Q&A: Does Judaism Suffer from the Failings of Religious Zionism?
Does Judaism Suffer from the Failings of Religious Zionism?
Question
In your article, “Did Zionism Ever Have a Role?”, you leveled sharp criticism at Religious Zionism and at their foolish way of looking at the state. You also mentioned that they basically can’t be wrong because: “It can never be refuted, since whatever happens or doesn’t happen is already found in one passage or another of ‘Orot HaKodesh,’ or in ‘Ma’amar HaDor’ (for our generation?!).”
So my question is: can’t the same thing be said about Judaism in general?
For example, the Talmud finds lots of mistakes and contradictions and errors in the Torah and in the Mishnah, and then gives answers that are often much worse than the question and sound like meaningless pilpulim—but of course we can’t be wrong (for the same reason you wrote about why Religious Zionism thinks it can’t be wrong).
You even wrote this: “Such a position usually finds itself smashed against the rocks of stubborn reality, and in order to survive it begins to quibble and twist itself, building epicycles and deferents, so long as the world will continue to move in its own circles.”
Is Judaism making the same mistake as Religious Zionism?
Answer
I think not. There are indeed quite a few unfounded assertions, and those should be given up. That is what I devoted my trilogy to. But the framework itself is definitely reasonable, and it also makes almost no claims about reality, so it does not need to contend with facts.
Discussion on Answer
Paragraph 2, lines 5–6
… there is a growing process of drawing closer to tradition and taking an interest in the “Jewish bookshelf.”
With God’s help, 14 Tevet 5781
To Yinon — greetings,
“Stubborn reality” דווקא supports the vision of Religious Zionism. When Rabbi Mohilever and Rabbi Reines, and later also Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, supported cooperation with the Zionist movement in activity for the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, there were a few tens of thousands of Jews in the country under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Today there is here a Jewish state in which millions of Jews live, open to Jews from all over the world to immigrate to it. This state is flourishing politically, militarily, and economically. From the religious standpoint as well there is great flourishing. Millions of Jews are observant of commandments and tradition, among them tens of thousands of Torah scholars whose “Torah is their occupation.” The Land of Israel has again become the greatest Torah center in the Jewish world. Even among the secular public there is a growing process of inte
At least about a quarter of the members of Knesset are Jews who observe Torah and commandments, and there is a very reasonable chance that our next prime minister will be a Jew who keeps Sabbath and kashrut and puts on tefillin every day—namely Gideon Sa’ar. I do not necessarily support him; his political actions will bring him closer or distance him, but even so, the fact that for the first time in the history of the state there is a good chance of a prime minister committed to the basic commandments of the Torah shows how far we have progressed religiously as well.
The view that the national revival in its land comes little by little is proving itself in the test of reality.
With blessing, Ami’oz Yaron Schnitzler