Zionism and Yom Ha'atzmaut

For many, the need to clarify what the Torah’s attitude is to Zionism will be surprising. The aim to build a nation in Eretz Yisrael is clear throughout the Torah and the rest of Tanach, and even the partial achievement of this aim is surely something to be celebrated.

The necessity to explain further stems from two things. Firstly, to a large percentage of the Jewish People the point above is far from obvious. Secondly, even the rest of us should be able to appreciate that what is clear to us is based at least partly on hindsight. Before Ben Gurion declared the forming of the State of Israel, it was far from clear whether the move would result in anything positive. Many claimed the risk simply was not worth it.[1]

There are three basic questions here:

1) Were the Jewish People in exile supposed to attempt to bring redemption actively, or just to wait for Hashem to do it?

2) Based on or despite the answer to the first question, was it correct to risk so much in 1948 without knowing what the outcome would be?

3) Based on or despite the answers to the first two questions, is it appropriate to thank Hashem and/or celebrate what happened?

The first question is answered by the Ramban unambiguously. We are obligated to conquer Eretz Yisrael, and must not let others possess it.[2] The Rambam does not list such a mitvah, and seemingly his view is that this is not an obligation. Whether or not he would consider the struggle to achieve this aim as something positive or not is unclear,[3] but there certainly is no evidence to suggest that he forbids it.

The only source for such a position is what the gemara tells us, that Hashem imposed on us oaths not to ascend (to Eretz Yisrael) ‘like a wall’ and not to rebel against the other nations.[4] Much has been written already about this, and with the exception of Satmar it has generally been accepted that this gemara is not of halachic significance.[5] In my mind what Chazal meant to say here is that without us realising, Hashem removed from us the will to fight for independence until an auspicious time for this.

Assuming therefore that conquering Eretz Yisrael is something positive or at the very least optional, the second question is mainly an issue of historical analysis. It is impossible to prove whether more or fewer lives would have been lost had the State not been declared. Even if fewer lives would have been lost in the short term, when it comes to national issues the calculations that need to be taken are more complicated (see “War and Peace”).

With hindsight, I certainly agree with the decision made in 1948 although I respect the legitimacy of dissenting views. But one thing I would expect all to agree with is the fact that those responsible for making this decision did so with the best physical interests of the Jewish People in mind.

The effect on Torah and Mitzvos

The answer to our third question is not necessarily dependent on the answer to the first two questions, whatever it is. Some may agree with what I have written above but nevertheless object to celebrating the achievements of those who were far from G-d and the Torah. Furthermore, many believe that these achievements are outweighed by widespread spiritual decline they see as resulting from the State of Israel.

These claims must be taken seriously. We cannot ignore the fact that many of the early leaders of Zionism saw it as a replacement to the Torah and mitzvos. This aim also had some degree of success, with the most famous example being the treatment of Yemenite Jews and others from similar ‘unenlightened’ backgrounds.[6]

For simplification, let us pretend that all those who helped found the State of Israel were irreligious and that net Torah observance is less than what it would have been without the State (although the first statement is wrong and the second mere conjecture). My firm belief is that even if this were true, and even if the decision made by Ben Gurion and his advisers in 1948 was ‘wrong’, it would still be correct both to thank Hashem and to celebrate on Yom Ha’atzmaut.

It is rather obvious that we must thank Hashem for all the good that He gives us, even if we afterwards decide to misuse it. In case anyone might argue that thanking Hashem does not include celebrating, the Torah tells us regarding the mitvah of bikurim (bringing the first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash):

ושמחת בכל הטוב אשר נתן לך ה' אלהיך ולביתך.

(דברים כו)

You shall rejoice over all the good that Hashem your G-d has given to you and your household.

(Devarim 26)

What exactly are we celebrating?

Believe it or not, some argue that having control over Eretz Yisrael and the right for any Jew to live here is not something inherently good. They claim that this repetitive blessing in the Torah is only a means to keeping Torah and mitzvos. Although to most thinking people I know this claim is intuitively wrong, it is not immediately obvious how to refute it. The best way to do so is to show that our intuition was shared by our prestigious predecessors.

The Rambam describes what we celebrate on Chanuka:

“In the (time of) the Second Beis Hamikdash, while the Greeks ruled, they made decrees against Israel, nullified their religion, did not allow them to occupy themselves with Torah and mitzvos, took from their money and daughters, entered the Temple and breached it, and defiled the pure items. Israel had much distress because of them, and they pressurised them greatly until the G-d of our fathers had mercy on them and saved them (the Jews) from their (the Greeks) hands.

The children of the Hasmonean Kohanim Gedolim prevailed and killed them (the Greeks), saved Israel from their hands and appointed a king from the Kohanim. The kingdom was restored to Israel for more than two hundred years, until the Second Destruction.”

(Megila and Chanuka 3:1)

Although the majority of the troubles caused by the Greeks were religious ones, for Rambam the focus of the salvation brought about by the Hasmoneans is national. To him it was obvious that the self-rule achieved was something to celebrate. And a brief read of any of the historical accounts of the Hasmonean dynasty is enough to show that for most of this two-hundred year period, the leaders were far from perfect spiritually.[7]

Is this ‘Aschalta deGeula’ (the start of redemption)?

To answer this we first have to define what we mean by redemption. The term ‘Geula’ can refer simply to deliverance from troubles,[8] in which case calling the State of Israel ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו (‘the beginning of the sprouting of our redemption’) seems to be a huge understatement. The question that is far harder to answer is whether we are living through the start of the final redemption after which there will be no further exile.[9]

In fact, my belief is that only a prophet can know the answer to this question. There is no assurance that we could not (G-d forbid) experience another exile after the current redemption,[10] and indeed we have seen several retreats in recent years. We daven and actively try to prevent further such events, but we must also recognise that not everything is in our hands.

I also believe that the stubborn insistence of some to limit Zionism to decades-old teachings of some of the previous leaders of the Religious Zionist movement has had some much unwanted effects. Many to whom these teachings are foreign to (this is especially common amongst those born and raised outside Israel) are presented with a choice of accepting them unquestionably, or rejecting Zionism altogether. They often choose the latter.

This process is not limited to those unversed in these teachings. A few years ago a prominent and learned Rosh Yeshiva, who for many years was part of the Religious Zionist world, witnessed the destruction of Gush Katif and came to the conclusion that much of what he had learned and taught for years was mistaken. As his Zionism was based only on the concept of ‘Aschalta deGeula’ and the restoration of the Kingdom of G-d, he decided to stop celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut, drawing his yeshiva and other institutions with him.

The phenomenon of Rabbis who claim to have a clear understanding of historical processes, even if it is based on their reading of the words of Chazal, can have far-reaching consequences. Often much division and animosity arises from talmidim who believe that only their rav is the one who truly understands, and the inevitable result is that those who represent the Torah have great difficulty in influencing those in positions of power.

May we learn to thank Hashem and rejoice over all the good that He has given us, and witness and bring about the ultimate redemption!

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[1] The historical precedent of Bar Kochva’s ultimately disastrous uprising against the Romans shows how hard decisions like these are to make.

[2] Sefer Hamitzvos, Mitzvah 4 in his collection of positive mitzvos that the Rambam ‘forgot’.

[3] See ‘War and Peace’.

[4] Kesuvos 111a

[5] As none of the Rishonim quote it in their halachic works. However, in and prior to 1948 this was a matter of considerable debate.

[6] I have not quoted sources here, as the extent of what happened is the matter of some debate and I do not pretend to be an historian. However, it is clear that the phenomenon described above existed to some degree. On the other hand, I believe it would be naïve to imagine that had the State of Israel not been founded, Eastern Jewish communities would have maintained their devotion to the Torah entirely. The challenges of modernity has taken its toll on the entire world (Jewish and non-Jewish), and no-one is immune to this.

[7] In fact, according to the Ramban the mere fact that they reigned as kings was a violation of the command never to remove this power from the tribe of Yehuda. See his commentary to Bereishis 49:10.

[8] See Rashi to Megila 17b

[9] See Yeshaya 60:20, Amos 9:15, and Yerushalmi Shvi’is 6:1.

[10] Some have claimed that an assurance to this can be seen in the Yerushalmi referenced in the previous footnote, but the truth is that the cryptic nature of such texts precludes any solid proof. See “Drush and Divrei Agada”. When I say the phrase ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו in davening, I mean a general redemption.