When Israel Contains the Majority of the Jews...

Shmuel Neumann ponders on the implications of having the majority of the world's Jews in Israel in his article The Danger Of Aliyah.

Hashem protects idiots, sometimes from themselves.

Despite our prayers in which three times a day we beseech Hashem to return the Jews to the Holy Land from the four corners of the Earth, and despite the billions of dollars that have been spent to solicit aliyah, we are lucky that it hasn`t happened (yet).

If more than half the world`s Jewish population were to move to Israel, we would be required to establish a Sanhedrin, the 71-member Supreme Court that has the power to issue final judgment, capital offenses included. Those who oppose any of its judgments could be put to death.

Do we really want to put ourselves in the position where those petty issues we love to debate are finally decided upon?

The members of the Sanhedrin could, for example, define the prayers as Sephardic, while prohibiting rice or beans on Passover. They might determine that turkeys are not kosher as there is no mesorah for them. Turkeys were only discovered two hundred years ago in North America.

They could decide that we really cannot work the land on the Shmitta year but that we are required to tend to our garden, as it is a sin to let holy land go
fallow in non-Shmitta years. Similarly, they would determine that nature reserves are prohibited, as every square inch of biblical Israel must be lovingly planted with trees, plants, flowers, or vegetation.

They would really upset our routine and wardrobe. They would issue definitive guidelines for dress. We would have to throw out certain garments, since clothing that imitates non-Jewish styles is prohibited. Certain head coverings would be forbidden. Who knows, they might prohibit the knit yarmulke or
the black hat!

A recalcitrant man who refused to give his wife a get would be beaten until he screamed that he wants to issue it after all. Of course, they would have to first decide that the woman was justified in suing for divorce.

Children over bar and bat mitzvah-age could get married without parental consent Certain alternative lifestyles would be punishable by death.

The prison system would be eliminated, as slavery would be reinstituted as an alternative to jail for certain offenses and flogging for other offenses.

They would have to decide whether the secular Israeli government has the legal status of kingship. If so, you could be put to death for cheating on your Israeli taxes or even for jaywalking on Israeli streets.

Worse, they might determine that the secular government of Israel may not interfere in rebuilding the Holy Temple. In fact, they might require the government to remove the mosque from the Temple mount and prevent anyone from trespassing on the Holy Site. That would be extremely unpopular in the
international press.

Even worse, they might decide that each Jew has an obligation to bring a Pascal sacrifice and that the secular government may not prevent any Jew from fulfilling this biblical commandment.

More unpopular still, they might decide that the Palestinians have the legal status of Amelek and that any non-Jew who resides in Israel violates the Noahide law against stealing. In both cases the Sanhedrin would be put in the position of having to issue warrants of execution. That would be a public-relations nightmare.

As long as we do not have to get final determination of these petty issues, each of us can pontificate and always be right. We can pigheadedly argue any position and solicit votes by appealing to like-minded fools.

In other words, Israel could continue to function.

And self-absorbed American Jewish organizations could continue to flourish.

Shmuel Neumann is actively involved in creating communities for English-speaking olim and in an emigration program for Palestinians. He currently
resides in the Shomron.