The essay from which this article has been prepared
was originally published in the journal Lechoshvei
Shemo in Tammuz 5737, in the wake of Agudas Yisroel's
entry into the right wing Begin government.
A New Definition
At this time, it is again incumbent upon us to clarify
the reasons for the bankruptcy of the Zionist ideal,
both to ourselves and to the younger generation who are
ignorant on the subject. We need to appreciate that the
roots of the problem are neither the sins nor the
sinfulness, neither the heresies nor the forced
apostasies, which the Zionist camp perpetrates and
propounds -- shameful and to their eternal discredit
though such conduct certainly is.
What invalidates the entire approach is something very
fundamental: their attempt to graft the idea of
Nationalism, an ideal that is shared by all the other
nations of the world, onto Judaism.
Until the advent of Zionism, it was generally accepted
that what defines the essence of Judaism is observance
of the Torah's commandments, as Rabbeinu Saadiah Gaon
expresses it, "Our nation is only a nation by virtue of
its Torah." This was accepted as axiomatic by everyone,
by heretics as well as by the pious. Even the gentile
nations recognized that on some level, Torah and Judaism
were inextricably bound together. Abandoning mitzvoh
observance, or denying the principles of our faith, were
universally interpreted as an attempt to sever ties with
Judaism.
Until Zionism, every movement that separated itself from
authentic Judaism, from the party of the
Tziddukim all the way down to Reform, was forced
to espouse portions of Torah observance simply in order
to be able to identify themselves as being Jewish. They
even found it necessary to adduce "supports" for their
ideas from the Torah itself, as though these justified
their new understanding of the "old" Torah. Had they not
done this, they would have found no buyers for their
wares.
I think that the first to try and uproot Judaism's
exclusively religious definition and replace it with a
new, secular agenda, were the Russian maskilim.
However, they were unsuccessful in finding a secular
ideal that would appeal to the masses of simple Jews.
They tried packaging their literature, the writing and
poetry of the Haskalah, as a modern Jewish culture that
could replace the Torah of the beis hamedrash.
Even though the multitudes of simple Jews whom they
sought to ensnare in this way were on the whole fairly
ignorant of Torah, they did not, collectively, follow
the lead.
Admittedly, the secular literature, with its mockery of
all that is holy, did have a devastating effect upon the
lower levels of Jewish society, and also upon youths of
good stock who, encountering it as soon as they stepped
into botei medrash and yeshivos, before they had
had a chance to gain a substantial amount of Torah
knowledge and become firmly moored to Torah, succumbed.
However, despite the best efforts of the
maskilim, their "alternative" never won over the
people's hearts. It never managed to become a
galvanizing force for the nation that had always
understood that spirituality was its very essence.
Attracting the Masses
Then Zionism arrived on the scene, with the right
formula for finding its way into the people's hearts and
gaining acceptance where the fundamentals of our holy
Torah had hitherto held sway. Its ideology was concocted
from the Jew's reverence towards Eretz Yisroel, to
whence the dream of return had never faded (and had
actually been aroused and given concrete hope not long
before by the Chovevei Tzion organization which
preceded Zionism), and from the longing for the promised
redemption and the "end of days," which the Zionists
seized and diverted for their own ends.
Another important ingredient was the nascent spirit of
nationalism that had begun to stir among various
downtrodden peoples, which swept across the world,
casting its spell upon the early Zionists. The poems and
literature of the maskilim were also added to the
potpourri as "study texts," which served as a means of
induction into the new "spirit of the times."
This formula, whose every proponent was welcome to place
emphasis upon whichever of its ingredients was closest
to his heart, succeeded in winning the people's
convictions, when it was trumpeted as a way of bringing
the redemption closer. This was how the Zionists managed
to fashion a new, secular, "Judaism." The category
assigned by this new Judaism to our holy Torah, on whose
account Hashem yisborach chose us from among all
the nations, is that of "optional," at best. This is the
feature of Zionism that unites all the movement's
various factions including the Mizrachi -- which agrees
to view even those who abandon the yoke of Torah as
legitimate representatives of our nation, capable of
providing its needs, guarding its security and ushering
in its redemption.
Of course, for the founders of Zionism nationalism was
the main feature of Judaism's new image. Tzion
and the redemption were only thrown in to make this
foreign concept palatable to Jewish tastes. Their true
aim however, was nothing less than the "normalization"
of the Jewish people, meaning their becoming a nation
like all others, in form, in culture and in essence.
Zionism's founders took nineteenth century European
culture as their model for "normalcy," for they admired
the countries of Europe and wanted to become like them.
This espousal of nationalism was what drew censure and a
prohibition from all the gedolei Yisroel, who
grasped the essence of what was happening even when it
was not spelled out explicitly and, despite the
declarations and the promises that the Torah would be
left alone in its corner and that whoever wanted to
embrace it would be free to do so without
interference.
Bringing our own Redemption
The espousal of gentile-style nationalism had another
consequence for some of the Zionists which was
incorporated into the movement's program for the new
Judaism, namely, the ambition "to take matters into our
own hands" and bring an end to the exile by ourselves.
Throughout the generations, Jews had waited for the
exile to end when, as Heaven decreed, and how, it would.
Now the word went around that the exile was about to end
because we had decided that it should. This line of
thought led to actions and words that placed Klal
Yisroel in danger, as is well known.
The policies which are supposed to guide Klal
Yisroel during its exile among the nations are
stated in the Torah and are part of the tradition which
our sages and elders have received (see the essays by
HaRav Elchonon Bunim Wassermann zt'l, Hy'd, who
wrote on this topic at length). It is obvious that
anyone who veers from this path will be unsuccessful,
for the Torah is the blueprint of creation and its
operation, as the Zohar's famous statement, "He
looked into the Torah and created the world," tells us.
How can anyone take a different path than the Torah's
and succeed?
In fact, the ideology of "bringing our own redemption"
is not only disqualified because of the dangers it poses
but because it is heresy.
We have said that this was only the aim of some of the
Zionists. There were others, for example the Reform in
America, who were quite comfortable in their exile. All
that this group needed from Zionism was the stamp of
secularism which it placed upon the Jewish nation and
the green light that this gave them for divesting
themselves entirely of Torah. That was enough for them.
They didn't require any further redemption.
Nonetheless, practical, hands-on Zionists still viewed
them as good, rank- and-file Zionists, and they even
afforded them representation in the leadership. The
other group of Zionists however, which apparently
includes religious Zionism in its entirety, saw self-
redemption as a central feature of the Zionist idea.
Then, a faction arose that rebelled against its
predecessors and demanded that extreme lengths be gone
to in order to obtain liberation by force. Tza"Ch
(Tziyonut Chadashah), and Revisionism, the militant
Etze"l groups and finally, the political Herut
party, were the names by which this group was known.
Although its founders were very far removed from
Judaism, it ruthlessly stalked many simple "synagogue
Jews" as well as some who stood on the threshold of the
beis hamedrash. On those occasions when it scored
dazzling successes, the attraction of this faction's
ideology was extremely powerful and its danger should
not yet be discounted.
Like it or Not
Then came the State, which the multitudes saw as the
victory and affirmation of all that Zionism stood for.
The State assumed complete control in Eretz Yisroel,
forcing itself upon everyone, whether they greeted it
with a welcome or with resistance. It was to be a
secular state like all others and its advent was
accompanied by the illusion that from now on, help and
rescue would always be at hand for the Jewish nation.
Our own strength had saved us and would continue to do
so, or so it seemed.
Among the State's leaders blasphemers have come forward,
who lose no opportunity to defame our holy Torah, both
Torah shebikesav and Torah shebe'al peh.
They raise a hue and cry at any mention of Heaven's
Name, or of Heaven's directives, in other words,
halochoh.
These people are responsible for two negative phenomena.
First, following in the footsteps of Amolek, "who cooled
you down" (Devorim 25:18), they have taken the
seriousness out of waging war on Heaven, in our eyes.
They are also responsible for our misplaced attitude of
tolerance and forgiveness, and perhaps even of
admiration, towards any secular Jew who is good enough
to mention Heaven's Name occasionally, to tone down the
campaign against religion, and certainly towards one who
occasionally performs one of the mitzvos in public. This
mistake is especially serious at the present time.
[Editor's Note: Menachem Begin, who had just taken over,
was much closer to Jewish tradition than any of his
Labor predecessors.]
Nothing that has been said hitherto should be considered
as zealotry. These are all facts that it is good to be
reminded of from time to time, and that have to be made
known to our youth, who do not know them.
Drawn Towards Danger
It is a well-known and generally agreed upon principle,
that a person's outlook and feelings are influenced by
his actions. HaRav Yisroel Salanter zt'l, taught
that having concern for another person and being
involved in their welfare will engender loving feelings
on the part of the giver towards the recipient.
Imagine therefore, the dangers involved in accepting
positions of responsibility in the leadership, running
and maintenance of the State. The views of the people
holding these posts are likely to incline towards
Zionism and they themselves are liable to edge ever
closer to it. If such involvement in State affairs
brings them advantages and honor, the danger is
compounded several-fold and to disengage themselves
becomes very difficult.
Of what relevance is the State to us? We never heard of
our teachers working towards such an end, or wanting it.
This is an indication that Klal Yisroel's
shepherds, whose task is to lead their flocks towards
the ultimate, spiritual life, did not see this as a
means of bettering our eternal life, which is the sole
purpose of our existence. Neither did they see a state
as a means of affording us tranquility that would
broaden our vistas in serving Hashem, and bring us
closer to serving Him. How then, is the State relevant
to us?
If, at a time like this, when we are beset by troubles
and are lacking the righteous men who could protest and
do battle for Hashem's sake, we are forced to fulfill
the wishes of the lawless ones and to support them with
our votes, in order to lessen the burden of their
decrees, we must seek every possible way of minimizing
the partnership with them, confining it only to the
framework necessary for obtaining the essential
concessions.
If we are allowed to make a business deal with them,
exchanging our votes which they want, for an
amelioration of their decrees, this does not yet mean
that we may join them in the practical work of
maintaining and running the State and the Knesset
and its various departments. It does not mean that we
may present a facade of friendship between those who
guard the Torah and those who rebel against it.
The Greater Hazard
It is said that the Chazon Ish zt'l commented
that his fear of the decrees that the State might make
against Torah was dwarfed by his fear of our finding the
State to be pleasant and palatable. What worried our
master was certainly the spiritual decline that such an
eventuality would bring. His remark makes it clear that
our finding the State to be sweet is more destructive
than any decrees which it might make.
What a frightening idea this is! We have seen ourselves,
in our many sins, how dreadfully they treated the
olim. Entire populations of simple, believing
Jews, were torn away from eternal life and most of them,
who had hitherto observed the principles of Judaism,
became irreligious R'l.
The youth that we encounter on the streets are empty of
any spiritual content. They pursue drugs and robbery.
They lack any shred of Jewish identity and are targets
for missionaries who stalk them. This is what the
Zionists have wrought with their decrees against the
numerous holy communities, who returned from their
countries of exile, where even the simplest among them
had been separated from the surrounding gentiles by the
Torah's hedge of roses. Let us heed this lesson and
reckon what the dangers to ourselves would be, to our
spirits and to our educational institutions, Hashem
yeracheim, were we to find the State pleasant. We
must be on our guard against any new suspicion that this
might become the case.
Awareness of the Truth
What must we do? How can we guard against this
happening?
We must cleave to the Torah scholars who chart our path
with all our might. Through cleaving to them, we will
merit firm faith and a true outlook.
We must keep our distance from all the common opinion
that is offered to us in the daily papers. Which of us
can testify that he has never been affected by them and
that they have never influenced him?
We should make regular times for studying the articles
written by HaRav Elchonon Wassermann, who sheds powerful
light on these issues. His holy words are like a balm
and are based upon what he heard from the holy lips of
Klal Yisroel's teacher, the Chofetz Chaim
zy'a.
We must repeat Chazal's statement to ourselves time and
again: "He who causes another to sin is worse than he
who kills him." We must also etch the words of the
Mesillas Yeshorim into our minds: "Man was not
created for whatever station he has in this world but
for his station in the next. His station is this world
however, is the means of attaining his station in the
next, which is his ultimate purpose." This is the
yardstick according to which our teachers have taught us
to evaluate everything in this world. Does it bring one
closer to one's ultimate purpose, or distance one from
it?
When we assimilate all this properly, and these lessons
become part of our way of thinking and of judging
matters, we will no longer find our nation's present
situation a pleasant one.
Renew Our Days as of Old!
Let us reflect upon what this group has done in the
eighty years that have passed since they grabbed the
mantle of leadership from the true gedolei
Yisroel, who tended us throughout our history until
then. How did the spiritual profile of most of our
nation look then, and what does it look like today?
When we go out into the streets and see the present
decline in the level of most of Am Yisroel, let
us remember the distress of the Shechinoh and
that of our holy ancestors in Heaven at the sight of
their offspring leaving the correct path and losing
their future reward. Let us take to heart the loss to
every one of us that results from the stunted spiritual
stature of our people today.
Let us imagine how wonderful things would appear, if
none of this had happened, and all those multitudes
would have continued following the path of their
ancestors. How much more Torah, purity and holiness, and
how many more merits there would be. Then let us open
our eyes and see the dismal present.
Let us set the Rambam's words before us (in the second
perek of Hilchos Tefilloh,) "In the days
of Rabbon Gamliel, the heretics multiplied in Yisroel
and they made trouble and pressured Yisroel to turn away
from Hashem. When he saw that people needed [rescue
from] this [pressure] more than anything else, he and
his beis din arose and formulated a blessing that
would contain a request to Hashem to destroy the
heretics, and he put it into the tefilloh, so
that it would be set out for all."
Let us pray to Hashem to destroy all the evil in a
moment and to bring back our judges as they were at
first, and our counselors as it was in the beginning.
Then we will return and be healed.
