DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
20
April 16, 1943
TORAHCRATIC ZIONISM
ization prevail among the Jew s ancient or modern times, is the
Prepares "Job Letters" Manual
in Palestine which provokes dan - best ideal of a state."
Let me say here with Emile tie
Bo RABBI HERBERT S. GOLDSTEIN
gerous anti-Semitic feelings amon g
British and other soldiers comin g Laveleye, "There is in human af-
We must change our Zionist aims.
into contact with the Yishuv fo ✓ fairs one order which is the best.
outlook if Palestine is to be a per-
I quote from the late Doctor the first time.' Mr. Smolar con - That order is not always the one
manent homeland for the Jew and Schechter's "Some Aspects of tinues: 'We understand that a which exists, but is the order
the symbol of peace unto the Rabbinic Theology," who said, delegation (of American Zionis th which should exist, for the great-
world. At present Zionism is a "We must also remember that to Palestine, 'to see things on th e est good of humanity. God knows
movement of secular nationalism Israel is not a nation in the com- spot') is now in the process o f_ it and wills it; man's duty is to
with religion trailing behind or mon sense of the word. To the formation. . . . The names o , discover and establish it."
ignored.
rabbis, at least, it is not a nation Robert Szold, Louis Lipsky an
The prophet, Isaiah, the pas-
The mistake we are making is by virtue of race or of certain Mrs. Edward Jacobs are mention -, sionate lover of Zion, told Israel
that we want to be a 'nation," peculiar political combinations. As ed as members of the delegation • to give up its political independ-
a "goy" like the other "goyim," Saadya Gaon expressed it, "Be- (Let me say parenthetically tha t ence, yea, to pay tribute to a for-
"nations." I plead instead for the cause our nation is only a nation there should be added a represen - eign power, as long as Judaism
continuation of the Prophetic by reason of its Torah." The tation from Mizrachi and Aguda s could be freely lived in the Holy
ideal for Palestine, namely, that brutal Torah-less nationalism pro- Israel).
Land. The Maccabees, the direct
we should become on "Ohr mulgated in certain quarters,
"We must have more active pat descendants of the Bible, knew
L'Goyim," a ''light unto the na- would have been to the rabbis just ticipation in the management o f this. They were offered every
tions."
as hateful as the suicidal Torah- the Zionist movement by the re - opportunity to live in safety in
Is it merely political independ- less universalism preached in ligious Zionists. Many English - Zion if only they would forsake
ence we have so long been seek- other quarters. And if we could men were impressed by the Pro - the Sabbath, the dietary laws and
ing, or is it not rather a sanctu- imagine for a moment Israel giv- phetic fulfillment of Israel's re -, circumcision. They refused. They
ary for the Jewish soul? Secu- ing up its allegiance to God, its turn to the Holy Land. They wil h willingly bade farewell to hearth
larize Eretz Yisroel, and you de- Torah and its divine institutions, be disillusioned by conditions sue n and home, rather than part with
Judaise it. Even some of those the rabbis would be the first to as are mentioned above."
their religion. When they were Alexander A. Liveright, direc-
compromise with the precepts of sign its death-warrant as a na-
A Palestine, to be Jewish, mus t victorious, they saved the Temple tor of the Chicago Jewish Vo.
Judaism in the Diaspora, want to tion." Maimonides said,' "You be a God-governed Palestine. Th e and thereby the Holy Land.
cational Service, is the author
bring it to pass that in Zion the can be a righteous man whilst way of the God-governed Palestin e
Of course, we want a homeland
Jew may wear again the full singing in Arabic, and a wicked is found in our Torah. The con - for the Jews, but it will never of a 36-page manual on "Joh
breast-plate of his faith.
one though speaking Hebrew." stitution for a Jewish Palestin e become nor remain a homeland un- Letters", published this week
The anomaly about Zionism as Let me read an editorial from is nothing else than the Torah less it is a Holy Land.
by the B'nai B'rith Vocational
we have seen it practiced since the Jewish Forum of November, therefore the Judges in Palestin e
I am fully conscious that I shall Service Bureau as a guide to
the time of Herzl is that al- 1942:
can only be those who, qualify -, be attacked, from many quarters,
though it is a counter-movement
'Boris Smolar, in his syndicated ing according to Jewish law, wil for stating my views frankly; but Jewish young people in the
to the threat of assimilation, it column, "Between You and Me," decide in accordance with ou ✓ I believe that these are the views preparation of letters of appli-
carries a similar infection in its quotes the Palestine labor leader, constitution, the Torah.
of the very large number of in- cation when seeking employ.
own irreligious emphasis upon Jos. S. Sprinzak, from an article
It is the uniqueness of Israe I articulate, unorganized Jewish
nationalism. The Zionist move- in the "Yiddisher Kaempfer" that our nationalism is based o n men and women of America. Is ment. '
ment, as we have observed it, at (New York) entit:A "Danger theocracy. In our theocracy, o ✓ not the Zionist, who desecrates the
no time has shown any sustained, from Within," as follows: 'Bitter rather Torahcracy, the lait y Jewish religion, a traitor? I be-
sincere desire to use Judaism as animosities within the Yishuv, un- would make up the houses of th e lieve that my insistence on a Zion
an active force in achieving its checked speculation, and demoral- legislature, and the supreme cour t ruled by the Torah is true Zon- The problem of peace with the
or the Sanhedrin would pass upon , ism and that the other and, alas, Arabs will be solved more readily
J
the Torah-constitutionality of al the more trumpeted brand of Zion- if our emphasis in Palestine will
legislation. Our nation is an en -, ism is a falsely labeled container be more on the spiritual and less
tity dedicated to express the wil for a product which the essential on the national side. Stressing
of God through the way of the Jewish vitamin has been extracted.
political Zionism above all else
Torah in His Holy Land.
It is more flourishing only be-
Josephus, in his Contra-Apion , cause it has been so well propa- is a desecration when it is minus
Book, 17,22, has the following to gandized.
the Jewish religion. I realize that
say, concerning our Torahcracy:
If the Jews had been a nation the present leaders of Zionism
"Perhaps some would have the like other nations, 2000 years ago, have given of themselves unstint-
entire settlement of our govern with its own government, its own ingly in time, energy and health.
ment altered. And where shal land and language, like other They are well meaning men, but I
we find a better or more righteous small countries on the shores of dare say misguided men. What
constitution than ours? What the Mediterranean, but without they have built rests upon shifting
more worthy kind of worship can the Torah, we would have been sands. Let us remember the
be paid to God than we pay, where completely obliterated by this words of the Psalmist, "Unless the
the entire body of the people are time, just like the Persians, the Lord build the House, in vain
prepared for religion.. . . "
Assyrians, the Parthians, and the have the builders built."
It is interesting to note that in little Mediterranean nations.
My plea is: "Let us stop try-
the whole period of the Second
During the 700 years of the ing to be a nation like the other
Commonwealth from the restora- ghettos in Europe, although we nations. Let us establish a model
tion of Ezra till the destruction were herded into living quarters religious nation based on the To-
of the Temple there were two estimated at 7 to 10 people to rah from which may radiate our
philosophies in the State. The 1 room, beaten at every toll gate, own unique contributions to uni-
adherents of one were the Sad- driven from every highway, with- versal disarmament, to peace
ducees and of the other the Phari- out the protection of the law of through the dietary laws, to so-
sees, the former being the na- the land, nevertheless even under cial security, and to the rest of
tionalists and the latter the re- these conditions we did not de- the world's problems. This is
ligionists. The Sadducees were generate into gypsies. We did Judaism's creed for the way of
more interested in State power as not become stunted in mind, mor- life in the Holy Land.
practiced by Alexander Jannai. als and body. On the contrary,
Let this set* as a call for
they shunned many of the basic during these Dark Ages, we re-
orthodox
Jews, Mizrachists, Agud-
laws of our faith and were con- mained free of venereal diseases, ists and the
great host of religious
cerned primarily with political af- which ravaged the general popu- Jews not affiliated with any or-
fairs. It is to be noted that lace, because our family life was ganization, to band together
as
though these Sadducee nationalists pure, thanks to the laws of the
exerted actual power in the State Torah. When the ghetto gates Judaism's Zionists, to challenge
Mizrachi to stand upon its own
and consorted with the Roman were opened we emerged a vigor- feet.
governors, but in religious mat- out, alert people, pure in heart
The sin of silence is ours. Our
ters they were completely under and body, and quickly took an im- "silence"
may be interpreted as
the Pharisees, who were the tra- portant place in every walk of "consent." (Baba Metziah :37).
ditional interpretors of the law," life, thanks to the sustaining
—the rabbis in the Sanhedrin. strength even us by the Torah. Many of us have done little fur
Rome, at that time, respected Jew- So the Torah kept us alive dur- the Holy Land, because we could
not join the existing forces and
ish law.
ing these long and bitter years
our cooperation help in the
Josephus further testifies to this of persecution—alive in body, by
breakdown of the Torah in Pales-
submission of the nationalists to wholesome in mind and unbroken
the religionists, when he says in in spirit. It gave us morale be- tine. • Let us repent for the past,
Antiquities, 18:1: "But they (the cause it safeguarded our morals. and here sacredly resolve to take
our proper place to make and to
Sadducees) are able almost to do
The world will soon, I pray,
nothing of themselves; for when enter upon a new era of world represent Eretz Israel, as a Holy
Land, led and ruled by represen-
they become magistrates, as they peace. This is an excellent time tatives
of the Torah.
are unwillingly and by force to change our present Zionist out-
Numbers are not the essential
sometimes obliged to be, they ad- look. Political, secular national-
dict themselves to the notions of ism, has been its spearhead and yardstick. We read in the Book
the Phadisees, because the multi- motivating force. Religion has of Deuteronomy, Chapter 7.
tude would not otherwise bear has been carried along like the Verse 7, "The Lord (lid not set
His love upon you, nor choose you,
them."
proverbial tail to a kite, with-
Even in the days of Bar Kochba out influencing the direction of because ye were more in number
than any people; for ye were the
when a national state was assayed the movement.
fewest in number." Later, the
and the war received the support
So long as the Mizrachi helps
of Rabbi Akiva, the political the World Zionist Organization Prophet spoke of "the three hun-
makeup of the State was in ac- raise its funds a substantial part dred and the seven thousand
cordance with the religious prin- of which is used to establish a knees, that have not bowed to
ciples of the great teacher. When, nationalism contrary to the To- Baal." Numbers have never been
however, Bar Kochba at the peak rah as the Jewish way of life in our criterion of strength. It is
of his power, stressed an exclu- Palestine, so long must Zionism loyalty to our Torah which h a s
made us invincible.
sively nationalistic future, his fail.
Men of great faith can accom-
sponsor, Rabbi Akiva, turned
Mizrachi can and should repre- plish what to the naked eye seems
against him, and dubbed him ''a sent Judaism's Zionism.
insurmountable. If we arc sin-
false hope" instead of "a bril-
I am afraid that a new emphi- cere for the truth we shall be sue
liant star."
sis is being put on Jewish life cessful. I say to you my loya:
Thereafter Rome began to in- today. In the early days of my
tensify her persecution of the ministry the question was: Are brethren of the faith, "Be strum
Jews because she realized that if you an orthodox Jew or not? This and of good courage."
Dear brethren and sisters, I d.
thei.e was no more Jewish re- is not the question today. The
ligion there would be no Jewish question is rather: Are you a not want to appear to create fur
ther disunity. Remember when
State.
Zionist or not—(regardless of
'These references concerning the whether you are orthodox, conser- Phinehas entered the camp and
problems of the Second Common- vative, reform or un-synagogued). acted like a zealot, when zealous-
wealth, and of the continuance of So long as that is the measure ness was needed, God said, "Be-
Jewry in Bar Kochba's days, may of our loyalty to Judaism we shall hold I give unto him My Cove-
nant of Peace."
will serve us as lessons for our never succeed.
day.
I have pointed out whither the
remember the slogan of first experiment of Zionist leader-
In his lecture at Yale, Profes- the You
"Maskilim"—''Be a Jew in ship and organization as at pres-
sor William W. Andrews, discuss- your home and a man in the
ing the social question of the street." Today, it is just the ent constituted has led us. «C
orthodox Jews must demand that
state, said, "It is for the more
complete unfolding and demonstra- reverse. Too many proclaim their 't he Torah become the overall
Judaism
in
the
street
and
at
ban-
s
tandard for all Zionist activi-
tion of this problem (truth) that
tables, but fail to live it at t ies. Differences will exist, but
I propose to investigate certain quet
home.
Listen to Gus Haenschen's All-String Orchestra
great principles lying at the foun-
he final decisions of our judges
These are historic and oppor- i nterpreting the Torah, our cop-
WJR —Tuesdays 7:30 P.M., E.S.T.-760 Kilos.
dation of social and political well-
tune
moments
for
the
Jew
to
re-
s
titution, must prevail. Then will
being, as they are illustrated in
the constitution of the Hebrew establish what we have been Palestine enjoy a peace, that will
praying
for
these
many
centuries,
Commonwealth, which, of all, in
he as glorious as it is Holy, for
a Torahcratic State in Palestine. t he Jew and the rest of the world.
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