Aliyah, a word that is Hebrew for “going up” but is also the accepted term for a Jew immigrating to Israel, is regarded as a major Jewish cultural concept and a fundamental tenet of Zionism. The concept of the Law of Return is based on the fact that any Jew has a legal right to move to Israel and become a citizen automatically. In fact, these olim (immigrants) are assisted by the government through various programs, and discounts to make it easier to become a citizen of Israel. Aliyah is sometimes spelled Aliya.

People have been making Aliyah since biblical times when Abraham was told by G-d, “Lech lecha, me’artzecha, umimoladitecha, el ha’aretz asher ar’eka” – Go for yourself, from your land, to the Land that I will show you.

Prior to the 20th century, the last time the Land of Israel was under Jewish control was 2000 years ago. Since the destruction of the 2nd Temple by the Roman Empire and the subsequent dispersing of most of Israel’s Jewish people, Jews have been making pilgrimages, and sometimes aliyah, but in relatively small numbers over the two millennia.

Starting in the latter part of the 19th century, Jews began to make Aliyah in waves. Each ‘wave’ was labeled as follows: First Aliyah from 1882-1903, mostly from the Russian Empire and some from Yemen. The Second Aliyah from 1904-1914, again were mainly from Russia, and were escaping the many pogroms. It was in this period that Hebrew as a spoken language was revived. The Third Aliyah was 1919-1923 was many Russians leaving after World War I. It was during this time that the British ruled Palestine, and there existed the Mandate and the Balfour Declaration. The Fourth Aliyah from 1924-1929 from Poland and Hungary, mostly as a result of anti-Semitism. The Fifth Aliyah was 1929-1939, and massive numbers were beginning to arrive due to the rise of Nazi Germany. By 1940 the Jewish population in Palestine was 450,000. Aliyah Bet from 1933-1948 was largely clandestine due to ridiculous quotas by the British, despite the murder machine that was decimating the Jewish communities in Europe.

Once the state was declared, waves of immigrants continued to flow in, and haven’t stopped. They have come in variously from the Soviet Union, Middle Eastern countries, Europe, America, South America, Ethiopia, South Africa, and numerous other places. By the 1980’s, North American Aliyah had slowed down to a trickle, while vast numbers of immigrants from the former Soviet Union were just beginning to arrive. In 2002, a new fixture in the Aliyah world came to be called Nefesh B’Nefesh, which has revitalized North American Aliyah, having just brought in its 10,000th oleh in December of 2006.