The term “aliyah” refers to the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel. It is a Hebrew word meaning “ascent” or “going up”, referring to the act of spiritually “ascending” to the Holy Land. The concept of aliyah is central to Zionism and has played a major role in the history and development of the modern State of Israel.
According to the Hebrew Bible, God promised the Land of Israel to the Jewish people. However, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, most Jews were exiled from the land. For centuries, Jews prayed to return to Zion and Jerusalem. The yearning to return to the ancestral homeland became known as Zionism and was articulated as a political movement in the late 19th century.
Aliyah is a fundamental tenet of Zionism. The pioneers who established the first Jewish settlements in Ottoman and then British Palestine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were known as halutzim, Hebrew for pioneers. Their bold exploits were romanticized as a realization of the ancient dream of “going up” to Israel. After the State of Israel was established in 1948, its early decades saw waves of mass aliyah from Europe and the Middle East as Jews fled persecution or instability, or were displaced after the creation of Israel. The 1950 Law of Return gave all Jews the right to Israeli citizenship. Since then, over 3 million Jews from around the world have made aliyah.
Making aliyah involves practical steps like obtaining citizenship paperwork, learning Hebrew, and moving one’s household possessions. But it is also conceptualized as an ideological, spiritual journey of epically returning to the Promised Land after centuries of exile. The act of leaving the diaspora for Israel is described as “making aliyah”, while someone who did this is called an oleh (male) or olah (female). Thus, more than just immigration, aliyah represents the religious ideal of ascending to live in Israel. Olim are often perceived as heroic examples for other Jews.
The Torah frequently mandates that the Jewish people should inhabit the Land of Israel. God’s covenant with Abraham designated this area for his descendants. Israelites escaping slavery in Egypt journeyed through the wilderness for 40 years to reach Canaan. After King Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem, it became the center of Jewish worship and identity. Conquering and settling the land was seen as fulfillment of God’s promise. Thus, immigration to Israel is biblically rooted.
The Hebrew Bible emphasizes dwelling in the Land of Israel as integral to Jewish faith. The Book of Genesis 12:1 records God commanding Abraham, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Abraham’s migration from Mesopotamia to Canaan was the first Jewish immigration to the Holy Land. God promised this land to Abraham’s descendants as an “everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8). The covenantal bond between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel begins here.
Later books of the Bible describe how the 12 tribes conquered Canaan under Joshua’s leadership. The Book of Numbers 33 traces the Israelites’ entire journey from Egypt to the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from the Promised Land. Entering Canaan was the culmination of this journey. Settling this area was often portrayed as a divine commandment. The Book of Deuteronomy 11:31 states “…you are to cross the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Thus, inhabiting the Land of Israel fulfills God’s will.
After King David made Jerusalem his capital, it was the spiritual and political center of a united kingdom of Israel. His son Solomon built the First Temple there, making it the focus of sacrificial worship. Jerusalem and the Temple symbolized the covenant between God and Israel. Living in the Promised Land reinforced this bond. That is why exile from Israel after the Temple’s destruction was devastating. Psalms 137 poignantly describes the trauma of being severed from Zion: “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” The longing to return continued for centuries.
Despite dispersion after the Temple’s destruction, a small Jewish presence remained in the Land of Israel, mainly in Galilee. But the majority of Jews were scattered throughout the Middle East and Europe. Places like Spain, Germany, and Poland became centers of Jewish religion and culture. Yet the shared dream to return to Zion persisted. Jewish liturgy and writings idealized Israel as a destination to be yearned for. prayers like “Next year in Jerusalem” expressed this hope. Making aliyah became the embodiment of restoring this ancient connection.
The Hebrew prophets predicted the eventual return from exile and re-gathering of Jews to Israel. Isaiah 11:12 foretold, “…He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Ezekiel 20:34 declared, “I will bring you from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered.” These verses imply God will initiate this end of exile. Thus, Jews making aliyah are participating in divinely ordained restoration.
Biblical accounts of various returns to the Land of Israel after exile emphasize God’s role in enabling this. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah record that King Cyrus of Persia allowed Jews to return to Judea and rebuild the Temple in the 5th century BCE. This ended the Babylonian exile. Isaiah 45:13 predicted Cyrus’ actions over a century earlier: “He shall build my city and set my exiles free.” The return occurred through Cyrus, but was orchestrated by God. This exemplifies how all Jewish returns to Israel constitute divine providence.
The Zionist movement which advocated modern Jewish immigration to Israel used biblical ideas and language to articulate its vision. Zionism’s pioneers saw rebuilding Jewish settlements as accelerated fulfillment of God’s covenant. Key Zionist texts like Moses Hess’ Rome and Jerusalem (1862) cast their mission as enacting the messianic restoration of Jewish sovereignty prophesied by the Bible. Zionism gave religious meaning to political aspirations.
Zionism actualized the age-old messianic dream of returning en masse to Zion. Early Zionist thinkers like Ahad Ha’am saw immigration to Israel as spiritually reviving the Jewish people. In his essay The Jewish State and Jewish Problem (1897), he wrote making aliyah would allow Jews “to live wholly the life of a Jew, that is, the life which the Torah ordained…” Thus, aliyah enables fully reconnecting with Judaism’s essence.
The Zionist pioneers saw themselves as continuing the ancient journey their ancestors had begun into the Promised Land. Conceptually, their waves of immigration followed the ancestral path out of exile. Physically, their settlements often revitalized biblical locales. Tel Aviv was founded on sand dunes north of the ancient port of Jaffa. Degania, the first kibbutz, was near the Sea of Galilee where Jesus lived and preached. Thus, Zionists enacted narrative continuity with their forebears.
The Bible uses agricultural metaphors to describe Israel as a place where Jews can strike roots, grow, and flourish after being uprooted in exile. Isaiah 27:6 prophesied God would cause Israel to “take root” and “fill the whole world with fruit.” The bountiful crops on kibbutzim symbolized this vision being realized. Working the Land of Israel was seen as making it bloom again and recovering lost fertility. Agriculture rooted both people and land.
The Bible frequently depicts Israel as the ideal physical and spiritual home where the Jewish nation can dwell in security and prosperity. Making aliyah is the modern incarnation of this vision. After generations of being strangers in foreign lands, Jews have returned to their native soil. The Jewish Agency, which coordinates aliyah, speaks of Israel as the only place where Jews can feel truly at home. Biblically, homecoming means reuniting with history, identity, and God’s promise.
Aliyah continues today, as Jews facing antisemitism, instability, or lack of opportunity in their birth countries opt to start over in Israel. Over a million Jews from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia have moved to Israel in recent decades. While modern Israel faces numerous challenges, it represents the unprecedented realization of the age-old vow “Next year in Jerusalem!” In this sense, aliyah still uplifts Jews spiritually through participating in the divine plan for their destiny.
In summary, the concept of aliyah has deep biblical roots. God promises the Land of Israel to the Jewish people. Settling this area fulfills a divine commandment and covenant. After exile, prophets foretell a great return to Zion. Zionism enacted this vision. Immigration to Israel continues this sacred process of homecoming. Thus, aliyah is fundamentally grounded in the Hebrew Bible’s depiction of Israel as the Promised Land and Jerusalem as the spiritual center. It epitomizes the eternal bond between God, the Jewish people, and the Land of Israel.