What role does Israel play in the life of Jewish teens living in America?
Five thousand eight hundred and eighty miles from where we are right now lies a country stifled by fights, controversy, and emotions. It is a place laden with political strife and a myriad of sentiments, yet equally imbued with religious attachment, rich culture, and a diverse people. It is a country that covers only eight thousand square miles, yet contains some of the most unique, expansive, and extensive landscapes and attractions in the world. It is a place where seven and a half million people have permanent residence, and more than two million people go to visit each year. It is Israel.
For Jewish teens across the world, Israel is a place that allows for an individual to connect themselves to a greater whole. There are those who see Israel as the ultimate expression of God's connection with our people, a catalyst to the beginning of Messiah's era. Others see it as a country whose unique food, people, songs, and language can help unify Jews across the world if only given the right amount of attention. Many Jews only see Israel as an associated embarrassment; always creating a ruckus in the media and making it kinda difficult for Jews to get along in this world. And then there are those who are ambivalent to the whole Israel thing, knowing that it might mean something to them if they cared enough to investigate.
But the key to a connection with Israel is not based on whether you support the government's decision to go to war or get a warm fuzzy feeling when someone sings Hatikvah. It doesn't matter if you believe that the land is a divine inheritance as per the Torah, or whether you simply love the taste of a fresh falafel. You could not know the Alef Bet or speak Hebrew fluently, know its history cold, or not have the slightest interest in the State - and still have an automatic stake and connection to Israel - simply because you are Jewish.
What makes Israel so vital to the survival of the Jewish people is that it is so accessible. Everywhere a Jew turns, he can find something that connects him to Israel. Nowadays, a teen can flip through the channels on their TV and stumble across a CNN special, or be browsing the internet and notice a pro-Israel Facebook group. It could be a quick glance at any issue of Newsweek, or the sweet taste of a Jaffa orange. Hebrew school discussions and explicative readings of the Tanach. Remembering that Natalie Portman is Israeli or going on that coveted free Birthright trip to Israel. Whatever it may be, young Jews have Israel at their fingertips. And this continued and easy accessibility is the ultimate catalyst to connect young Jews to their faith - whatever its specifics may be. For Jewish teens living in American, the aformentioned connections to Israel help evoke the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that are our Judaism. Their continued perpetuation through the omnipresence of Israeli-stuff in our lives helps propel us further in our personal goals as Jews - in our faith, in our practice, and in our growth.
So when it comes to Israel, you don't need to conscribe to any particular tenets or beliefs. It doesn't need to be your favorite place in the world, and you don't have to feel the need to move there. But whatever your views may be, know that Israel serves to help unite Jewish people of all types, and our exposure to its studies, its biblical origins, its culture, its controversy, its people, and its news allow us to stregnthen our own connection to our heritage. Whatever you believe and whatever you want to use it for, Israel is always there for you. It is accessible, it is available, and it is ours.
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