Following the Footsteps of Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Levi

 

"The Voice Of My Beloved Knocketh" [2:24]

 

Rihal has taught us to view life in the Diaspora differently.  However, we have also learned from him how to interpret the historical process of awakening.  Rihal read the Song of Songs according to the Sages' interpretation, as a conversation between the Jewish people and God.  However, he studied the book further and discovered within it the secret of our national rebirth.  He reveals this secret to us in the conversation between the King and the Chaver in the second section [2:24].

 

     Rihal puts an accusation in the mouth of the King: why did the Jews not return to the Land of Israel when they had the opportunity? And he receives an honest answer from the Chaver.  Indeed, the king had revealed our shame.

 

     In the days of the Second Temple, "the Divine Influence was going to descend among them as of old, if they had all heeded the call and returned to the Land of Israel with a willing spirit." However only a few returned, and most, among them the most prominent, remained in Babylon.  Here Rihal adds an interpretation of some additional verses in the Song of Songs: "Perhaps this is what King Solomon was hinting at when he said, 'I am asleep and my heart is awake.'  In other words, the nation in exile slept while "the voice of my beloved knocked" - God called them to return to the Promised Land.  "My head is covered in dew:" this is the Divine Presence coming out of the Temple and calling the exiles to return to their Land.  And the people answer, "I have removed my gown."  They are too lazy to get up and go.  In the end only a portion of the nation returns, and therefore the divine promises are only partially fulfilled, in accordance with their limited response.  "For the Divine Influence rests upon a person only according to his preparedness."

 

     This is the revelation of the secret of "kol dodi dofek:" the voice of my Beloved knocketh, which Rabbi Soloveitchik would later develop.

 

In the end, history is a question of partnership.  And if we do not join forces with Divine Providence, the promises will not be fulfilled.  In a sense, this is the basic reality of every love relationship, how to merge caution with the necessity not to lose or miss the moment, which may never return again.  In history the situation is much more serious, and Rihal exhorts us not to miss our opportunity.  History is knocking at the door, but we must be the ones to open it.

 

Partnership with God

 

The same demand that we act at the right moment is clear from another book in the Scriptures: the book of Esther.  This book teaches us, as Martin Buber has pointed out, what Divine Providence is.  Divine Providence is the partnership between man and God.  When we read the story of Esther we already know the ending.  We are witnesses to the process of Divine Providence preparing all the means to solve the tangle of events and emerge from the danger.  For example, let us take the plot of Bigtan and Teresh.  Mordechai discovers the plot, passes the information on to Esther, who passes it on to the king in Mordechai's name.  This is a minor story, clearly one of many intrigues in the court of Achashverosh.  However, the story of Bigtan and Teresh will receive its full meaning when in the end, on the night the king could not sleep, he read of this intrigue precisely at the time that Haman appeared before him.  The entire book is written like a kind of puzzle and the meaning of the early episodes become clear at the end.  The end is prepared from the beginning.  The chances for survival are planted in advance.  On the surface it seems that this is a story rigidly controlled, with everything established in advance.  However, right at the middle of the Book, at the decisive moment, Mordechai says to Esther,

 

"Do not imagine that you will save yourself in the king's palace... for if you are silent at this time, salvation will come to the Jews from another source." 

[Esther 4:13-14]

 

In other words, if Esther had refused to take action, all the Divine preparations would have gone to waste.  God would have to find himself another way.  In other words, even though He prepared he ground, God needs a partner, someone who will carry out His plan.  And here at the deciding point in the book, Mordechai tells Esther that she must take decisive and dangerous action and appear before the king, without being called to his presence: "Who knows, perhaps for this moment you became queen?"

 

     The historical progress of Divine Providence is an interaction between God and man.  God prepares the ground, but the process is never determined in advance; it is only a possibility.  God and man must work together to bring about human salvation.

 

In the Footsteps of Rihal and Maimonides

 

Modern Zionism arose under the influence of Rihal and Maimonides.

 

      What is our attitude towards the process of redemption? How do we translate the historical partnership we spoke of earlier into practical terms? It seems to me that we learn from the synthesis between Rihal and Maimonides' approaches a position, which can be termed an activist position. 

 

     In order to understand this approach we will contrast it to another position which has many variations.  This is the position that sees the redemption as an event not at all dependent upon human activity, but the result of historical processes in the hands of God, over which man has no control.  This position can perhaps be termed apocalyptic.  Indeed, the end of the processes of redemption is not in our hands; it constitutes a revelation of a hidden reality which was marked out in advance.

 

     In contrast, the position we will call activist claims that the redemption will occur as the result of human action.  This position can be understood in various ways, however here we refer to rational activism.  It unites two principles:

 

1.  The approach of Maimonides, who perceived the movement into the Messianic era not as a miraculous event but as the result of the actions of the Jewish people.

 

2.  Rihal's ideas about Aliya: he felt that the Jews' return to the Land would bring about the redemption.  We must reach the Land of Israel before the Messiah, not after him.

 

     Maimonides dismissed the theory that miraculous events are a prerequisite of the Messianic era and clear signs that the Messiah is on his way.  Maimonides teaches that the transition to the Messianic era will occur through rational means.  An interesting detail of this approach is the possibility of reestablishing the Sanhedrin naturally, given the consent of the Sages of the Land of Israel.  We saw this type of activity during the sixteenth century in the activities of Rabbi Jacob Berav and his supporters, who wanted to re-institute the traditional "semikha," and again in the nineteenth century, in the early stages of modern religious Zionism.  This was rational activism intended to bring about the redemption.  This was the vision of the Heralds of Zionism.

 

     Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher writes:

 

"[Regarding] the redemption of Israel which we await, one must not think that God will suddenly descend from the Heavens to the earth and tell His people: Go, or that He will send His Messiah in one moment from the Heavens to blow the great Trumpet to the dispersed of Israel and gather them to Jerusalem... rather the redemption of Israel will come about slowly... for the beginning of the redemption will come through the awakening of philanthropists and the desire of the kingdoms to gather some small portion of the scattered people of Israel to the Holy Land."

 

The term "Heralds of Zionism" has in my opinion done an injustice to these original formulators of the Zionist idea.  It seems to me that a paradoxical phenomenon is taking place here.  Herzlian Zionism appears to be modern and practical in that it intended to give an answer to modern anti-Semitism.  However, it seems to me that paradoxically we are closer today to the vision of the "Heralds of Zionism."  For us Zionism is not an answer to the problems of anti-Semitism; it is a national liberation movement.  Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher saw this clearly, and writes at the conclusion of his book "Rishon LeZion:"

 

"It is wondrous and glorious for the nation of Jeshurun who turn to the love of the Land of their Forefathers... for are we less than other nations, who consider their blood and possessions as nothing compared with the love of their country and their people?"

 

     We have found in Jewish thought a number of positions regarding the relationship between redemption and rational political activity.  As we have seen in our discussion of the concept of redemption, the common denominator which they all share is the basic assumption that the two do not contradict each other, in other words a negation of the approach which we earlier termed apocalyptic.  We have just seen the position of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher.  I would like to add another three positions.

 

     Rabbi Shemuel Mohliver originated, or at least emphasized a different idea: the distinction between two possible types of redemption: "at its time - I will hasten it."  The completely miraculous redemption is a possibility ["I will hasten it"].  However, since we have not been worthy, the second, natural possibility is now taking place ["at its time"].  He writes:

 

"In my opinion we have hinted here a wondrous idea regarding the future redemption, which we await.  It is well known that many of the great sages and most of the populace believe that the redemption will occur through a wondrous miracle which is high above the ways of nature.  However there are also those among the great sages who tend to think that the redemption, or at least the beginning of the redemption, will be natural, as is explained in the Jerusalem Talmud, first chapter of tractate Berakhot, 'Just as the dawn appears bit by bit, ... [so does the redemption of Israel],' and my opinion also tends in this direction according to two statements of our Sages in Tractate Sanhedrin... Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi asks: It says 'at its time' and it says, 'I will hasten it.'  If they are worthy, 'I will hasten it.'  If they are not worthy, 'at its time.'  And there as well Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi asks, It says, '..with heavenly clouds' and it says, 'a pauper riding a donkey.'  If they are worthy - with heavenly clouds.  If they are not worthy - a pauper and riding on a donkey.  And behold, in my opinion the two statements of Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi are of one stamp and it is that we have found written statements that the redemption will be on a lower level and in a natural way.  For this reason he says that if they are worthy, 'I will hasten it.'  Meaning that although naturally they would not be worthy of redemption, however I will hasten it miraculously and it will take place on a very exalted level.  However, if they are not worthy it will take place 'in its time,' in other words naturally...

 

God promised us in our Torah that 'Also when they are in the land of their enemies I will not be repulsed by them nor will I be disgusted by them [to the extent that] I will destroy them.'  Thus our hopes will not be dashed that in the end of days we will take our stand as an independent nation in our holy land and this will occur naturally, as we have seen, for the glimmerings of dawn have already begun to shine for us, we have achieved rights and freedom, and there are those of us who stand at the highest levels in wisdom, money and position.  And this is the meaning of 'If they are not worthy it will be at its time,' in other words that we will slowly rise higher and higher until we will return to our Land...

 

And although the redemption will occur naturally, it will not, heaven forbid, be by chance, for there is no such thing as chance in the universe, and who is the controller of nature if not God alone?  However, in any case it must occur naturally, meaning that when we ourselves are ready for it, we will try to convince all the kings and rulers to agree to be kind to our people because of the troubles and trials their forefathers placed upon our forefathers..."

 

     A third opinion was that of Rabbi Reines, who completely separated Zionism and Messianism.  This statement needs clarifying.  There are those who see apologetics in his position.  However, we must be precise: To whom is he apologizing? His opinion is not a response to the ultra-Orthodox attack, which claims that Zionism transgressed the Messianic idea because it believes in human action.  It is a response to the accusation that Zionism itself is the true Messianic national idea, which has now been cleansed of all the illusions which were added to it over the generations in religious frameworks.  In other words, the Messianic idea had to be protected against the danger of becoming a solely political idea.  The person who expressed this idea explicitly was Max Nordau, and it was repeated with the birth of the state in the writings of Ben Gurion.  In Rabbi Reines' period, such ideas as these were expressed by itinerant Zionist orators.  A nice position is found in the writings of Rabbi J.L. Zirelson, in his article, "Kotz She-baketz," Hamelitz 1898:

 

"It is truly a great mistake to equate Zionism with that approach.  It is possible for those who are faithful to the faith of Israel... to believe that the beginning will also be through miracles, without any natural preparation on our side... therefore God's power strong is enough to create new wonders for those who look to Him for salvation this time as well... and at the same time they can love Zionism with all their heart and might, a natural love and not an artificial love born of the outburst of anti-Semitism, just as a person who seeks medical help does not damage his faith...

 

For, just as when we consult with doctors and we travel for trade, these actions do not oppose our prayers for health and wealth, whose delivery we thank God alone for; for even as we involve ourselves with all these, we believe that all of man's endeavors at salvation are as naught, and only... [God] can make our endeavors bear fruit; in fact, in our actions we do not sin at all; on the contrary, we will gain, for we will develop human advancement, in which we will fulfill God's desire of us; thus, from this perspective when we turn to build the ruins of our holy land with our hands, not only will we not destroy the twelfth principle [of faith, i.e. belief in the messiah], and in fact we will gain much from the religious perspective: the settling of the Land, in and of itself, is a constant commandment which applies even when we are in exile; keeping the commandments which are dependent upon working our Holy Land; working the fields and ploughing... as a source of livelihood for many souls who are now idle and starving, so that we will no longer be a confirmation of the Gentiles' view of our poverty as just punishment for seizing the Land of Canaan and holding the ledger of the moneylender.  And above all, the unification of all of our parties, which are very far from each other, in focusing upon one general ambition, in which much good is contained for the Jewish people.  And in the spirit of the rule our Sages expressed in their interpretation of the verse, 'At its time, I will hasten it:' if they are worthy, 'I will hasten it;' if they are not worthy, [it will come] in its time. [Sanhedrin 98a]. 

 

Let us hope that the resultant gain will be one of the two: if our actions on Mount Zion will be desirable before the Lord, He will hasten our redemption; if this merit does not tip the scales, the redemption will take place whenever it will, at its time, and we will receive merit for all our good actions."

    

The National Answer

 

We learn this from Rihal's approach.  Moving to Israel is a prerequisite for redemption, and it teaches us that exile is no longer a punishment but a sin.  Our national and political identity owes a great debt to Rihal.  If exile is a sin, then the repentance for it will bring about the redemption, and this redemption is first of all the return to the Land.  "The beginning of the redemption is not dependent upon repentance but upon return to the Land" [Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher, Desire for Zion].

 

     The return to the Land and settling in it are prerequisites of redemption.  A well-known motif in Jewish tradition is that redemption depends upon keeping the commandments.  Here we find a revolutionary idea: bringing the redemption is not connected with any and all commandments, but first and foremost with the commandment to settle in the Land.  This new emphasis is also connected to Rihal's approach.  At the end of the book of the Kuzari, Rihal refers to the custom among sages to kiss the earth and stones of the Land of Israel.  The sages based this custom on a verse from the Psalms, which has been quoted hundreds and perhaps thousands of times.  However, Rihal gives it a new reading.  He reads the preceding verse, and thus reveals the meaning of the connection between the two verses:

 

"You will arise and have mercy upon Zion, for it is time to pardon her for the time has come;

for Your servants fulfilled [the sentence] of her stones and have pardoned her dust."  [Psalms 102:14-15]

 

The Chaver's meaning is clear:

 

"In other words, Jerusalem will indeed be rebuilt when the Jewish people will long for her with a great yearning, until they will bring about the pardon of her stones and dust..." [5:27]

Translated by Gila Weinberg