18 July 2017

A JEW CAN LOVE ZION AND NOT BE A ZIONIST

24 Tamuz 5777

I tried. I really did. When I made aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, I had never even heard of “Zionism,” knew nothing about it. All I knew was that the Torah said the Land of Israel was a wonderful gift of God to His beloved people and that it was in the Land of Israel that God wanted His people to live. That’s all I knew when I made aliyah from love of HKB”H and faith in Him. That’s all I needed to know.

After I arrived, I quickly began to learn what the situation was and for the first time I heard about Zionism and “Religious” Zionism in particular. At first I tried to fit into that group. I read books written by Rabbi Kook and translated by his students. I got into political activism and started going to rallies and protests. I toured a lot of settlements and finally even found one that accepted me. But every experience left a bad impression of one sort or another. And the more Torah I learned, the less I identified with the so-called National Religious crowd.

Today, they have a famous rallying cry whenever Jews are slaughtered in Eretz Yisrael. They proclaim “The Zionist response to terror is to build!” But, the Torah response is to eliminate the enemy. The very idea that the Jewish-Israeli public should be placated for the murder of their brothers with (empty) promises of more building is just too ridiculous to comment on.  But, you’ll hear it every time there is another incident – “Building is the Zionist response!” – and you’ll look and you’ll see that the person saying it has a kippah on his head. What a chillul Hashem!

Now I claim a spot in a sparsely occupied spiritual space where plain old unvarnished  Torah-dedicated Jews live. We follow no particular Rebbe, but we know the truth when we hear it and support anyone who disseminates it. We refuse to be brainwashed by any “ism,” even one claiming to be “religious.” Like King David wrote (Tehillim 84.11), “…For one day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere; I prefer to stand exposed at the threshold of my God’s house than to dwell securely in the tents of wickedness.”  This is the basis upon which I came on aliyah to Eretz Yisrael and the reason I would do it over and over again, regardless of who or what rules over us here or whether the economy is booming or depressed. All that matters is being obedient to my Master, loyal to my King, faithful to my Father, in love with my Beloved in the home He created for me. I can’t NOT live here. It is my life and breath. I’d smother anywhere else.

In other words, any concept of “Zionism” had nothing to do my decision to be here or to remain here. I tried to buy into the idea that well, Zionism was originally a Torah concept – “Zion” and all that – but, when religious Zionists find common cause with the rebels against Hashem and His Torah and with idolaters calling themselves Christian Zionists, when the same ones speak disparagingly of their fellow chareidi Jews and often denigrate them and see them as “other,” then it just doesn’t wash. I have no problem at all identifying with my chareidi brothers and sisters, but I despise rebels and idolaters.

Allow me to share something from Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, ztz”l, Hy”d, student of the Chafetz Chaim, which he wrote around 1940:
Over the years, the nationalist idea begat a child that was named “religious nationalism.” The name implies that religion alone is not enough; it has to be perfected by adding nationalism. The very name “religious nationalism” constitutes a denial of one of the fundamentals of Judaism: “The Torah of Hashem is perfect” (Tehillim 19:19) – It lacks nothing: it is flawless. The Torah warns us, “Do not add anything to it” (Devarim 4:2) – and the Sages say: “He who adds [to the word of Hashem] subtracts [from it]” (Sanhedrin 29a). Since modern Jewish nationalism is essentially idol-worship, it follows that “religious nationalism” is nothing short of idol-worship coupled with service to Hashem. (Source: The Era Preceding Mashiach)
As soon as the “ism” was tacked onto the word Zion, it ceased to represent the age-old Jewish dream to return to Jerusalem and re-establish the Kingdom of David and instead became the Jewish pride movement which values military power, technological progress and the admiration of the nations. The Israeli Knesset with its Arab (terrorist) members became its Sanhedrin, the IDF (savior of the people) became their Mashiach and Yad Vashem became their Holy Temple. By adding the “ism” to Zion, they created another new religion to which everyone calling themselves a Zionist was welcome and held to be a brother or sister – no matter whether they were secular rebels against the Torah, Christian idolaters or Muslim sympathizers.


The term Zionism (ציונות) never appears in the Tanakh or in any Torah source. It does not appear in rabbinic writings earlier than the 20th century. As time goes on, the spoiled fruit of religious Zionism becomes more and more apparent. This will very likely be the final idol to fall before Mashiach is revealed.

20 comments:

  1. Torah does not divide Jews, it unites real Jews.

    "This perhaps, in a nutshell, spells out the ongoing tensions in the city between the chareidim on the one side and the dati leumi and secular community on the other."

    Chareidi Wins In His Battle Over Secular Neighbors In A Conflict-Ridden Beit Shemesh

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    1. Dvash, where is this commnunity you belong to?

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    2. Klal Yisrael and we are scattered all over the country. Every real Torah Jew is part of it.

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  2. "All that matters is being obedient to my Master, loyal to my King, faithful to my Father, in love with my Beloved in the home He created for me. I can’t NOT live here. It is my life and breath. I’d smother anywhere else." I relate to this perfectly! I wish everyone could feel it as it is frustrating to experience this without the whole Jewish nation together.

    I live in an area with lots of religious Zionism and I often don't know what to make of it. Most just want to be frum and participate in the army and it is pretty simple. There are a few extremes who go to questionable demonstrations or exact punishment for Arab incidents but most just want to be simple, frum Jews living in the Land Hashem gave us and waiting for Moshiach. I am not sure in which ways they might venture over the line and into something similar to idol worship cv"s. I think maybe you're only referring to some extremes and not to the majority of religious nationalists who are eager for Moshiach to come and restore the Beit Hamikdash and in no way think the IDF is like the Moshiach.

    How is this not lashon hara? You can't say they are the erev rav and we are not allowed to assume a whole group is involved in serious aveirot in the way you describe. Only Hashem knows the hearts of Jews and they could be bigger tzaddikim than others especially because they fight to keep Eretz Yisrael safe.

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    1. They fight for the Traitors, for the ones that left Hashem, hoping to be mashpua on them.... but we see clearly that everything is build only to distance Jews from Hashem and to destroy Torah life however possible. Every day you can see this in the news: the new ways of the army, so called charedi colleges fooling their students, provocations in mea shearim in manner to be able to beat some old fashioned jews, prayer area at the kotel, involvment in torah education through the back door.... just don't deny it, open your eyes..... sof le sof these frum people of which you speak still are not ready to stand up for the truth against the system and slowly slowly the system transforms their hashkafa and later on the haskafah changes the Psakim and later on one is far away from the torah. You are the rebels against Hashem.. and my proof is very easy... as long as you don't identify with peopl that life eg accd to the directives of Reb Chaim or Rav Steinmann and you hold them to be too extreme .. you have no share in the Torah of Israel.. these Gedolim did not leave the Mesorah and way of life of their fathers back till Moshe Rabeinu zy'a .. but you had the chutzpah to even found a own Rabbinate outside the wishes of the Gedolim of the past, which represent the true Mesorah... it seems to me, that to b so deeply entrenched in the dati leumi community makes your eyes blind and your haskafah twisted... please study the Rishonim and older to get a clear Torah approach and i guarantee you, that you yourself will see the wrong in your commnity... and stop this lashon hara thing, bc Dvash wrote this in manner to help people separate from their comfortable, but wicked ways of national zionism.

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    2. Disclaimer to my comments: of course i recognize that thete are thanks G-d a lot of religious people in the dati leumi community, that do mitzvos and belief strongly in Hashem and hold Kedushat Eretz Israel as sth important, but the Haskafah is tainted by the urge to kasher the Medinah. And the whole Jew follows to where his Haskafah is leading him/her. A Torah true Haskafah never allows to kasher the Haskafah and a lot of deeds of the Medinah. Of course on has to be gratefull for he good, but here it's very problematic, bc the good is done in manner to separate Jews from Hashem and his Torah. So please if i speak about dati leumi, this special twist in Haskafah is meant, that i want to see destroyed. Of course the people are Jews and therfore they can mend their ways. If you pursue truth you will find the clean and true way. Iam not claimng, that the Charediam as Klal have it, but in their Tzibur you will find it the most today. So please don't be offended Miriam, but start to do truthfull soul searching, learn the history of the jewish people, read biographies of charedishe Tzadikkim and things will come in balance.

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    3. He makes a lot of interesting points, but he also errs. I'll explain why in the next post, G-d willing.

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  3. Excellent article. In deed every -ism applies to blind ideologies and creates divisions and machloket lo le shem shamaim. Belongs to the klipot and the holiness has to be extracted from there. May Hashem save His people.

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  4. Why can't everyone just see truth behind all the obvious lies?
    The ones who started the 'zionist' movement were leftists who were very savvy and knew that by using the word 'zionism', it would most likely appeal to all Jews. But, their goal was to make 'new Jews' in a cultural Jewish land, without G-D and His holy Torah. They didn't understand that they were just being used by the Creator to get us back into the Land as a nation.

    But, first, we must understand that from the start, the average Jew and their families (especially right after the Shoa) were being daily indoctrinated in every aspect with this new found zionism. The chareidim, many of them, were just like the ten spies and their followers in the midbar, who were content with their lifestyles, as long as the rulers allowed them to be separate. So, the population became made up of total G-Dless leftists (who were the ruling power-the Erev Rav), the traditional Jew (whether secular or modern religious zionist) and the chareidim, who hated the former, and the hatred for
    one Jew to another was incited by the leftists. In the meantime, the religious zionists became enamoured and were indoctrinated with an allegiance & loyalty to the 'State' (just like communists). Then came along, the ultra religious true 'zionists', knowing that their allegiance is only to H'. Of course, because of their loyalty only to H' and going about settling the Land as dictated by our Torah, it is going against everything the State stands for and, thus, thwarting the G-Dless goals of the ruling powers. The divisions are great and have become dangerous, as now these so-called 'zionists' have the backing of the world powers. This has really been in the making for centuries, so they can once and for all get rid of the Jewish people, our Torah and take G-D out of the equation, c'v. We are very close to Moshiach's coming and may it be speedily and with great mercy on every true Jew.

    To commenter Miriam - Our Chazal tell us that the Erev Rav will rule before Moshiach and are usually always those in power, very wealthy and have much clout and can be found even amongst 'religious' rabbis. The useful followers are just that, being naive and unaware how wrong they are by following the wicked and we pray for them to return and do teshuvah.

    Also, it is never loshon hara when you are fighting good over evil. The Jewish people, in general, over the almost 2000 years of galut have been so galutified and influenced by the outside world. that they have misinterpreted our whole reason for being. We have made ourselves dhimmis and, therefore, we actually desecrate H's Holy Name and that includes the religious and the secular.

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  5. Thanks for writing an article to clarify what most Zion lovers already know. We made aliyah 10 years ago for that same reason, but NBN insisted that we integrated into society that we don't fit in. We have already left but appreciate your article.

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  6. "What is Zionist? By our understanding, a Zionist is a person who loves Zion and practices the commandment of settling the land. Whenever I am overseas I encourage Aliyah. In what way are they more Zionist than us?" (Rav Ovadia Yosef Z''L, rosh beth din shel mala)

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  7. Great article. I stand there with you. Actually the space is more full than you think.

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  8. Devash, its a complicated issue; but Hashem works in unusual ways to confuse the Satan. Your dedication and devotion is admirable and “your path” to Hashem and the Redemption. In a blink of the eye things can turn around V’Nahafochu.

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  9. Woe unto me if I do not speak although I am not a man of words. If it were not a matter of life and death, I would not be willing to write. Your honour has done well to turn to the great ones of our people and enlarge on the extent of the danger involved in it. It is not a time to keep silent.

    If the thoughts of these Zionists were really for the good of Israel as they claim, they would withhold themselves from the matter, and there would be an end to all the calamities, that spring from it. At first sight there seems no reason why I should expand on this theme, seeing that it is clearly forbidden in the tractate of Kesubos to go up to the Land in a column, meaning with a multitude. I in my innocence venture to fear, that one sin brings on another, and that if they transgress the prohibition to go up in a column, they will later transgress the prohibition against rebelling against the nations of the world.

    I have pain in expanding on this theme. I spoke seriously to one of the most famous Mizrachists in our country, and I told him that all their activity was opposed to the Torah. He regarded me as if I were deluded. and told me that there was no other way to rid ourselves of the Exile, and asked how long we should have to wait for redemption through miraculous means.

    I became convinced that there was no hope of these people listening to the voice of the mighty men of the Torah. We are able to know at a glance that our healing will not spring from them, and that their glory shall not be forever, especially seeing that it is publicly known that a certain one of them has denied the G"d of Israel and that another like Sennacherib has reviled the Hosts of the Living G"d. What have they to do with Israel and with the Holy Land?

    The Holy One, blessed be His Name, knows the thoughts of human hearts. He knows that I have written all these words from concern for our brethren, the children of Israel, lest He withdraw His care for us -- Heaven forbid -- for whoever reads the words of the Zionists will know, that even the best among Gentiles will be turned into our enemies.

    Let our brethren know that until the time of the Messiah, we are destined to be in Exile and to be subordinated to the nations until the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself will deliver those whom He collects and, eye to eye, will Israel see G''d return to Zion.

    Yisroel Meir HaKohen from Radin
    [HaGaon HaTzadick HaRav Yisroel Meir HaKohen Kagan, zt'l -- the Chofetz Chaim -- in the Transformation (Brooklyn, NY: Hachomo, 1989) pp. 189-90]

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  10. You have to remember that this was written before the Shoah. That changed everything, because millions of Jews were displaced and had nowhere else to go.

    Furthermore, the promise to "not go up in a column" was conditional.

    "G-d made Israel swear not to go up to the Land en masse and not to rebel against the nations, and He made the nations swear that they would not subjugate Israel too much."

    Well, the Shoah was "too much".

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  11. Those who do not want to see and understand will not see nor understand. 2000 years of suffering and exile has changed the mindset of the original Jew. The galut is still extremely strong in them and their emunah is tainted, even though they won't see it that way. They are too comfortable in their submission to the nations they feel beholden to, rather than totally submitting to G-D's Will, and seeing before their very eyes that great miracle of the last century that H' has brought us to. With the return of the nation of Israel to its boundaries in holy Eretz Yisrael, the Geulah seriously began and that was the sole purpose of the leftist zionists. Their role will soon end with the coming of Moshiach Ben Dovid.

    EMET

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