Among the early Zionists, there was an ideological dispute. Some felt that the return to Zion was an “ideal,” an opportunity to actualize our unique national identity. There, in our homeland, we would finally be free to develop our unique Jewish culture of art, literature, etc. There were other Zionists, however, who believed that the Jewish people needed an asylum in times of danger. To them, the Land of Israel was important only as a place where Jews could find refuge from persecution. Neither of these approaches is the Torah approach. The Land of Israel, according to the Torah, is not a place to run away to and not a seat of a unique Jewish culture. If either of these were the case, then the geographical location of the land would not matter. When Britain offered the famous Zionist leader, Theodore Herzl, land in Uganda, he was ready to take it as a temporary solution to the plight of the Jews. To his chagrin many of the delegates at the 1903 Zionist Congress rejected the proposal, though after a raging debate, the Congress voted to check out the option. World Jewry, however, opposed the plan, fearing that a temporary home in Uganda would turn into a permanent residence. Herzl, the plan’s leading proponent, died of heart failure within less than a year and so did the Uganda proposal. The Jewish dream could have never been fulfilled in Uganda, because we were not simply looking for shelter from persecution or a place where we could create the ideal Jewish political or cultural society. The Jewish dream and destiny can only be fulfilled in the Land of Israel because, metaphysically, this is our home, and no other place is our home. This land is the body of our national soul. When Peter Jennings, the ABC newscaster, was doing a show about Jerusalem, he sent out his staffers to gather facts. I don’t know how they found me, but I received a call from one of the researchers who asked me, “What is it about Jerusalem that draws Jews to this place?” “I don’t know,” I responded simply. “How do you not know?” she asked. “Honestly, I can’t explain it,” I told her. “How do birds know where to fly? How does salmon know where to spawn? Jews just know that this is our place. It has a spiritual character that just fits us like no other land.” Returning to our land is a great celebration of self–actualization for the Jewish people. In this blessing, we are not asking God to return us to Israel because the other nations of the world do not like us, and we need to run for our lives. Just the opposite. We are asking God to return us to Israel because here is the best place for the Jewish people, and our return here will benefit the entire world, as the Biblical verse states, “From Zion will go out Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem.” We inspire and impact the world the most when we broadcast our message from the Holy Land.