|
|
|
Last Updated: Nov 10th, 2005 - 19:31:01 |
The responses we got before we left and even those after our arrival in Israel were invariably the same:
"You're making aliyah straight to Tapuach?!"
"What made you pick that community?"
"It's 'hot' there, isn't it?"
"Which side of the fence is that on?"
"What if they decide to tear it down?"
These and other comments were regularly accompanied by nervous laughter and puzzled expressions.
But not always. There were others from whom I sensed a quiet admiration for what my husband and I were about to undertake. Even if it was tinged with a 'better them than me' sentiment.
When we were married last summer, my husband and I were certain that we wanted to make aliyah, but we hadn't any specific yishuv in mind. There were a number of places we were considering, all of which were ideologically and religiously to our liking. What finally set Tapuach above the rest was our reading of Rabbi Meir Kahane's book, "The Jewish Idea".
I recall clearly the evening the decision was made. We had just closed the book, having completed our reading on the concept of havdalah - separation - and how, as Rabbi Kahane explains, G-d established two fundamental principles for the Jewish people: isolation from the nations and clinging to G-d and His mitzvot. Turning to my husband, I said, "Can't we just go to Tapuach?" Further deliberation over which community was most suitable seemed pointless. It struck me at that moment that even sight unseen, Tapuach would be a place of truth. Indeed, a place where we could separate ourselves from an alien culture and, by extension, cling to Hashem; where we could live what we had been learning and have a community around us that was like-minded and equally committed to that truth.
Perhaps shock is the best way to describe the look on my husband's face. Had his wife just suggested moving into the heart of "Kahane territory"? I think he asked me to marry him a second time. He had long been enamoured with the writings of Meir Kahane and spent countless hours on the internet reading translations of Binyamin Kahane's writings. Needless to say, it was only a short time later that we finalized our plans and booked our tickets.
Ultimately, it was thanks to the Jewish Legion that we were able to settle in Tapuach so quickly and comfortably. Who else was set up to take two nutty Canadians under its wing and provide for their needs as new olim. It was the perfect klita to the perfect place. We're now volunteers with the Legion - my husband working with guard dogs, while I take care of administrative duties.
The people in Tapuach and throughout the Shomron have been tremendous. Everyone has made an effort to make us feel welcome. And the initial CNN-induced apprehensions we had, turned out to be exactly that: media hype. Not only is Tapuach where a Jew is supposed to be; it's also beautiful, it's simple, and it's ours.
If people's initial responses to our decision once caused me doubt (if only for a moment), they do no longer. I am a Jew; living in my land; amidst my people. Here, unlike Toronto, everything I do is imbued with meaning whether riding the bus, going to the market, planting a garden. While friends and family remain somewhat concerned, I have never felt safer in my life. Yes there are physical dangers from time to time but the spiritual dangers inherent in a life of exile are far more frightening to me. Today I pose the questions to them:
"Don't you realize that a Jew cannot truly fulfill his duty outside The Land?"
"Aren't you afraid of the culture that your children are being exposed to?"
"You're seriously considering staying in Toronto for another year? Are you crazy?"
© Copyright 5764, 5765 by author and Tsel Harim
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
