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Excerpt from Annual Banquet Dinner Speech, June 2016

An excerpt from Rabbi Owen’s remarks at last Sunday night’s Annual Banquet Dinner.

One of the most unique and special qualities of our community and school is our strong connection to Eretz Yisrael. Many Memphis expats live in Eretz Yisrael. Annually, 90% of our graduates study in Israel. At MHA, the month of Iyyar is dedicated to programming about Israel. Many of our students study Torah in Ivrit – particularly in the early grades. We further teach Ivrit as a language. We host a Kollel MiTzion in our beit midrash and annually host two young women from the Bat Ami program. These are just some examples of how consciousness about eretz yisrael and about am yisrael is woven into the fabric of our school.

Time is precious – particularly in education. For each lesson that we include in our curriculum, another is left out. Why do we dedicate such an investment of resources to connecting our students to Israel?

Our parasha – Parashat Bechukotai – outlines the berachot and kelalot – the blessings and curses for abiding or not abiding to the mitzvot. This tochacha – rebuke – pertains to the Jewish people. When we follow the mitzvot, G-d rewards the Jewish people in order to help us serve Him better. When we do not follow the mitzvot, G-d rebukes us in the form of curses in order to teach us to improve our ways.

The Torah says, “And the produce of your threshing season will last until the grape harvest; and the produce of the grape harvest will last until the planting. And you have your fill of food. And you will dwell securely in your land.”

On this last statement – “and you will dwell securely in your land” – our Rabbis comment in the Midrash Sifra that this blessing applies in the Land of Israel but not in the exile.

What a perplexing statement! In other words, the mitzvot that we perform, the closeness to G-d that we achieve through learning about Him and through emulating Him and the righteousness that we exhibit – all of these are rewarded with security in the Land of Israel. In exile, Jews are not assured security! Even observance of the Torah does not assure protection outside of Israel!

The Chafetz Chayim – Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen – made comments which are particularly relevant to this interpretation. These comments were translated by Rabbi Bernie Fox from a biography written by Rabbi Aharon Sorasky. The Chafetz Chayyim often discussed the advent of the Messianic era. Towards the end of his life he delivered an informal discourse on this issue. He explained that the Messianic era is inevitable. We do not know when the Messiah will arrive. Nonetheless, we are certain that the Almighty’s plan for humanity will only be fulfilled in the Messianic era.

The Chafetz Chayyim explained that we are not passive participants in the unfolding of history. Our actions and attitudes can hasten or delay coming of Mashiach. What can we do to expedite the Messiah’s arrival? The Chafetz Chayyim explained that we must truly desire his accession. We must recognize exile as banishment. We must sincerely long for deliverance. Conversely, apathy delays the coming of the Messiah. If we are complacent and comfortable in Galut – in exile, we fail to recognize our banishment.

The Chafetz Chayim offered a proof of his assertion. The Chumash, in Sefer Shemot discusses our redemption from Egypt. The Chafetz Chayim argues that this event is a model for future redemptions. In order to understand the conditions required for the arrival of the Messiah, we must study this previous redemption. The Torah explains that, in their suffering, b’nai Yisrael cried out to Hashem. Immediately after this appeal, the redemption began. Our delivery from bondage was not initiated by repentance. It was set in motion by a much simpler event. The people turned to Hashem and asked for salvation. Yetziat Mitzrayim – the exodus from Egypt – provides a model for future redemptions. In order for the Almighty to act, we must recognize that we need His salvation.

The Chafetz Chayim concluded by asserting that many Jews of his time were complacent. They had come to accept exile. They did not regard exile as banishment. They uttered the prayers beseeching the Almighty for redemption. But they were not completely sincere. He felt that it was crucially important to change this attitude. B'nai Yisrael must acknowledge exile as a severe punishment. The people must earnestly turn to the Almighty and pray for salvation. The Chafetz Chayim made these comments at the end of his life. He passed away in 1933 – a short time before the beginning of the Holocaust.

Returning to our question – why focus so much attention on eretz yisrael?

I believe that the words of the Chafetz Chayim have particular relevance to our school community. One of the most important messages that we can communicate to our children is that our people’s destiny is in the Land of Israel – the land of our forefathers and foremothers, the land where Torah can be fully realized and implemented, the future land of Messianic sovereignty.

This message is a highly motivational. When they internalize this message, our children become inspired to grow spiritually. They become motivated to learn. They deepen their commitment to their fellow Jews. Our children create a picture of an idealized society that they want to be a part of – one guided by talmud torah and mitzvot. Our children also learn that complacency about our current situation in exile would be spiritual poison.

I am so proud of the loud statement of support for Jewish education and for the mission of Margolin Hebrew Academy that this evening represents. We have such a unique and important mission. On the night of this 66th Annual Scholarship Banquet, let us pray that our school and community continue to inspire and educate the future leaders of am yisrael.

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