequent and hits only a few parts of the country. Same with bus service in most places. When he visits, he gets driven around.
And he probably stays with wealthy people or in fancy hotels. Many olim live in beat apartments, no car, no dishwasher, mold.
He gets his medical care in top New York hospitals. Here an MRI takes four months.
The whole country is beat. He needs to live here to see what life is really like.
It's not a Biblical obligation either. It's a kiyum mitzvah. He always forgets to say that.
He seems to think that only Jewish leaders are exempt. One suspects that he often makes this point to excuse himself from living in New York. He really has to stop preaching if he has lived 80 years in America. The Gemara gives numerous reasons for not living in Israel, including ability to earn and living and quality of Torah learning. Gemara also says to run from avodah zara and atheism.
What about the danger? What about dealing with Israeli culture? What about military service that drives many people off the derech or just damages people in general. What about 720 dead soldiers since Oct. 6? What about inferior health care? What about breaking up families? How about not speaking Hebrew? How about teenagers who can't deal with the transition. How about an anti-religious government? How about the effect of being around millions of Shabbos violators that are hostile to religious life? What about the relentless stress? He says elsewhere not to move to Israel if it's not reasonable. Well, it's not reasonable.
The Chumash from Lech Lecha to the end is not about Eretz Yisroel. It’s about Klal Yisroel, Mitzvos, and Avodas Hashem. From Shemos until the end of Devarim, the Jews live in Chutz. When they circle around in the Midbar, they are not even heading toward Eretz Yisroel. The focus of the Chumash is not Eretz Yisroel. It’s a destination, it’s a goal of sorts, but the primary goal is Avodas Hashem. And that’s why we were exiled, because we were falling short in Avodas Hashem. Zionists want us to rush back to Israel no matter what it does to our Avodas Hashem. Olam Habah is also a destination, but we don't live there now.
Every point he makes here is an exaggeration even to the point of deception. And you can’t just continue your career in Israel. Maybe rabbis can do that. Most professions are not transferable particularly if you don’t know Hebrew and most Americans do not. People who work in the NY financial industry can't find finance industry jobs in Israel. NY is the world center for finance. Israel has a small, closed off nepotistic thing. He has so much money that he doesn't grasp what poverty is. What about 3 bedroom apartments that are $800,000 minimum?
He condemns certain groups for not being interested. That's the American haredim that he's always poking at. He sits in judgement of R Moshe, R Yaakov, R' Aaron, Lub Rebbe, the Rivnitzer, R' Hutner, R' Schnuer, R' Breur, Vizhitzer Rebbe, Belzer Rebbe, R' Schwab and many other great people who didn't push aliyah. And what about Israel based gadolim that also didn't push it. He's challenging all of them. That's not proper. If he wants to speak to his own community, that's one thing, but to condemn everyone is not proper.
It's the strangest thing how he sits in judgement of everyone but he himself doesn't live here. And that's probably why he has such a bug on this topic, because he wants to live here. He should move already and stop nagging everyone else. Get it out of his system.
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