by Rav Avraham Vasserman, translated by Hillel Fendel.
Which came first, secular Zionism or religious Zionism? Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer's Zionism of the late 19th century paved the way for the modern secular movement.
Many
of the disagreements in Israeli society begin and end with this question: Why
and for what are we here? Are we running from pogroms and the Holocaust, or are
we striving for Redemption? Was it secular Jews who initiated the establishment
of the State in order to build a Western capitalist democracy with Jewish
trappings, or did Torah-observant Jews lead the way in their striving to
actualize the dreams of generations to return to Zion?
The
historic truth that some try to blur is this: Those who initiated the Jewish
settlement entity that became the State of Israel were righteous Torah
scholars, and they did not lay the ideological and practical infrastructures
for the State because they sought to escape anti-Semitism, but to bring about
national Redemption.
Rav
Tzvi Yehuda Kook, son of the late first Chief Rabbi, HaRav Avraham Yitzchak
Kook, was asked how and when our period of Redemption began. He wrote: "It
was Rabbis Kalischer and Gutmacher, students of the famed Gaon Rav Akiva Eger,
who aroused and inspired the nation to make Aliyah and to found the
agricultural yishuv (settlement enterprise) in the Land of Israel."
The occasion of discussing this important
issue is the 150th anniversary, this week, of the passing of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch
Kalischer, a leading Torah scholar active in 19th-century Poland.
His book Drishat Tzion, published in 1862, was groundbreaking in its
time in its refutation of the prevalent perception that the Messiah would come
from Heaven with no need for action on our part in returning to the Land.
Citing many Rabbinic Torah sources, he showed that the Redemption is to come in
stages, after the Nation of Israel on its own returns to its Land. Rav
Kalischer therefore called for Aliyah, renewed settlement, and even for a
renewal of the sacrificial services. His influence among the Jewish communities
was notable, as he was very admired throughout the Jewish world, and especially
in eastern Europe.
Rav Shmuel Mohilever, some 30 years younger,
one of the leaders of the Hibat Tzion (also known as Hovevei Tzion) movement,
adopted Rav Kalischer's ideas and similarly called for Aliyah and Jewish
agriculture in the Holy Land. The First Aliyah (1882-1891), which was inspired
by these and other rabbis, was mostly of religious Jews, and it served as the
basis for all the subsequent Aliyot.
There
is much more to say about Rav Kalischer in honor of his 150th
yahrtzeit. Because he learned from the Ramban (Nachmanides) that the Redemption
and return to Eretz Yisrael must come about with the permission of the nations,
and not as an act of rebellion against the international community, he insisted
that all efforts be made to obtain such a license for the establishment of a
State. The "spring of nations" of the mid-19th century
inspired him to exhort his brethren to exhibit mesirut nefesh, devotion and
self-sacrifice, for the Jewish national revival. This was a novel concept in
the Jewish world, which for centuries of difficult Exile had largely forgotten
it.
But
though other national movements were being jump-started at this period in
history, it was not as simple for the Jewish Nation. For one thing, we are
warned not to rebel against the nations. Rabbi Kalischer therefore made a
particularly bold proposal to activate the enormous economic power held by the
Rothschild and Montefiore families. In his opinion, it was the hand of Divine providence
that their influence was so great within many of the important nations, and
they could help attain the needed political support. Rabbi Kalischer even spoke
about establishing a Jewish army, calculating that the entire religious Bible-believing
world, Muslims and Christians, would help fulfill the prophecies of the return
to Zion.
This
later became partially true – with regard to Christians: The support of English
Prime Minister Lloyd George for the Balfour Declaration stemmed from his Christian
faith and reading of the Scriptures.
Rav
Kalischer wrote to Anshel Rothschild and asked him to offer to purchase the
Land of Israel from the Ottoman Turks, or at least parts of Jerusalem – or at
least the Temple Mount. His goals, of course, were large-scale Jewish
settlement in the Land, and also so that sacrifices could be offered. In
addition, he met with Sir Moshe Montefiore, who in turn met with Muhammad Ali [whose
Egyptian empire had conquered the Holy Land from the Ottomans] and asked to
lease plots in the Land – but Ali turned him down.
However,
Rav Kalischer was able to persuade Rothschild to build Mikveh Yisrael, an
agricultural school that would teach Jewish children to work the land. Rav
Kalischer was even invited to serve on its Board of Directors. Mikveh Yisrael
did ground-breaking work in the areas of settlement, absorption of new
immigrants, and military efforts. Ben-Gurion said: "If Mikveh Yisrael had
not been established, it is doubtful whether the State of Israel would have
been established."
Rav
Kalischer's writings served to introduce the Jews of his times to the notion that
Redemption was a realistic possibility – even a necessity – even then, and that
it could come naturally, not miraculously. Many historians often credit Rav
Kalischer and his colleagues with "heralding Zionism" – but in fact,
as Rav Kook writes, these early rabbis were more than town criers: They were actually
the primary and original Zionists, upon which secular Zionism was built.
However, the latter then tried to sway the movement in secular directions,
which Rav Kook and many others tried desperately to counteract. However, he did
this with love; even though he said that the secular Zionists should engage
only in building the physical aspects of the Land of Israel, he added that
"our job is not to fight them, but to uplift them."
In
recent years, Rabbi Kalischer's ideology has been making a comeback. It is not
only prominent in the Torah-Zionist sector, but even haredi elements, who are generally
unwilling to connect with secular Zionism, see Rav Kalischer as their guide as
they engage in the "Redemption of Zion in purity." Restoring our national
revival to its original path and source is in fact the mission of our lives,
for the success of the State in all areas.
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