Philistines and the Future of

Zionism The redemptive scenario of Rabbi Zvi Tau

That the Bible has played a central role in the history of Zionism is an indisputable fact. But how does it influence ’s current political reality? Is it a source of inspiration? Is it an historical testimony? Or could it be that Scripture is also scripting our very present?

{ By YOSEF ACHITUV

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HAVRUTA | 71 he Orthodox nationalism of the eternal warmongers in God’s historical Rabbi Zvi Tau, an important plan, and must be dealt with accordingly. World War II veteran and his grandson in figure in contemporary Tau’s argument is all the more fascinating their sukkah religious Zionist circles, blends because of the Jewish sources that underlie /// Margelan, Fergana allT three of these ideas. Born in 1936, Tau it. He relies on a very specific reading of Valley, Uzbekistan, USSR, 1987 was a disciple of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, biblical commentaries by Elijah, the Gaon of the predominant religious ideologue of Vilna (known as “the GRA”), the towering the Greater Land of Israel movement after 18th-century sage famed for his fierce the Six-Day War. In 1997, Rabbi Tau led a opposition to Hasidism. Tau interprets the walkout of rabbis and students from the Vilna Gaon within the spiritual framework famous Merkaz Harav to found a of Rav Kook, who taught that the renewal competing institute, Yeshivat Har Hamor. of Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land The rift followed bitter disagreements constitutes one of the final stages in the regarding adherence to the teachings of attainment of Redemption. the yeshiva’s founder, Rabbi (“Rav Kook,” father of Zvi Tau’s unusual and creative Yehuda). Tau also accused Merkaz Harav of straying from the “proper” educational analysis of the Israeli- ethos, which in his eyes should consist Palestinian conflict has purely of religious studies, and not include any secular studies or professional training. generated great interest As rosh yeshiva of Har Hamor, Tau wields among some Israelis - and considerable influence in the right-wing religious nationalist camp. He teaches concern among others. that the State of Israel is itself sacred to a degree, and must be loyally served and Rabbi Tau’s reliance on the Vilna Gaon is protected. And his unusual and creative part of a growing trend in certain quarters analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of . Intensive efforts has generated great interest among some are invested in careful study of the Vilna Israelis - and concern among others. Gaon’s writings - and the studies themselves Over the years, various public figures are viewed as being divinely ordained, in Israel, religious and secular alike, have providing the means to speed the coming of voiced the notion that there is no such the Messiah in an age of atchalta dege’ula (the thing as a Palestinian people. According to beginning of redemption). Unearthing clues this seductive line of thinking, Palestinian and prophecies on contemporary historical nationalism is a modern invention with events, the Vilna Gaon’s interpreters seek no real historical basis, expediently to confirm his status as the true harbinger constructed in opposition to Zionism. of Zionism. But Rabbi Tau, perhaps surprisingly, Because of his status, Rabbi Tau’s views disagrees. Just as the People of Israel have are more than mere biblical interpretation: preserved and enhanced their unique they are received by disciples and identity for millennia, he contends, so congregants as concrete political instruction have the Palestinians - for they are none that is justified by a comprehensive, other than the biblical Philistines. Such theological worldview. This view maintains acknowledgement of Palestinian antiquity, that reality is permeated by a divine however, is not intended as a compliment. presence that determines the history of The Palestinians are resident in the Land as the People of Israel. What’s more, the fate

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and purpose of the People of Israel bear on conclusion: the Song of the Sea is proof of the future of humanity at large. All current the Philistines’ permanently disruptive events must therefore be interpreted role in history. “The role played by the against the backdrop of the redemptive Philistines,” writes Tau, “during Israel’s processes of the People of Israel. Daily settlement in its land and the establishment headlines have a metaphysical and cosmic of its kingdom, is the same role played by significance of which people need to be the Palestinians today, the neo-Philistines, made aware, and advancing this awareness the Philistines of today.” is an integral factor in the progress toward redemption. Tau speaks of a “chosen few” Rabbi Tau’s metaphysical - of whom he is one - who serve as agents of heavenly providence via their rare ability to interpretations of scripture decipher for the rest of us the unfolding of coupled with his reading of the divine plan. the political map have led him - and others of a similar The Bad Boys of History persuasion - to conclude Tau developed his unique conception of that Israel’s wars are not the Palestinian nation in a 2001 pamphlet entitled “Nihalta BeOzcha,” a phrase from mere historical events, but the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15, which cosmic necessities. means “You guided [the Israelites] with Your strength.” The Torah makes explicit The special nature of the Philistines reference to the Philistines as early as is made evident for Tau by the genealogy Genesis 10. They are listed among the listed in Genesis 10. In verses 13 and 14, the families of Noah’s sons that later formed Hebrew text sets the Philistines apart: “And the Seventy Nations of the world. Rabbi Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Tau takes this reference as the point of Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, and Pathrusim, departure for the Philistines’ divine role in and Casluhim, out of whom came Pelishtim, the course of human history. and Caphtorim.” “Out of whom came” is a Tau’s argument is based on the Vilna unique parenthetical wording within the Gaon’s elaborate exegesis of two verses long litany of nations, and clearly indicates, of the Song of the Sea: “The people hear, according to Tau, that the Pelishtim - the they tremble; agony grips the dwellers Philistines - were not intended to be “a in Philistia. Now are the clans of Edom legal member” in the family of nations. dismayed; the tribes of Moab, trembling Indeed, he declares, they “were not meant grips them” (Exodus 15:14-15). These three to be, there is no place for them from the nations represent three different threats to outset.” He buttresses his view with an Israel: “Moab is the father of the sinfulness ancient midrash, cited by Rashi, claiming with which Israel had been marred, and that the Philistine nation was born out of Edom is the father of the most destructive illegitimate wife-swapping between the woes inflicted on Israel, and the Philistines Pathrusim and Casluhim. besieged Israel heavily, preventing them The Philistine deviation from the “normal from having any regime and government.” order” of nations is a necessary component In Rabbi Tau’s hands, the Vilna Gaon’s of Tau’s dialectical scenario. “This also has a interpretation leads to a far-reaching program,” he argues. “We have here a reality

HAVRUTA | 73 Just as the People of gives the Philistines a paradoxical role. Their rebellion against Jewish sovereignty Israel have preserved and over the Land of Israel intensifies the enhanced their unique metaphysical power inherent within the Jewish People, thus enabling Israel to identity for millennia, Rabbi preserve the very sovereignty against which Tau contends, so have the the Philistines are rebelling. Explains Tau: “One must understand this Palestinians - for they are divine technique for the creation of history none other than the - how the Lord of the Universe arranges the powers and establishes the precise point of biblical Philistines. opposition and pressure, which in the end will give rise to the Kingdom of Israel in the of a people that is preoccupied only with most successful and effective manner.” abandoning order, so that when they are Rabbi Tau emphasizes that “Philistine vanquished, this same order is reaffirmed nationhood has no self-contained moral, all the more forcefully.” The divine plan historical or ideal content in and by itself.” that pulls the strings of world history thus Apart from their supporting role in the

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founding of a new Kingdom of Israel, the Philistines are at the height of their “they do not have ideals, nor a purpose, military success and the height of their nor a foundation.” That this is true of the strength,” and indeed today, when “the People The Hebrew Academy, the Luxor Hotel Palestinians in our own time is crystal-clear of Israel return to their land, [and] the State /// Las Vegas, Nevada, to Tau, who finds convenient analogies of Israel has been founded at the end of Days, USA, 1994 between their behavior and that of their there are Philistines too.” “Baruch hashem Philistine forebearers. In the Bible, the sheyeshnam,” he writes; God be praised that Philistines gloated over the plight of the they exist, for if they are here “it is a sign that blinded Samson, betrayed by Delilah: “As the divine mechanism of history is working their spirits rose, they said, ‘Call Samson perfectly, and that God has not abandoned here and let him dance for us.’ Samson was us.” To which he adds, with no apparent irony: fetched from the prison, and he danced “Personally, I have nothing against them.” for them” (Judges 16:25). So too, says Tau, Tau’s reasoning leads to the inevitable when an enemy rocket lands on Israel, the conclusion that the Philistine-Palestinians Palestinians “mount the rooftops and rejoice, have no future, since they, unlike Jews, since this is the inner essence of their whole do not have an inherent positive essence. national organization.” Later in the Bible, Once their purpose runs its full course, when “David’s kingdom reaches , he predicts, they will disintegrate. “The

HAVRUTA | 75 rebirth of Israel constitutes liberation, a wars play a positive and productive role in complete victory over this national non- history. As part of the “natural” regulation of entity, as opposed to the true and eternal the universe, wars are also “natural.” When national entity of God’s Holy People.” two nations are at war, each side refines and asserts its national uniqueness in contrast to the identity of its enemy, thus achieving the War is Good full potential of its national essence. Rabbi Tau’s understanding of Palestinian In elaborating the divinely ordained nationhood may be objectionable to Jews of a processes of human progress, Rabbi Kook more liberal temperament, but he cannot be avoided questions about the morality of war accused of timidity. He goes so far as to claim and the human suffering it entails. In his that the recent discovery of mystical writings philosophy of history, wars are instruments by the Vilna Gaon - namely, the texts that for the hastening of redemption. The support Tau’s eschatological argument - is terrible War of Gog and Magog described in in itself another act of divine intervention. the Book of Ezekiel is expected before the Further proof of Tau’s boldness as a thinker arrival of the Messiah for a reason: is his harnessing of the Vilna Gaon’s exegeses to the ultimate religious-nationalist Wars enhance the unique value of every authority, Rav Kook himself. nation, until its form emerges and is actualized fully, down to its innermost, most profound details. Israel is the general ‘The role played by the aspaklarya [mirror] to the entire world … hence each time kingdoms challenge one Philistines,’ writes Tau, ‘during another, plans for the full actualization of Israel’s settlement in its land the nations go into effect, are drawn up, and naturally Knesset Yisrael is instilled with the and the establishment of its power of actualization as she expects to hear kingdom, is the same role the footsteps of Mashiach who will arrive and appear soon in our days. played by the Palestinians today, the neo-Philistines, the Written amidst the horrors of World War Philistines of today.’ I, this passage could not yet have referred to a concrete struggle for Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Still, Kook considered Kook believed that the essence of the all military conflicts to be linked to the universe is dynamic. All of creation, human Jews’ progress towards redemption. In his history included, yearns to ascend from eyes, wars between other nations facilitate its material existence and merge with its Knesset Yisrael, which is the spiritual divine source. This ascent may be achieved perfection of the People of Israel. by actualizing the divine potential inherent For Kook, redemption arises out of the in the material world. Dialectical historical unique metaphysical essence of the Jewish processes reflect the “natural order” God has People. In Kabbalistic literature, Knesset impressed into the world. One of the laws Yisrael is commonly linked to Shekhinah, governing this divine order is that potential a feminine sefira or aspect of divinity, divinity can only be actualized by the which absorbs spirituality from higher activation of a contrary force. This analysis spheres. Kook believed that Knesset Yisrael leads to the rather problematic notion that is embodied in the concrete People of Israel,

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a belief enhanced by another image he uses comment by Rabbi Ya’akov Herzog, a former to describe Israel, “ha’askpaklarya haklalit ambassador to Canada and the-then director shel ha’olam, “the general mirror of the general of the Prime Minister’s Office, to the entire world.” The mirror analogy stands for extent that the Palestinians “have never been Knesset Yisrael’s capacity to passively absorb a people, and this is one of the miracles of the also the effects produced by events that are Land of Israel.” As Palestinian demands for not directly related to Jews. international recognition of their national The mystical role of war as imagined identity were increasingly acknowledged, by Rav Kook fits neatly into Rabbi Tau’s historical arguments seeking to dispel their interpretation of the all-too-real Israeli- national aspirations waned in mainstream Yosef Achituv, a Senior Palestinian conflict. Now that the People Israeli discourse. Among many religious Fellow at the Shalom of Israel can and do wage their own wars, nationalists, however, particularly those Hartman Institute, Israel’s redemptive progress benefits from fiercely devoted to the vision of the Greater teaches Judaic studies these wars in exactly the same way as from Land of Israel, the Palestinians continue to be at Yeshivat HaKibbutz wars between other nations. What’s more, in grasped as lacking any genuine historical roots. HaDati and the Ya’akov fighting against the Philistine-Palestinians, As our reading of Rabbi Tau has shown, Herzog Center at Israel’s potential courage is fully actualized. his thoughts on the subject are complex Ein Zurim. In this way, the bloody conflict brings nearer and paradoxical. For Tau maintains that An expanded version the rule of the Kingdom of Israel over the the Palestinians do indeed have very deep of this article was entire Land of Israel. “historical” roots, as they were born along published in Hebrew in Rabbi Tau’s metaphysical interpretations with the Seventy Nations of the world. Akdamot, volume 17. of scripture coupled with his reading of the However, in contradistinction from all other political map have led him - and others of a nations, the Philistine-Palestinians do not similar persuasion - to conclude that Israel’s possess any positive essence of their own. In wars are not mere historical events, but Rabbi Tau’s view, the Palestinians are merely cosmic necessities. Peace will come about a fake nationhood, a mock-people, donning not through any diplomatic pacts with the all the available garments of national Palestinians, but only when all nations - symbols, but lacking the essence, the except for the Palestinians - “shall see how internality, the self-generated contents of [the Jews] live under the light of the divine nationhood. The Philistines have no value, idea and the light of the content of Torah, function or positive talent required to prophecy, and Shekhina, and how these serve complete the human form of humanity by to shape the kingdom.” adding force, character and value. Certainly, Tau has no doubt that Israel’s military they do not have a grip on eternity in the battles are “wars for the establishment of same way the people of Israel do. our kingdom, for establishing our might and In today’s political world, such thinking national courage.” At the same time, they may seem absurd, but it cannot be dismissed should not be interpreted as an attempt as irrelevant. Rabbi Tau’s scenario of to convert others to Judaism: “We are not redemption is shared by a substantial mounting a Jihad war to impose the faith of number of Jews, in Israel and elsewhere, Israel on the world.” who reject not only the ethical claims of liberal Judaism but also the efforts of Modern Orthodoxy to embrace the rest The Practice of Theory of humanity. Considering the devotion of The historical validity of Palestinian his followers, one can only speculate what nationhood has long been problematic for impact Tau’s teachings will have beyond the Israelis. This is famously exemplified in a 1969 walls of the yeshiva.

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