Reflecting on my last musing

I don't know how many people read both my blogs. Shiloh Musings, linked on my yo yo of a sidebar, is the other one. I had a tough time writing about the new OU president's slip of tongue. It's very dicy and halachikly problematic to write about people.

As soon as I had heard his interview, I knew that I had to react. All sorts of texts and phrases and paragraphs flew around my head. At first I took the obvious route to attack what he said, (that those of us who made aliya, moved to Israel, years ago had done it for the "wrong reasons," that we were "running away" from things, etc. Very foolish words, that I'm sure he regretted. The names of friends, acquaintances and other well-known and not so well-known American immigrants danced in my mind, but then I realized that it wasn't worth arguing with him, that arguing would legitimize what he said.

Instead I looked at the little I knew of the man, just what I had been reading the past few days, and I wanted to be careful about what I'd say. I know many other American Jews, committed to Judaism, Israel, all the best of intentions. Many seriously planned aliyah but then gave into parental pressure to "wait" until the right time, more education, money, career, all the things that make it more and more difficult to leave. All long nails, nailing you to your lives in wherever. I remember an older friend who had been dreaming of aliyah and had raised her kids to be Zionists, and then after her eldest got married, and bought a house "good investment, instead of renting" before making aliya. My friend felt ill, with every purchase her child made to "fix up the house." She told me that they were nailing themselves to galut.

There was such bitterness, jealousness in Savitsky's words, as he justified his staying in Israel.

I really do feel sorry for him and even more so, since he hasn't taken this opportunity for tshuva, repentance. Instead of admitting his statement (see my previous post on t'hilim and kohelet) and trying to rid himself of all the negative, he's denying it, claiming it was "out of context." G-d has given him a great opportunity. It's not too late, Steve. Face up to what you did and grow from it.