by Tzvi Fishman
My G-d and G-d of my Fathers, teach me how to pray in a way to draw down Your compassion, put words of fire in my mouth that will pierce through the darkness of my exile and shatter all of the barriers that stand between us, for I feel so far away from You. Fill my heart with a burning desire to come to Your Holy Land, where I can become the Jew that I was destined to be, to play my share in the great Redemption of Your people. For I know in my heart of hearts that only in the Land of Israel can I be who I really am, by retuning to my roots, to the homeland of the Jewish people, to the Land of my Forefathers, the Land of the Torah, where the Torah is meant to be kept, to the place that the Patriarchs longed to live, even when there were savages, and dangers, and idol worship throughout the Land.
Please, dear Father and King, fasten the call of the Psalmist firmly in my heart, that I set “Jerusalem above my highest joy,” and may my longing to be in the pleasant Land increase each day, so that wherever I travel, I will always be longing to come to the Land of Israel, as opposed to remaining here in the exile, in a foreign land, amongst foreign peoples, where we have been scattered in punishment for our sins, and the sins of our forefathers.
Help me, my Father in Heaven, to overcome all of the obstacles, all of the fears, all of the excuses, all of the voices within and without which talk against Your Holy Land, in an effort from discourage me from reaching my goal, which is the true purpose of the life of a Jew, to live a life of Torah in Your Holy Land. Grant me the privilege to achieve the great tikun and rectification that I came into the world to accomplish - by returning my Jewish body and soul to the Land of G-d, the Land of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov, the Land of our Matriarchs, the Land that the eyes of Hashem watch over from the beginning of the year to the end. Deafen my ears to the complaints and criticisms of all the modern day Spies who speak badly against Your chosen Land. Let me run away from them and their evil advice. Give me the strength to cling to what I know is the truth in my heart of hearts, to love the Land of Israel with all of my heart, and to set my path in a straight course for Zion, the dream of our people for three thousand years, looking neither to the left nor the right, in order to reach the golden shores of the Land of Israel and to roll in its dust, just like our Sages of old.
Please G-d, give me the exalted honor of coming to Israel, even though I be small in merit and filled with fears and worries about the unknown. But I know that you are Master of the World, Creator of the universe, and that You surely can provide for me and for my family, especially for someone who longs to please You by giving up everything he has known, in order to perform Your will by coming to the Land of Israel.
Open my eyes to see all of the miracles of the past hundred years, how You have brought Your people home from the four corners of the world, granted us triumph over our enemies, rebuilt the barren wasteland, and raised the Nation of Israel from out of the ashes of the Holocaust to become a marvel in the eyes of the nations, thus restoring honor to Your Name. Let me always remember that it is You who has done all this incredible rebuilding, that this is the realization of the words of our Prophets of old, who all promised that G-d would bring us back to our eternal homeland.
Save me, Hashem, from the bondage of my exile in a foreign land, and rescue me. Grant me the fortitude and the inner will and conviction to come to Eretz Yisrael, knowing that You are with me, to help me in everything I need, and to give me the strength and blessing to overcome all challenges, that are really designed to elevate me in Your service and make me a better, more complete person and Jew.
Thank You, Hashem, for making me realize and understand the vital importance of coming to Israel. It has lit up my life like a bolt of lightning in the depth of the night of my exile. Please, my G-d, strengthen my desire each day, and in Your infinite kindness, bring me home soon to the Land of Life, to the Land of Israel. Amen.
