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Rabbi Doron Perez

                 Torat            The Sacred

             HaMizrachi           and the Secular





                  olda Meir writes in her memoirs   Independence Hall on that momentous   thus blazing a trail of partnership and
                  – “My Life” – that one of the most   day. The photo on the cover of our   collaboration that is still thriving today.
          G moving parts of the Declaration      inaugural   HaMizrachi   publication,
           of Independence in Tel-Aviv in 1948 was   capturing  this  duality  of  voices,  They acted as they did because felt the only
           when Rabbi Maimon, the Head of Mizrachi   quintessentially captures the indispensable   way to impact is from within.
           and sitting immediately to the right of Ben-  role of the Mizrachi Movement.
           Gurion, made the ‘Shehechiyanu’ blessing. 1                                  From the outside you cannot influence;
                                                 What is that role?                     from the inside you can transform.
           At that moment she sensed the true
           meaning of what the establishment of the   In 1897, the Zionist Movement was   The very name – Mizrachi  (י ִח ָר ְ ז ִמ) –
           State meant.                          founded. Barely 50 years later, with   captures its core mission. It as an acronym
                                                 God’s help, they had remarkably created   for MerkaZ RuCHanI  (יִנ ָחוּר  ז ָכּ ְ ר ֶמ)
           It was not just another modern national   a sovereign state. The collective physical   –  a spiritual center, striving to bring the
           movement of the 19th century European   body  of  the  Jewish  people  had  somehow   timeless values of Torah to the heart of the
           secular ilk but a distinctly Jewish one. A   been resurrected.               Zionist endeavor.
           fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and a link
           in the chain of Jewish destiny.       But would it also receive a soul?  Would its   Torat HaMizrachi is Torat Chaim – a
                                                 collective fate turn into spiritual destiny?   Torah of Life – committed to bring Torah
           Ben-Gurion’s political proclamation and   Could the national secular movement – which   values and vibrancy to all areas of human
           Rabbi Maimon’s religious enunciation   had achieved so much for the Jewish nation –   and Jewish life.  Aiming to fuse sacred and
           echoed   almost  concurrently  from   also become a spiritual and sacred enterprise?  secular, soldier and scholar, settler and sage,
                                                 In the religious world, many were skeptical.   to come together to create a synergistic
                                                 They  were  understandably  ambivalent  to   whole and uplift all areas of Jewish
                                                 the Zionist Movement as it appeared to be   collective and national life.
                                                 just another transient secular ‘ism,’ hence
                                                 they kept it at arm’s length.          That is our prayer too for this  new publi-
                                                                                        cation. It is our hope  that its message and
                                                 However, a group of leading Eastern    spirit of   Torah thoughts and ideas   from
                                                 European rabbis, led by Rabbi Ya’akov   Israel will become a   relevant, inspiring,
                                                 Yitzchak Reines, thought otherwise. They   and   unifying platform between   Israel and
                                                 answered an emphatic ‘yes’ to the above   Jewish  communities all over the  world.
                                                 questions, believing they could and should   _____________________________
                                                 strive to build bridges – between physical   1  The thanksgiving blessing upon acquiring new items
                                                 and spiritual, body and soul, national and   or on living to see auspicious times.
                                                 religious, democratic and Jewish.      2  Literally “settlement,” but a term used to describe
                                                                                          the early community in pre-State Israel.
                                                 And to support their beliefs, they formed
            Golda Meir with the children of Kibbutz Shefaim,   “Mizrachi” in 1902 as a distinct yet   Rabbi Doron Perez is Head of
            1950 (GPO)                           integrated part of the  Zionist Movement,   the Mizrachi World Movement




                                                                                     Editor-in-Chief Daniel  Verbov
                                    Published by Mizrachi World Movement             Creative Director Jonny Lipczer
                                      54 King George Street, Jerusalem               Production Manager Meyer Sterman
                                    Chairman Mr. Harvey Blitz                        production@mizrachi.org
                                    Head Rabbi Doron Perez                           Design Estie Brauner, Leah Moyal
                                    hamizrachi@mizrachi.org                         www.mizrachi.org   Follow us
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