In Every Generation We Must Take Control of the Land of Israel

“‘Take a census of the entire assembly of the Children of Israel according to their families, according to their fathers’ household, by number of the names, every male according to their headcount. From twenty years of age and up – everyone who goes to the army in Israel – you shall count them for their armies, you and Aharon. And with you shall be one man from each tribe; a man who is leader of his father’s household.’” (BAMIDBAR 1:2-4)

BAMIDBAR begins with the decree that Israel take a national census. Many of history’s great Torah luminaries explain the entire purpose of this count to have been for the organization of a military force that would liberate the Land of Israel from foreign rule. The holy Ohr Haaim even adds that there was a hidden miracle involved in the census – that every man counted was in top physical condition and eligible for combat service.

In his supplement to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot, the Ramban teaches that it is a Torah commandment in every generation that the Nation of Israel take control of and inhabit the entire Land of Israel.

“This (a war to liberate Eretz Yisrael) is what our Sages call milḥemet mitzvah(obligatory war). In the Talmud (Sotah 44b) Rava said, ‘Yehoshua’s war of liberation was an obligatory duty according to all opinions.’ And do not err and say that this precept is the commandment to vanquish the seven nations… this is not so. We were commanded to destroy those nations when they fought against us and had they wished to make peace we could have done so under specific conditions. Yet we cannot leave the land in their control or in the control of any other nation in any generation… Behold, we are commanded with conquest in every generation… this is a positive commandment which applies for all time… And the proof that this is a commandment is this: ‘They were told to go up in the matter of the Spies: ‘Go up and conquer as HaShem, G-D of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear and do not be discouraged.’ And it further says: ‘And when HaShem sent you from Kadesh Barnea saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you.’ And when they did not go up, the Torah says: ‘And you rebelled against the Word of G-D, and you did not listen to this command.’” (Positive Commandment 4 of the Ramban’s supplement to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot)

The Ramban asserts that the conquest of Eretz Yisrael is a mitzvah for Israel in every generation and that we are forbidden from allowing any part of our country to fall into – or remain under – gentile control. It is found in the Shulḥan Arukh that all of the arbitrators of Torah Law (Rishonim and Aḥronim) agree with the Ramban concerning this issue.

“All of the Poskim, both Rishonim and Aḥronim, decide the Law in this fashion on the basis of the Ramban.” (Shulḥan Arukh, Even HaEzer section 75, Pitḥei Tshuva 6)

The mitzvah of implementing Hebrew sovereignty over our homeland can only be fulfilled through an Israeli army. Without such a national military force, Israel would not be capable of waging the war of liberation necessary for the fulfillment of this Divine commandment.

Israel’s military in modern times is known as the Israel Defense Forces. That the official name of our army is a conceptual error on the part of our political leadership has been sufficiently proven by history since its inception. Rather than simply warding off external threats, the primary function assumed by this “defense force” is actually that of a liberation army reconquering its land. Because Israel has not always taken the initiative, however, history has forced us to retake our country piece by piece. Through being attacked by hostile nations unlawfully reigning over parts of our homeland, the IDF has launched strikes resulting in the liberation of portions of our country. However poorly misnamed, the IDF constitutes the army of the Hebrew Nation fulfilling themitzvah of freeing the Jewish homeland from foreign rule.

The Rambam (in Hilkhot Melakhim 5:1) provides an additional definition for amilḥemet mitzvah as any war fought to assist Israel from hostile gentiles. The Shulḥan Arukh (Oraḥ Ḥaim 329:6) rules that if Jews are attacked, even on the Sabbath, it is a commandment to organize a defense force and counter-attack. The Rema adds that even if the enemy has not yet attacked but Israel suspects that a strike may be imminent, war should be waged – even on the Sabbath – as a pre-emptive measure.

In its secondary function, Israel’s army serves as the defense force it dubs itself. The great strength and dedication of the IDF spring from the noble resolution that never again shall Jews be slaughtered without a fight. While the primary function of Israel’s army often exists only in our nation’s collective subconscious, the resolution of “never again” is the conscious driving force behind the IDF – a willingness to take responsibility for the welfare of the Jewish people and a yearning to free Israel from a world of brutality.

In the Song of Dvorah, the prophetess praises and rebukes Hebrew tribes based on their behavior during Barak’s war against Canaan.

“The leaders of Yissakhar were with Dvorah, and so was Yissakhar with Barak, into the valley he was sent on his feet. But in the indecision of Reuven there was great deceit. Why did you remain sitting at the borders to hear the bleating of the flocks? The indecision of Reuven demands great investigation. Gilad dwelled across the Jordan; and Dan – why did he gather onto ships? But Asher lived by the shores of the seas and remained to protect his open borders. Zevulun is a people that risked its life to the death, and so did Naphtali, on the heights of the battlefield.” (SHOFTIM 5:15-18)

While recording the responses of various tribes and cities during the battle, Dvorah reveals the spiritual importance of participation in Israel’s wars.

“‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of HaShem, ‘Curse! Cursed are its inhabitants, for they failed to come to help HaShem to help the nation of HaShem against the mighty.’” (SHOFTIM 5:23)

The Radak explains Meroz to have been a Hebrew city near the battlefield that refrained from joining Barak’s campaign. The prophetess attacks Meroz for not assisting theKadosh Barukh Hu to assist Israel, revealing that Divine support comes to those who help themselves. If we expect miracles to be performed on our behalf, we are required to take the initiative and meet HaShem half way (so to speak).

Our Sages (Brakhot 20a) ask why miracles rarely occurred in Talmudic times as oppose to the many open miracles in Biblical times. The Sages question if it might have been because Jews in Talmudic times were learning less Torah. But the Talmud dismisses this and answers that there were generations in Biblical times that studied less Torah yet still experienced great open miracles. The Talmud continues by revealing that it is not due to a difference in learning but rather in the level of self-sacrifice within the Nation of Israel. The Hebrews of Biblical times were more prepared to risk their lives for the sake of Israel’s mission and HaShem’s Divine Ideal for this world. The Talmud therefore concludes that miracles are the result of courage and selfless devotion. WhenAm Yisrael displays great valor in battle, we are often rewarded with miraculous victories.

In his Guide to the Perplexed, the Rambam enumerates eleven distinct levels of nevua(with Moshe surpassing them all). As the Jewish people returns home to our land and to independence, we have already seen sparks of the Divine Spirit resurface, specifically among those whose compassion for their people has empowered them to break through their own psychological barriers. Clear illustrations of what the Rambam describes as the initial level can be found in the valor and heroism of Israeli soldiers whose deeds resemble those of Shimshon, of whom it says: “A spirit of HaShem came over him… and he struck down thirty men” (SHOFTIM 14:19).

The Talmud (Baba Metzia 106b) states that a shepherd’s rescue of his flock from a lion or bear may be considered a miracle. In answering the question of where the miracle lies in this seemingly natural – albeit impressive – act, the Tosafot explain that the miracle is to be found in the shepherd’s “spirit of courage and willingness to fight.” This spirit of valor is a miracle from above – an inspired inner greatness spurring one to rise to the needs of the hour.

In addition to being an army of liberation and a defense force, the IDF is also the national organization for the creation of miracles. Through the great self-sacrifice and dedication of our soldiers – men ready to give their lives for the future of the Jewish people – miracles become an almost regular occurrence. Modern history has shown that acts of great courage do not only lead to protection from danger but also to astonishing victories on the battlefield. Because miracles are often the result of self-sacrifice, the IDF – which breeds this valor – should be viewed as playing a role in the production of these miracles. While Israel is forbidden from relying on miracles, we are certainly encouraged to help the Kadosh Barukh Hu create them.

The Torah is meant to be lived in this world according to the laws of nature that HaShem set in motion. By participating in every facet of life, the Nation of Israel is able to uplift all spheres of existence to their highest and most productive functions in Creation. By implying that all twenty-year-old males should be serving in Israel’s army, the Torah is revealing that even the military requires Torah guidance in order that it fully express its inherent kedusha as part of manifesting the Divine Ideal for this world. And by sanctifying all areas of life according to His Torah, Israel will revolutionize mankind’s perception of reality, bringing humanity to recognize the Oneness of HaShem and leading the world into an era of unparalleled blessing.

Jerusalem Day: Connecting Heaven to Earth

To recognize the true significance of Yom Yerushalayim – the day on which the Jewish people liberated Jerusalem from foreign rule – one must work to develop a deep vision of Emunah. In D’at Tvunot, Rabbi Moshe Ḥaim Lutzatto teaches us to see HaShem authoring history – to appreciate a Divine plan unfolding and to understand everything we encounter in our lives through the context of a greater goal that transcends yet includes all creatures, places and events. All of Creation, with all of its multiplicity and variety, is actually one organic whole that appears fragmented from the untrained human perspective. Due to our myopic perception, man tends to see everything as disconnected – and often even opposing – forces. But when we learn to view the world from the Divine perspective we become capable of relating to everything we encounter – with all of their unique functions and distinctions – as exceptional pieces of one giant amazing puzzle.

The study of Emunah is learning to see the Divine light in its unity before its having been distilled into multiplicity from the human perspective – to see not only the seemingly fragmented branches but also the unified roots. The study of Emunah helps us to recognize the One that precedes and transcends the individual parts yet is at the same time revealed through them, thereby giving them their true significance and purpose in our world.

Because we exist within the framework of time, history seems from the human perspective to flow in a long process of events. But from the perspective of HaShem – who creates the framework of time and is clearly not bound by it – history exists as one giant light. What we might perceive to be disconnected events with hundreds of years and thousands of miles between them are actually interdependent expressions of a singular Divine theme in which HaShem’s Oneness is revealed to all of Creation.

Everything in Creation possesses a spiritual back end that manifests itself in our world through a tangible vehicle that expresses its inner content. Everything we encounter on the terrestrial plane possesses a spiritual counterpart in the celestial realm. And a central component of the Hebrew mission requires us to reveal the kedusha inherent in our world through actualizing concrete material expressions for our deepest spiritual values and ideals. Israel is not so much tasked with spiritualizing the material but rather materializing the spiritual in order that the Torah’s loftiest concepts attain full expression in our reality.

Celestial Jerusalem as a spiritual ideal represents the absolute good from beyond this world and the eternal Divine values constantly driving history forward toward its goal. Terrestrial Jerusalem here on earth is the physical expression of the celestial Jerusalem above. What may appear to the human eye as merely an ancient mountain city is actually the uniquely designed conduit that reveals HaShem’s Oneness to mankind and enables the flow of Divine energy and blessing into our world (Tanḥuma Pekudei 1).

HaShem swore that His Shkhina would not enter celestial Jerusalem above until the Jewish people enters terrestrial Jerusalem below (Zohar 3:15b).

Knesset Yisrael – the unique spiritual organism revealed in this world through millions of bodies in space and time called Jews – is the national receptacle that receives and expresses the Divine Ideal. What the Land of Israel – and specifically Jerusalem – is in geographic form, the Nation of Israel is in human form. The famed kabalist of Ḥevron, Rabbi Avraham Azulai, teaches in the Ḥesed L’Avraham that the size of the window through which Divine blessing enters our world directly depends on how much of Eretz Yisrael is under Hebrew governance. Jerusalem is the bridge connecting the physical and spiritual realms – the portal between our corporeal realty and the world beyond. And that portal connecting celestial and terrestrial Jerusalem is only open for blessing to enter our world when the human and geographic manifestations of the Divine Ideal unite – when the Nation of Israel possesses political sovereignty over Jerusalem.

Our Sages explain (Megillah 29a) that when Israel is exiled from our land, the Shkhina is also exiled and that only when the Jewish people returns to Eretz Yisrael does the Divine Presence return. When the Children of Israel were separated from Jerusalem, HaShem’s Ideal for this world could not be perceived as unified here on earth. Mankind lacked the ability to fully connect to our inner Source. In such a situation, reality appeared not as one Divine light but as fragmented individual components separate from one another and history became viewed as merely a series of disconnected events.

But when the Hebrew Nation returned to Jerusalem on the 28th of Iyar, the expression of His Ideal became unified with all Creation, establishing the conditions for the fulfillment of the verse that “HaShem will be One and His Name will be One” (ZEKHARIA 14:9).

According to the holy Zohar (3:93), this verse refers to the unification of His Ideal with the reality we experience. Israel’s liberation of Jerusalem ushered in a new historic era for mankind in which the bridge linking this world to the world beyond is back in place. The portal through which Divine blessing enters our world is once again open.

Malkhut Yisrael on earth is the material vehicle that receives and expresses the Divine Kingdom above. The core of this realm, where our ability to perceive and experience our connection to HaShem is strongest, is the Judea region – including and surrounding Jerusalem. We therefore have unique laws and customs exclusively pertaining to this region, such as the commandment for a Jew to rend his garment upon seeing the cities of Judea destroyed – a mitzvah that does not apply to cities in any other portion of our country. And according to both the Beit Yosef and the Mishnah Brurah on the Shulḥan Arukh (Oraḥ Ḥaim section 561), the term “destroyed” is legally defined as being under foreign rule. This means that a Jew who sees a physically ruined and uninhabitable city in a free Judea is not commanded to tear his garment but he would be commanded to do so upon seeing a Judean city under gentile sovereignty – even if that city is fully developed and abounding with vibrant Jewish life. And indeed, following the liberation of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook ruled that although our Holy Temple is not yet rebuilt, we no longer rend our garments upon seeing the Temple Mount.

While the return of the Jewish people to the city that had been the central focus of our tears, dreams and tefillot for thousands of years would be sufficient to warrant the establishment of a new festival (complete with Hallel), Yom Yerushalayim actually commemorates so much more. The 28thof Iyar is the day on which the bridge linking heaven and earth was restored and the portal through which Divine blessing enters our world was reopened. Yom Yerushalayim inaugurates a new historic era in which the Shkhina is no longer in exile and all of mankind can recognize and experience its inner connection to the timeless and boundless ultimate Reality that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all.

Israel in Exile is a Distortion of Reality

“The survivors among you – I will bring weakness into their hearts in the land of their foes; the sound of a rustling leaf will pursue them, they will flee as one flees the sword, and they will fall, but without a pursuer. They will stumble over one another in flight from the sword, but there is no pursuer; you will not have the power to withstand your foes.” (VAYIKRA 26:36-37)

It is in this Divine curse that the Torah reveals the disgrace of Israel’s exile. And history can attest to the truth of these verses. Outside of our homeland, the Nation of Israel was reduced to vulnerable migrants wandering through foreign lands. Unable to resist the persecution we suffered in the Diaspora, Jews acquired a reputation for cowardice and victimization. We were treated as vermin, easily exterminated without a fight. Israel’s survival became largely dependent upon the benevolence of our neighbors and we were conditioned to accept our shameful status as an uncontested reality.

Israel’s downtrodden state in the exile distorted our concepts of kedusha and stripped us of our former valor. The Jewish people’s self-image was severely damaged by the cruelty of host nations to the extent that we began to see ourselves as naturally incapable of self-defense. Many “pious” Jews even began to view traits of courage and heroism as foreign to our culture, as if Israel were by design physically inferior to other peoples. This mentality of learned helplessness grew in Jewish hearts to the point that many were fearful at even the slightest sign of tension with neighboring gentiles. Due to the tremendous suffering Israel experienced at foreign hands, the once proud Hebrew Nation developed a low soul – a slave mentality that made us fearful of even “the sound of a rustling leaf.” The great valor that had characterized Israeli fighters in ancient times was forgotten as we wandered the globe as a national ghost through history – a broken people perpetually searching for safe refuge.

But just as the Jewish people were stripped of our former honor in the exile, the Land of Israel was stripped of her illustrious beauty. She became barren without her soul mate to nurture her soil. Her great splendor had departed and she was reduced to an infertile wasteland.

“I will make the land desolate; and your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate. And you, I will scatter among the nations, I will unsheathe the sword after you; your land will remain desolate and your cities will be in ruin.” (VAYIKRA 26:32-33)

According to the Ramban, the verse “your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate” is a partial blessing within the curse that guarantees through all generations that the Land of Israel will not receive any foreign sovereign in place of her rightful people. He points out that in the entire world, there are no other lands which were once good and bountiful but are now (in the lifetime of the Ramban) as desolate and empty as Palestine.

A century before Hebrew sovereignty was returned to Eretz Yisrael, the renowned American author Mark Twain visited the country and described it in The Innocents Abroad Or The New Pilgrim’s Progress as a “desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds – a silent mournful expanse… A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action…We never saw a human being on the whole route…There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”

While most of the Jewish people wandered through a dark and bitter exile, the Land of Israel lay anguished in barren devastation. Although foreign conquerors tried to cultivate her once rich and fertile soil, the land was unwilling to provide for illegitimate rulers and remained unwaveringly faithful to her true indigenous people. Only with Israel’s miraculous return did the country once again resume productive life. In an astonishingly short time, the once harsh infertile country became a major world exporter of flowers, fruits and vegetables.

The reunification of the Nation of Israel with the Land of Israel miraculously infused new life and strength into both. Only a few short years after the decimation of six million, Jewish remnants on their native soil stunned the world with unmatched military prowess. The Hebrew Nation was reborn and the Land of Israel returned to agricultural productivity.

Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael are inseparably connected in a bond so tight that we even share the same name. Our deep spiritual connection to our homeland – like the connection of the soul to the body – transcends all rational human understandings. Our country is an intrinsic part of who we are and the foundation for our national mission in this world, as neither it nor we can attain full expression without the other. Separated from the nation, the land is doomed to desolation (as was the case for nearly two thousand years). Similarly, the Jews outside our borders are not the essential Hebrew Nation but rather a deformed shadow of our true inner potential – a wandering people miraculously able to hold on to our individual “Judaism” without possessing any tangible concept of peoplehood. But when properly situated in our ancestral homeland, Israel becomes the healthy living nation that brings the knowledge and blessing of HaShem to mankind.

The Maharal of Prague teaches in Netzaḥ Yisrael that like the orbits of the planets in space and the importance of oxygen for human beings, Hebrew sovereignty over the Land of Israel is a natural necessity built into the system of Creation. When Israel is living as an independent nation in our homeland, the entire world becomes healthy. The heart of humanity is in place and able to channel Divine life and blessing to all existence. It has been in opposition to the laws of nature inherent in Creation for Israel to be separated from our beloved country. Like a ball thrown up in the air that must come down, Am Yisrael must return to sovereignty over our soil. Nature corrects itself as we return home and the Torah now aspires – for the first time in nearly two thousand years – to be lived on a national level that infuses kedusha into every sphere of life. And as nature corrects itself and history progresses forward, our liberation will advance toward the full redemption of humankind.

Stage Two Statehood: Anticipating the State of Israel’s Coming of Age

Accounting for the State of Israel’s survival into the 21st century exercises the mind, given the external threats and internal deficiencies it has had to cope with from the outset. The state’s congenital defects are myriad and generally stem from the staunchly secular, socialist vision of many of its founders.

Israeli politicians regularly intone the mantra that Israel must be both Jewish and democratic, and most privilege democratic over Jewish. Yet Israel’s electoral system and parliamentary impotence make a mockery of democracy and excommunicate the state’s Judaic character.

Democracy entails elections whereby people are canvassed for consent, but Israel’s fixed party lists absolve members of the Knesset from accountability to their constituents. When the entire nation is a single constituency without candidate districts or voter ridings, the interests of the electorate are not represented and the purported representatives are beholden to party leaders, not voters. And the low electoral threshold means the Knesset is glutted with special interest parties cobbled together into coalition governments that thereby wield disproportionate national influence.

Moreover, prime ministers populate their cabinets with rival party leaders and elites, resulting in a plural Executive branch of government that constrains peremptory actions, often causing petty infighting among ministers and even the disintegration of governing coalitions. Furthermore, a cabinet constituted with MKs means there is no arm’s length separation of the Legislative and Executive branches of power. In addition, Israel still has no formal constitution, only a series of sporadically enacted Basic Laws, and does not accept the constitution of the Jewish peoplethe Torahas the foundation for its state charter. So much for the democratic nature of the State of Israel.

The Judaic nature of Israel is arguably in worse shape. Due to their entrenched secular, socialist ideologies, those steering the ship of state since its inception have largely refrained from instilling Judaic character into national institutions. Absent the compass of identity and the helm of heritage, over the decades Israel’s leadership has made numerous gratuitous concessions without reciprocation and has surrendered sacred lands and holy sites to its sworn enemies as part of the fatal charade known by the misnomer of “peace process”. Identity infirmity in a region crowded by strident neighbors mired in a medieval mentality is an invitation to annihilation, even if only through piecemeal accords for which Israel employs goodwill diplomacy and its foes ill-willed or martial diplomacy, i.e. warfare waged by other means. Without a profound and expansive understanding of Jewish patrimony, Jewish posterity is imperiled. Israel’s palpable absence of ethno-national authenticity makes it prone to foreign pressures and to misguidedly engaging in political self-immolation. 

There are remedies to Israel’s institutional ills, though reform will be inadequate where overhaul is necessary. One key remedy would be to establish a bicameral legislature: the lower house, the “Knesset” of 120 elected members, would possess an administrative and legislative capacity and be open to Jews and non-Jews alike, thereby enshrining the democratic aspect of the state, while the upper house, the “Great Sanhedrin” of 71 appointed members (rabbinical sages appointed based on merit), would possess a legislative and judicial capacity and be open only to the most respected Judaic legists, thereby ensuring the Judaic aspect of the state.

Re-instituting the Great Sanhedrin of 71 rabbinical sages as the legislature’s curule body, equivalent to a Senate or House of Lords, would bolster world Jewry’s sense of renewal and signal the supremacy of Israel’s Judaic character. Historically, the Great Sanhedrin was a council and court concerned foremost with religious law and adjudicating cases. Nonetheless it had different powers in different epochs, including political and legislative powers, and always maintained a legislative component even strictly within religious affairs, as in its issuing of takkanot (innovative laws) and gezeirot (preventative laws).

Re-establishing the Great Sanhedrin as a Senate would only modestly modulate its mandate. A reconstituted Great Sanhedrin would serve as a combined legislature and magistrature/judicature overseeing the Knesset, offering sager counsel to lawmakers of the lower house while acting as guardians of Israel’s Judaic nature in line with the rich teachings of the Torah, Talmud, and authoritative halakhic codes, in addition to operating within the discrete realm of Jewish religious affairs by issuing rulings and deciding cases of utmost import for world Jewry according to Judaic law. Both the upper and lower houses in Israel’s legislature would be able to introduce bills, but only a majority (whether simple, absolute, or extraordinary) of the Great Sanhedrin could enact a bill into law. An authoritative Great Sanhedrin, along with local courts (battei din), would also obviate the need for a Chief Rabbinate, an institution imported into the State of Israel from the Diaspora, which has proven all too often to be prone to controversy and scandal.

Historically, there was also a lesser Sanhedrin of 23 rabbinical jurists as well, and re-establishing this body as the supreme court of Israel would also remedy many ills currently plaguing the state. Israel’s current Supreme Court is the world’s activist court par excellence, overreaching into the purview of legislators at every possible opportunity and frequently negating the state’s Judaic content, thus threatening both Israel’s democratic and Judaic character. Such juridical over-extension is facilitated by the radically liberal Supreme Court’s ideological homogeneity and overt disregard for the will of the populace, much of which is religious or traditional. Unelected justices arrogating to themselves powers beyond their remit is a travesty of the first magnitude, an oligarchic threat to democracy.

In any nation the corporate good requires leadership that is coherent and resolute, which comprises a government, legislature, and judiciary rooted in the nation’s reason for being. Is Israel’s premise to be a democracy? Democracy is a method, not a vocation. It is important, but it cannot supersede Israel’s Judaic substance (in which many “democratic” elements are already enshrined). A nation’s allies extol strength and its adversaries exploit weakness. Resolving Israel’s identity crisis domestically would additionally go a long way in strengthening its international posture.

Stage One of Israel’s statehoodpolitical Zionisminvolved the preliminary in-gathering of exiles, the establishment of rudimentary national institutions, and fighting for survival in armed conflicts with neighboring aggressors. In Stage One, land and people (nation and nation-state) remarried, but the marriage has yet to be consummated.

Now pushing 70, Israel should confidently segue into Stage Two of its statehood, which entails a Judaic renascence so that the nation-state of the Jews naturally evolves into a Judaic state, a polity proudly embodying the exemplary morals, ethics, values, virtues, and principles of Judaism.

One of the ideal ways to do this would be to introduce a Declaration of Restoration, sequel to the Declaration of Independence, that would not be merely symbolic, but would entail a pragmatic agenda comprising long overdue measures:

  1. the enshrinement of a constitution governing the Judaic state, to whose letter and spirit all other laws must conform, which would formally replace the existing Basic Laws while incorporating them, with or without amendments, as necessary;
  2. the re-establishment of the Great Sanhedrin council of 71 rabbinical sages as the upper chamber in a bicameral legislature and the abolition of the Chief Rabbinate;
  3. the re-establishment of the Sanhedrin tribunal of 23 jurists to replace the Supreme Court; 
  4. the administrative redivision of Israel into electoral regions/provinces, counties, and wards/ridings/boroughs, from which Knesset members would be elected by constituent citizens to whom members would be politically and professionally accountable, including via a formal recall provision;
  5. the final indigenization of institutions such as the Jewish Agency (merged into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Immigration & Absorption) and Jewish National Fund (merged into the Israel Land Authority & Israel Nature & Parks Authority).

While today hybrid Israelpart Hebraic republic, part Judaic stateremains the Middle East’s target of choice, it may yet progress into a self-respecting, ergo respected, state, fulfilling its premise as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation and its purpose of serving as a light to the nations.

ISRAEL AT A CROSSROADS: Hebraic Republic vs. Judaic State

Hebraic Republic: A secular democracy with a Jewish majority.

Judaic State: A polity (with a Jewish majority) based on Judaism.

 

Recently, Israel’s High Court of Justice decided in favor of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality in its effort to expand venues open to the public on Shabbat, permitting mini-markets—164 convenience stores and kiosks—to operate on the Jewish Sabbath.

Israel’s Interior Minister called the ruling a “serious blow to the holy Shabbat and the character of the Jewish people”; the Religious Affairs Minister, referring to the High Court justices, averred that “they have no idea what the value of Shabbat is in the Jewish state….Unfortunately, in the Jewish state, the High Court has brutally trampled the Sabbath, and will not be forgiven”; and the Health Minister decried “the continuation of vulgar legal meddling with the values of religion and religious law”.

The landmark ruling sharpens into focus the paramount matter of the State of Israel’s character.

The Better Question

 If today the perennial question for Israel enthusiasts is, “What is the State of Israel first, Jewish or democratic?”, then the answer should be, “Wrong question”.

Staging a tension between these two attributes presents a false choice, a confused comparison of apples and oranges. But great consequence attaches to the fine distinction between a state that is Jewish (of Jews) and a state that is Judaic (of Judaism). In modern layman’s terms, should the Third Jewish Commonwealth, the State of Israel, be kosher or kosher-style?

Happily, there is an intrinsic incompatibility neither between democracy and Jewry nor between democracy and Judaism (which, in fact, features several important principles that we nowadays identify with Western liberal democracy).

Yet a number of frequently amplified (because overtly controversial) Jewish authors, including some careful to self-identify as Zionist, who regard the Israeli-Palestinian conflict effectively as a morally-equivalent agon between Jewish irredentists vs. Arab revanchists, would have the State of Israel exist as a Hebraic republic, which is to say as a secular democracy like any other except for its Jewish majority, and perhaps with the additional caveat of Hebrew as the official national language. The latter stipulations should not mislead anyone into believing that a Hebraic republic would be anything other than a state of its citizens, rather than a nation-state.

Lucid thinkers will have little difficulty recognizing the undeniable dangers of such intellectual malpractice: demographically, a Hebraic republic could in short order become an Arabic republic, governed and dominated by Arabs by virtue of their greater numbers, which means Jews would once again become a minority and no longer control their own destiny or ensure their safety (with the Hebrew language, by the by, swiftly going the way of all things). So the idea of a Hebraic republic, a.k.a. a Jewish state, is not merely deflationary with respect to traditional Jewish aspirations, but antithetic to the State of Israel’s raison d’etre and pragmatically self-eradicating.

Why would any Jew sound of mind propound such a notion? Frankly, those advancing the idea are often diasporic Jews from English-speaking countries (America, Canada, South Africa, etc.) who would remake the State of Israel in their own image and likeness, more suited to their tastes and ideologies which are invariably secular, socialist, multicultural, and radical. In specific cases, where the proposers hail from binational hotbeds such as Canada’s “distinct society” of Quebec or the onetime apartheid South Africa, there is evident historical-political baggage informing their calculi; sensitized consciences would have them steer the State of Israel toward maximal integration of minorities and the goal of ultimate cohesion at all costs, thereby immunizing the country against outside criticism, particularly criticism regarding human rights issues. Certain proponents of the Hebraic republic paradigm, for whom settlements in the heartland of the Jewish ancestral homeland are Israel’s addictive cocaine, for whom Judaism is somehow supremacist, are die-hard Marxists willfully disregarding the memo of a generation ago confessing that communism’s praxis was a gross failure and its theory discredited.

Some Israeli Knesset members, doctrinaires and politiques past and present, have likewise promoted Hebraic republicanism. Due to the particulars of their upbringing, they have primarily identified themselves as Israeli, not as Jewish, and as secular atheists or agnostics intentionally disinherited their religio-spiritual heritage, preferring instead to live within an ordinary country of no specific people, with no especial destiny, whose history might as well have commenced in 1948.

 Déjà Vu All Over Again

As a people, Jews have seen this story before, more than once, in fact. Hebraic republicans share much in common with the Hellenist Jews who lived in Judea during the Hellenistic era (332-63 BCE), who began by attending the gymnasium and hiding their circumcisions, then escalated to sedition, repeatedly betraying their country and countrymen to foreign imperialists until the successful Maccabean Rebellion. Hebraic republicans are of the same ilk, too, as the German founders of Reform Judaism in the early 19th century who wished to remake the religion of their forefathers and foremothers in their own image and likeness to suit their newly enlightened tastes, for whom observing differently as private individuals was not enough, who instead wanted all Jews to observe differently and despite that drastically different observance to nonetheless be considered practitioners of genuine Judaism, notwithstanding all evidence to the contrary. The likes of all these engender a greater appreciation in traditional Jews for Christians, who at some point, at least, had the honesty of character and intellectual coherence to realize that what they were promoting was so far from the original instantiation that they would have to become a new and separate thing, and not pretend that they were still dwelling in the same time-honored tent as their forebears.

But the most important thing Hebraic republicans do not comprehend—or refuse to accede to—is the original reason for being of a state established by Jews: to constitute themselves in the Promised Land as a godly people whose mission is to attest to the divine and under divine sovereignty to perfect the world.

 

The Nature of a Judaic State

 

What, then, is a Judaic state supposed to look like? Is the State of Israel a Judaic state?

Fundamentally, a Judaic state must be inspired and guided by the constitution of the people of Israel: the Tanakh (Torah/Pentateuch-Nevi’im/Prophets-Ketuvim/Hagiographa), as interpreted by the Talmud and later generations of Sages. The Tanakh is taken and laid as the foundation of the structure that becomes the Jewish nation-state, not merely a state of its citizens. The Tanakh itself, however, cannot be the verbatim constitution of a Judaic state for two imperative reasons:

 

  1. a) The Tanakh prescribes social legislation, emphasizing the societal, not the political; it determines the makeup of Israelite society, not of an Israelite state, and is primarily concerned with religious principles, not political procedures. When it comes to the practical political affairs of electoral systems, methods of representation, legislative procedures and protocols, etc., the Tanakh is disinterested if not uninterested.

 

  1. b) The Written Law (Tanakh) was always traditionally mediated (except over time for sectarian Samaritans, Sadducees, and Karaites) by the Oral Law (Talmud), and so cannot be applied literally as is. Only a Tanakh interpreted by exegetical Sages over the course of the millennia could be deemed accurate, authentic, and authoritative.

 

The Tanakh’s intent is to provide a divinely devised blueprint for the construction of an ideal society, and the very fact that it focuses on fostering a society and not a polity suggests that the society is the core edifice, the state merely the scaffolding. A people requires a form of governance, not necessarily a state. This fine distinction is precisely what allowed the Jewish people to survive its many lengthy exiles as a nation sans its nation-state.

With few exceptions, such as the convening of an assembly of 70 tribal elders and the appointment of magistrates over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, the Tanakh leaves open the configuration of civil affairs at the operational level. Clearly, though, the nascent Jewish nation was led by singular figures: Moses, then Joshua. Should a Judaic state, then, be governed as a monarchy? Ideally not, but perhaps. Should it function as a democracy? Not necessarily, but probably. Democratic elements were enshrined in Judaism for nearly a millennium before classical Greeks devised their embryonic and highly limited form of democracy: popular representation, separation of powers (not to be confused with separation of religion and politics), decentralization and delegation of responsibility, an independent judiciary, women’s property rights, and so forth.

Put simply, a Judaic state is democratic because Judaic.

         

Historical Recap of Judaic Statehood

In its capacity as a nomothetic pandect, the Tanakh is replete with divinely ordained legislative edicts. Israelite society during the Exodus was governed by what the Jewish priestly historian Joseph ben Matityahu (Josephus Flavius) would in the Roman era, in his refutative Against Apion, term in Greek a “theokratia” (theocracy). God alone was the head of state (initially, more precisely, of the Israelite state-in-the-making). Moses—prophet, lawgiver, faithful shepherd—was politically the overworked head of government, an ecclesiastical authority of one, at least for starters. Bottom line: God was the ruler, Moses the mouthpiece.

Was this intended to be the political ideal for Israel? Joshua succeeded Moses under the same arrangement. Then the period of the Judges arrived, in which tribal elders who were regional notables arose to govern parts of the Land of Israel, in all likelihood several of them reigning concurrently in discrete districts as the popular need demanded. They were kinglets in all but name; one of them, the short-lived Avimelekh ben Gidon, assumed the royal title to boot. But then the tribal federacy that was Israel recognized the necessity for a national monarch who would rule them like other nations were ruled, in a united and stable polity better positioned to advance the national interests and defend against or deter its foes.

Thus did constitutional monarchy become a permanent feature in Israel and endure throughout the United Monarchy of Saul, David, and Solomon, as well as the foreshortened Kingdoms of Israel (d. 722 BCE) and Judah (d. 586 BCE). At times Israel existed as a Judaic state where Judaism was the law of the land—e.g. during the reigns of David and Solomon, during the traditional revivals of Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah—though most often Judaic law was observed in its breach by idolatrous sovereigns and backsliding inhabitants influenced by heathen neighbors.

 

Autonomy Replaces Sovereignty

From the return from Babylonian Captivity (538 BCE), and for the next 434 years, the Jewish people had no king. Jews were autonomous but not sovereign in the Persian era (539-332 BCE) and in the aforementioned Hellenistic era until persecution under the Seleucid (Syrian-Greek) ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175-164 BCE) and his immediate successors. The Maccabean Rebellion restored sovereignty and established the Hasmonean dynasty of priestly rulers who eventually assumed the title of king or queen. Inasmuch as they ruled according to Judaic tradition, the Maccabee brothers (Judah, Jonathan, Shimon) reestablished, and the Hasmonean dynast Johanan Hyrcanus preserved, a Judaic state. The warlike King Yannai Alexander (Alexander Jonathan), by contrast, veered markedly from a traditionalist approach and cannot be considered to have sustained a Judaic state. The Hasmonean civil war between his sons Judah Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II was taken advantage of by Rome, which annexed Judea to its burgeoning empire, and once again Jewish sovereignty was forfeited. Judaic states briefly arose anew, however, in both the late Hellenistic era under Queen Shlomtzion (Salome Alexandra; 76-67 BCE), and in the Roman era under King Agrippa I (41-44 CE) then Shimon Bar Kokhba (132-135 CE). These were indeed golden ages for the Jews, especially considering what fateful events followed in their wake.

Fully 1,813 years of excruciating exile ensued for Jews as a people, a stateless nation with but a vestige continually lingering under dire conditions in its occupied nation-state. For almost two millennia Jews were dispersed and subjugated by foreign peoples, at worst at the mercy of violent others, at best guests of volatile hosts. It is, although, glaringly ignorant to assert that Jews exited the stage of history, and even Jewish polities emerged over the millennia in numerous surprising and far-flung locales: Adiabene (Assyria), Himyar (Yemen), Aures Mountains (Algeria), Khazaria (Caucasia), Semien and Sallamt (Ethiopia), Birobidzhan (Russia), and elsewhere. Some of these were not only Jewish states but Judaic states as well, although none of them comprised a majority of world Jewry nor were any in the ancestral homeland, the Land of Israel.

 

Importing An Alien Idea Born in Exile

Since the conversion of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century CE and the Edict of Thessalonica (380 CE) making Christianity the imperial religion, for centuries power was vested in an individual whose jurisdiction extended across borders physical and political: the Bishop of Rome, who was the fatherly Pope and priestly Pontiff (derived from the Roman high priest’s title of Pontifex Maximus). Separation of church and state was deemed necessary and preferable due to corruption of the Roman Catholic Church and egregious abuses of its jealously guarded powers. But this sacred cow of a concept should not be sacrosanct for non-Christians since it is a foreign import and is not universally relevant across time or space. Especially a Judaic state, whose original incarnations hark back to the ancient and classical epochs, should not today be artificially constrained by the dogmatic division between religious and secular domains in much later, non-Jewish commonwealths.

Christendom lacked the crucial separation of powers or leadership roles that Judaism featured from the outset: the prophet or prophetess was the moral/spiritual leader, the high priest the sacerdotal/pedagogical leader, and the judge, king, or queen the political/military leader. Each kept the other in check. While the high priest was the primary religious figure, all three would be correctly described as religious leaders and their duties often impinged on one another. Divine law incorporated religious, civil, and military matters. There was no such thing as a secular leader because there was no such thing as a secular state: priests were authorized to judge and to appoint tribal elders to adjudicate cases as well; the high priest assisted in the political task of allocating the Israelites’ tribal territories; kings consulted prophets, sometimes even by venturing to entreat them, to ascertain the divine will vis-à-vis political and military affairs; the king was adjured to indite a personal copy of the Torah from that of the priests and Levites and commanded to keep it close at hand and read from it daily all his life in order to instill humility, reverence for the divine, and obedience to divine law. Initially, the king was subservient to the high priest, who represented the Torah, but was later, in the wake of Eli the Priest’s wayward sons, given the right to appoint the high priest. Whereas priesthood and kingship relied on lineage, prophecy did not.

After the last prophet, Malachi, and the advent of Ezra the Scribe, a second Moses, the rabbinical Sages inherited the moral/spiritual leadership role of the prophets and expropriated the teaching role, biblically ordained for high priests and priests generally, during the Persian era. Thenceforward, in the absence of Jewish kings and prophets, high priests were compensated with increasing political clout, though this arrangement ceased with the destruction of the Second Temple. Since the subsequent fall of Bar Kokhba’s Judaic state in 135 CE, Judaism survived only by virtue of the preservation of the Tanakh and Talmud, all the while its practitioners consensually governed communally by a “sage-ocracy” in which merit (comprising breadth and depth of learning, wisdom, and rectitude) reigned.

As an idée fixe, separation of religion and politics is perhaps apropos nowadays for a multicultural/pluralistic secular democracy, a state of its citizens from all religious backgrounds or from none. In reality, though, even such ostensibly irreligious states routinely accept religion-creep, whether in their coinage, emblems, anthems, or leaders’ keynote addresses. But if Israel is not meant to establish a godless republic for statehood’s sake, then separation of religion and politics plainly does not pertain and will not avail.

As a polity with a peculiar heritage, the State of Israel is special; it requires a religious dimension and a political dimension, and at issue is the optimal orchestration and choreography of these complementary elements.

Today the State of Israel is a hybrid commonwealth, partly Hebraic, partly Judaic, no longer staunchly socialist as were many of its founders and national institutions. Both those who would have a Hebraic republic and those who long for a Judaic state are ready to herald the dawn of the State of Israel’s next stage; they only dispute the preferred nature of the nation’s evolution. So the question becomes one of direction: which way is Israel headed? Towards a Hebraic republic without special premise or purpose, or towards fulfilling the age-old promise of the Jewish people?

Anyone who earnestly yearns for a Hebraic republic is in luck, because one exists: the United States of America. Its patriot founders established, and their Puritan predecessors envisaged, a democratic commonwealth based on the biblical principles of freedom, justice, equality of persons, law and order, moral-ethical conduct, and the sanctity of life. At one point Hebrew was considered for the official national language of their New World start-up, and Benjamin Franklin proposed that Moses grace the emblematic Great Seal of the United States. The United States of America was imagined and realized in large part by devout Biblicists and fervent Hebraists of the Christian persuasion; Jews for whom this suffices should and do seek fulfillment within its borders.

But a Judaic state America is not, and was not meant to be: America strives to be exceptional; Israel was designed to be exemplary.

 

Israel’s Covenantal Character

Notionally, the polity of the Jews was designed to be sui generis: Judaic in its premise; democratic in its process. The objective of the Jewish people establishing an independent, sovereign commonwealth in the biblical epoch, and reestablishing the same in the Hasmonean period, was not to add just another ethnic nation-state to the bustling Near East, but to found the framework for a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Should the point of the Jewish people reestablishing a commonwealth in the modern era be to add just another secular democracy to the world, essentially identical to every other?

Whereas the advent of the Third Jewish Commonwealth in 1948 was seen as a remarkable resurrection by gentiles and secular persons, for most traditional Jews it signaled no less than divine validation and Judaic vindication, a triumph over history’s arbitrary vagaries and vicious vicissitudes. 

As of 2017, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, there are 14.411 million Jews worldwide; the largest global Jewish community of 6,484,000 or roughly 45% lives in Israel. Most Jews the world over—hardly renowned for their eagerness to agree—can nonetheless minimally assent to the following: Jews must be sovereign; they must control their own destiny and assure their own individual safety and national security; they must be able to observe Judaism freely, to the extent that they feel compelled to do so. With respect to the State of Israel, a polity that is foundationally and structurally more Judaic, and not less, that is true to itself by inheriting its heritage, and not abjuring it, is the best way to achieve all of the above criteria and strengthen Jewish identity, thereby serving the wider world as a light unto the nations.

ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENCE DAY: It is an Obligation to Liberate the Land of Israel

In order to appreciate the full significance of Israel’s Independence Day, one must clarify what the day is meant to commemorate, as well as what this connotes within the context of Jewish history and Torah Law. One of the major reasons for the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut is to rejoice in the restoration of Hebrew independence in the Land of Israel following a long and bitter exile of the majority of Jews from our soil. Yom HaAtzmaut celebrates the liberation of Eretz Yisrael from British rule and the reestablishment of Jewish political sovereignty over our country.

In his supplement to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot, the Ramban teaches that it is a Torah commandment in every generation that the Nation of Israel take control of and inhabit the entire Land of Israel.

“This (a war to liberate Eretz Yisrael) is what our Sages call milḥemet mitzvah (obligatory war). In the Talmud (Sotah 44b) Rava said, ‘Yehoshua’s war of liberation was an obligatory duty according to all opinions.’ And do not err and say that this precept is the commandment to vanquish the seven nations… this is not so. We were commanded to destroy those nations when they fought against us and had they wished to make peace we could have done so under specific conditions. Yet we cannot leave the land in their control or in the control of any other nation in any generation… Behold, we are commanded with conquest in every generation… this is a positive commandment which applies for all time… And the proof that this is a commandment is this: ‘They were told to go up in the matter of the Spies: ‘Go up and conquer as HaShem, G-D of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear and do not be discouraged.’ And it further says: ‘And when HaShem sent you from Kadesh Barnea saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you.’ And when they did not go up, the Torah says: ‘And you rebelled against the Word of G-D, and you did not listen to this command.’” (Positive Commandment 4 of the Ramban’s supplement to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot)

The Ramban asserts that the conquest of Eretz Yisrael is a mitzvah for Israel in every generation and that we are forbidden from allowing any part of our country to fall into – or remain under – gentile control. It is found in the Shulḥan Arukh that all of the arbitrators of Torah Law (Rishonimand Aḥronim) agree with the Ramban concerning this issue.

“All of the Poskim, both Rishonim and Aḥronim, decide the Law in this fashion on the basis of the Ramban.” (Shulḥan Arukh, Even HaEzer section 75, Pitḥei Tshuva 6)

The Nation of Israel is eternally commanded to conquer and implement Jewish sovereignty over our country. Yom HaAtzmaut commemorates the fifth day of Iyar, 5708, when Israel fulfilled this mitzvah for the first time in nearly two thousand years by declaring Hebrew independence in portions of our homeland.

Aside from renewing the mitzvah of Hebrew sovereignty, there is another essential reason to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut. The Megillat Ta’anitteaches that it is a mitzvah to thank HaShem for the miracles He performs. This was the basis for sanctifying Ḥanukah and Purim. And like Ḥanukah, Yom HaAtzmaut commemorates the triumph of a small and ill equipped band of Jewish freedom fighters over one of the world’s most powerful empires.

The British had ruled the Land of Israel since World War I and had done everything in their power to prevent Jewish independence. While Israel’s political leadership grudgingly acquiesced to Britain’s imperialist designs, a courageous minority of revolutionaries launched a war of liberation that eventually succeeded in attaining independence. As Hebrew fighters displayed tenacious heroism in the face of nearly impossible odds, HaShem worked through these fighters to force the British Empire from Palestine. And it was on the fifth of Iyar – Yom HaAtzmaut – that the Union Jack was ultimately lowered from the Jewish homeland.

Throughout the period of our exile, scattered Jewish communities have had the authority to establish what is called a “Purim Katan” – a sacred day of thanksgiving meant to express gratitude to the Kadosh Barukh Hu for saving a community from danger. Since Yom HaAtzmaut is a day on which a miracle occurred for the entire Jewish people, it is a Torah precept to ordain a public festival for commemoration of HaShem’s kindness towards His people. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate declared that the nation recite Hallel on this day in order to remember the miracles performed on Israel’s behalf.

But if the commandment is really so obvious and clear, why would so many great scholars appear so unsure about – or often even vehemently opposed to – the State of Israel and the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut? The Gaon of Vilna answers this question in Kol HaTor (the Gaon’s teachings regarding the redemption process compiled by his student Rabbi Hillel Rivlin of Shklov).

“The Sin of the Spies… hovers over the Nation of Israel in every generation… How strong is the power of the Sitra Aḥra that it succeeds in hiding from the eyes of our holy fathers the dangers of the klipot; from the eyes of Avraham our father, the klipah of exile… and in the time of the Messiah, the Sitra Aḥra attacks the guardians of Torah with blinders… Many of the sinners in this great sin of, ‘They despised the cherished land,’ and also many of the guardians of Torah, will not know or understand that they are caught in the Sin of the Spies, that they have been sucked into the Sin of the Spies in many false ideas and empty claims, and they cover their ideas with the already proven fallacy that the mitzvah of the settlement of Israel no longer applies in our day, an opinion which has already been disproven by the giants of the world, the Rishonim and Aḥronim.” (Kol HaTorchapter 5)

The Torah debate over Yom HaAtzmaut is actually far more psychological than legal. Those who relate to Jewish history as having played out in ancient times, but being currently paused until the eventual arrival of a Messiah, generally restrict Jewish life to matters of “religion” often divorced from public life and national developments. But those who view themselves as participants in history and active characters in an incredible living story appreciate how current events – and even the actions we take – can have the power to impact and influence the Hebrew calendar.

The most amazing miracle of Yom HaAtzmaut is perhaps the foundation for all of the others. After so many centuries of persecution in exile, HaShem placed a new spirit of valor into our people. For the first time in modern history, a generation of Jewish heroes arose – willing to lay down their lives for the liberation of their homeland. And even more astonishing than this is the fact that the Kadosh Barukh Hu strengthened the hearts of Israel’s political leaders so that they would declare independence for the Nation of Israel despite being faced with overwhelming international pressure not to do so.

Yom HaAtzmaut is the most significant world event to take place in nearly two thousand years. It was on this day that HaShem returned the Children of Israel to the stage of history so that we may lead mankind towards a world of total blessing. It is the goal of Creation that the Divine Ideal be fully expressed through Israel bringing humanity to an awareness of HaShem as the timeless ultimate Reality without end that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all. The Maharal of Prague teaches in Netzaḥ Yisrael that in order for Am Yisrael to fulfill our historic mission, we must first unite as an independent nation on our soil. Only as a strong and healthy nation living a collective life of national kedusha can Israel reveal the greatness and unity of HaShem’s Ideal in every major and minor sphere of existence. Only through the vehicle of Jewish independence can we bring mankind towards a universal blessing through illuminating the world with the light of Torah.

The modern State of Israel – the foundation of HaShem’s Throne in this world – must be understood not only as His Divine handiwork but also as an early stage in the development of universal redemption – a process that unfolds through a series of historic events. While the current Jewish state has not yet reached the greatness for which it is destined, it must be recognized that the physical vessel once again exists in our world and will eventually grow to reveal its exalted inner potential. After so many centuries as a ghost walking through history, Israel again functions as a living nation on the world stage. The Jewish people has taken an enormous step forward by reestablishing Hebrew independence in portions of Eretz Yisrael. While the mere existence of a Jewish state was never the final goal of our ancient yearnings, it is certainly a powerful vehicle with which to now achieve Israel’s greater aspirations. The liberation of our people will continue to progress as new heroes arise to confront the challenges of our generation and advance Jewish history to the next stages of redemption.

“You Shall Be Holy”

“For I am HaShem your G-D – you are to sanctify yourselves and you shall be Kedoshim, for I am Kadosh; and you shall not contaminate yourselves through any teeming thing that creeps on the earth. For I am HaShem Who elevates you from the land of Egypt to be a G-D unto you; you shall be Kedoshim, for I am Kadosh.” (VAYIKRA 11:44-45)

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin teaches in Tzidkat HaTzadik that kedusha (generally translated into English as “holiness”) connotes a total dedication to serving HaShem as a vehicle to reveal His Divine Ideal in this world. Just as G-D is Kadosh and His kedushais expressed through both His transcendence beyond Creation and His immanence within every aspect of Creation, so are Israel meant to be Kedoshim through our ability to fully separate from the limitations of our world while at the same time involve ourselves completely in every aspect of this world. All of the Torah’s mitzvot guide us to realize and actualize our inner kedusha through being both completely in and of this world while at the same time possessing the freedom to live beyond it. This kedushaempowers the Jewish people to pursue our mission of bringing humanity towards total perfection and the universal self-awareness of man’s relationship to HaShem as our inner Divine Source.

In order for Israel to express the kedusha necessary to achieve our national mission, we must exercise our will power and rise beyond the temptations to partake from forbidden foods, gaze upon impure sights or give unrestricted license to our physical lusts. HaShem created a world full of delicious foods, beautiful sights and outlets for our most basic natural desires, which are not merely permissible but even beneficial in helping us to advance towards higher levels of consciousness and fulfillment. Asserting our will power to control and properly direct our cravings – rather than allowing those cravings to dominate us – permits us to experience our own power and inner Divinity. The Hebrew Nation was delivered from Egyptian bondage in order to be consecrated to an eternal national sanctity. Since becoming a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (SHEMOT 19:6) was a key purpose for Israel’s liberation from slavery, the Jewish people must strive to live up to our mission in all spheres of life, both collective and individual. Exercising our will to uphold modest behavior and dietary regulations are central components to Israel’s collective ethos and rich national culture, which can best be described by the term kedusha.

Beyond our own national culture and identity, Israel brings a special sanctity to Creation that appeared to be lacking from the world in its previous state. The consecration of the Jewish people is not a man-made idea but rather a Divine historic occurrence. Israel is the uniquely created national unit meant to express the revelation of HaShem’s Oneness in this world – His emissary on earth destined to fulfill the purpose of Creation and bring about human history’s ultimate goal. Just as HaShem isKadosh, so must Israel be Kedoshim in all areas of life, ranging from marital relations and business dealings to agricultural work and warfare.

The Nation of Israel is commanded to emulate G-D and to walk in His ways. As a hallowed society that lives a national life of kedusha, Am Yisrael is to participate in and elevate every sphere of life in order to reveal the inner connection of all that exists to the Divine Ideal. It is Israel’s task to function as a nation that radiates kedusha to the entire world, bringing mankind to an everlasting peace and to a conscious awareness of HaShem’s Divine goodness.

Are You Ready for Freedom?

Between Israel’s slavery in Egypt and the final redemption in Jerusalem, the story of the Exodus continues throughout time. In every generation we find challenges and heroes in our unbroken struggle for complete liberation as we inch ever closer toward history’s ultimate goal.

The festival of Pesaḥ is the holiday of Israel’s initial emancipation, marking the birth of the Hebrew Nation and HaShem’s great love for us. It was on this day that the Kadosh Barukh Hu took Israel out from Egyptian slavery in order that we become His human representative in this world. We were brought from subjugation to freedom in order that we establish the civilization meant to express His Divine Ideal and bless humanity with the light of His Truth – a light that can only be illuminated through Israel experiencing complete independence in our historic homeland. It is therefore precisely on Pesaḥ – on the birthday of the Hebrew Nation – that we must educate ourselves to the true value of freedom.

Rashi teaches that the miracles of the Exodus began on the tenth of Nisan, a few days preceding the festival. It was on this date that Israel overcame our fears and psychologically freed ourselves from the chains of bondage. Each household prepared to slaughter a lamb, one of Egypt’s most prominent national deities, and displayed it defiantly for our oppressors to see. Although the Egyptians would naturally seek to punish their Hebrew slaves for such an offense, the Children of Israel remained miraculously unharmed. This was therefore the day on which the miracles of redemption truly began and when Hebrew courage was first demonstrated after so many years of persecution.

On Pesaḥ of 5707 (1947), the last year of British rule over our country, an importantseder took place in the Jerusalem Central Prison. A few days before their scheduled executions by the foreign regime, six young men were conducting the Pesaḥ seder with Rabbi Yaakov Goldman. They were Dov Gruner, Mordekhai Alkaḥi, Yeḥiel Drezner, Eliezer Kashani and Meir Feinstein from the Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization) and Moshe Barazani from the Loḥamei Ḥerut Yisrael (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel). Dressed in their red death row jumpsuits, these boys were provided with haggadot and food so that they could sit together and celebrate the holiday of their people’s freedom for the last time.

The young men eventually arrived at the part of the haggadah which relates Rabbi Akiva and other Sages discussing the Exodus from Egypt all night in B’nei Brak. When dawn broke, their students came to inform them that it was time to say “Shema Yisrael.

The prisoners sitting around the table discussed where these rabbis might have been that they could not see the light of day in order to know the time. It is well known that these Sages had supported the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Roman Empire and that Rabbi Akiva had even served as Bar Kokhba’s personal arms bearer. Acting as the spiritual leader of the insurrection, Rabbi Akiva had gone so far as to proclaim Bar Kokhba the Messiah. These rabbis must have been hiding in caves from where they were organizing the revolt against Rome. They were discussing the Exodus – the importance of freedom – all night long and when dawn broke, their students came to tell them that it was time for “Shema Yisrael” – time to sanctify G-D’s Name through liberating the Land of Israel from foreign rule.

Nearly two thousand years later, these six young men – freedom fighters captured and sentenced to death – were reading the story of the rabbis in B’nei Brak. Dov Gruner said to the others, “It is a shame that our political leaders do not learn what Rabbi Akiva said, that if the Egyptians had not received fifty makot (plagues/strikes) and another two hundred and fifty makot at the sea, they would never have granted the Hebrews their freedom. If Rabbi Akiva understood that in order to become free, there had to bemakot, then why is it so difficult for Israel to understand now that we must give makotto the British in order to win our freedom?”

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Dov Gruner – ready to be executed by the British administration – internalized the teachings of Rabbi Akiva, who had himself been brutally executed by Rome. Now, after nearly two thousand years of terrible degradation, the students of Rabbi Akiva had at long last arrived. The students that history had been waiting for had come to proclaim that dawn was finally braking. The students – all dressed in red and eating a prisonseder only days before their executions by a modern incarnation of Rome – had arrived to reestablish a sovereign Hebrew state – even if at the expense of their lives. These were men who walked in the path of Rabbi Akiva, knowing that it was their final Pesaḥseder before singing HaTikvah and mounting the British gallows. And without fear or regret, they questioned why the official Jewish leadership of their generation had not understood the eternal teachings of redemption.

Prior to his execution, Dov Gruner wrote a farewell letter to his commander, Menaḥem Begin:

“Sir,

From the bottom of my heart I thank you for the encouragement that you have given me during these fateful days. Be assured that whatever happens I shall not forget the principles of dignity, generosity and resolve. I shall know how to uphold my honor, the honor of a Jewish soldier and fighter.

“I could have written in high-sounding phrases something like the old Roman ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’ (‘it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country’). But words are cheap, and skeptics can say ‘after all, he had no choice.’ And they might even be right. Of course I want to live. Who doesn’t? But what pains me, now that the end is so near, is mainly the awareness that I have not succeeded in achieving enough. I too could have said ‘let the future take care of the future’ while enjoying life and being content with the job I was promised upon my demobilization. I could even have left the country altogether for a safer life in America. But this would not have satisfied me, neither as a Jew nor as a Zionist.

“There are many schools of thought as to how a Jew should choose his way of life. One way is that of the assimilationists who have renounced their Jewishness. There is also another way, the way of those who call themselves Zionists – the way of negotiation and compromise, as if the existence of a nation were but another transaction. They are not prepared to make any sacrifice and are therefore forced to make concessions and accept compromise. Perhaps this is a means of delaying the end but, in the final analysis, it leads to the ghetto. And let us not forget that in the ghetto of Warsaw alone there were five hundred thousand Jews.

“The only way that seems, to my mind, to be right, is the way of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, the way of courage and daring without renouncing a single inch of our homeland. When political negations prove futile, one must be prepared to fight for our country and our freedom. Without them the very existence of our nation is jeopardized, so fight we must with all possible means. This is the only way left to our people in our hour of decision: to stand on our rights, to be ready to fight, even if for some of us this way leads to the gallows. For it is a law of history that only with blood shall a country be redeemed. I am writing this while awaiting the hangman. This is not a moment at which I can lie, and I swear that if I had to begin my life anew I would have chosen the same path, regardless of the consequences.

Your faithful soldier,

Dov”

Dov Gruner embodied the teachings of Rabbi Akiva and understood the struggle for freedom in Eretz Yisrael as the highest and truest service to HaShem. After receiving Gruner’s letter, Menaḥem Begin wrote:

“Great is the courage in Israel at a time of destruction and in this time of resurrection. We will be proud of them all and in all of them we will recognize holiness. But in the ladder of Jewish heroism, there is one level that is supreme. And from that level arises those who are Harugei Malkhut (martyrs of the kingdom). They were fighters whose fighting was not passive. It was active. They were revolutionaries whose revolution was not without choice but initiated. They went to the gallows and their heroism was not once. It is eternal. From their bleeding hearts, a song of freedom was sung. The song that sang how there is no purpose in being slaves anymore and that freedom would win and justice would arrive. And now, G-D of Israel, I tell You: Because You have given Israel such children as these, I say ‘Yitgadal V’Yitkadash Sh’mei Rabbah.’”

Begin declares “Yitgadal V’Yitkadash Sh’mei Rabbah” – “May His Great Name be exalted and sanctified.” The evidence that G-D’s Name is exalted and sanctified is that Israel has sons who are prepared to give their lives – boys ready to sacrifice themselves on the alter of Israel’s freedom so that the next generation would see a Hebrew flag over Jerusalem.

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The legendary tzadik of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Levine, came to see Yeḥiel Drezner before he was taken to the gallows. When Drezner asked the pious sage for help with the confessional prayer before death, Rabbi Levine began to cry. He told the young fighter not to worry about death and that the confessional prayer is not necessary for martyrs.

And dawn broke. The British retreated from Eretz Yisrael shortly after the execution of these courageous boys. A Hebrew flag signifying renewed Jewish independence once again soared over portions of our homeland, initiating the first flowering of Israel’s redemption.

The Talmud (Brakhot 20a) asks why Israel experienced less open miracles in Talmudic times than in Biblical times. The Sages question if it might be because the Jewish people in Talmudic times were less immersed in the study of Torah. But the Talmud dismisses this and answers that it can be proven that there were Biblical generations that studied less Torah yet still experienced greater miracles. The Talmud continues by revealing that the difference is not due to a distinction in scholarship but rather to a distinction in self-sacrifice for the Hebrew mission. Israelis in Biblical times were more willing to give their lives for the sanctification of G-D’s Name. The Talmud therefore concludes that miracles are a result of courage and selfless devotion. When Israel is ready to meet HaShem half way, we are rewarded with assistance and great Divine kindness.

So dawn breaks not when Rabbi Akiva has students who merely study the Torah but rather when he has students who actually live the Torah and are willing to give their lives for the advancement of Jewish history. The young death row inmates understood what the haggadah means when it proclaims that next year the Jewish people will be free. In blood and fire Hebrew sovereignty fell and in blood and fire it would again rise. The haggadah is not simply a book that teaches us what took place once upon a time in Egypt. Nor is it merely an instruction manual for properly conducting the rituals of aseder. The haggadah in every generation is meant to teach Israel how to liberate our people and to understand the basic values of our freedom. The heroic martyrs of the pre-state Jewish underground were not simply fighters. They were educators – educators for a generation who did not yet understand the true meaning of freedom. And when the Jewish people will understand the true significance and value of Hebrew liberation, there will no longer be any necessity for such martyrs.

The lesson is clear. Freedom is a miracle and miracles require valor. History demands that Israel establish a kingdom that will manifest the Divine Ideal in all spheres of national life in order to liberate humanity from a world of systemic injustice and false dogmas. But in order to accomplish this lofty mission we must first psychologically free ourselves, as did our ancestors in Egypt on the tenth of Nisan. The sooner we believe in ourselves and in our ability to stand proud as a strong moral force among nations, the closer we will come to expressing the full grandeur of HaShem’s Ideal for this world and ushering in an era of total blessing for humankind.

Purim’s Lesson: Trust in G-d and Nothing Else

Throughout the entire Scroll of ESTHER, G-D’s Name does not appear even once. Upon a casual reading, it would seem that Haman, Aḥashverosh, Mordekhai and Esther are fully responsible for the incidents taking place. Intrigue, human jealousies and political machinations all account for the twists and turns within the Megillah as events of great significance to the Jewish people unfold.

After completing the Megillah, however, it becomes clear that the juxtaposition of all the coincidences is nothing short of miraculous, as HaShem’s authorship becomes visible through the thin veil of history. It is important to note that the story took place over a period spanning roughly ten years. Aḥashverosh’s party took place in 3395, Haman drew the lots in 3404 and Israel won our victory in 3405 (dates according toSeder HaDorot). Living through that period, one would probably not have noticed anything extraordinary taking place as everything was unfolding according to a natural progression of political events. There was nothing especially supernatural about the series of occurrences we retroactively understand to have been miraculous.

Our Sages teach in the Jerusalem Talmud (Brakhot 1:1) that the Purim story serves as a model for understanding the process of Israel’s ultimate redemption. Through the epic story of mankind, the Kadosh Barukh Hu weaves the goal of Creation. When making the effort to closely examine our own times from a more holistic perspective, we can see HaShem orchestrating the historic events – large and small – that have brought the Jewish people back to our borders and are bringing the world ever closer to perfection.

We celebrate Purim today with great joy because we are familiar with the story’s happy conclusion. But the Hebrews of ancient Persia – who actually lived through the events – must have been terrified at the threat of state-sanctioned annihilation. And Mordekhai, who the Jewish people now praise as a national hero, was actually much less appreciated in his own generation. A superficial reading of ESTHER can even lead one to attribute Mordekhai blame for placing his people in such a dire situation.

“All the king’s servants at the king’s gate would bow down and prostrate themselves before Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him. But Mordekhai would not bow and would not prostrate himself.” (ESTHER 3:2)

The rabbinic leadership of Shushan at the time strongly condemned Mordekhai’s refusal to kneel before Haman. Comfortable with life on foreign soil, they feared Mordekhai might provoke Persian Jew-hatred and spoil their enjoyable Diaspora existence. But Mordekhai could not bow down to Haman, who had either engraved the image of an idol on his robes (Ibn Ezra) or attributed to himself the powers of a deity (Rashi). Because it is known that the Torah requires one to die rather than bow down to a false god, the condemnation of Mordekhai seems somewhat unjustified.

In Ohr Ḥadash, the Maharal of Prague clarifies the rabbinic position by explaining that Mordekhai went out of his way to appear before Haman in order to purposefully demonstrate that he would not kneel, thus creating an otherwise avoidable confrontation. The Sages record how the Jews of Persia reacted.

“They said to Mordekhai, ‘Know that you are putting us at the mercy of that evil man’s sword!’” (Agadat Esther 3:2; Megillah 12:2, commentary of the Radvaz)

“So the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordekhai, ‘Why do you disobey the king’s command?’ Finally, when they said this to him day after day and he did not heed them, they told Haman, to see whether Mordekhai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew.” (ESTHER 3:3-4)

A close reading of the Megillah reveals that Mordekhai’s refusal to kneel before Haman was not an isolated occurrence. Rather, he had gone out of his way several times in order to walk near the minister and publicly antagonize him. Because Mordekhai could have easily avoided the situation but instead engaged in actions that were deliberately confrontational, Shushan’s Jewish leaders seem justified in their condemnation.

Even when Mordekhai saw that “Haman was filled with wrath” (ESTHER 3:5), he continued to intentionally provoke the king’s viceroy. Based on his actions and the Talmud’s teaching (Pesaḥim 64b) that a person is forbidden from relying on miracles, one could easily argue that Mordekhai behaved irresponsibly with the lives of his people. The Maharal, however, defends Mordekhai’s behavior by asserting that challenging Israel’s enemies ultimately leads to the full manifestation of HaShem’s Ideal for this world.

The Midrash recounts that Mordekhai explained to Haman that the reason he would not bow was that he was born of kings from the tribe of Binyamin. Haman countered, “But Yaakov, Binyamin’s father, bowed before Esav, my ancestor.” Mordekhai answered him in turn, “Yes, but that was before Binyamin was born. He was born in Eretz Yisrael, and his soul, therefore, was an elevated soul. He would not bow down before others.” (Esther Rabbah 7:9)

Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Ḥarlop – a leading student of Rabbi Avraham Yitzḥak HaKohen Kook – explains in the sixth volume of Mei Marom (based on teachings from the holyZohar) that subordination to gentile rulers is a form of idolatry. Israel must trust completely in the Kadosh Barukh Hu, who controls and directs all historic events. To fear foreign nations is to reject HaShem’s supremacy and a terrible desecration of His Divine Ideal.

The Talmud (Brakhot 7b) discusses whether appeasement or confrontation is the proper course of action when dealing with gentile antagonism towards Israel. While Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai – who himself resisted the Roman oppressors of his generation – teaches that it is acceptable to antagonize and provoke the wicked, the Talmud concludes that not everyone is capable of following this position. Only a person whose motivation is purely for the sake of heaven can allow himself to take such dangerous risks.

Mordekhai refused to humble himself before Haman, arguing that Hebrews must stand strong in the face of aggression. The rabbinic leadership of Shushan agreed with Mordekhai in principle but felt that in order to display such courage, the Jews had to first feel internally strong. Mordekhai rejected the notion that his people were weak and instead recognized Israel’s true inner potential. He argued that even if Jews first need to feel internal strength before being able to stand against Haman, that strength will never come while they remain on their knees. In fact, bowing to tyrants is precisely what leads people to mistakenly believe they lack the power to assert their rights. Haman was already seeking an excuse to destroy Israel and demands for submission could easily lead to further oppression. Appeasing evil, according to Mordekhai’s logic, would only succeed in encouraging further evil.

As HaShem’s chosen people and national expression in this world, Israel must realize our own inner strength. When the Persians came to destroy the Jews, Mordekhai led our people into battle and prevailed. The actual decree to annihilate Israel had not been rescinded and the Jews were required to take up arms against our enemies. At that point, Israel realized our true inner might by taking the initiative and killing 75,800 Persians without losing even a single Hebrew life. The message is clear for every generation. Israel must demonstrate confidence in ourselves and an iron determination to defy our oppressors. Mordekhai teaches that it is not through appeasement that one achieves peace but rather through the courage, self-assurance and unbreakableEmunah that empowers us to resist the malevolent plans of our antagonists.

“Everything in Creation belongs to Him”

“Speak to the Children of Israel and they shall take to Me a portion, from every man whose heart will motivate him you shall take My portion.” (SHEMOT 25:2)

It is important to note that the above verse does not state “give Me a portion,” which would imply that property belongs to people who must now give from what is theirs to HaShem. The verse instead reads “take to Me a portion” meaning that Israel is to take from the Kadosh Barukh Hu what is in reality His and return it to Him as an offering. Man possesses no genuine ownership because everything that exists is the property of HaShem. He bestows it to man for use and even then only according to certain guidelines, the foremost condition being that His supreme ownership be acknowledged. This recognition is practiced in various ways, such as reciting brakhot on that from which one derives benefit, returning terumah and ma’aser to Kohanim and Levi’im, offering korbanot at the Temple in Jerusalem and giving tzedakah to those in need.

The Torah concept of tzedakah differs greatly from the gentile notion of charity. Western civilization views charity as a kindhearted act, as if the property truly belongs to the giver. If one wishes to donate portions of his wealth to the needy, he merits praise for his generosity. This view lies in direct contrast to the Torah concept of tzedakah, which is a Divine commandment based on tzedek (justice) and not on the generosity of a benevolent individual.

Despite significant differences between them, socially constructed economic systems and modes of production are generally based on the false perception that material goods actually belong to man. In this regard, there is little significant difference between conflicting ideologies that all falsely accept property as belonging to human beings.

Productive forces are gifts from HaShem. Not just the tools, materials and technologies used to produce goods but also forces such as human strength, creativity, intelligence and ingenuity. These are all bestowed upon man in order that we use them to construct an ideal world that will bring ultimate blessing to humankind.

Everything that exists is actually a unique expression of the timeless and boundless ultimate Reality we call HaShem. Everything in Creation belongs to Him and is given to man only in order that it attain full elevation in His service. Man is commanded to give in this world. Even one’s very life belongs to the Kadosh Barukh Hu and holds worth only to the extent that it is lived according to His Will. Therefore, whoever relates to property as if it is his own is on some level guilty of stealing from HaShem.

In the nineteenth chapter of Mesillat Yesharim, Rabbi Moshe Ḥaim Lutzatto elaborates on this point through the familiar example of Kayin and Hevel.

“Hevel offered of the first-born of his sheep and of their fats, and Kayin offered of the worst of the fruits of the earth, as we are told by our Sages of blessed memory (Bereishit Rabbah 22:5). What was the outcome? (BEREISHIT 4:4-5), ‘And HaShem gave heed to Hevel and his gift, but to Kayin and his gift He gave no heed.’ And (MALAKHI 1:14), ‘Cursed is the deceiver who has in his flock a male, but pledges and sacrifices an abomination to G-D… for I am a great King.’”

Hevel understood himself and everything he owned to have originated from HaShem. By offering the best of what he had to give, Hevel declared that he personally possessed nothing as everything ultimately belongs to G-D. Kayin, by contrast, was only prepared to offer his leftovers, indicating that he had no obligations to anyone and only gave to HaShem as an act of generosity. Thus his name Kayin – from kaniti (I have acquired) – implied that everything he owned belonged solely to him. By viewing his offering as a charitable act, Kayin essentially related to the Kadosh Barukh Hu as a beggar.

Our time, talents, skills and possessions are all gifts from HaShem to be used in His service. When a Jew puts himself and his private interests above the aspirations and mission of the collective Hebrew Nation, he is in actuality relating to G-D as a beggar. When one places his own pleasure, career or even personal mitzvot above the needs ofClal Yisrael and the broader human collective, he is expressing a base egoism and stealing from HaShem. Even those who immerse themselves in the study of Torah day and night must be careful to keep in mind that doing G-D’s Will is our primary function and that He has tasked the Jewish people with a unique historic mission that transcends each person’s individual success or piety.

Like material possessions and the means of production, our very lives belong to HaShem. This accounts for the Torah’s sharp prohibition against suicide. One’s life is not his own to destroy. Nor is it his own to preserve at the expense of the Hebrew mission. The Torah commands us to lay down our lives rather than commit certain specified prohibitions. Most important, a Jew is required to give up his life for the sanctification of G-D’s Name (how His Divine Ideal is perceived) in this world. InHilkhot Melakhim 7:15, the Rambam states that it is actually forbidden to fear our enemies in times of war. He further teaches that any Hebrew fighter who displays fear on the battlefield and withholds his sword from blood is essentially considered guilty of slaying fellow Jews.

The notion of giving everything to HaShem illustrates the difference between the mentality of redemption and that of the exile. In Israel today, Jews from diverse backgrounds are willing to leave their families and offer everything to their people. They are ready to take responsibility for the future of Israel as they go up to battle with the knowledge they may never return. Infused with a holy valor, the soldiers of Israel are prepared to give all of themselves for the national good because there is an understanding – although not always conscious – that Israel is one and that every individual Jew is responsible for the security and wellbeing of the collective Hebrew Nation. This readiness to give selflessly is true Ahavat Yisrael – the willingness to take responsibility and if necessary forfeit everything not only to ensure a better future for the Jewish people but also to achieve Israel’s goal of bringing humanity to a future of unparalleled blessing in the awareness of HaShem as the infinite Whole that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all.

The exile mentality, by contrast, is not one that focuses on giving everything one has but merely one’s extras as an expression of generosity. These crumbs could be charitable contributions to worthwhile causes, political lobbying and demonstrations, attendance at parades or even travel to Israel on solidarity missions. While some might argue these acts to be of some benefit to the Jewish state, they are often performed out of kindness rather than from a genuine sense of national obligation or a deep understanding of Israel’s inner unity.

The essence of Ahavat Yisrael is the willingness to take responsibility for the future of the Jewish people. It is being prepared to give everything – even one’s life – without fear. Fear originates from the mistaken exilic perception of our selves as individuals detached from the greater collective. Such egoistic perspectives breed irresponsibility, as is characterized by Kayin’s dubious question of “Am I my brother’s keeper?” – a statement that often leads a person to offer only his leftovers, essentially treating the collective Hebrew Nation a beggar. When a Jew suddenly experiences true Ahavat Yisrael, his mind develops a national consciousness and his heart begins to genuinely experience a sense of brotherhood and unity with his people throughout the world. He begins to feel discomfort at living in a foreign country and suddenly begins to yearn for the soil of his native land. This powerful love generally finds expression through active participation in Israel’s collective destiny and the willingness to give everything with the knowledge that it actually all belongs to HaShem. And it is those who find themselves gripped by this all-encompassing emotional force that will ultimately become the heroes who advance history forward.