Gather Us From The Four Corners Of The Earth

By: Dr. Alan A. Mazurek

As we anticipate a resumption in the attacks on Iran along with the continued attacks on Hezbollah, we are filled with apprehension and fear. Worry and anxiety for our young men and women who must go out and fight at terrible risk to themselves. Fear of the rockets that may fall, the explosions, the destruction, the loss of life and injury, the displacement of families, loss of businesses and livelihoods, and the constant running to shelters. Our hearts ache and break for our fellow Jews in Eretz Yisrael. The same hearts that earlier cheered as we witnessed the incredibly complex operation of the combined American and Israeli forces inflicting a devastating blow to Iran, the country with nuclear aspirations.

What can those in America and in other countries do to help?

For starters, you can volunteer your time to help the war effort, donate money, and of course, storm the heavens with your tefillos and Tehillim. The familiar dictum of teshuvah, tefillah, u’tzedakah ma’avirin et roa hagezerah: “Repentance, prayer, and charity avert the evil decree” that we recite on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur comes to mind. Add to that the performance of other mitzvot: learning more Torah, increased kavanah in davening, meticulousness in Shabbat and kashrut observances, and most importantly, fully engaging in Ahavat Achim, love of our fellow Jews. All of these are ways to avert the danger, even from thousands of miles away.

But there is one more way that is an absolute requirement for all of us, especially given the particulars of the moment. In fact, we pray for it three times a day. I’m talking about kibbutz galuyot, the ingathering of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. Let me explain.

In the text of the Amidah prayer, the Shemoneh Esrei, after we respectfully request an audience with the King of the Universe to make our supplications by invoking the zechut Avot, the merit of our forefathers, we declare the Holiness of Hashem and His Holy name.

Then we begin our requests, first for binah (insight or knowledge), then teshuvah (repentance), then selichah (forgiveness), followed by the request for geulah (redemption), refuah (healing), and birchas hashanim(prosperity), and finally, Kibbutz Galuyot, the gathering of the exiles from the four corners of the earth.

On the face of it, it appears that these are all passive requests, beseeching Hashem to grant them to us. But in actuality, each one requires human effort on our part. We don’t get binah without Torah study. We don’t perform teshuvah without our acknowledgment of wrongdoing and a decision to change, consequently requesting and receiving selichah, Hashem’s forgiveness. Note that all these berachot (blessings) are requests and form a progression, one leading to another.

After selichah comes geulah (redemption), which is actually a request for G-d’s assistance in healing our rifts as well as assistance in salvation from the daily oppression from our enemies in exile. But we have to do the heavy lifting of Ahavat Achim. Refuah follows, and though Hashem is the ultimate healer, He wants us to go to the doctor. Birchas Hashanim, seasonal prosperity, only comes if we put in the work in the fields. And then seemingly out of order comes Kibbutz Galuyot, the ingathering of exiles. Shouldn’t that be before geulah?

One explanation by Chazal is that the first geulah prayer (Reeh b’anyeynu) is for physical redemption from the daily oppressions of everyday life while the second geulah (Teka b’shofar gadol) is the future spiritual redemption, when Hashem brings us to the Holy Land.

But shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t our spiritual deliverance come first? In fact, the latter Kibbutz Galuyot implies a physical act of being picked up and moved to Eretz Yisrael. Furthermore, if so, then it appears that this is one request that Hashem must grant to us on His own, without any effort on our part!

The answer, of course, is that all these requests require our active participation, our effort, a partnership if you will with Hashem. “You’ve got requests?” Hashem says to us. “Then do your part” And Kibbutz Galuyot is no exception.

We can’t just sit back and wait for Hashem to scoop us up and deposit us gently in the Holy Land: we must first buy a ticket. How much more so if we want to bring about the full redemption. We know that Kibbutz Galuyot is one of the key prerequisites for the coming of Moshiach. 

Like everything else in the Shemoneh Esrei, we must make it happen. That means, ideally, if we can, we should buy property in Israel, even if we can’t move there now. If you can’t buy, then rent. But since, as previously mentioned, this Kibbutz Galuyot is a spiritual deliverance, we must actively start thinking, feeling, and talking about the process of moving to Eretz Yisrael.

As we approach Shavuot, it is worthy to note that Shavuot has no mitzvahs that you can do outside the Land of Israel, like Pesach and Sukkot. The mitzvot of bringing of the Omer and the Shtei Halechem can only be done in Israel, as Rashi (Vayikra 23:17) notes, “mimoshvoteichem” (from your sitting) V’lo Michutza La’Aretz,” highlighting the predominantly agricultural nature of the holiday. The custom of learning all night only began later in the 16th century and of course, cheesecake much later.

We are all painfully aware of the terror felt by our brethren in Eretz Israel while at the same time, painfully aware of the spiritual and physical dangers of living in galut, even here in the United States.

We must fulfill our part of the request: We must all have the urge, the thought, and the overpowering desire to make that move and begin that conversation. If not now, when?

Shabbat Shalom, Chodesh Tov v’Chag Shavuot Sameach! 

Dr. Alan A. Mazurek is a retired neurologist, living in Great Neck, Jerusalem and Florida. He is a former chairman of the ZOA.