Am I Delaying the Geulah by Not Making Aliyah?

Real questions, submitted by actual OU Torah followers, with their real answers. NOTE: For questions of practical halacha, please consult your own rabbi for guidance.

Q. Would you say that: (a) exile only ends when all jews are in Israel; (b) exile does not end when all jews can make aliyah; and therefore (c) it is not the ability to make aliyah but the actual happening by all Jews that will end the exile?

A. I wouldn't say that every Jew ever has to be in Israel. Even in the times of Dovid and Shlomo there were Jews who lived in other countries for a variety of reasons. You and I may have the ability to make aliyah if we so choose but that ability is not universal. But I don't think that universal ability is meant, either. I refer you to Isaiah 27:13:

וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל וּבָאוּ הָאֹבְדִים בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר וְהַנִּדָּחִים בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַה' בְּהַר הַקֹּדֶשׁ, בִּירוּשָׁלִָם

"It will come to pass on that day that a great horn will be blown and they will come who were lost in the land of Assyria and who were dispersed in the land of Egypt, and they will worship Hashem at the holy mountain in Jerusalem."

Ten Tribes were exiled by the Assyrians and "lost." Later, the remnant of the Jews from the other two Tribes who remained in Israel were forced to flee to Egypt in the aftermath of Gedaliah ben Achikam's assassination. So there are a lot of us out there who choose not to make aliyah, and a lot who are unable to do so, but there are also a staggering number of Jews who have been lost among the other nations. This is a significant component of the Messianic ingathering of exiles.

So, I would say that exile ends in degrees. Having control over Israel and the ability to make aliyah is huge, but it's only the start of the story, not the conclusion.

Rabbi Jack's latest book, Ask Rabbi Jack, is now available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.