YOM HAATZMAUT IYAR 5778 • APRIL 2018 ISRAEL EDITION Moshe Pridan (GPO)
Welcome!
Rabbi Doron Perez one century ago. In 1918, Rabbi Today, in 2018, we are grateful Head, Nissenbaum, Head of Polish Mizrachi, to present you with the new World Mizrachi launched the first “HaMizrachi” “HaMizrachi,” in honor of Israel’s 70th publication. His aim was to connect anniversary. Our aim is to bring Torat his inaugural edition of Polish Jewry to the resurgence of Jewish Eretz Yisrael – in all of its depth, variety, “HaMizrachi” echoes its life in Eretz Yisrael (Israel), following and veracity – to Jews across the globe. T namesake of exactly the Balfour Declaration. Yom HaAtzmaut Sameach! Rabbi Doron Perez MEGA-MISSIONS CELEBRATING ISRAEL’S MILESTONES Torat The Sacred HaMizrachi Last year, 1,200 people from around the world participated and the Secular in our 4-day Yom Yerushalayim Jubilee Mission, and this year Mizrachi is the global Religious Zionist movement, driven by its hundreds more are taking part in olda Meir writes in her memoirs Independence Hall on that momentous thus blazing a trail of partnership and mission to disseminate Torat Eretz Yisrael around the world, and our Yom HaAtzmaut 70 Mission – “My Life” – that one of the most day. The photo on the cover of our collaboration that is still thriving today. strengthen the bond between the international Jewish community moving parts of the Declaration inaugural HaMizrachi publication, and the State of Israel, in the spirit of the verse, “For the Torah shall go Gof Independence in Tel-Aviv in 1948 was capturing this duality of voices, They acted as they did because they felt the forth from Zion, and the word of God from Jerusalem.” when Rabbi Maimon, the Head of Mizrachi, quintessentially captures the indispensable only way to impact is from within. sitting immediately to the right of Ben- role of the Mizrachi Movement. The re-energized Mizrachi World Movement aims to inspire people Gurion, made the ‘Shehechiyanu’ blessing.1 From the outside you cannot influence; with a deep sense of commitment to the Torah, the Jewish people and What is that role? from the inside you can transform. the Land of Israel. At that moment she sensed the true – ( מִ ְז רָ חִ י) meaning of what the establishment of the In 1897, the Zionist Movement was The very name – Mizrachi Yom HaAtzmaut Sameach! State meant. founded. Barely 50 years later, with captures its core mission. It as an acronym (מֶ ְ ּכָ ר ז רּוחָ נִי) God’s help, they had remarkably created for MerkaZ RuCHanI It was not just another modern national a sovereign state. The collective physical – a spiritual center, striving to bring the movement of the 19th century European body of the Jewish people had somehow timeless values of Torah to the heart of the secular ilk but a distinctly Jewish one. A been resurrected. Zionist endeavor. BRANCHES RELIGIOUS ZIONIST OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN ISRAEL’S fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and a link AROUND THE WORLD SHLICHUT CENTER NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS in the chain of Jewish destiny. But would it also receive a soul? Would its Torat HaMizrachi is Torat Chaim – a 750 participants in our Shlichut collective fate turn into spiritual destiny? Torah of Life – committed to bring Torah conferences, and 300 shlichim were Ben-Gurion’s political proclamation and Could the national secular movement – which values and vibrancy to all areas of human Extensive Mizrachi activity in sent to 45 countries through the Rabbi Maimon’s religious enunciation had achieved so much for the Jewish nation – and Jewish life. Aiming to fuse sacred and our EIGHT Worldwide Centers Shlichut Center and our partner echoed almost concurrently from also become a spiritual and sacred enterprise? secular, soldier and scholar, settler and sage, connecting youth, students, families organizations and adults with Israel In the religious world, many were skeptical. to come together to create a synergistic They were understandably ambivalent to whole and uplift all areas of Jewish THREE Mizrachi representatives in the Zionist Movement as it appeared to be collective and national life. the National Institutions: Avraham just another transient secular ‘ism,’ hence Duvdevani (WZO Chairman), Gael they kept it at arm’s length. That is our prayer too for this new publi- Grunewald (Head of the Settlement cation. It is our hope that its message and Division), and Rabbi Yechiel Wasserman (Head of the Center for However, a group of leading Eastern spirit of Torah thoughts and ideas from Religious Affairs in the Diaspora) European rabbis, led by Rabbi Ya’akov Israel will become a relevant, inspiring, Yitzchak Reines, thought otherwise. They and unifying platform between Israel and answered an emphatic ‘yes’ to the above Jewish communities all over the world. questions, believing they could and should ______MIZRACHI PRESS STUDENTS & YOUNG LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP TRAINING strive to build bridges – between physical 1 The thanksgiving blessing upon acquiring new items and spiritual, body and soul, national and or on living to see auspicious times. more books published in the FOUR 180 young leaders on Yavneh, a 68 participants on our two-year 2 past year by the Mizrachi Press, in partnership of Mizrachi and the OU, Shalhevet leadership program, religious, democratic and Jewish. Literally “settlement,” but a term used to describe Hebrew and English, focusing on the as well as the RZA Aryeh Fellowships, and 20 participants on our five the early community in pre-State Israel. centrality of Israel and Jerusalem in strengthening Jewish and Zionist year Manhigut Toranit program in And to support their beliefs, they formed our lives identity on scores of colleges campuses partnership with Kollel Eretz Hemdah, Golda Meir with the children of Kibbutz Shefaim, “Mizrachi” in 1902 as a distinct yet Rabbi Doron Perez is Head of training couples for senior leadership 1950 (GPO) integrated part of the Zionist Movement, the Mizrachi World Movement and rabbinic roles overseas
Mizrachi World Movement Chairman Mr. Harvey Blitz Head Rabbi Doron Perez Editor-in-Chief Daniel Verbov [email protected] 54 King George Street, Jerusalem Creative Director Jonny Lipczer www.mizrachi.org Production Manager Meyer Sterman [email protected] Follow us Design Estie Brauner, Leah Moyal Rabbanit Shani Taragin The Scarlet 70: Revisiting our The Talmud (Ta’anit 23a) recounts a to him: ’It will not produce fruit until 70 Thread remarkable story to teach us how to years have passed.’ Choni said to him: ’ Is Prophecies and Dreams understand the verse “A Song of Ascents: it obvious you will live 70 years, that you When God brought back those who returned expect to benefit from this tree?’ He said to The goal of a to Zion, we were like those who dream,” as him: ’ Just as my ancestors planted for me, I Choni prophecy is ’.h 1:12-17) explained we look to our past and future. too am planting for my descendantsZecharia) How dream-like it must have been for the Zechariah "שִ ׁירהַּמַעֲ לֹות: ְּבׁשּוב ה' אֶ ת that these 70 years began 19 years after sat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and Jews who returned (Nehemiah 42,360 שִׁיבַ ת צִ ּיֹוןהָ יִ ינּו ְּכ ְחֹלמִ ים." " not to predict “A Song of Ascents: When God 7:66) to see their homeland once again the Babylonian invasion, with the actual Rabbi Yochanan said: All the days of the he slept. A cliff formed around him, and brought back those who returned to and begin to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash destruction of Yerushalayim and the Beit life of that righteous man, Choni, he was he disappeared from sight and slept for 70 what will be... Zion, we were like those who dream.” (Temple) 70 years after losing sovereignty! HaMikdash in 586 BCE. He thereby distressed over the meaning of this verse: years. When he awoke, he saw a certain encouraged the fledgling Jewish state to “A song of Ascents: When God brought man gathering carobs from that tree. Choni e often recite this verse Unfortunately, political, economic, demo- build with confidence so that by 516 BCE, back those who returned to Zion, we were said to him: ’Are you the one who planted but to charge in liturgy and song, but graphic and religious tensions deterred the 70 years of destruction in Jerusalem would like those who dream.” He said to himself: this tree?’ The man said to him: ’I am his Am Yisrael with for this Yom HaAtzmaut Jews from rebuilding the Mikdash upon also come to an end! And they were like Is there really a person who can sleep and son’s son.’ Choni said to him: ’I can learn W(Independence Day) in particular, it returning to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) dreamers once again, because 19 years dream for 70 years? How is it possible to from this that I have slept for 70 years,’ and what can be conveys unique significance as we celebrate in 535 BCE. Disillusioned, they began after their initial return to the Land, this compare the 70-year exile in Babylonia to a indeed he saw that his donkey had sired 70 years of modern Jewish statehood. This to wonder whether the time was indeed prophecy of rebuilding the Temple was dream? several herds during those many years.” year we not only recall the sentiments ripe for reconstruction and fulfillment of fulfilled. , up to ripened fruits and fulfilled prophecies חָ רּובof gratitude and awe expressed in this prophecies. Choni HaMa’agel (Tanna, 1c. BCE) Choni witnesses the planting of a psalm, but also revisit the ‘original’ 70-year I am perpetually inspired as we relive this does not understand how 70 years of (charuv, carob tree) because he struggles to but we recognize the toil and the process. historical context, “When God brought So what happened to the promises of 70 time period of Shivat Tzion (Return to Exile followed by a return to Israel can be understand the poetic imagery employed While Choni disappears from sight, absent back those who returned to Zion” following years of exile and return? Following the Zion) 2,400 years later. In 1948 we returned compared to a dream, if the latter is brief to describe national revival from a state of from the process, disconnected from his (churban, destruction) to bearing family for 70 years, the farmer plants seeds ְחּורּבַ ןBabylonian rule. After 70 years of Jewish appointment of Judean leader Zerubavel like dreamers to Jewish statehood (this and fleeting. For Choni, whose detailed exile which began with the Babylonian as satrap (governor over the province time after nearly 2,000 years of exile), built demands for rainfall are immediately the fruit of Redemption. Choni does not for the generations to come and enjoys the invasion of Judea in 605 BCE, Cyrus of of Judea), Haggai and Zechariah appear homes and communities throughout the answered by God, 70 years seems like an comprehend the process of planting if the fruits planted by those before him. Persia allowed the Jews to return to their on the prophetic stage in 520 BCE, to Land and witnessed the re-fulfillment of eternity, and the simile of a dream – an results are not immediate. The carob planter Land and rebuild their Temple (Ezra 1:1) encourage the people to rebuild the Beit numerous prophecies, although Yerusha- oxymoron! His philosophical outlook is explains that only by planting seeds in one After 70 years of reliving the fulfillment of – fulfilling the words of God as prophesied HaMikdash based on a new 70-year layim (Jerusalem) was not yet in our hands. underscored in a conversation he has one generation may one merit to enjoy the fruit prophecies, we are recharged by the words 70 years earlier by Jeremiah (25:11-13). prophecy: day with a man planting a carob tree. in the next. And when one does, it behooves of Psalms to continue to dream – to plan But once again, it took us exactly 19 years him to prepare and continue to plant for the and plant for the future, to appreciate from the re-establishment of our statehood ”Choni said to him: ’ After how many years ensuing generations 70 years later. the 70 years of galut (Exile) and churban to rebuild Yerushalayim in 1967! The will this tree bear fruit?’ The man said (Destruction), to appreciate our returning and rebuilding in Medinat Yisrael and ְחּורּבַ ן / חָ רּוב echo Choni sleeps as the state of the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zechariah in our ears as we witness the remarkable blossoms to fruition together with the Yerushalayim of 2,500 years ago and of parallels of establishing autonomy and bearing of children and herds of donkeys. today. How tragic if we sleep and dream rebuilding Jerusalem over a 19-year span. As he dreams, fruits are germinating and – and how magnificent and fruitful if we Redemption children and grandchildren are being born. invest in our Land and in our children for As we reflect upon the past 70 years, the next 70 years, so that future generations we must marvel at the Providence (not and fulfillment This aggadah (Talmudic legend) is meant will bear the fruits of prophecies waiting to coincidence) of the 70 years’ prophecies " to resolve his difficulty and ours as we be realized. being revisited in our days. of prophecies revisit and appreciate Shivat Tzion in our "Those who sow in tears will reap 70th year of renewed Jewish sovereignty. in joy. He who bears the measure However, the goal of a prophecy is not to do not occur Redemption and fulfillment of prophecies of seeds walks weeping, but will predict what will be and passively wait for the in immediate do not occur in immediate or automatic return in joy, carrying his sheaves.” words to materialize, but to charge Am Yisrael fashion. We must plant, sow, invest, and (Psalms126:6 ) (Jewish people) with what can be if we chart a proper trajectory for our national- respond appropriately. This Yom HaAtzmaut, or automatic religious future as we simultaneously Rabbanit Shani Taragin is a how are we meant to respond to the past 70 harvest the fruits of generations of planters senior teacher and educator in years of fulfilled prophecies beyond words of fashion and planners before us. We have been like various women’s higher The “Exodus” – pre-State immigration (The Palmach Archive) praise and thanksgiving to God? dreamers who sleep for 70 years and wake educational institutions in Israel 4 5 Greetings from Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon Ask Israel’s Leaders the Do the customs of mourning Rabbi during Sefirat HaOmer apply to Yom HaAtzmaut?
Benjamin Netanyahu here are different customs as to HaRabbanut HaReishit, page 878 Weddings Prime Minister of the State of Israel when, during Sefirat HaOmer, to note 83 and see Shachar Ahalelcha III, According to Rav Yitzchak Nissim (ibid.), apply the customs of mourning. paragraph 36). it is permissible to get married on Yom TAccording to all opinions, the fifth of HaAtzmaut, because it is a day on which Iyar – Yom HaAtzmaut – is one of those We can suggest a new idea too. There are a miracle occurred and so the customs of days that we do apply the customs of those who say that Rabbi Akiva’s students, mourning do not apply. However, the Yaskil mourning. These customs of mourning for whom we mourn during the Omer, Avdi (III:10:2:7-8) rules that it is forbidden include not being able to marry, have a died in Bar Kochba’s rebellion (Rav Moshe to marry on Yom HaAtzmaut, since the haircut, dancing and listening to music. Tzvi Neria – Emunat Itecha 41, page 5). essence of the miracle was not the declara- Are these prohibitions allowed on Yom In other words, they died while trying to tion of the State but either the day of the HaAtzmaut? establish a state. ceasefire or the day of the UN’s decision. Shaving According to this, all our mourning is In practice, the accepted custom is not to If a person makes a simcha during the Omer, based on the fact they were not able to get married on Yom HaAtzmaut. such as a Brit Mila or Sheva Berachot, he establish a state. Therefore, we could is allowed to shave (Rama 493:2). This is certainly say the customs of mourning Celebrating Yom because it is a festival for him and so the laws do not apply on the day we did establish HaAtzmaut when it is of mourning do not apply (Shulchan Aruch, a State! not the 5th of Iyar Orach Chaim 559:9). Usually, Yom HaAtzmaut is not celebrated In practice, since Yom HaAtzmaut is a day on the 5th of Iyar (but close to it). This We can therefore apply a kal vechomer.1 of rejoicing, we do not mourn and it is per- is to avoid desecrating the Shabbat with On a day which is itself a festival, such missible to shave. One can even shave before celebrations and ceremonies. This is an as Yom HaAtzmaut, it is permissible nightfall in preparation for Yom HaAtzmaut exalted expression of the the State of Israel’s to shave (Rav Yitzchak Nissim – Yayin (Shachar Ahalelcha III, paragraph 37). Like- independence and a huge Kiddush Hashem HaTov II, Orach Chaim paragraph wise, it is permissible to dance and listen to (Sanctification of God’s Name)! 11; Rav Avraham Shapira – Sefer happy music (ibid. paragraph 40). Indeed, this is true independence – a deci- sion by the ‘Kingdom of Israel’ based on considerations of the Jewish Shabbat. So on whatever day that is each year, that is the day we recite Hallel and do not observe the customs of mourning.
______1Literally 'light and heavy'. It is one of the principles of determining halacha. Simply, it means that what applies in a less important case will certainly apply in a more important one.
Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon is the Chairman of the Halacha Kobi Gideon (GPO) Education Center
Photo of Rabbi Rimon: Yehoshua Halevi 7 Greetings from Rabbanit Rachelle Fraenkel Israel’s Leaders Chief Rabbi David Lau Memorial Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Of Israel Day My Heart is in the East redemption – “And I will take you to Me Because we kept these ideas .the collection of facts, a volume on a shelf בהפרש של שבוע was pleased to hear that World as a people, and I will be a God to you.” alive, we have been privileged to our years ago, my son Naftali Mizrachi is producing a new pub- witness Am Yisrael’s revival, the was murdered by Palestinian Memory is an experience, an identity – .constantly alive, forming, and being formed ְׁשנֵי ְמֵ י יזִּכָ רֹון ְסמּוכִים ּכָל ׁשָ נָה, lication in English for the benefit We are God’s people. return to Zion and the establish- terrorists.1 ְלטֹובַת הַחִ ּשּׁוב הַ ְּכלָלִ י Iof Jewish communities around the world . ment of the State of Israel. F When we are commanded to remember ּכַּמָ העֹולָה לָנּו עִ ם ְמדִ ינָה After cementing our unbreakable con- Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day the Exodus from Egypt, we do so ְכַּמָ ו העֹולָה לָ נּו ְּבלִ י. (This first issue is appearing in honor nection to God and to Torah, the fifth I commend World Mizrachi for its for Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims of Israel's 70th Yom HaAtzmaut. expression of redemption could be dediction to these values and for was initiated in recognition of terror being through dozens of practical mitzvot צור ארליך A few weeks later, we will be celebrating fulfilled: “I will bring you to the Land, disseminating them among Jewish an integral part of the ongoing war against (commandments) – actions or thoughts Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), regarding which I raised My hand to communities worldwide. There Israel’s very existence. A Week Apart that shape our memory, which in turn and then Shavuot. give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, is nothing more important than creates our consciousness, which then and I will give it to you as a heritage; I connecting the Jewish people to Nevertheless, my own Yom HaZikaron has Two adjacent memorial days, reshapes our actions, and builds our society. These dates represent the essence of the am the Lord.” each other, to our homeland, and to hardly changed since the murder. Lest there ever be any doubt: Jewish nation. Because our story – of a Torat Yisrael. What we sacrifice when we have a state, Our memory is a living memory. people returning to its homeland after We are to live in God’s Land. Sure, life has changed. Every day of it… but And what we sacrifice without. thousands of years of Exile – would not And with the dream of returning to Yom HaZikaron has hardly changed at all. A memory that builds life. have been possible without two crucial Praying and yearning for Zion and Eretz Yisrael being fulfilled in our Tzur Ehrlich conditions. Jerusalem have always been part of a days, I wish you all Chag Atzmaut It did not suddenly become mine. Because (Translation: Yiftach Ofek) And when we gather to honor the names Jew’s daily life, whatever the circum- Sameach (Happy Independence Day)! it always was mine. I always knew Yom and faces we have known, it is not a First, our acceptance of Torat Yisrael at stances. Even the Mizrachi Move- HaZikaron was mine; ours, the closest macabre memorial or an addiction to pain. Mount Sinai. ment’s name was and is a constant thing to a sacred day a secular calendar can You don’t have to lose a loved one to feel Our collective mission is to assure that life reference to this dream – “I am in the produce. that this date is part of your personal and in Israel will be better. In their merit, the This acceptance was also an acknowl- west, yet my heart is in the Mizrach – family calendar. We are a small society, and memory of their love will be embedded edgement of the fourth expression of the east (Eretz Yisrael).” Why? Because my parents made Aliyah everyone knows a fallen soldier, a terror in our caring for others; their passions will before I was born, and I had the privilege of victim or a bereaved family. live through our sincere but also loving and Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef growing up in Israel. respectful disputes. Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Everyone knows it could have been them Living in Israel This day of remembrance was never or their loved ones… Their sacrifice brings us closer together. those who dwell in the Holy Land: granted the promise of long life as well meant to be a tribute to or a time for the Their memory shapes our life. Around the World “That your days may be multiplied, as all the blessings promised to one bereaved families. We never felt it was Year after year, a diverse and oft-divided n my visits to different Jewish and the days of your children, upon living in Israel. commemorating someone else’s loss. Israeli society stands in solidarity around Jews everywhere connect to the pulse communities around the the Land which God swore unto your the shared memory of the price we pay for of the State of Israel through the news, world, I am always warmed to fathers to give them” (Deuteronomy A synagogue is not only meant for In Israel, Memorial Day is the time we the right to exist. through prayers, through the Jewish Osee the tremendous spirit and love for 11:21). prayer. Each and every Jew should congregate around the loss we all experience. calendar. We all join to celebrate the Israel. Everyone is party to it – young, set aside time for learning Torah, Yet our culture is not one of martyrdom. We miracle of independence, but just moments old, religious and less religious. Of course The Babylonian Talmud in Tractate particularly practical laws such as those will always cherish and celebrate life rather beforehand, we stand together, united not everyone is able to achieve the great Megillah teaches us that there are of Shabbat and family purity, either in than death. And when we remember, we in awe and reflection, remembering the aspiration, and simply leave their lives places outside of Israel which have classes at synagogue or with a family remember in totality, in depth, and in context price, the promise… and how precious the and immediately make Aliyah. Despite the same holiness as the Holy Land: member. This is so important because Yet our culture is not – a few days after Yom HaShoah (Holocaust mission is that still lies ahead. that, even while living in Melbourne, synagogues and Batei Midrash the future of the Jewish world lies in the Remembrance Day); a few moments before a culture of martyrs. ______Los Angeles or Paris one can still merit (houses of learning) anywhere in hands of every single Jew. the joy of independence. Read Tzur Ehrlich’s We will always prefer, 1Naftali Fraenkel was kidnapped and murdered together the segulot (unique qualities) of the the Jewish world, and they too will cherish, and poem on this page, which expresses this with Gilad Shear and Eyal Yifrach. Holy Land. be moved to Israel when the Final My best wishes and blessings to World " juxtaposition so poignantly. Redemption arrives. Mizrachi for this publication and for celebrate life Rabbanit Rachelle Fraenkel is It is well known that Israel has many spreading the Torah of Eretz Yisrael in rather than death Educator Avraham Infeld says, “Jews have a Torah educator at Nishmat segulot. Twice a day in the Shema we So, when you sit in your synagogue communities around the world. no history. They have a memory.” History is and Matan read the promise of long life made to in New York or London, you too are 9 Rabbi Reuven Taragin Seventy for 70 – Ushering in the Eighth Decade
1. Preparing for the Eighth country. Appreciative of God’s gifts, we feel to Israel and Jerusalem (Ketuvot 110b), he Torah portion of Shemini, responsible to help Israel become the place but also a process of continued personal in which the Jewish people in which the Shechina can fully reside. Not elevation. Rashi quotes our Sages prepare for the eighth day of the only in places of Torah and prayer, but (Bava Metzia 61b) who explain that TMishkan’s (Tabernacle) inauguration, is throughout the entire country. our fulfillment of mitzvot (this one in very appropriate for the week that ushers particular and others in general) raises us in the eighth decade of the State of Israel. The Religious Zionist community has above society’s norms. Our return to Israel grown in number and influence in both is meant to be part of this process – not After seven days of inauguration, our Israel and the United States. Let us cre- just a change in country code, but in moral ancestors were commanded to facilitate ate more space for the Shechina and help code too. the Shechina (Divine Presence). We too Israel become what God wants it to be. should reflect upon how to strengthen Raising our sights this Shabbat will God’s presence within our 70-year-old hopefully help us elevate ourselves to God, State. 2. Seventy for 70 thus allowing Him to reside within us. This Shabbat’s “Seventy for 70” program Through this we prepare for our parallel The State of Israel has grown over the expresses this goal. We prepare for physical Aliyah to a State infused with the past 70 years. Its economy, security, and Yom HaAtzmaut through nationwide Divine Presence. social structure are strong and admired Torah learning. Speakers are focusing on throughout the world. Religiously, Torat Eretz Yisrael, reminding us of the Israel is blessed with countless yeshivas, sweet Torah emanating from Israel and 4. Thank You seminaries, and organizations. There are emboldening us to continue our efforts on It has been an honor to direct this special more Jews learning Torah, strengthening its behalf. program. I thank the RZA and World Jewish identity, and performing chessed in Mizrachi, as well as the speakers, rabbis Israel than ever before. In Judaism, the number 70 represents and representatives who made it possible. As Religious Zionists, we aspire to the world’s nations. Our coming together something extra, something higher. as 70-plus communities is a statement May we all merit the blessing that Moshe Rabbi Soloveitchik, Rabbi Kook, and about ourselves as the Religious Zionist and Aharon gave our ancestors in this many others saw the return to and the Community of America. We come together week’s portion (Rashi 9:23): “May the establishment of the State of Israel as the as one community unified by our shared sweetness of Hashem, our God, be upon us. beginning of the Redemption process. ideals and goals for the future of the State May it be His will that His Presence infuses Rabbi Soloveitchik identified it as God’s of Israel. our efforts.” call to us. 70 years and much miraculous development later, this call has grown 3. Aliyah Rabbi Reuven Taragin is louder. The end of this week’s Torah portion Director of “Seventy for 70" We are even more convinced of the teaches us that Aliyah (literally, “ascent”) and Dean of the Yeshivat religious significance of our precious is more than just the action of moving HaKotel Overseas Program
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel, World Mizrachi and Religious Zionists of America – Mizrachi are partnering with over 70 communities across North America for a massive, multi-state Scholar- in-Residence Shabbaton the weekend before Yom Ha’atzmaut, Parashat Shemini, April 13-14, 2018. www.mizrachi.org/70for70 Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
But because Judaism is also the code of a society, it is also about the social emotions: The Heart of Judaism righteousness (tzedek/tzedakah), justice (mishpat), loving-kindness (chessed) and compassion (rachamim). These structure eventy years since the If there were only universals, the world nor a tribe, harbouring neither universal the template of biblical law, which covers Without a establishment of the modern State would consist of empires, each claiming the aspirations nor tribal belligerence. Theirs all aspects of the life of society, its economy, of Israel is a fitting moment to totality of truth and each demonstrating was to be a small land, but a significant one, its welfare systems, its education, family " land and state, Sremind ourselves of a mystery at the heart that truth by attempting to conquer or for it was there, and there alone, that they life, employer-employee relations, the of Judaism. convert everyone else. If there is only one were to live their destiny. protection of the environment and so on. truth, and you have it, then others do not. Judaism Why Israel? Why does the Hebrew Bible They are living in error. That has been the That destiny was to create a society that The broad principles driving this elaborate so resolutely and unerringly focus on this justification of many crimes in the course would honour the proposition that we are structure, traditionally enumerated as 613 is a shadow place, what Spinoza called a mere ‘strip of of history. all created in the image and likeness of God. commands, are clear. No one should be left territory’? The God of Abraham is the God It would be a place in which the freedom of in dire poverty. No one should lack access of itself of the whole world, a God unbounded by If on the other hand there are only some would not lead to the enslavement of to justice and the courts. No family should space. Why then does He choose any par- particulars – only a multiplicity of cultures others. It would be the opposite of Egypt, be without its share of the land. One day in ticular space, let alone one so small and and ethnicities with no universal moral whose bread of affliction and bitter herbs seven, everyone should be free. One year Only in Israel can Jews today speak the vulnerable? principles to bind them – then the natural of slavery they were to eat every year on the in seven all debts should be cancelled. One Hebrew of the Bible as the language of state of the world is a ceaseless proliferation Cherry tomatoes, an Israeli innovation (GPO) year in 50 all land that had been sold was everyday speech. Only there can they live The question, ‘Why Israel?’ is the of warring tribes. That is the risk today, in to revert to its original owners. It was the Jewish time within a calendar structured geographical way of asking ‘Why the Jews?’ a post-modern, morally relativist world nearest thing the ancient world had ever according to the rhythms of the Jewish The answer lies in the duality that defines with ethnic conflicts, violence and terror festival of Passover to remind them of what seen to an egalitarian society. year. Only in Israel can Jews once again Jewish faith and constitutes one of its most scarring the face of many parts of the globe. they were to avoid. It would be the only walk where the prophets walked, climb the important contributions to civilization. The Abrahamic covenant as understood nation in the world whose sovereign was None of this was possible without a land. mountains Abraham climbed and to which Judaism embodies and exemplifies the by Judaism is the only principled way Judaism God Himself, and whose constitution – the The sages said, “Whoever lives outside Israel David lifted his eyes. Israel is the only place necessary tension between the universal of avoiding these two scenarios. Jews embodies and Torah – was His word. is as if he had no God.” Nachmanides in the where Jews have been able to live Judaism and the unique, between everywhere in belonged somewhere, not everywhere. " 13th century said that ”The main purpose in anything other than an edited edition, general and somewhere in particular. Yet the God they worship is the God of exemplifies Judaism is the code of a self-governing of all the commands is for those who live in continuing the story their ancestors began. everywhere, not just somewhere. So Jews society. We tend to forget this, since Jews the land of the Lord.” These are mystical were commanded to be neither an empire the necessary have lived in dispersion for 2,000 years, sentiments but we can translate them into The reborn State of Israel in a mere 70 years without the sovereign power to govern secular terms. Judaism is the constitution of has surely exceeded even the highest hopes tension themselves, and because modern Israel a self-governing nation, the architectonics of the early pioneers of the return to Zion, is a secular state. Judaism is a religion of of a society dedicated to the service of God and this despite the fact that it has had to between the redemption rather than salvation: it is in freedom and dignity. Without a land and face almost ceaseless threats of war, terror, about the shared spaces of our collective state, Judaism is a shadow of itself. God delegitimation and defamation. Despite universal and lives, not an interior drama of the soul, may still live in the heart, but not in the all this, it stands as a living testimony to though Judaism, in the books of Psalms and public square, in the justice of the courts, Moses’ great command: “Choose life, that the unique, Job, knows this as well. the morality of the economy, and the you and your children may live.” humanitarianism of everyday life. between The Jewish God is the God of love: You May the light of the State of Israel, which shall love the Lord your God with all your Jews have lived in almost every country shines a little brighter each year, continue everywhere in heart, all your soul and all your might. You under the sun. In 4,000 years, only in Israel to be a blessing, not just to the Jewish general and shall love your neighbour as yourself. You have they been able to live as a free, self- people, but also to the world. shall love the stranger. The Hebrew Bible governing people. Only in Israel have they somewhere in is a book suffused with love – the love of been able to construct an agriculture, a Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks is God for humanity, and the love of a people medical system, an economic infrastructure, the Emeritus Chief Rabbi of the particular for God. All its tense emotions of anger and in the spirit of the Torah and its concern for United Hebrew Congregations jealousy are part of the story of that often of the Commonwealth “Doing good” for the elderly in Lod freedom, justice and the sanctity of life. unreciprocated love. @RabbiSacks . www.RabbiSacks.org 12 13 Greetings from David M. Weinberg Israel’s Leaders Israel Naftali Bennett MK Insight Minister for Education and Diaspora Affairs Israel is Winning and Head of the Jewish Home Party
Yes, the first two generations built Israel is no longer the young, cold strategic assessment leads or Samaria? Palestinian leaders can bellow sectors do lag behind). The country now and strengthened Israel against the fragile and weak country it to the conclusion that the State away at the UN, but everybody knows has natural gas and desalinated water Writing the backdrop of the War. But today, our once was. Israel is a hi-tech of Israel at 70 is winning. that Palestinians and Israelis (and others) riches, which should make Israel self- 70th Yom HaAtzmaut is an opportunity powerhouse exporting life- A are better off with the current situation in sufficient as well as a strategic player in the Next Chapter. for us all to shift into a new, positive saving medical, agricultural Statehood which Israel controls Judea and Samaria. regional resources market. narrative capable of uniting Jews around and cyber technologies to the Across Arab expanses, countries are Together. the world. world. There is good reason to crumbling, borders are being erased, and Diplomacy Aliyah say Hallel and give thanks on societies are being torn apart. In contrast, North American public opinion remains There are three million refugees on the srael was born only three Israel exists because the Jewish people this special day. the nation state of Israel is resolute, its staunchly pro-Israel – which means roads and high seas, and another 30 years after the Holocaust, with dreamed of returning home for borders unyielding, its society robust. Washington and Ottawa can be expected million could yet follow – all fleeing Jerusalem as its capital. Indeed, generations. Many people worked hard and to stand by Israel’s side. Moreover, Israel’s Africa and Arabia. Only Israel is attracting Iit was the collective memory of the many died so that we could stand Security diplomatic horizons are expanding to immigration: about 30,000 olim Holocaust that helped connect Jews to Israel exists because we never forgot on our own two feet. Now it’s up In the face of Iranian ambitions, Russian include allies beyond North American and (immigrants) a year. Most of them could go each other and to Israel. The knowledge Jerusalem, and ”Next year in a rebuilt to us – Jews all around the world – adventurism, and American retrenchment, Europe. Trade and security delegations elsewhere but they are choosing Israel! of what our grandparents went through Jerusalem” echoed every Yom Kippur to write the next chapter in Israel’s Israel stands firm with the strongest are beating a path to Jerusalem seeking forged a strong bond between Jews and every Passover from one end of the history. military in the Middle East, and with opportunities to cooperate with Israel, Identity around the world. earth to the other. steady, experienced hands at the helm. not isolate it. Behind the scenes, Israel’s One of the strengths of Israeli society is Vigilance, patience, and diplomatic relations with Egypt and key Gulf states attenuation of the religious-secular divide, 70 years later, that is no longer the Israel exists because the Jewish people nimbleness are seeing Israel through the have never been better. and intensification of faith as an anchor in case, and I think that is a change for the want to govern themselves, with a regional storms. the country’s oeuvre. Israel is increasingly good. Israel exists not because of the Hebrew-speaking parliament and society Strategy a nation of believers, with a mass spiritual Holocaust, but despite it. and a life based around a Jewish calendar. Territory Key global players have come to accept searching underway. This too is ultimately Israel knows how to defend its borders, Israel’s strategic platform, i.e. that main a source of solidarity and strength. Avraham Duvdevani and hasn’t made any serious withdrawal conflict is no longer Israel versus the Chairman of the World Zionist Organization mistakes lately. Can you imagine the Palestinians or Israel versus the Arabs. Overall, Israel is stronger than any of its suffering Israelis would be experiencing Instead, the main axis of diplomatic activity enemies. Neither the perpetual Palestinian had we withdrawn from the Golan Heights in the Middle East is an unofficial alliance conundrum, nor the Iranian threat to The Israel- possible to build Jewish life in the Dias- scholars) and major thought leaders between Israel and most of the Arabs Israel, nor the unstable regional situation pora without Eretz Yisrael at its center. who can delineate the path of Religious (together with Western powers), against – dim my optimism. Israel is winning on Diaspora Bond Zionism, and Roshei Yeshiva (yeshiva the Iranians and the jihadis. The forces all fronts, even though there are inevitable Therefore, it is the role of the Religious heads) and educators who can translate of stability and moderation (with Israel conflicts ahead. he historical role of Religious Zionist Movement to set the tone and this theory and vision into practice. leading) are arrayed against the forces Zionism – “Mizrachi” – was be the trailblazer in connecting World of radical Islamic revolution. So there is Furthermore, life in Israel is full of meaning always to be a spiritual-religious Jewry to Eretz Yisrael. Religious Zionism can and must leverage Israel is an Israeli “grand strategy” of sorts, and – adorned by sacrifice, commitment, Tbridge between Israel and the Diaspora. all this goodwill and understanding of "winning on all it has largely been successful. It involves achievement and joy; ingredients that make The Mizrachi has the ability and the the centrality of Eretz Yisrael among being both flexible and firm. It involves life satisfying and exciting, particularly Today, the overseas Orthodox tools to spread its wings and fly into those thousands of young rabbis and fronts, even positioning Israel as a regional anchor of for Jews who have long awaited a national community is supportive of a genuine massive action among hundreds of influential laymen and women. sanity and a global source of ingenuity. return to Zion. And this gives Israel connection with Eretz Yisrael, a thousands of Torah-observant Jews though there fortitude for the long haul ahead. bond that will express the content looking for reinforcement and motiva- And so I congratulate the World Mizrachi Economy of their lives as Jews. It is a fact that tion from the Holy Land, wanting to see Movement for initiating this publication, are inevitable Israeli science and technology is in high David M. Weinberg is the Vice- this population has an indestructible the new light illuminating Zion. which – through the special spiritual demand. Israel’s foreign currency reserves President of the Jerusalem spiritual and personal bond powers of Eretz Yisrael – will become conflicts ahead are deep, its debt manageable, its banks Institute for Strategic Studies with Eretz Yisrael. There are few Both in Eretz Yisrael and the Diaspora a source of strength and inspiration to solvent, its public educated and productive www.davidmweinberg.com religious Jews who imagine it is there are Gedolei Torah (great Torah thousands of Jews across the globe. (although the ultra-Orthodox and Arab www.jiss.org.il 15 Ordinary A New Start Agi had been exchanging We then went for a walk in the snow. He At that very moment, something exploded Heroes One-Way Ticket letters with Miklos, a young man in another told me all about his family and what he’d inside me. hospital she had not yet met. He came to been through in the war and, before we visit one day and it certainly wasn’t love parted, he asked if we could meet again. “I will only go to one place in the world,” I achel and Judith I too approached the sauerkraut barrel. at first sight. Like us, Miklos looked like a said to him. (Yehudit) Flohr were Judith couldn’t move and I wanted to bring Agi and Miklos (left), and Rachel and Mena (right) on their wedding day typical Holocaust survivor and Agi was not This time it was New Year and Agi and two young Hungarian her something, but at that very moment, impressed. I were going to their hospital, but we “Eretz Yisrael. If you decide to go to Rsisters who survived Auschwitz and someone accidentally pushed me and I fell Perhaps I would have ended it all there. didn’t have enough money for the train. Canada, we must say goodbye.” Bergen-Belsen. Rachel takes up the into the barrel! I can laugh now but it was Who knows how many like me finished A few weeks later, Miklos came again Thankfully, several passengers organized a story from the day of the liberation: disgusting. Somehow I got out though and like that? How many were slain by despair with five friends. It was a freezing cold collection to pay for our tickets. Mena sent the ticket back to his uncle. made my way to Judith with the cabbage in even though their bodies were still there – December night. One of his friends was ______… My sister was still on her feet. I my hands. battered, scarred and depressed? Mena (Menachem), who asked me out for Mena told me he had a ticket to Canada in Rachel and Mena married in Sweden and made Aliyah remember the spark in her eyes, the joy, as dinner in the hospital dining room. his pocket. He had an uncle there. in 1947. They had a son, Uri, and a daughter, Yehudit, she said to me, “The British are here! The “Look Judith! Food! We’re free! We’ll get to A little later, the British carried me to one named after Rachel’s sister. Rachel passed away in 2017. Germans are fleeing!” Eretz Yisrael!” of their makeshift field hospitals. I shuffled Quite a romantic setting… “Will you join me?” he asked, so happy, so This story is adapted from her and Mena’s memoirs and along and suddenly keeled over. That was full of hope. is printed here with permission. I was on all fours by then. I weighed 25 But Judith replied, “Rachel, I’m about the end. I knew it. I heard one of the doctors kilos and couldn’t hold myself up any to die, but you will definitely get there. say to a colleague, “Why did they bring her more. I was just too weak. But at last I Promise me you won’t go anywhere else. here? She won’t hold out till morning.” could believe we might get out of there. Eretz Yisrael is our country.” We would live! We would reach Eretz Hospital in Sweden A Belgian doctor Dr. Avshalom Kor Yisrael! The two of us. Together. As we had I refused to take her seriously. I was the came and asked me if I wanted to go to been until that day. If we had reached this weak one. The idea of her dying was not a hospital in Sweden, where they could moment and nothing had separated us – an option at all. It couldn’t happen because give me proper treatment. They couldn’t what could separate us now? I couldn’t cope with it. It couldn’t happen treat me properly in Bergen-Belsen and What’s because if one of us was going to die, it I couldn’t return to Hungary in the state I in a However, it quickly became clear that the would definitely be me, not her. was in. I told him I didn’t want to go back very compassion, mercy, and the will to to Hungary anyway. Word דֶ ּג ֶל save us was the final nail in so many of our On the morning of April 20th 1945, I tried coffins. to wake her up. Lying there in Belsen, I met Agi (Agnes) very country sees its flag as a [there is also an Arabic word with a simi- individuals, i.e. people whom others see as Biro, and we became firm friends. She was powerful symbol of national lar sound and meaning]. It could be refer- standing out within the group. After the British had entered the camp, “Judith!” the only person I felt close to then and we identity and a source of pride. ring to a group of three tribes together, as -means distinguished, prom "ּדָ גּול מֵ ְר בָ בָ ה" which is a unit one " ּדֶ ֶג ל מַ חֲ ֵ נ ה ְיהּודָ ה" and, like in , ּדֶ ֶג ל they broke open the food storerooms and decided we would stick together. TheE Hebrew word for flag is can see in one viewing. Indeed, when the inent, and visible, exceptional from the – .ד.ג.ל – handed out tins of preserves to anyone who “Judith, they’ve come to take us out of most Hebrew words, its root the thousands of people [we have – ְר בָ בָ ה asked. They also opened a huge barrel of here! We’re being liberated!” They put us on a boat and we sailed captures the essence of what a flag is tribes camped in the desert, and in their with this connotation .ד.ג.ל sauerkraut and the camp was now full of to Sweden.The locals met us at the port really all about. travels from place to place throughout the found the root people walking around munching cabbage. Silence. and gave us milk chocolate. That was the 40 years, groups of three tribes camped in Mesopotamia, in Akkadian]. .comes from the Tanach together in each one of the four directions ּדֶ ֶגל first time we had ever seen milk chocolate The word ּדֶ ֶג ל Let us examine its root: In the Therefore, we have learned that .(For an instant it seemed like the moment Judith, who had kept her portions of food but we didn’t eat it. We feared we would (Bible of deliverance had arrived, but only for an for me, who had carried me through the never see it again so we hid it under our wanderings of the Children of Israel In contrast, we find another, different has a deeper meaning than just a piece in Song of Songs of cloth or a group symbol. The flag ּדֶ ֶג ל instant… death march… Judith, my wonderful, pillows. on their way to the Promised Land, as meaning of the word ,is raised high and can be seen by all " ְ ו דִ ל גְ ֹו עָ לַ י אַ הֲ בָ ה" it says – in the expressions ,considerate, strong sister... Judith… described in the Book of Numbers arousing within us a strong sense of "ּדָ גּול מֵ ְר בָ בָ ה" Our digestive systems – which for so Deep down we were still prisoners. that they encamped, "Each man to his (Song of Songs 2:4) and also ibid. 5:10). collective identity, emotive attachment) “ י אִ ׁש עַ ל ”long had not been asked to digest more Alone Without Judith, I had no one in camp and each man at his banner .Numbers 1:52) and personal connection) מַ חַ נ ֲ ה ֵ ּו ְ ו י אִ ׁש עַ ל ּדִ ל גְ ֹו.” than a few crumbs a day, and sometimes the whole wide world. For the next four weeks, Agi and I lay side –" ְ ו דִ ל גְ ֹו עָ לַ י אַ הֲ בָ ה" not even that – couldn’t take these foods. by side and our relationship deepened. I In the expression People who had survived the hunger No one would even look for me. was suffering from heart failure, and my In this context, the flag describes a large his look upon me is a look of love Dr. Avshalom Kor is an Israeli means look. And so it is with linguist and expert on Hebrew ּדֶ ֶג ל – could not cope with the new abundance, lungs were in a bad way. But I received unit, a large group of people gathering people, worthy grammar and semantics (ּדָ גּול) and so many died. And I didn’t have the slightest sliver of good treatment and gradually began to in one place, like a company in the army distinguished strength to carry on without her. gain weight.
16 Photo of Dr. Kor: Roy Achiron 17 One on Is Israel Really One Reishit Tzemichat Rabbi Rabbi Geulateinu*? Ya’akov Ariel Yuval Cherlow
Rabbi Ya’akov Ariel 8. Israel is the only place in the world where However, will we open those gates? he Return to Zion in recent Shabbat is officially acknowledged as the Will we take that opportunity? T generations is one of the wonders national day of rest. of world history and of Jewish history in It is indeed a miraculous beginning, but particular. The visions of our Prophets 9. There have never been so many people this initial ‘planting’ could – God forbid – are coming true. And the process is just studying Torah in Israel. Religious, Torah dry up and shrivel if we do not work hard beginning! education is one of the official streams in to nurture and cultivate its growth. the education system. Every day, at least Here are just some of the signs: one new Torah-related book is published. Here are three things we can do right now: 1. The Return to Zion after 2,000 years undoubtedly expresses a transformation in There is still a long way to go before we 1. “Zion is redeemed in judgment, and her the Jewish people’s standing in the world. reach complete Redemption, but there is house shall be justice” (Isaiah 1:27). The There can no longer be such a thing as a no doubt the process has begun. And we foundations of Redemption are social jus- full Jewish life in the Diaspora. have been fortunate to witness it with our tice, truth, and charity. There can be no own eyes. May God follow through on this Redemption in an immoral society. 2. The “Green Revolution” in Eretz Yisrael miraculous start and redeem us and the is a realization of the prophecy ““And you, whole world speedily in our days. 2. The soul of the country’s existence is its the mountains of Yisrael, will produce your Jewish identity. We need to reinforce this branches, and you will bear your fruit for Rabbi Yuval Cherlow by minimal legislation, loving our fellow My people Israel, because they are about to n Jewish thought, the word human beings, and sanctifying God’s name. come.” (Ezekiel, 36:8) I “redemption” has two meanings. 3. Communicating to all Jews the strong, 3. Jewish sovereignty. After so many years One – coming back – is used in the weekly historical, intrinsic connection between our of subservience to foreign nations, the portion dealing with the release of slaves people and our Land, and the importance country is now under Jewish rule. This also and the return of land to its original of our nation remaining unique and united. has halachic implications. owners. In this respect, the State of Israel is definitely the beginning of the growth of These – and of course many others – will 4. The Ingathering of the Exiles. Today there our Redemption. further increase our chances of a complete are over 6.5 million Jews in Eretz Yisrael; Redemption. almost the majority of the Jewish people. We have an independent country; we have returned to our historical land, Hebrew Instead of begging for it, we will be acting 5. Israel boasts economic, scientific, has again become the language of life, and to bring it that much closer. technological and military independence more. We are living in an ongoing miracle, of the highest international standards. and just think about where we were 75 years ago and where we are today. 6. Most of the world’s countries Rabbi Ya’akov Ariel is the acknowledge our sovereignty over the The second meaning of redemption is Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Land, despite it contradicting Christian looking ahead, to the future awaiting the RamatGan theology. Jewish people. Rabbi Soloveitchik taught us that the concept of Redemption should Rabbi Yuval Cherlow is Rosh 7. The liberation of Jerusalem and be understood as a knock on the gates, a Yeshiva of Yeshivat Amit Orot the Temple Mount are the start of the wonderful, God-given opportunity. Shaul and a founding preparations for the Third Temple. member of Tzohar
Ariel: Akiva Nisenholz, Rabbi Cherlow: Michael Katz 19 l Photo of Rabbi ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו - The beginning of the growth of our Redemption* 18