Many of the people I have spoken to about our impending move have asked me if I plan to say hallel on yom ha'atzmaut, to stop keeping tisha b'av, or any number of derisive questions that basically ask if I think the current Eretz Yisrael is akin to the Geulah or if it is still Galut.
I think that dreams go according to the interpreter. The giving of a Jewish autonomous country to us was a gift - what we decide it is makes all the difference.
To those who think israel is a place with a wicked government, that is what it is.
To those who think israel is a vacation heaven, that is what it is.
To those who think israel is the culmination of thousands if years of tefillot, nevu'ot, and yearning, that is what it is.
To those who do not think of israel at all, then that is what it is too.
To me, until we build the Home on the Har HaBayit, and its Resident checks in, it is still Galut. Exile and Redemption are not just based on Land, but on Relationship.
That being said, it is certainly less of a Galut to be in the Land Promised to us, to live in the Place (the same המקום we are ultimately comforted by) where we know the relationship between Man and G-d resides.
And if you want to live your life in a way that will build that Home, you ought to get involved there. (Unless you believe that the Home is going to fall out of the sky, in which case I have a fantastic investment bridge for you to buy).
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