Page 4 - HaMizrachi Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot 5782 USA

Jerusalem ˉ

Rabbi Doron
Perez

few months ago, World Miz- opposition – something we were not unity that allows the Shechinah, Hash-
rachi was set to celebrate a prepared to do. And so, despite months em’s presence, to rest in the Temple.
historic milestone event in of preparation and investment, we The unity of Jeruslaem, continues the
Athe Knesset, an event that made the difficult decision to cancel Malbim, is a prerequisite for world
should have been a great personal the Knesset event. We would find other peace; only when the people of Israel
and organizational highlight. Ten days places and ways to mark our historic join together in Jerusalem will we
before the event was scheduled to take milestone. finally achieve peace with our external
place, we canceled it – and it was one The reason for our decision stems from enemies.
of the best decisions we ever made. the very heart of Mizrachi’s 120-year- Just as the Beit HaMikdash brought
Here’s why. long mission. From the very beginning, our people together in Jerusalem, the
Mizrachi aimed to unite rather than Mishkan unified our people during
This past March, during the Hebrew
month of Adar, we marked the 120th divide, to become a movement of unity our sojourn in the desert. The root
anniversary of the founding of the but not uniformity, and to provide word רבח appears ten times in the
Mizrachi movement by Rabbi Yitzchak opportunities for Am Yisrael to come thirteen verses describing the con-
Reines in Vilna in 1902. In formally together and find common ground. struction of the covers and curtains
launching the Religious Zionist move- A political party in hebrew is called a of the Mishkan (Shemot 26:1–13).
ָ
ְ
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ment, Rabbi Reines aimed to integrate ה ָג ָל ְפ ִמ, similar to the Talmudic term ד ָח ֶא ן ָּכ ׁש ּ מ ַה ה ָי ָה ְו …תֹעי ִר ְי ַה ת ֶא ּ ת ְר ַּב ִח ְו,
Torah values with the nascent Zion- א ָּ ת ְגּול ְּ פ, meaning “to be divided” or “You shall attach the curtains to
ist movement. In celebration of this “argument”. After canceling the Knes- one another… so that the Tabernacle
milestone anniversary, we planned a set event, we coined a new phrase: that becomes one“ (Shemot 26:6). The cur-
celebratory unity event in the audito- we at Mizrachi aspire to be םי ִר ְּ ב ַח ְמ tains were joined together through
rium of the Knesset that would bring instead of םי ִג ְּ ל ַפ ְמ; our goal is to build interlocking hooks and loops, trans-
together ministers and members of bridges among our people instead of forming disparate materials into one
Knesset from across the general and widening the gaps. unified entity. Whether in the Beit
Religious Zionist political spectrums. HaMikdash or the Mishkan, intercon-
As a historic Zionist milestone event, nectedness and unity are prerequisites
we felt strongly that the event should The essence of Jerusalem for the dwelling of G-d’s Shechinah.
transcend political differences, and This is the great challenge and oppor-
so we planned equal billing for all of tunity of Jerusalem – and its very
the Religious Zionist parties and equal essence. ו ָ ּ ד ְח ַי ּ ה ָּ ל ה ָר ְּ ב ֻח ֶ ׁש רי ִע ְּ כ ם ִי ַל ָ ׁשּור ְי, Bridge builders
participation from both sides of the “Jerusalem is like a city that was joined The very founding of Mizrachi was an
aisle. There are times and events that together itself” (Tehillim 122:3). The act of unity and integration, bringing
call for rising above partisan politics, rabbis explain that Jerusalem is the רי ִע together two seemingly disparate
when all Jews must set aside their םי ִר ֵב ֲח ְל ל ֵא ָרְשִי ל ָּ כ הָשֹועֶ ׁש, “the city which ideologies – Zionism, a largely secu-
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strongly-held differences and come transforms all of Israel into friends” lar nationalist movement; and Torah
together in celebration. (Jerusalem Talmud, Chagigah 3b). This Judaism, a religious and spiritual
Alas, we did not anticipate how diffi- is the unique power of Jerusalem. It is belief system. Towering rabbinic lead-
cult this would turn out to be. Even a city of רּו ּ בי ִח, with the power to build ers of that era such as Rabbis Mohile-
after Herculean efforts, it was sadly friendship and understanding. ver, Reines and Kook all believed that
impossible to hold an apolitical event The Malbim writes that the singular Torah Judaism and Zionism can and
at the epicenter of Israeli politics. theme of Tehillim 122 is the unique must be integrated. And so, the men
In today’s acerbic political climate, unifying power of our holy city and the and women of Mizrachi learned that it
we would be forced to give primacy Beit HaMikdash. Jerusalem combines was possible to remain loyal to authen-
to one party or another and choose disparate limbs of the national body tic Torah values while also seeking out
between the governing coalition or the into one spiritual entity, creating a the points of רּו ּ בי ִח.

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