Is Aliya the only way?

A little while ago my dad posted about the difficulty of making aliya with teenagers. Someone named Gabi responded with this. An I added my two cents:

Careful Gabi, you seem to be suffering from an acute case of Oleh- Self- Righteousness Syndrome. To begin with I would ask you why there is a need for an organization like this or this... (ayen sham for
the rest)

I feel I must elaborate-- not only regarding the notion of moving with teenagers (which, by the way, I recently heard from a member of the NBN social services department is being unofficially discouraged by her organization), but the concept of Aliya.

Allow me to be more specific. The real question that I would like to deal with is this: Is Aliya for every Jew?

Truthfully, for me to address the issue is somewhat disingenuous. It is a halachic question and, as anyone who has read this blog can likely tell, I am very much unqualified. However, as a recent oleh I believe that I do have insight into this topic that I would like to share.

Let me start by saying this. Aliya is great, and many, perhaps most olim make it work. Making Aliya has changed my life for the better in more ways than I can articulate and I am grateful to the Ribbono Shel Olam for placing me in the position to make it happen. The timeless words of the Kuzari seem appropriate here.

It is not difficult to accept the assumption that one land is set aside from all other lands. Do you not see with your own eyes that a place is better than all other places for a specific plant, a specific mineral, and a specific animal... The Chosen People are not able to cleave to the Godly matter in any land but this one. (Kuzari, B: 10- 12) (My own very poor translation)

Jews belong here. The Land of Israel is where we thrive. As my friend Hooie (once again name changed to protect the innocent (actually this time it really is changed. Oh well.)) succinctly put it, "Israel is a really, really great place."

That being said I think it is preposterous to posit that every Jew must make aliya, or even that every Jew should make aliya. Moving here is hard, and it is not for everyone. My wife and I did it by the book-- we moved while we were young, arranged our schooling around the assumption of moving, etc., etc. etc. It has still been difficult in ways we could not have anticipated (more on that later).

To most people the notion that aliya should be a cautious decision is not a chidush. But there is something that I detect in the voices of Americans who wish to make Aliya that distresses me because I am fairly certain of what its source is. That something is guilt, and its source is us- and by us I mean olim.

During the few times when I dragged my lazy, anti- social behind out of Yeshiva for Shabbos, I had the pleasure of staying at the houses of various olim, new and old. What I remember most about these visits was returning to Yeshiva feeling guilty. Guilty that I was still an American, and that somehow, without a teudat zehut I was living a meaningless life. This was not my experience with the most of the olim I stayed by, mind you-- but too many.

Guilt should not be a factor in aliya, and those who don't make it should not feel guilty. Yet, the self- righteousness of so many olim is enough to make one sick.

Let's make two things clear, despite the fact that they are not points that should need clarification.

1. It is entirely possible to live a meaningful life outside the Land of Israel.
2. It is entirely possible to waste one's life inside the Land of Israel.

Making aliya is not a free pass, nor is staying in the States a death sentence.

Reasonable people act reasonably when making big decisions. One would be hard pressed to find a much bigger decision than whether or not to make aliya. To ask people to turn off their intellect and make rash decisions regarding aliya, is to me, unconscionable.