This week, at a meeting between the President of the Jewish Agency for Israel and a group of rabbis from different Orthodox denominations in Argentina, the President expressed his view that the way to strengthen Jewish identity is to spend time in Israel. If a person stays there, great. And even if one doesn't stay, upon returning home, one returns a different person.
The rabbis, on the other hand, expressed a similar yet distinct idea. They argued that instead of spending millions of dollars bringing people to Israel to strengthen Jewish identity, that money could be directed toward appropriate Jewish education to strengthen Jewish identity locally, and as a natural consequence, people would go to Israel, where they could fully express and practice their Judaism.
The truth is, they are two sides of the same coin. The natural state of the Jewish people is to be in our Holy Land. What changes is the way: whether we go and then educate ourselves, or whether we educate ourselves and then go.
From a deeper perspective, what changes is the focus. Whether the main priority is education or travel.
De cualquier manera, que no necesitemos de más planes y sistemas y que venga la «Redención de Di-s [tan rápido] como un pestañar de ojos» (frase repetida varias veces por el Presidente de Sojnut) y todos estemos juntos, un pueblo, con un corazón hacia nuestro Padre que está en los Cielos.