Across the street from Kiryat Sefer, with its tall apartment buildings, and just down the road from the gleaming new city of Modiin, the homes of Moshav Matityahu nestle amid graceful shaded pathways, stores, playgrounds, and a modern shul and school buildings. A bit further out lie fields and vineyards planted by its original settlers over 20 years ago. At that time, the settlement was a dusty, isolated plot of land just across the Green Line, and its 11 families were olim (immigrants) from the States beset by the difficulties of their new endeavor.
Meanwhile, back in Florida, Rabbi Zev Leff was tending to a thriving 300-family congregation of the Young Israel of North Miami Beach. At that point in his life, he had achieved huge success in learning – he was very close to Rav Mordechai Gifter, zt”l, at the Telshe yeshiva in Cleveland, from whom he received semicha – and was ensconced in a highly desirable pulpit, handling a comfortable if busy routine of bar mitzvas, weddings, funerals, teaching in the day school, and working with NCSY youth. He hardly suspected that his path would soon merge with those brave young settlers in Eretz Yisrael, a land he had never visited.
There was one slight snag in Rabbi Leff’s idyllic life: While the shul loved him, and had offered him a lifetime contract, some members felt he was not Zionistic enough. The congregation arranged a trip to Eretz Yisrael for Rabbi Leff and his wife, their first. To make a long story short, the Leffs felt something in Eretz Yisrael. Listening to advice from Rav Gifter, Rav Yaakov Kamentzky, and ybl”c, the Bostoner Rebbe, they announced to their stunned congregants their intention to make aliya, which they did in 1983.
In his over 20 years as rav of Moshav Matityahu, Rabbi Leff has nurtured the people as a beloved rav and posek. A true morah de’asra of the now 60-family community, he is also rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedola Matityahu, an American-style post-high school yeshiva located on the moshav, and rosh kollel for the 20-man kollel of Matityahu. He delivers a daily shiur to moshav members, and travels often to speak and teach at yeshivos, seminaries, and audiences across the religious spectrum throughout Israel and abroad. He is a popular speaker in the U.S., as well, and has often addressed the Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel, and Torah Umesorah conventions.
Rabbi Leff was in Baltimore a few weeks ago and affably agreed to an interview about aliya, a topic that has generated much interest in the last few years.
Rabbi Zev Leff: Rabbi Leff, are more Americans making aliya? If so, to what do you attribute the change?
Where What When: Definitely, more Americans are making aliya, and I attribute it to one thing: Nefesh B’Nefesh. They have created a system that assists people. They have made it easier to go, and have also gotten a lot of interest up. I don’t know what the statistics are for how many people go back after making aliya through Nefesh B’Nefesh, but it’s definitely it’s a factor in more people going.
WWW: Do you think 9/11 has something to do with the increase?
ZL: It’s hard to say; I wasn’t here in the States when it happened. I look at it from the Israeli perspective, not the American perspective, but I understand the shock over here. Perhaps the initial shock gave some people the feeling of “let’s go.” But if they weren’t planning aliya beforehand, that sense of shock has, I think, worn off – by now, for sure.
WWW: Is it a mitzva to live in Eretz Yisrael?
ZL: This question has long been disputed by the greatest halachic authorities. The Ramban and the Sefer HaChareidim consider it a mitzva that applies at all times. The Rambam doesn’t mention this mitzva specifically, and there is a great deal of discussion about his omission. Some medieval European poskim said that because those who traveled to Eretz Yisrael were prey to illness, piracy, and shipwreck, therefore, the mitzva did not apply. In addition, many mitzvos hataluios ba’aretz were difficult to keep in those times.
Today, there are few pirates, it’s not so difficult to get to Eretz Yisrael, and the mitzvos hataluios ba’aretz are getting easier and easier to keep. The Chazon Ish, the Gerrer Rebbe, Avnei Nezer, and the Pischei Tshuvah in Shulchan Aruch agree with the Ramban and the Chareidim that there is an obligatory mitzva from the Torah today. Theirs is the majority view of the latter day poskim.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that it is a mitzva today, but only of a voluntary, not obligatory, nature. He compared yishuv ha’aretz to tzitzis, which is also a voluntary mitzva. (One doesn’t have to wear a four-cornered garment, but if one chooses to, he needs tzitzis.) But how would we look at a person who doesn’t wear tzitzis because it’s only a voluntary mitzva? Obviously, such a person is not looking for opportunities to do mitzvos.
And even if there is a doubt about the mitzva, does that mean it should be dismissed? How much money is spent, how much time, on acquiring a kosher mezuza, written with every hiddur, in careful fulfillment of all the shitos? In normal everyday mitzvos, we take care to be mehadrin min hamehadrin, to be yotzei all the shitos, to take all the halachic opinions into consideration. Yet, we don’t find the same attitude when it comes to yishuv ha’aretz. There are people who build their sukkos using only wooden pegs, just to fulfill the shita of the Chazon Ish, who holds differently from everyone else. That same Chazon Ish says it’s a mitzva to live in Eretz Yisrael.
WWW: So, should we all be going?
ZL: My feeling about this and almost every other topic is that the Torah deals with individuals, not with generalities. Therefore, whether any specific person should be thinking about fulfilling the mitzva of going to Eretz Yisrael depends on a lot of factors that are very individual. Yes, there is a mitzva to live in Eretz Yisrael; there is a mitzva to leave chutz la’aretz (other countries) and go to Eretz Yisrael. But, like any mitzva, the mitzva of aliya has its parameters, and those have to be addressed. Factors like parnassa, education of the children, how it’s going to affect elderly parents, etc., will affect the decision of what a particular person should be doing. So, the fact that there is something to think about, something to consider, applies to everybody. But how that decision is made is very individual.
WWW: You mention parnassa as a deciding factor. What does that mean?
ZL: There is no doubt that living in Eretz Yisrael involves a tremendous amount of expense and hardship. Parnassa is one of the three factors – finances, safety, and one’s level of spirituality – that may exempt one from the mitzva of yishuv ha’aretz.
The question is will you be able to survive in Eretz Yisrael financially? If you can survive without begging, that’s called making a parnassa. If so, what is the standard of living that the Shulchan Aruch has in mind that would exempt a person from a mitzva in which he is otherwise obligated? Is it a question of owning one car instead of two? Or dwelling in five rooms instead of twenty? Affording only one maid, or maybe no maids at all?
A person who is used to a certain standard of living, who would have to sacrifice that standard in order to live in Eretz Yisrael, might indeed be exempt from the mitzva. But the question is how proper is it to maintain a life style that prevents you from keeping mitzvos? Is that the kind of life that Hashem wants of a person? So it depends on how we define making a living. Baruch Hashem, there are people living in Eretz Yisrael who are eating, who are functioning, wearing clothing, and making ends meet without having to depend on tzedaka. Or if not, at least they’re close to making ends meet – or they will be close some day. But I’ll tell you a secret: There are also people in America who don’t make ends meet. It all comes from Hashem. The same Ribono Shel Olam Who can give you a parnassa in Eretz Yisrael can take away the parnassa in America. I know people in America who, by American standards, aren’t making a living. Maybe they should make aliya.
WWW: What about the spirituality part, the reason many Americans go? Isn’t it painful to live in Eretz Yisrael and see the hostility of the people and government towards Torah and mitzvos?
ZL: There is one point on which all Torah authorities are in agreement. That is that living in Eretz Yisrael affords one a unique opportunity for spiritual development and growth. While it is true that this opportunity must be considered in conjunction with many other factors that affect the spirit, one cannot simply ignore or disregard the special qualities of Eretz Yisrael and of the mitzva of yishuv ha’aretz.
If living in Eretz Yisrael is viewed as “just a mitzva,” as I once heard someone say with a shrug, then the considerations I mentioned before could be deterrents. But this is a mitzva which is “equal to all the rest.” It is fulfilled every moment with every part of one’s body, and it carries with it a host of other mitzvos which one can fulfill only by residing in Eretz Yisrael. Clearly, there is something more encompassing at stake than any single mitzva.
About its being painful, there are painful things everywhere: good things and bad things any place you live. There are many good things in Eretz Yisrael, even from the government, sometimes. And there are many painful things. If a lot of Americans, frum people, would live here, the Israeli government would have to be different.
ZL: What did you think of the article in the Jewish Observer, which seemed to be very negative about aliya?
WWW: I don’t think the article was overly negative; it was realistic. It just warned people that they shouldn’t come without recognizing that there are things they will have to deal with. Someone who comes thinking there are no problems will fall to the wayside as soon as any little problem comes up. The article was not so much to scare people away but to let them know that they’re not going into a situation where there are no problems. There are problems in Eretz Yisrael. There are also benefits. If you know that the benefits outweigh the problems, then you work on the problems. If you can’t work on the problems, if they are overwhelming, then maybe you don’t go that route. I think that article only made people aware that they shouldn’t discount the difficulties, thinking that things will just work out.
ZL: One of the dilemmas discussed in the article was going with school-aged children. Would you recommend that an average family here in Baltimore with children in school make aliya?
WWW: What is the age of the children? If they’re young children, and they don’t have any specific educational problems, having children should not be a factor to hold them back. I would say that until age seven or eight, it’s not such a problem to come with children. Beyond age eight, then it depends how well adjusted the child is. And once you get to 10 or 11, those ages are very, very difficult ages to go to Eretz Yisrael. Twelve is a red line.
It also depends on how flexible the child is, how dependent he is on the system. Each situation has to be judged individually. But often, as children get older, they have a hard time, because they have friends in Baltimore and they’re used to a certain educational system, a system that, for the most part, doesn’t exist in Eretz Yisrael.
It would depend also on how strong the family is, on what their derech is, what kind of school they want to put their child into in Eretz Yisrael. One kind of derech might be harder than another to get their child into and get him acclimated to than another. Again, it’s hard to make generalizations.
WWW: Is it true that families tend to lose one child from Yiddishkeit when they go to Eretz Yisrael?
ZL: I know of no such thing. I can’t believe that that is statistically true. And I don’t know, if those same people had stayed in the States, how many children they would have lost. If you go on aliya with children who you know will not fit into any system there, you’re definitely taking a risk. But with children like that, you could lose them anyway. It’s a big problem in the States, too. Going to Eretz Yisrael is the cause of losing that child? I’m very wary whether that’s statistically true.
WWW: Is there any hope for more American-style educational options in Eretz Yisrael?
ZL: Yes. There are thoughts already amongst the rabbanim in Eretz Yisrael who have American-style communities to set up some kind of umbrella organization that binds all these communities together and works on creating educational institutions to cater to this olam (group). As more and more Americans come, the need will be greater, and it will be possible to establish institutions in an organized fashion, instead of each community remaining as a little enclave.
On the other hand, there is an ideal of not remaining separate, not living only with Americans but rather blending in with Israeli society. That blending in doesn’t have to be total. A person can accept the norms of Eretz Yisrael, but still hold on to the positive things he or she gained in America and don’t want to lose.
WWW: You teach in many seminaries and yeshivos. What is your opinion about boys and girls spending a year or two in yeshivas and seminaries in Eretz Yisrael? Is it an essential part of their Jewish education? Or is it a year of fun, adventure, and possibly trouble – as well as a financial burden on the parents?
ZL: It depends on the person. Definitely, for some boys and girls, being sent away from home is devastating, because they need the hashgacha (supervision) of their family. If they do go to Eretz Yisrael, and it’s just for fun, it can be very harmful. But for many, it’s a very positive experience. For other young people, it might be a good thing to get away from home.
It’s definitely not a necessity for everybody to go to Eretz Yisrael, and if parents can’t afford it, there are other options. Certainly, there’s a very good seminary option in Baltimore. And in Cleveland, there’s Yavneh. A girl doesn’t have to feel something is wrong with her if she doesn’t go to Eretz Yisrael. So, it’s an individual thing: whatever is best for that girl or boy.
WWW: If you compare chareidi Americans and Israelis, what are the pluses and minuses of each? Is one better than the other?
ZL: I don’t know about better. There are aspects of chareidi Israeli society that are positive, which American society doesn’t have, and the opposite is also true. There’s a certain openness, a tolerance, a way of looking at non-frum Jews among American chareidi people, that on the Israeli side is a negative. Israeli society developed in an adversarial situation, where it was under attack from the irreligious. This doesn’t exist so much here in the States. The irreligious in America are apathetic. They don’t hate frum Jews; they just don’t know what they are. So there’s a much better chance in America of having a positive view of people who are not frum, and wanting to be mekarev them. In Eretz Yisrael, there is always a danger in getting too close to the other side, because they’re the enemy. So, maybe the Israelis have something to learn from Americans in these areas, and Americans definitely have things to learn from the Israelis. In American chareidi society, maybe they are not so medakdek (exacting) in certain matters, not as sensitive to things they should be sensitive to. Both societies will start to learn from each other as more and more Americans come and as they integrate into Israeli society, rather than living in their own little enclaves.
WWW: Why don’t our rabbanim talk about aliya?
ZL: From what I see in Baltimore, many of the rabbanim do. Why don’t some rabbanim speak about aliya? There have to be priorities. There are so many problems – children going off the derech, making sure that the institutions have support and are able to function, problems with shidduchim – that these problems have to come first. People who are interested in aliya are going to find the channels. They’ll come to their rav, and he’ll encourage them, if he feels it’s good for them, or not. Before people make the move, they have to be healthy people; you have to work with people to make them healthy people and healthy families before you can encourage them to go on to the next level. If everybody would just pick up and go to Eretz Yisrael, it wouldn’t solve those problems. You might as well try to work on them and make people stronger, so that when they do make the move to Eretz Yisrael, they will be able to go in a much more secure way. So, even though I see aliya as a positive thing, I don’t think it can be the top priority when there are so many other problems that have to be dealt with.
WWW: Is there room at Moshav Matityahu?
ZL: At this point we’re filled up, but there’s plenty of room to build houses there. Moshav Matityahu is a moshav shitufi (communal settlement) – no longer in practice, but on paper – which gives us a lot of benefits with the government. The trouble is the detriments are great also. No one owns their home. When it was formed as a moshav shitufi, if you came and worked on the moshav, you got a free house. What did you care if it was on your name or not on your name? As long as you stayed, you got a free house. Now, it’s really not a moshav shitufi any more, where you work for the moshav. Now, the families work for themselves; they have jobs. Now you have to buy into the moshav, but you can’t get a mortgage, because the houses are not on the individual’s name. So you have to put down $100,000 cash to get a plot of land to build on, and who in the world can do that?
Within the next few weeks, I hope it’s going to change. People will be able to buy a house on their name and have a mortgage. At that point, we’re going to develop at least another 60 to 100 houses on the moshav itself. And around the moshav, about 350 units will be built. Whether we’ll put up the houses, or people will bring in their own builders – I don’t know exactly how it will work –the moshav will grow. For those who live within the confines of the moshav, there are certain criteria they have to meet in order to be accepted. Those who live in the community around the moshav, will have similar standards, but it will be a looser kind of community.
WWW: You travel all over the United States. How does Baltimore strike you as a community?
ZL: Baltimore is one of the communities I’m extremely impressed with, and I’ll tell you why. I was in a shul for a kiddush this morning, and they served cake and soda. In New York, they have cholent and kugel at a regular Shabbos kiddush! I’m not talking about a bar mitzva. It’s reached a point where we’re so preoccupied with gashmius, with keeping up with the Joneses, with having a more elaborate house, with everything being so gaudy, that it’s a very big negative for a person trying to hone in what’s really important in life, and it’s very not good for the education of the children. Here, in Baltimore, it hasn’t caught up yet. There are a few other communities in the world like that – not too many. It’s a more simple life here. People are not so competitive when it comes to gashmius, and that’s a tremendous bracha. In addition, and maybe that’s part of it, there’s a lot more tolerance here than in other places. People are more accepting of others. There’s more achdus among the rabbanim and among the balabatim. People don’t look down one on the other. It’s not that everybody is one big happy family. There are differences and each one knows his place. I daven in this shul – but it’s not that I don’t daven in that shul. This is where I fit, but I can respect people who daven somewhere else. I hear people speaking positively about different places, not looking down. And that’s a tremendous plus! I just hope it stays that way, that the rest of the world doesn’t catch up with it.
WWW: Do you see any trend towards people making aliya together, as a community? Do you think it’s a good idea?
ZL: When I made aliya, I wanted to take my whole shul with me. Then I realized that you have to find parnassa for everybody. It just doesn’t work like that. It’s hard enough for an individual to find a job. To try to take a whole kehila and to create or find jobs for all of them is very, very difficult. I think the only way that can happen is not to bring everyone together but to start something and have people gravitate towards it. That’s been tried, and it’s been successful in some places. People fend for themselves, but they have a place to go to that has some structure. For a whole group of people to come together – how’s everybody going to find their right niche? The right schools in the same place? But to create a structure and have people come, that’s a different story, which might work.
WWW: Are you happy you made aliya?
ZL: Yes. We’ve been in Eretz Yisrael for 22 years, and looking back – not that there weren’t times in the beginning when we had doubts whether we made the right decision – but pretty much from early on, we were very happy. I come back to the States a lot, and I go to Miami a lot also, but both my wife and myself can never imagine coming back here. We’ve even had opportunities offered to us, but we would never consider moving back. All our children are in Eretz Yisrael; all our grandchildren are there; those children who are married are there. How would things have been different if we would have stayed here? I don’t know. My wife is the one who pushed us to go, and she was right. The benefits of being in Eretz Yisrael are wonderful. Baruch Hashem, it was the right move.
