Independence (3) – Redemption of the Land (1)

Rav M. Elon

We will continue with the essay of Rav Zvi Yehudah ha-Kohen Kook, in this, our third shiur on the topic. [Cf. Parashat Emor and Kedoshim 5765.]

As we recall, in 1946 Rav Kook was asked as to the efforts one is to invest in the establishing of a Jewish State. We will begin with this question, and then we will delve deeper into Rav Kook’s words:

“I was asked: ‘Is it permissible for us, as religious Jews, to support the demands for a Jewish State?’

My answer is: ‘It is not simply permissible for us – rather we are obligated to do so!’”

(Li-Netivot Yisra’el 1, “Yahadut ha-Torah – li-derishat ha-Medinah ha-Yehudit.”)

Rav Kook’s approach is based upon three separate justifications.

“The justification for this simple obligation is as follows: For the three things which are included in our sanctity, which are included in the unitary Divine sanctity which includes everyone and all of us as one – for Yisra’el, for the Torah, and for the Land.”

(ibid.)

Firstly, then, Rav Kook says “for Yisra’el,” for the establishment of a state is the only political refuge that exists for the Nation of Israel. Today we see with great clarity what Rav Kook perceived then. Today, when half of our nation dwells in Zion, we witness how that small Jewish population of Israel, no more than five percent of the entire Jewish international population has developed to such great dimensions. Whereas many millions of Jews who remained in their communities – in America, among other countries – remained steadfast in their lands of dispersion only to have the plague of assimilation mercilessly strike at them. [For even if we detract the numbers of those who left the Diaspora for Israel, we still remain with large numbers of Jews unaccounted for today.]

Rav Kook writes that in matters such as these of Piku’ah Nefesh [“Saving a soul,” i.e. saving a life], one is not to tarry yet is to act in accordance with the famous Halakhic maxim:

“‘Whoever is expeditious (in saving a life) is praiseworthy, and one need not request permission from Beit Din,’ (Yoma 84b et. al.), ‘and whomever (hesitates) and requests (permission) sheds blood.’ (Yerushalmi Yoma 8:5; Cf. Shulkhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 328:2.)”

Rav Kook’s second motivation, something which we dealt with in the past week’s shiur, is “for the Torah.” For the general concept of Yisra’el returning to its land holds with in it a dimension of the exodus of the Torah from the Exile. We illustrated (in the past shiur) how in this land, the Land Holy unto God, the Torah becomes manifest in every aspect of the physical, material existence. We brought the korban ha-omer, the sacrifice of the omer measure of barley offered on the second day of Pesah as an example of something which comprises the simple truth that even the agricultural produce of Erez Yisra’el (the Land of Israel) becomes sanctified.

Now we may consider Rav Kook’s third motivation – “for the Land.”

First, let us relate this issue to our parashah which deals with the acquisition of Erez Yisra’el at its beginning, and then as it concludes.

“And God spoke to Mosheh at Mount Sinai, saying: ‘Speak to Benei Yisr’ael, and say to them: “When you come into the land which I give you, (then) the land shall observe a Shabbat to God.”’”

(Vayikra 25:1,2)

It is important to note the unique term in the verse – “the land shall observe a Shabbat (Sabbath) to God.” In the following verses we find the terminology of “And the Shabbat (produce) of the land shall be for you as food,” (ibid. v.6), yet here the verses primarily indicate a fundamental concept that the Shabbat is for God, for the Land does not truly belong to us. The Land belongs to ‘Someone’ else, and thus we are never permitted to enact permanent sales in the Land.

To Whom does the Land truly belong?

The verses teach us this in the clearest most straightforward manner:

“The land shall not be sold forever; for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant a redemption for the land.”

(ibid. v. 23,24)

The Land of Israel is the Land of God, and one may not sell it as an eternal sale. Therefore a ‘redemption’ must be offered on all land. We will examine this basic truth, that God is the Lord and Master of the Land through the prism of the law of “ge’ulat ha-Aretz” – “Redemption of the Land.” But first let us expand on our preceding words.

It would seem that of the three reasons that Rav Kook proffers requiring one to work for the establishment of a Jewish State – the nation, the Torah, and the Land – which formed the basis for lively, legitimate debate among the various parts of the nation, one factor remains in full force as a source of conflict.

As we mentioned, when the State was declared there was no more than five percent of the Jewish People living in Israel at the time. If the Jewish Nation had maintained its strength even after the valley of death of the Holocaust – the motivation of “for Yisra’el,” would certainly have been quite surprising. How could a handful of Jews in a barren, land scarred by wars and death become the salvation and hope of all the Diaspora Jewish communities? Moreover how was this new Jewish State to offer anything to Jewish communities founded in the most advanced of countries like America, where equality and civil liberties were well-entrenched in the legal and societal frameworks?

Today, however, we see most clearly how the silent Holocaust takes place among international Judaism, whereby so many of our fellow Jews drown in the death-swamps of assimilation. Today we have no doubt as to the Jewish State in the Land of Israel’s existence being a salvation and stronghold for all Jewry.

A great debate, too, waged as to the second motivation “for the Torah.” This was a most legitimate debate as to whether the Torah would be resuscitated and rejuvenated by the involvement of the Torah faithful in the process of the national resurrection, which was primarily led by secular leaders who had shunned the yoke of Judaism. Here too, the establishment of the greatest Torah center in the last two-thousand years was born in Erez Yisra’el, and its prime founders – whether by choice or not, and whether they realized it or not – were David ben Gurion and Chaim Weizman. Here too we witness the Divine response to an act then, which is so clear to perceive today.

Now we may deal with Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook’s third motivation, the reason which even today seems to remain an unresolved point of debate. It is this motivation which seems to lay at the base of what is starting to undermine the unity of our society, and it is here that the most severe social debate lies, growing more and more furious.

First let us examine the words of Rav Kook regarding his motivation “for the Land.” This motivation comprises two aspects, and these aspects - which we will see in Rav Kook’s words - form the very basis for the re-unification and renewed harmony between the two sides to this deep debate who have a great chasm dividing them.

“The mizvah of the Torah which is incumbent upon us through every generation to inherit our Land and dwell in it.”

Rav Kook opens with the fundamental understanding that we have an obligation to conquer Erez Yisra’el. His words are based on the Ramban in his glosses to Sefer ha-Mizvot (Maimonides’ “Book of Commandments”) who considers the conquering of Erez Yisra’el as a positive Biblical mizvah. Rav Kook thus writes that this mizvah applies to our very generation, (of course he was referring to his generation,) with full force.

[Despite the fact that the Rambam did not expressly count the conquest of Erez Yisra’el as a mizvah, from his writings in other places it seems apparent that he does in fact believe that there is such a mizvah. However, for other reasons he did not count it as its own independent mizvah. There are those, for example, who explain that this mizvah is a general mizvah which includes all of the mizvot, and the Rambam stated that he does not include those general, all-encompassing mizvot in his list of mizvot.]

“The mizvah of the Torah, which is incumbent upon us through every generation to inherit our Land and dwell in it, has its full obligation become completely manifest in this, our generation, with the order of official declarations of the non-Jewish governments regarding the return of our captivity to our Land; having recognized our just legal (claims) to it, which the Great Causer knocked down the wall that separated between us and the Land in the distress of the exile and the regimes of the (other) nations.”

Rav Kook refers to the Gemara (Ketubot 111a) that states that at the start of the exile God made Am Yisra’el take an oath that they would not “rise up as a wall” against the nations of the world in a mass movement to settle Erez Yisra’el. There is a great debate as to whether this homiletic concept applies as halakhah or not, and from the words of the Ramban above we already see that he did not accept this as halakhah – for he counted the mizvah of the settlement of Erez Yisra’el as a binding mizvah. Yet even if we are to accept the position that views this as halakhah, certainly this no longer applies once the international community of nations gave their express support for such an act.

After the Balfour Declaration and the recognition of Am Yisra’el’s right to return to its national Homeland, thus the “fear of the oaths is annulled” and therefore “the Great Causer knocked down the wall which separated between us and the Land” – thus this “wall” of the oath had been breached. We must recall that all this occurred under the British Mandate in Palestine, and through one’s natural perspective the future certainly did not bode well for the national movement which seemed to be strangled by the British. From Rav Kook’s perspective, however, it was already a situation of “a raven has flown,” (Cf. Beizah 21a,) i.e. the bleak reality is unimportant, for greater developments are yet come.

Rav Kook then explains how this process of international support of Am Yisra’el is conducted by the Supernal Conductor. The general awakening was occurring just as the process of our national rebirth was occurring in Erez Yisra’el, and therefore Rav Kook establishes that the international recognition of our nation’s rights is as follows:

“It is fitting for this instruction of the hand of God that is outstretched upon us in its preparation of the fulfillment of His mizvah regarding the Land, for this is also the great extent of the movement for the settlement of Erez Yisra’el, which includes in its process of expansion all segments of the House of Israel.”

There is something else which demonstrates the Heavenly incentive for the national resurrection, something which we must remind ourselves of today:

“Just as the terrible catastrophes now, together with the wondrous salvations which accompany them.”

This final sentence holds within it the very essence of Am Yisra’el’s existence, both Holocaust and salvation take hold of it. So often the Heavenly reminder goes out to awaken the People of the Covenant, yet when they do not heed the call, remaining in their slumber, they experience the heavy blows; as a father who spanks his son – who immediately embraces his son in love thereafter. Thus together with the calamities we receive the “wondrous salvations.”

Then Rav Kook offers somewhat of an intermediate summation:

“And the completion of the obligation of this mizvah, which is equal to all the mizvot in the Torah, giving the basis and permanent existence to all of them (the mizvot), now compels the demand and endeavoring to fulfill it completely through the establishment of our State and the intertwining of our lives therein.”

In summary of Rav Kook’s words until now, “for the Land” is primarily because a nation needs a land, and also since Am Yisra’el is part of a process which has neither physical nor “religious” barriers that can prevent it from returning to its land.

Rav Kook then moves on to the second section of his words wherein he explains the concept of “for the Land” on a completely different plane – a more internal plane. This motivation rests on the appreciation of a basic tenet of our faith; that we are in this land not because it is merely the familiar “landscape of our youth,” and this land is not simply another territory that one nation chose to settle as part of its national development. This land has an essential internal connection to the nation which dwells in it, as a mother deeply yearns for her children to return her, as when the children are exiled from her she ceases to yield her produce, standing desolate in the shadows of death, waiting for the return of the children to their borders. Her children, too, in desiring life can only return to settle her.

Furthermore, the very bond between the Eternal Nation and the Land of Life forms the basis and preparation for the redemption of the world! Am Yisra’el returning to its land is akin to the heart of the nations of the world beginning to beat again. It is in this land that prophesy becomes manifest, only here can the Eternal relate to the mortal, and only here – and through this land – can the Eternal act to redeem the world of its various calamities.

As Rav Kook writes:

“The unique international value of this land, as the foundation stone [since the “foundation stone” on which the Temple was erected is to be found in Israel] of (the world’s) creation and owing to its beauty, its (nature) as a source of influence, and the prophetic ground of the entire world, is manifest in accordance with its geographic and historic state, and (in accordance with) its Divine definition as the land of Yisra’el – the heart of the nations, and (in accordance with) the Torah-moral responsibility toward the entire world to guard the nature of this land, which was - and is - laid to waste by those other (nations) who occupy it, (the land) astonishingly yearning for the return of her sons and builders who reap her fruits, they who approach and come to her in the word of the Faithful God.”

Erez Yisra’el remains desolate, and thus the nations conclude:

“It obligates us to toil for this demand of clarifying its (the Land) content and rectifying its true face as Erez Yisra’el, its life, and its State.”

Understanding the two factors that make up the motivation of “for Erez Yisra’el” places us amidst the conflict we find ourselves in today. For the first aspect clarifies that every nation deserves a land, a county, so too Am Yisra’el as any other nation. The second aspect that makes up Rav Kook’s claim of “for Erez Yisra’el,” however, speaks of an entirely different connection to the Land, a bond between the eternal nation and the eternal land.

We may in fact say that we have two dreams of one land – one dream was to find in Erez Yisra’el a ‘safe haven’ for the Jews. We must not detract, God forbid, from the intense emotional feelings for this land specifically, for it was this dream that brought about the State of Israel’s establishment in the Land of Israel, yet fundamentally this was a natural desire for a land, a country.

Now there is another dream, a dream which understands the desire to establish the State of Israel as a desire to once again allow the heart of the entire world, Am Yisra’el, to beat in the land of its heritage, which is also the heart of all the lands.

I would like to clarify this point through an experience I was recently exposed to. On isru hag ha-Pesah (the day after the close of Pesah) I was asked to take part in a panel discussion in a conference whose participants were many of the leaders – in the past and in the present – of our society, retired generals, and public personalities from the left and the right of the political spectrum.

Quite naturally the issue of Gush Katif was raised. A participant asked one of the retired generals whether he could give his assurance as to whether there was even a reasonable chance that the security conditions would improve for Israel after the disengagement. In a remarkable display of honesty, the general said that this was indeed his hope, yet was very unclear as to what the repercussions would be. The general was then asked whether under similar conditions of uncertainty he had ever led his troops into battle – and the general answered in the negative. The questioner then asked why the code of behavior has suddenly been altered with regard Gush Katif…

The discussion continued, with various speakers addressing the conference, when then the head of the panel was to conclude and summarize the discussion. The head of the panel, a businessman from Netanya, said that he had noticed something very interesting. There was a clear difference defining two groups at the conference. The one group, those who wore kippot, in his words, dealt solely with the question of the fate of Erez Yisra’el. On the other hand, those who did not wear kippot were concerned with the fate of ‘Judaism’ in the State. He then concluded that it was his hope that possibly when the debate about Erez Yisra’el will no longer ‘distract and divert’ us, then at least all the nation would be able to consider the fundamental questions of morality and Judaism, and how these are to be instilled in the nation.

I felt, then, that there is such a deep chasm between the two dreams that fought together for the same people and for the same land just under one-hundred years ago.

The dream of early Zionist advocates was a dream that is described in the second half of Rav Kook’s words – a dream of God’s nation who returns to build His kingdom, to establish the Temple which becomes a House of Prayer for all the nations, and ultimately redeems the entire world. This was the dream of the Torah Greats - Rav Kalisher and Rav Gutmacher, who asked Rav Akiva Eiger whether it would be permissible to deal with the Turks (who ruled Erez Yisra’el at that time) in order to purchase Har ha-Moriya and establish an altar there – even without the Temple – in order to renew the offering of sacrifices. This is one dream of the national home in Erez Yisra’el.

Yet there is another dream, a dream that was dreamed tens of years later, a dream to establish a state for the Jewish People, a state like every other. The prime promoter of this dream was Herzl. This dream saw Erez Yisra’el as a real, pragmatic solution to the distressed state of the nation dispersed throughout the world. Yet we must recall that in Herzl’s mind the spoken language of this land was to be German…

We thus have two dreams that relate to one land. One perceives the national resurrection as the resurrection of sanctity in the world, and the other sees it as the ‘safe haven’ for a persecuted nation. In reality it was the second dream which was realized, and it was this dream that woke the entire nation from its slumber.

However the students of the original Zionist advocates did not rest for one moment. They saw the second dream become reality, yet they took full participation in the establishment of the State – despite the fact that the dream of this State does not equal our dream. Then, when the State was born, amidst numerous diplomatic and political flurries, those who dreamed of the ‘safe haven’ where overjoyed, yet those who dreamed of “When God will return the captivity of Zion,” (Tehillim 126:1) experienced great anguish as the land was torn to pieces, feeling that another Holocaust had transpired.

Rav Zvi Yehudah told how when the Partition Plan was accepted by the United Nations and the masses went into the streets to dance and rejoice, Rav Harlap came to him, and together they went to his father, Rav Avraham Yizhak ha-Kohen Kook’s house, and they began to cry. Then when they heard the rejoicing of the dancing masses they said: “This is from God, it is wondrous in our eyes,” (ibid. 118:23,) and then they too joined those celebrating in Jerusalem.

One may say that the State in 1948 was the realization of the practical dream of Erez Yisra’el. For those who dreamed the Divine dream it was a difficult time, yet they decided to continue onward as partners – both willingly and unwillingly – in the realization of the ‘safe haven.’ It is almost redundant to state that those who desired to establish a state as a safe haven loved all of Erez Yisra’el, including Hevron, and Shekhem, and so on. They understood the deep roots of the Jewish national heritage, yet they did not request these places which lay outside the scope of their dream.

Then, in 1967, the Six Day War was forced upon us. The Divine Providence voided the Partition Plan, and words like Hevron, Shekhem, and the unified Jerusalem became reality. It was with this that the foundation stone of the second dream of the State of Israel was laid, and with the results of this war the dreamers of the second dream began to breathe easier. Slowly, then, two states were established within the one state – they who see Erez Yisra’el as the ‘safe haven,’ and those who see the slow process of the universal redemption unraveling in Erez Yisra’el. Slowly the walls between these dreamers began to grow, and suddenly two states exist within the one, while both dreamers serve together in the same tank, with the same devotion, in protection of the Jewish Nation in Zion.

In order to appreciate the full depth of the divide, I would like to recall a horrific article that was published about ten years ago by the son of one of our army’s most important generals. The article was shockingly titled: “Let my right hand forget,” [Cf. “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning,” Tehillim 137:5]. It is important to be familiar with the content of this terrible essay in order to understand the deep crisis that divides us.

The author describes how two years prior to the Six Day War he was a student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and how in those days Jerusalem was simply a dream, a dream which everyone held dear and clung to. Then the Six Day War occurred, and Jerusalem became a reality. He describes how difficult he found the results of that dream, and how the liberation of sections of our homeland (or in other terms, ‘their conquest’) became a factor that began to tear the nation apart. He describes his frustration and how while some members of the nation perceived the liberation of Jerusalem as the “at’halta di-ge’ulah” (the “start of the redemption”), he felt that the ‘Stone Age’ had begun, a period wherein the dream had become material, finding its expression in territories and stones.

One may say that already in the immediate aftermath of the Six Day War the great chasm between the two dreamers appeared. While those who dreamed of “When God will return the captivity of Zion” were in elated spirits, they who dreamed of the ‘safe haven’ waited anxiously for a “telephone call from an Arab state” – for now there was “something to talk about.” Now there are territories that can be used in a transaction for peace, territories which can further the aim of a ‘safe haven’ which would become truly safe and secure.

This is an issue which we must clarify today in order to ascertain which direction it is we wish to follow. We must rise above the dividing issues, we must love, truly love, talk, and listen, and heal the divide. We must understand – even during these trying times – that we did not return to Erez Yisra’el to establish two states. We fled the exile and the Diaspora because there we lived in numerous separate communities, and now it is our desire to return to being one nation. If we understand this, then we will overcome the most difficult of tests, united and strengthened.

This is our test, not only now, but throughout our history: will we plunge in to the pit of “sin’at hinam” – “baseless hatred?” What is sin’at hinam? Is there any hatred which is truly hinam? (literally “free.”) The truth is that it is often difficult to converse and communicate, yet far easier to hate, to label, to distance – and this is then hinam! Easier and simpler!

But despite the fact that it may be difficult we are not exempted from communicating, and to the contrary – we are to communicate even more!

This is the stage where if we focus on the question of what is the most horrific outcome possible, then we will be able to join those dreamers of 1948 with those of 1967. Then we will be able to declare to the entire world, and more importantly to ourselves:

“… the Jewish nation has arisen in the Land of Israel, as has its state, the State of Israel…”

(The Declaration of Independence)

Translated by Sholem Hurwitz.

Copyright Keren Yishai/Rav M. Elon