My Relationship with the State of Israel:
Conflicted, Yet Hopeful
(יח) ...וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃
(18) ...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Adonai.
(ט) וְגֵ֖ר לֹ֣א תִלְחָ֑ץ וְאַתֶּ֗ם יְדַעְתֶּם֙ אֶת־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַגֵּ֔ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
(9) And a stranger you shall not oppress; for you know the heart of a stranger, as you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
From Megillat Atzma'ut, Israel's Declaration of Independence:
Paragraph 13: “[The State of Israel] will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants: it will be based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
What I Hope to Get Out of My Year in Israel
Tosefta Avodah Zara 5:2
ישרה אדם בארץ ישראל אפילו בעיר שרובה עובדי כוכבים ולא בחו"ל אפי' בעיר שכולה ישראל. מלמד שישיבת ארץ ישראל שקולה כנגד כל מצות שבתורה
"It's better for a person to live in Israel in a city inhabited mostly by idol worshippers/non-Jews, rather than outside the Land in a city that is completely Jewish. It's taught that living in Israel is equal to all the mitzvot of the Torah."
- I am looking forward to the special experience of living in Israel, unique among the nations as a Jewish-majority country. For all my feelings for Israel, both positive and negative, I am very excited to immerse myself in Israel, Israeli culture, and Israeli issues.