Living in Israel doesn’t make me a better Jew, but it does make me more Jewish.

In Canada, my Judaism is primarily religious. My faith manifests itself in observance, holy study, synagogue attendance and suchlike. Passionately committed though I am, it’s still only a part-time activity, especially in my retirement. In Israel, I’m a full-time Jew by just being there. As Rabbi Daniel Gordis of Jerusalem’s Shalem Centre put it, in the Diaspora, being Jewish is a choice, but in Israel, it’s an instinct.

A well-rounded Jew is a Jew both by choice and by instinct. In Canada, my Jewish instincts only kick in when anti-Semites attack us or when Jews in other countries are in distress. That’s when I express solidarity by sitting on committees, writing petitions, attending rallies and offering whatever tangible support I can. At other times, I belong to one of many faith communities.

The more comfortable we become as individuals in the Diaspora, the less concerned we are with the Jewish collective. “We-Jews” become “Me-Jews.” Judaism here is largely a private matter. When embarrassed about religion, we call it “spirituality” and at times even dilute it with borrowings from other traditions. That’s why Diaspora Judaism is prone to being sporadic, inconsistent and – yes – assimilationist. Even when it nourishes the Jewish soul, it pays insufficient attention to the Jewish body.

In Israel, on the other hand, I’m a Jew 24/7, whether I like it or not. Jewishness there is so intense that many try to escape it periodically. Perhaps that’s why Israelis are inveterate travellers. Perhaps that’s also why I divide my time between Jerusalem and Toronto – between full-time Jewishness and part-time Judaism, between high maintenance and low impact.

True, the impact is higher in Canada than in other countries, because of its strong Jewish links to Israel. For example, two-thirds of Jews in Canada have visited Israel, twice the ratio of the United States. The less Diaspora Jews are involved with Israel, the more self-centred and idiosyncratic does their Judaism become. That’s as true of the religiously lukewarm as it is of fanatics.

The more marginal Israel is in the lives of contemporary Jews, the more likely that Judaism will become irrelevant to their descendants. It’s in danger of being reduced to culinary nostalgia masquerading as culture at the one end of the spectrum and blind fundamentalism in the guise of piety at the other.

That’s why, notwithstanding the risks and frustrations of living in Israel, life there isn’t only exciting, but also a source of hope for the future of our people and our faith.