RABBI NACHMAN KAHANA ON HERRING AND THE NEED 

TO LIVE IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL

Source: 'With All Your Might' by Rabbi Nachman Kahana

"The energy to achieve more than mere existence is lacking in most Jews today. We have all seen photos of Jews in the shtetls with the peddlers selling herring in the marketplace, and the cart pushers rushing to their destinations. They were satisfied with the life they led. Each had a little shack, a little income, his shtiebel to daven in three times a day – what was missing? ……

Did they ever dream that the Divine prediction of the prophets would be realized, and that the Jewish nation would return to our ancient homeland? Where were the dreams of the Beit HaMikdash rebuilt anew on the Temple Mount …..

But are we any different? The homes we own in the galut are not the shacks of the shtetlach, but the mind set is the same…. Where are the big dreams of God's Chosen People? …..

You are no more than the desires of your heart, just as everything else in the world.

Where do your desires take you – to be part of God's greatest miracle since the Exodus, or to cling to the mediocrity of your lives in the exile?"