I was born and bred on the lower east side of Manhattan. I went to M.T.J., the elementary school of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, to Yeshiva University High School of Manhattan and to Yeshiva Marbitzei Torah, which was in close proximity to Brooklyn College. I was, however, “converted” to Judaism by Rabbi Meir Kahane, who taught me through his special articles in the weekly newspaper “The Jewish Press” that a Jew must make aliyah, and the reason for this is for the love of G-d. 

As proselytes are wont to do, I started to preach my new found faith to anyone who was willing to listen, unfortunately, a very select few. I attempted to convince my fellow Americans of the Hebrew persuasion that it was incumbent upon them to pull up stakes and move to Israel. One of my few “successes” pertained to a couple which was comprised of a husband who had come from a completely non-religious background and a wife who came from a “modern orthodox” home. Over the years the husband drifted into following ritual, without ever really believing in G-d. In this he was like most Americans in general and like most Americans of the Hebrew persuasion in particular. 

Be that as it may, I “convinced” the husband to make aliyah, which he did, with his wife and his three young sons. If truth be told, I can’t take credit for the aliyah of this family, the almighty dollar can. This couple had a wide circle of friends, all of whom were doing very well monetarily, while this couple was just scraping by. They could not compete with their friends monetarily, but they could make a singularly “idealistic” gesture which would set them apart from their non-idealistic friends and make aliyah. Although I realized that this was the real reason for my so-called success, I didn’t believe that it mattered. Bottom line, a family with three young children had moved to Israel, children who would marry Israeli wives and build three additional Jewish homes in Israel. Unfortunately, I could not have been more wrong. If G-d is not your motivation for making aliyah, then you have only moved to a different country. 

The couple remained in close contact with their American friends and visited the states as often as possible, thus teaching their sons just how “wonderful” the US is. The three boys grew up, took Israeli wives and had Israeli children. Along the way all three stopped being orthodox and then one made yerida (he moved back to the US). Then the original couple bought a “winter apartment” in Florida and started spending four months a year with their American friends. Then a second son made yerida with his Israeli wife and Israeli children and now the youngest son has made yerida with his Israeli wife and Israeli children. Rather than building three Jewish homes in Israel, the sons of this couple have taken three Israeli women, with their children into exile. This story is heart breaking. 

The wife-mother bemoans her fate and says we did everything right, why has this happened to us? Doubtless it is just a matter of time before this “right doing” couple will sell their apartment in Israel for a very handsome profit and move back to the US, to their friends who will no longer be in that much better of a monetary position. 

There are two possible morals to this story, to wit, don’t bother to make aliyah, or make aliyah for the love of G-d. I sincerely wish that I have better success with you than I have had with the couple in this sad, sad story. 

The writer is an attorney who made aliyah 29 years ago and who blesses Rabbi Meir Kahane every day for showing him the light.