The Religious Significance of Independence Day

by Rabbi Chaim Eliezer Shenvald, Head of the Meir Harel Yeshivat Hesder, yeshiva.co, translated by Hillel Fendel

On the 5^th day of Iyar (May 14^th) in 1948, the establishment of the State of Israel was dramatically announced. After nearly 1,900 years of exile and loss of sovereignty, we merited to establish the Jewish state. The proclamation was tremendously exciting, and a wave of spontaneous joy burst forth throughout the entire nation. Finally, finally, we had been granted the fulfillment of the vision of the Prophets regarding the return to Zion, and the realization of the dream of generations to "be a free people in our land."

Every year, as Independence Day approaches, the question of this day's relevance arises: Does it have only national meaning, or also religious significance?

Ben-Gurion's declaration of Israel's establishment can be seen as just part of a symbolic ceremony, with speeches, the reading aloud and signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the raising of the flag. No noticeable difference was seen "on the ground." It would therefore seem that the day of the declaration has no specific meaning. New territorial borders were not determined that day, nor was there any military change: The Jewish defense forces – the Haganah, Palmach, Etzel and Lechi – remained the same, no stronger than before. In addition, of course, the declaration did not end or decide the war; on the contrary, the battles intensified after the 5^th of Iyar and spread throughout the land, with five hostile foreign armies joining up with the local Arab forces seeking to destroy us.

Furthermore: The temporary Jewish national government that arose then was no different than the National Assembly that had been in operation beforehand. Similarly on the legislative front: The new temporary National Legislative Council was identical to the People's Council that existed prior to the declaration. The only changes seemed to be exclusively semantic.

There was a practical difference in that from then on, only the Jewish national decisions counted; no longer did the British have any say. But the truth is that this would have occurred even without the declaration of independence, for the British Mandate expired officially on May 15^th, leaving no foreign ruler in the Holy Land.

And so we ask again: What was Independence Day good for?

Looking more deeply at this question, it is clear that the declaration of Israel's establishment in and of itself was a tremendously meaningful event, and was a critical junction in Jewish history.

The Value of Sovereignty

The primary change effected by the declaration was the very fact of the renewal of Jewish national sovereignty over its land and state. The proclamation itself, effected by representatives of the Jewish People, was essentially the act of establishing a Jewish national entity in Eretz Yisrael for the first time since the year 68 C.E. Thus was ended and nullified British rule and sovereignty over the land.

What, essentially, is sovereignty? It is an abstraction, which, though it cannot be physically defined, is a concept with great value. The abstractness of this essence makes it difficult to understand and deduce precisely what derives from it. But we can say that it is the proprietary affiliation of the national collective for everything in the nation's possession: the land, state assets, systems of government, economy, security, etc.

Before the Declaration of Independence and the application of Israeli sovereignty, the national leadership had the status of an elected community committee, charged with running communal affairs and representing it before the sovereign ruler. It had some authorities, true, but nothing near those of a national government or legislature. The yishuv [Jewish entity] in the country before 1948 was basically a set of individual communities, or individual people – but not a sovereign nation in its land. The defense forces and the underground units fighting for our rights at the time were like private security companies, not a national army.

The application of sovereignty has ramifications both halakhically and in terms of our beliefs and emuna, and therefore this day in itself has profound, revolutionary significance.

Let us consider the very central Torah command (mitzvah) to inherit the Land of Israel. Nachmanides writes that this is one of the mitzvot that must be added to the list compiled by Maimonides: "the command to inherit the land that the blessed G-d gave to our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and to never abandon it to other nations or to desolation."

This mitzvah has two parts: to settle and build up the land ("to inherit…"), and to apply Jewish sovereignty there ("never abandon it"). It also includes conquering the land, even in parts, in order to apply our sovereignty there – and this war, Nachmanides explains there, is a milchemet mitzvah, a Torah-mandated war. This means that soldiers' lives can and must be placed at risk – making this mitzvah very different than almost all others, which are suspended in the face of risk to life.

The mitzvah to conquer, settle, and build the Land is incumbent not upon individuals, like the mitzvot of giving charity or keeping the Sabbath, but rather upon the national entity; an individual cannot wage war. Following 19 centuries of Exile, this mitzvah became relevant and applicable once again the moment Ben-Gurion delivered the historic declaration granting sovereignty to the Jewish Nation.

The proclamation was also invested with a spiritual and emuna-based value, even if it did not clearly specify the concepts of Torah and mitzvot.

Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, under whom I was privileged to study in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav, led the drive to clarify the spiritual aspects of Yom HaAtzma'ut, its status as a religious day beyond its national significance, and the formulation of its customs. He cited Maimonides, who wrote in the Laws of Hanukkah (3,1) why we commemorate the Hanukkah holiday and recite the special Hallel thanksgiving prayer: It is based on the miracle that occurred then of the renewal of Jewish sovereignty and the kingship, which lasted, Maimonides wrote, "for some 200 years."

Rav Tzvi Yehuda also emphasized the importance of the fact that the establishment of the State of Israel is a fulfillment of the Prophets' visions on the Redemption and the Ingathering of the Exiles. This rendered the State of Israel the center of the Jewish nation, and fired up a wide-ranging process of national revival and renewal of Torah creativity and scholarship.