Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Family and Society
- The Land of Israel
By comparison, although Israel is not yet ideal, it's by far the most Jewish State in the world. Here, the traditional family as expressed in Leil Shabbat family dinners (not found in any other culture) and the highest western birthrate (almost double the OECD average!) are the norm and positive cultural influence. Contrarily, the US (including the Moslem Mamdani) even recognizes (!) same-sex marriages, but in Israel it's illegal, as is intermarriage (a problem obviously rampant throughout the States…), so what does your brother gain on this account by living in the States?
Thank G-d, the LBGT's are a relatively small minority in Israel, and center mainly in one city, Tel Aviv, so you don't really "see them" and they don't influence our children. They are clearly not represented in the government (just by part of the opposition parties which don't have power). This is simply part of democracy, which on the whole is good, but inevitably that also enables problematic phenomena, like having to allow Gay parades. I don't think your brother would want to live in a dictatorship. Rav Kook (Igrot I, p. 20) explains that in the modern world, Hashem wants us to observe Torah out of identifying with the mitzvot and loving them, which is a higher level, and not by force of the law. That's also probably why He hasn't given us a Sanhedrin yet, which might have to "force" the mitzvot, which will inevitably turn a lot of Jews off. This is exactly what free-will is about, which distinguishes us from the rest of creation.
Statistically and politically, any way you look at it the State of Israel is getting more religious, every day and surely every year, but as we learned in Rav Kook (based on Orot HaTchiya, ch. 4), "The eternal nation is not scared of a long journey". That's the evolution and constant improvement upon which the world is based.
Also, we have a mitzvah d'oraita to love all Jews like brothers, even if a brother is not only "off the derech" but even "off the wall"! Thank G-d that at least these brothers are in Israel, eat matzah on Pesach, fast on Yom Kippur, celebrate all of the holidays, don't work on Shabbat, have mezuzot on their homes and eat kosher (for that's Israeli society, whether one believes or not!), davka because they are here. Imagine how much worse off they would be if they weren't living in Israel (like my totally assimilated relatives in the States). They're always within an "arms-length" (or a couple of hugs of Ahavat Yisrael) to be brought closer to Torah and mitzvot, especially as 35% of young adults (between ages 16-35) have become since our present war.
Similarly, the Belzer Rebbe, R. Aharon Rokach admitted to R. Shalom Nossan Ra'anan, the son-in-law of Rav Kook, "We disagreed regarding how to bring Jews on Aliyah. We said that first we should strengthen their Judaism abroad, and only then should they make Aliyah to build the Land in holiness. While you said that we should bring them on Aliyah as soon as possible, no matter how they are. After the Holocaust, it became clear that we were mistaken, and we are very sorry about it" (Responsa Shoel v'Nishal, 1, p. 270). As Hashem tells us, "I wish Israel should be with Me in the Land of Israel, even if they defile her" (Yalkut Shimoni, Eicha, 1038).
Finally, if your brother wants Israel to improve and hurry the process, he should davka make aliya and vote, have lots of children, and be mekarev as many Israelis as possible!
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Various Events FOR WHOM NOT TO VOTE
Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook stressed that Israeli politics is G-dly, so I have no problem answering this common question on a Torani blog. Also, Free-Will is a G-d-given right and obligation, to "destine one's fate" (R. Soloveichik, Kol Dodi Dofek, 67), so I obviously don't tell others how to vote. But once not a few (especially young) have already asked, a couple of personal words from experience and thoughts from chazal & Rav Kook which may be of help to others, mainly for whom NOT to vote.
P'ninat Mishpat Fallout from Failure to Install Elevator – part II
based on ruling 85007 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
