Page 4 - HaMizrachi Chanukah 2021 - USA

Trail_lazers

of Partnership

Rabbi Doron Perez

I for his intellectual genius and pious culture and education as part of the
ncredibly, barely 50 years after
movement's purview.
character. Yes, there were other Rabbis
Herzl's founding of the modern
Zionist movement, the Jewish already present at the first Zionist Con-
The religious faction within the
people succeeded in establishing gress in 1897, but Rabbi Reines' stature
a sovereign Jewish State. It was an and charisma brought greater religious movement was faced with a painful
dilemma. How could they remain com-
extraordinary achievement, and the gravitas to the movement. mitted to a Zionist movement that was
result of the commitment by Zionists
Exceptionally thorough, Rabbi Reines explicitly committed to secularism?
from all over the world to the collective
had studied Herzl's personality and
return of the Jewish people to the Land Some did indeed leave, eventually help-
the organization he founded for two
of Israel. ing to found Agudath Yisrael. However,
long years. When he was convinced Rabbi Reines and many others agreed
From the very beginning, religious Jews Herzl deeply cared about the Jewish they must find a way to stay in the
were faced with a dilemma: should people and wanted the Zionist Move- movement without compromising
they be part of a movement led by ment to be a unifying force, he threw their values and religious authentic-
people espousing values often at odds his full weight behind it, emerging as ity. To achieve this, they created their
with Torah Judaism? Could the secular one of the prominent leaders of the own distinct faction within the Zionist
Zionist movement become a spiritual
movement. 1 movement.
and sacred enterprise?
On 25 Adar I 5662 (March 4, 1902}, Rabbi
Despite facing skepticism and oppo- The culture controversy and Reines and 70 colleagues founded the
sition from many leading Orthodox the founding of Mizrachi Mizrachi Movement. Mizrachi is an
figures, a group of Eastern European acronym for merkaz ruchani, a "spiritual
rabbis, led by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Events at the 5th Zionist Congress in center," and its mission was to synthe-
Reines, believed that Zionism could be 1901 irrevocably changed the Zionist size modern Zionism with Judaism's
transformed into a holy movement. Movement from within, dividing a age-old spiritual mission. Within two
They believed that the body of the unified movement into separate par- years, Mizrachi grew meteorically to
movement could only be sustained ties and factions. Followers of Achad 120 new chapters across Europe, and a
by a soul, and that they could and Ha'am's philosophy of cultural Zionism Religious Zionist revolution had begun.
must strive to build bridges - between sought to introduce secular cultural
national and religious, physical and values into the movement's mission. To A paradigm for Jewish unity:
spiritual, Jewish and democratic. that end, they founded a separate party,
Mutual fate could most certainly be The Democratic Faction, to champion the four species
transformed into spiritual destiny. their cause. Like other groups and federations
They believed that the only way to Both Herzl and Rabbi Reines vocif- within the Zionist movement, Miz-
make an impact was from within. And erously opposed the move. As long rachi was independent yet integrally
so in 1899, the brilliant Rabbi Reines as Zionism focused on material and involved in the broader Zionist
formally joined the World Zionist Orga- practical goals such as political activ- Movement. Rabbi Reines was asked
nization and became a delegate to the ism and support of the settlement about the rationale (both log-
World Zionist Congress. This could enterprise, all Zionists could be united. ical and halachic) of such a
framework. How could they
not be overlooked by his rabbinic col- They understood that if the movement
be independent and interdepen-
leagues, as Rabbi Reines was recognized would segue into cultural and religious
dent simultaneously?
as one of the Gedolei Yisrael, the great issues, it would lead to divisiveness.
Rabbis of his generation. He was head Nevertheless, despite their opposition, Rabbi Reines responded
of the Beit Din of Lida and renowned the Congress voted to include secular with a remarkable ' c. / I'\

4 I HAN!IZRACHI