A piece by Tzvi Fishman, blogging on Hollywood To The Holyland, prompted me to write the post below. He begins...
People occasionally ask, where is it written in the Torah that we have to build a State? Apparently, they are not familiar with the words of the giant Torah authority, the Ramban, who repeatedly stated that we are commanded that the Land of Israel be in our hands, and not in the hands of any other nation....
Tzvi,
Conquest - yes.
Kingdom, Sanhedrin, and Temple - yes.
But an Eruv Rav-run State?
Sure it was a good idea at the time. Sure the state provides me with a lot to be grateful for.
But an overemphasis on the State, over Torah (not you, but most mamlachtim) has precluded us {and deluded us} from striving for our ultimate goal,...a kingdom, Sanhedrin, and Temple.
Mamlachti hashqafah/ideology emphasizing the holiness of the "State" over the holiness of Am Yisrael obtaining and maintaining sovereignty over Eretz Yisrael, of loving the rasha' (evil person), because his mother happens to be Jewish (See the Ramba"m on Avoth: Kaf Zekhuth for why this is wrong) is not just holding us back. It's killing the dream; it's killing US.
Yes, I will say Hallel on Yom HaAtzma'uth (Israeli Independence Day), but not because of the establishment of the State per se, rather because of the great miracles HaShem performed for us, saving us from annihilation from our enemies, and granting the potential to re-establish our sovereignty over the Land.
Just because we let the Eruv Rav screw things up, doesn't erase those miracles.
On the other hand, anyone who thinks the State "as is" is the ultimate form of Jewish governance in Eretz Yisael, anyone who believes that we are supposed be active participants in the Ge'ulah (Redemption) process, yet only so far. Then all of a sudden "we're not ready" [to do the misswah] to bring the Qorban Pesah, let alone re-establish the monarchy and Sanhedrin, and re-build the Temple, is gravely mistaken and highly inconsistent, if not hypocritical.
*********
See the continuation of this post: Some More Thoughts On Israeli Independence Day 5769.
3 comments:
Excellent piece. Religious Jews need to be reminded that mamlachti idol worship of the state is as egregious a sin as those who deny the miracle. There is a potential to become a holy nation, a potential that arose out of incredible miracles. We celebrate the miracles and continue the good fight.
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