Page 15 - HaMizrachi Shavuot 5783 USA

tens of thousands of Jews fled across the
Russian border to Galicia, Rav Mohilever
participated in a conference of western
Jewish leaders to decide what to do with
the refugees. He argued, unsuccessfully,
that the refugees should be resettled in
Palestine.
Most significantly, the pogroms were the
catalyst for the formation of the Chovevei
Zion, also known as Chibbat Zion – a variety
of groups and organizations established to
promote emigration to Palestine. Though
the movement was dominated by secu-
larists like Leon Pinsker, Rav Mohilever
quickly became one its most important
leaders, elected president of the Chovevei
Zion conference in 1884. Participants of a convention of Chovevei Zion groups in Katowice in 1884 assembled to address the need
of a Jewish state. Seated in the center of the front row are Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever and Dr. Leon Pinsker.
Rav Mohilever’s decision to work side- (PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
by-side with secularists and agnostics in
the Chibbat Zion movement set a critically Rav Mohilever worked constantly to pro- long ago from rabbinic writings that G-d
important precedent for the Religious mote and support the colonization of the prefers His children to be in His Land,
Zionist movement. Standing between Land. He wrote, “From all that has been even if they do not observe the law in the
Orthodox traditionalists who rejected all said, it becomes clear to us that the verse proper manner, rather than live in other
cooperation with irreligious Zionists and ‘And you shall dispossess the inhabitants lands and observe the law scrupulously”
secular Zionists who regularly flouted of the land and dwell in it’ (Bamidbar (Benjamin L. Gordon, New Judea: Jewish life
halacha, Rav Mohilever’s balancing act 33:53) is a positive commandment which in Modern Palestine and Egypt, 1919).
foreshadowed the difficult role the Miz- is equivalent to all the mitzvot in the In 1893, after a series of disagreements
rachi movement would later play in the Torah. The most important part of this with the secular leadership of the Chib-
Zionist movement and the State of Israel. commandment is the dispossession of the
inhabitants and possession of the Land. bat Zion movement, based in Odessa, Rav
Interestingly, Rav Mohilever also worked At the time when Israel was an indepen- Mohilever created a new Zionist center to
closely with Laurence Oliphant, a Chris- dent nation, this was done by war, and promote Zionism among the traditional
tian Zionist and an emissary of the Lord during our present era, the Land is bought Orthodox community. He called this office
Mayor of London. Both men sought to with money. Such an act of buying land “Mizrachi,” an abbreviation for merkaz
help as many Jews emigrate to Palestine is considered by our Sages to gain for the ruchani, or “spiritual center.” Nine years
as possible. Rav Mohilever even issued a individual a share in the world to come, later, when the Religious Zionist move-
public statement of support for Oliphant: and the commandment to buy land even ment was reestablished by Rav Reines
“Our brethren should not suspect that his pushes aside a shevut (rabbinic prohibi- and other students of Rav Mohilever,
intention is to strengthen the Christian tion) on Shabbat…” they adopted “Mizrachi” as the name of
religion and divert our people from their the movement.
faith… He and his wife wish only for the Unlike Rav Kalischer, who never had the At the very end of his life, Rav Mohilever
fulfillment of the words of the prophets opportunity to see the Holy Land, Rav merited to witness the rise of Theodor
that Israel will be restored to its Land, and Mohilever succeeded in visiting Eretz Yis- Herzl and the beginnings of political Zion-
that [the Jews] should do this in a way that rael in 1890. He traveled throughout the ism. The two great leaders corresponded,
enables them to keep every detail of the country, visiting old Jewish communities and though he could not attend the First
Jewish religion.” in Jaffa, Jerusalem and Chevron as well
as new settlements like Petach Tikva, Zionist Congress due to poor health, Rav
In 1882, the Ottoman Sultan forbade Jews Rishon LeTzion and Zichron Ya’akov. He Mohilever’s grandson read an address at
from entering Palestine, threatening the also played a key role in purchasing the the Congress on his behalf.
viability of the new settlements. During land upon which the settlement of Recho- In 1913, when secular Zionists estab-
this precarious time, Rav Mohilever per- vot would soon be established. lished a kibbutz in northern Israel, east
formed his greatest service for the Zionist of Chadera, they chose to name it “Gan
movement. He traveled to Paris to meet Returning to Europe, Rav Mohilever Shmuel,” “Samuel’s Garden,” in honor of
the young Baron Edmond de Rothschild defended the secular Jewish pioneers that Rav Mohilever. It is a fitting tribute to Rav
and successfully convinced him to sup- he met during his trip: “I am surprised Mohilever’s belief that all Jews must work
port the struggling pioneers in Eretz Yisrael. to see many rabbinic scholars and pious together to rebuild the Jewish homeland
After hearing the rabbi out, Rothschild Jews opposing the development of Pales- in Eretz Yisrael. May his memory inspire
announced, “Rabbi… state the sum and tine by Jews because, as they claim, the our people to turn towards each other in
I shall give it.” Until his death in 1934, Jewish colonists, particularly the young love and unity!
Rothschild remained the single greatest element, do not observe the law… Even if
benefactor of the new Yishuv. such accusations were true, I have shown

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