This summer we have experienced the great blessing of seeing no less then fifteen flights organized by the Jewish organization Nefesh B’Neshesh full of Jews returning home for good. These Jews are not escaping the cold winters and economy of the former Soviet Union or the warm deserts of Ethiopia. While Aliyah continues from those areas as well, this Aliyah is from the prosperous North America and Western Europe. Jews are coming from countries with a higher GNP (Gross National Product) than Israel has at present, and choosing instead a higher level JNP (Jewish Nation Production). They are taking vital action for the future of the nation of Israel and for the future of the Jewish people as a whole.

Psalm 48:3, in the Hebrew, calls Zion and Jerusalem the “Joy of the Whole Earth”, and yet while more and more Jews do recognize the importance of the Land of Israel and the city of peace, Jerusalem, few Jews around the world have taken active steps to turn this city into its yet to be fulfilled promise of being the joy of the whole earth. Each of us is sanctioned to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, each of us is warned that we must remember Jerusalem lest we lose our own strength and direction. This requires us to take action for Jerusalem and Israel, first of all in our own hearts. Do we look towards Jerusalem and Israel as a creator of joy in our own lives? How much are we willing to sacrifice for the continued existence of the Jewish homeland, a place that will provide a future and a hope in these days of Jewish global assimilation.