Page 39 - HaMizrachi Australia Rosh HaShana Yom Kippur 5781

RELIGIOUS ZIONIST LEADERS THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

OUR SERIES ON LEADERS WHO HAVE SHAPED RELIGIOUS ZIONISM OVER THE LAST 150 YEARS

Rav Yeshayahu Shapira

orn in Grodzisk, Poland, Rav Headquarters in Jerusalem. In this Zionist Labor communities, he con-
Shapira was the youngest son of capacity, he initiated the building of tinued to serve on the board of the
Bthe Chasidic Rebbe, Elimelech the Rosh Pina-Tangah Road and the Mizrachi Party. When HaPoel HaM-
of Grodzisk. His father died when he cleaning of Solomon’s Pools outside of izrachi became embroiled in its first
was just a year old and he was taken Bethlehem. Personally participating in identity crisis, Rav Shapira supported
and educated by his grandfather. In these efforts, he soon became known the faction which desired to enter the
his house, Yeshayahu received an as the Pioneer Rebbe. In addition, he general Labor Movement, i.e., the
education deeply rooted in Chasi- began a movement to help people Histadrut. After the crisis had passed,
dism, being groomed to take over his who couldn’t find work, thereby com- he devoted his time to buying land for
father’s rather substantial following. bating problems of unemployment. settlement. However, he continued
Part of his education included the
nurturing of a deep love for Eretz to represent HaPoel HaMizrachi at
Yisrael (if not for Zionism) and when inter-governmental meetings and in
the time came to become Rebbe, Rav public forums.
Shapira decided to go to Eretz Yisrael In 1924, Rav Shapira traveled back
instead. Upon arriving in Jaffa, he met to Poland to try and influence some
with Rav Kook, who had a tremen- of the Chasidic community to come
dous influence on the young Chasid. to Eretz Yisrael. To this end, he was
Unfortunately, World War I broke out largely successful in convincing two
and Rav Shapira decided he should be
with the family he had left behind in fairly young rebbes, Rabbi Yehezkel
Poland. Taub and Rabbi Israel Hoffstein, to
move to Israel with their chassidim.
There, Rav Shapira began to teach the They bought land with the help of
ideas of Religious Zionism among the Rav Shapira and founded the settle-
various Chasidic communities and ments of Nachalat Ya’akov and Avodat
he began his involvement in Miz- Yisrael, which later merged into Kfar
rachi. He joined the First Mizrachi Chasidim. He went on to found Kfar
Convention of 1917 and called upon Ata.
all Orthodox Jews to sell their busi- In 1921, he took part in what was to
nesses and possessions and go and become the foundation meeting of For 10 years, from 1933-43, Rav Sha-
live in Eretz Yisrael. He became con- HaPoel HaMizrachi. He was one of pira managed Zerubavel, a coopera-
vinced that agriculture and farming the chief instigators behind the cre- tive bank in Yerushalayim. But desir-
were the surest ways to reclaim the ation of a Religious Zionist Labor ing to reenter agriculture, he settled
Land of Israel and to bring about the movement to answer the needs of in Kfar Pines, where his home served
Redemption. In 1919, he spoke to the religious youth who wished to fuse as a spiritual center for HaPoel HaM-
Congress in Hebrew and reiterated their lives (which were dedicated to izrachi until his death in 1945. He
the Religious Zionist stance, concen- Torah) with the Labor ideology. At wrote many articles on economic and
trating on the need to establish agri- the first HaPoel HaMizrachi Congress agricultural problems, often foresee-
cultural settlements. in 1922, Rav Shapira was the keynote
speaker and soon became one of the ing the problematic halachic issues
In 1920, Rav Shapira came on aliyah Movement’s three directors, as well to emerge with the new State. Syna-
and immediately took over as head as head of its Settlement Division. gogues in Kfar Pines, Kfar Ata and Tel
of the Immigration and Labor Although most of his energies were Aviv were named after him, as well as
Department at the World Mizrachi devoted to establishing Religious a forest in the Galilee. 

| 39