A Spiritual Exodus: Fleeing Secularism for the Holy Land

In the latter half of the 19th century, moving to the Land of Israel was seen as an escape from secularism. While Europe embraced modernity, reform, and secular ideologies, the Holy Land remained a haven for devout Jews despite its harsh living conditions. This prompted more Jews to migrate, driven by a desire to preserve their spiritual purity.

In the early 19th century, the Jewish population in the Land of Israel was around 6,000, growing to about 10,000 by 1840. This meant an average annual growth of about 100 people. However, in the second half of the century, immigration increased fourfold to approximately 400 people annually. Professor Yehoshua Ben-Arieh notes that a significant researcher, Dr. Titus Tobler, who stayed in Jerusalem during the 1840s, wrote extensively about the annual arrival of hundreds of Jews to the land.

In the last third of the 19th century, immigration rates surged even further. A survey conducted by the British Research Fund in the 1870s reported that 1,000-1,500 Jews were arriving annually, mostly settling in Jerusalem. This marked a movement within the traditional Jewish communities before the First Aliyah. By the early 1880s, the Jewish population had reached 26,000.

Israel Bartal explains, "This growth was primarily due to continuous immigration from the diaspora."

It is important to note that this growth was largely attributed to devout Jews who chose to emigrate to the Holy Land, despite its economic challenges and security concerns, rather than heading to the United States - the land of unlimited opportunities.

Historian Yehoshua Kaniel references contemporary media and books describing this migration, emphasizing that "those leaving their families and motherland sought to dwell in the Holy Land for Torah and service." They aspired to reach Jerusalem, "the gateway to heaven," and ascend to "the mountain of Hashem." Kaniel concludes, "The reverence for Hashem guided the immigrants, seeking to make the Holy Land 'a sanctuary for the remnants of our ancestral ways.'"

In the face of the secular and reform movements spreading throughout Jewish communities in 19th-century Europe, the Land of Israel stood as the last stronghold of authentic Judaism, barely touched by these ideologies. The traditional Jewish community was keen on maintaining its character.

This understanding highlights the conservative community's critical view of the spiritual decline observed in settlements during the 1880s.

Kaniel writes that post-1840 immigration saw a diversification of newcomers and their intentions. It wasn't just scholars but also ordinary Jews who wanted to earn a living as they had abroad.

In contrast to this ideologically motivated migration, subsequent waves of immigration - from the First Aliyah through the Fifth, including during the Holocaust - were driven by pogroms, persecution, and other adversities European Jews faced. The different waves and their causes are summarized briefly below:

First Aliyah (1882-1902): This immigration had two main waves: initially in 1882-7, spurred by pogroms against Jews in Russia following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. A second wave arrived in 1890-1 due to worsening political and economic conditions for Russian Jews. In winter 1890, following a decree expelling most Jews from Moscow, similar expulsions occurred in other Russian cities.

Second Aliyah (1904-1914): This wave was influenced by the 1903 pogroms in Kishinev and Gomel and dissatisfaction with the 1905 failed Russian revolution.

Third Aliyah (1920-23): This wave resulted from emigration pressures due to the persecutions, expulsions, and hardships faced by Russian and Polish Jews during the communist revolution in 1917 and subsequent wars.

Fourth Aliyah (1924-26): Economic measures by Polish Prime Minister Grabski, compounded by inflation, pushed large numbers of tradespeople, craftsmen, and small industrialists to migrate. Notably, many who arrived were unable to move to the U.S. due to restrictive immigration policies from 1924 onwards.

Fifth Aliyah (1932-39):Motivations for this wave included the rise of Nazism in Germany and growing antisemitism across Europe.