The following letter was sent to the Chaim V’Chessed organization, and provided to YWN:
Over the past few days, as war-related disruptions continue to affect travel, Chaim V’Chessed and other dedicated organizations have been working nonstop to help people get where they need to go. That includes Israelis who are stranded abroad and trying to get back home – and it also includes foreign citizens who found themselves in Israel when the skies closed and are now trying to return to their home countries.
It’s a complex operation, filled with uncertainty and emotion. But there’s one important difference between these two groups – and it’s not just about geography.
Yes, Israelis abroad are understandably desperate to get home. And yes, it’s tough for foreign nationals in Israel who weren’t planning to stay this long. But we’ve been hearing something lately that doesn’t sit quite right: people saying they’re “stuck in Israel.”
Let’s be clear: no one is ever stuck in Israel.
Sure, your plans may have changed. You may be missing work or family or just the comforts of home. But let’s not forget where you are. You’re in Eretz Yisrael. That’s not a burden – that’s a blessing.
We say it in our prayers three times a day – v’techezena einenu b’shuvcha l’Tzion b’rachamim. We ask to return. We long to be here. And sometimes, even when it happens unexpectedly, the answer is “yes.”
So no, you’re not stuck. You’re standing on holy ground. You’re walking the streets that our ancestors dreamed of seeing. You’ve been gifted extra days in the Land that generations cried for. That’s not “stuck.” That’s held – gently, lovingly – in the place we call home.
This isn’t to make light of anyone’s stress or frustration. Being away from your routine, your loved ones, or your plans isn’t easy. But perspective matters. Instead of saying “I’m stuck in Israel,” maybe try saying, “I didn’t plan to be here, but what a privilege it is.”
We’ll continue doing everything we can to help everyone get to where they need to be. And when the time comes for you to head home, we hope you leave with your heart just a little fuller — knowing that these extra days in Eretz Yisrael were a gift.
The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
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10 Responses
dont forget…Vnishmartem meoyd lenafshoysychem….who wants to ne YES..STUCK in a country where you have to wake up a few times in middle of the night and hide in a shelter? and YES when you are NOT home you are stuck with major expenses ,hotels,food ,clothing and paying for baby sitters back home till your return. No one calls this a PRIVILAGE…..When you get stuck with a broken car on NY17 erev shabbos on your way to the country you dont call this a privilage seeing thousands of jews driving home for Shabbos you call this STUCK and you wait for Chaveirim or Chavivim to get you back on your wheels to get you to your bungallow on time for Shabbos….
What a ridiculous letter! Of course, it’s a privilege to be in Eretz Yisroel. What people are talking about is parents separated from their children, missing out on family simchos, other obligations etc.., no one is saying Eretz Yisroel itself is a burden. I have a boy in the class I teach (4th grade) whose parents are stuck in Eretz Yisroel and this whole family doesn’t have their parents for at least a week.
Thank you for bringing this to the publics attention. It is indeed a problem to say negative about Eretz Yisroel
Ridiculous and completely misguided letter, probably by someone completely disconnected from this issue, or someone craving attention. Frightened families want their children home and out of harm’s way. I’m one of them. Everyone is basically on lockdown and no one is ‘walking the streets of Yerushalayim,’ as you report.
You’re making light of anyone’s stress or frustration? Typical holier than thou letter. There are people who don’t know how they will support their families when they can’t return to their jobs. People who are missing simchos of close relatives. People who are simply having panic attacks because they are watching missiles fly by and haven’t slept in days because of the constant sirens. I guess you are so perfect that the love for Eretz Yisroel erases every other measure of stress in life, but honestly you sound smug and self-righteous.
The letter writer make a valid point. But the truth is that Israelis who find themselves in other countries are also not “stuck”. The Ribbono Shel Olam arranged for them to be exactly where they need to be at the current time. A maamin is never lost … and never stuck.
Thank you for this letter. How all the more true considering it’s parshas shlach (miraglim) and we have to be careful how we speak about eretz yisroel
Imagine if the ramban,gaon, or besh”t etc. heard the way we’re talking. They would’ve given up everything to be in even this situation.
Unfortunately, the letter writer doesn’t have a big enough imagination to think of situations why people would legitimately feel stuck. Maybe there’s a mother that went for a few days to visit and can’t get back to her young children. Maybe there’s a parent that’s missing a child’s wedding. But because they can’t think at the moment of such a situation, they write a ridicules letter. Being דן לכף זכות doesn’t mean that you, with whatever brain power you have, are required to imagine a good situation, and if you can’t it must not exist. It means דן לכף זכות end of story, and to say “no one is ever stuck in Israel” as a blanket statement, is insensitive to the many who feel exactly so.
Ah Yid:
Where in Shulchan Aruch or Rambam is it brought down that “It is indeed a problem to say negative about Eretz Yisroel”? Also, this is not negative and not about E”Y; it’s about the Zionist “State” and its latest of its forever wars, not about the land.
מי לה׳ אלי:
Of course, the Rambam and Gra and Besh”t would never have dreamed of doing that. They would have sacrificed comfort and money to move to Eretz Yisrael (when it was under foreign rule and not under Zionist shmad). But they certainly would never have “given up everything” to go to E”Y, and certainly not to be stuck in Israel during the Zionists’ latest of their forever wars.
It’s interesting how Shelach always brings out the giluy panim baTorah sheLo kaHalacha from the Zionists.
It is the heretical and idolatrous Zionists, of course, who follow in the path of the sin of the spies. In their “Jerusalem Platform”, the Zionists explicitly state that the Jewish people (not citizens of their the Zionist pseudo-State but The Jewish People) cannot exist without Zionism and its “State”. In other words, claim the Zionists in their core ideological platform, G-d (in Whom the Zionists anyways do not believe – but even if you happen to believe in G-d) cannot maintain the existence of the Jewish people without the Zionists and their “State”.
The meraglim essentially rebelled against Hashem, by stating that Hashem would not be able to bring them into the land. They may have thought that because of their fear of sins, etc. But, regardless, the big problem was their blasphemous assessment of Hashem that was contained in their speaking negatively about His holy land.