By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO– In my Community Jewish High senior class we are studying about Israel. We just read and analyzed Israel’s Declaration of Independence which was proclaimed and signed in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948.
The founding fathers and mothers of Israel were greatly concerned with “normalizing” the Jewish People. Instead of living as foreigners and outcasts among other nations the State of Israel would give Jews, “…the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all nations, in their own sovereign State.” (Israel’s Declaration of Independence)
Early Zionist thinking embraced the notion of shilat ha-golah, the negation of the Diaspora. They said that living among gentiles, Jews had developed a “galut mentality,” in which they accepted the state of victimization and second class citizenship.
This view of diaspora Jewry was advocated by Rabbi Shmuel Molhiver, a leader of Chovevei Tzion, one of the early Eastern European organizations that promoted political Zionism. Rabbi Molhiver was also one of the early founders of religious Zionism.
One of Rabbi Molhiver’s congregants asked him: “The Torah says, “It is the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, ‘Bring forth the Israelites from the land of Egypt, troop by troop.’ (Ex. 6:26) Why did God need to send two emissaries, Moses and Aaron, to redeem the Israelites? Wouldn’t one have been enough?”
Rabbi Molhiver answered” “It is because in the future redemption (at the End of Days) there will also be two deliverers. First, the Messiah who is a descendent of Joseph, and then the Messiah who is the descendent of David.”*
“But Rabbi,” protested one of them, “that doesn’t answer the question. It just adds to it. Why will God need to send two Messiahs to redeem us? Why isn’t one enough?”
Rabbi Molhiver paused. Then he said, almost to himself, “In the future we will need two Messiahs because we will need two redemptions. The first: to remove Israel from galut (exile). The second: to remove galut from the hearts of Israel.”
They early Zionist author A.D. Gordon wrote even more harshly about the state of Diaspora Jewry:
“We are a parasitic people. We have no roots in the soil, there is no ground beneath our feet. And we are parasites not only in an economic sense, but in spirit, in thought, in poetry, in literature, and in our virtues, our ideals, our higher human aspirations. Every alien movement sweeps us along, every wind in the world carries us. We in ourselves are almost non-existent, so of course we are nothing in the eyes of other people either.”
Until recent years, this perception of Jews living outside of Israel was embraced by almost every Israeli leader. They simply could not understand why Jews, given the opportunity to live in their own country, would choose to live anywhere else. Given the European background of the founders of Israel, this is understandable. Years of anti-Semitism, culminating in the rise of the murderous Third Reich, gave Jews a lot to disdain and fear.
Over time Israel’s leaders realized that most Jews living in Western countries, such as the United States, did not believe that they lived in a hostile environment nor had they developed a galut mentality. They were proud, strong, and did not live in fear. These Jews, for the most part, were not going to make aliyah and resented the implication that their thinking was awry.
Today’s Israeli leaders are more likely to speak of a partnership between Israel and diaspora Jews, than Israeli superiority. As Rabbi Donniel Hartman, President of Israel’s Shalom Hartman Institute, wrote:
“Pivotal and as expansive as it is, Israel does not hold the monopoly over Jewish life. North American Jewry, have over the past two decades experienced a renaissance of Jewish vitality and activity, despite the looming challenge of assimilation. The term “Diaspora,” in this sense, no longer seems fitting; the Jews of North America are not strangers in exile, but equal citizens, who feel fully at home and have adorned their home with a full and vibrant Jewish life.” (Diaspora Jewry and Israel: Rethinking the partnership, by Donniel Hartman)
American Jews, however, instead of embracing this partnership have grown more distant from Israel. They no longer see the importance that Israel has in supporting and strengthening their own Jewish lives. Even if the vast majority of American Jews will not make aliyah, this does not mean that a close and loving relationship with the Jewish State will not have an impact on their lives.
Israel is our ancestral homeland. Israel is the foundation of our religion, history, and traditions. Israel is a fountain of Jewish creativity. Israel is a fierce critic of anti-Semitism and defender of Jewish rights. Israel’s strength gives us strength.
Just as Israel needs us, so do we need Israel.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He may be contacted via leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com