Page 28 - HaMizrachi #29 Yom HaAtzmaut 2021 USA

HOLIDAY READING ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE

Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander

Torat Eretz Yisrael

and the Vision of a Jewish State

e are told in the Midrash entry for the many in light of our coun- We are taught that as Rabbi Akiva
(Bereishit Rabbah 16:4) try’s religious diversity. We need to was martyred, a key moment of defeat
Wthat ל ֵ א ָ ר ְ ׂשִי ץ ֶ ר ֶ א ת ַ רֹות ְּ כ ה ָ רֹו ּ ת ןי ֵ א, remove 2,000 years of dust from the marking the fall of the Second Com-
“there is no Torah like the Torah of the texts that discuss the moral and religious monwealth, the letters of the Torah
Land of Israel.” In what sense is the Torah guidelines that must inspire our national ascended toward heaven. With sover-
studied and taught within the confines policies in areas such as the plight of eignty lost, elements of the Torah itself
of the Land of Israel meaningfully dis- asylum seekers, the needs of migrant became inapplicable, and were sent
tinct from the Torah of other locales? workers, and national support for those into heavenly exile to await our peo-
Did G-d not give one single Torah to the who suffer economically. We need to ple’s return. Today, Torat Eretz Yisrael
entire Jewish people? 1 courageously muster halacha and the is the recognition that only in Medinat

With the birth of the State of Israel 73 judiciary system on both the local and Yisrael does Torah have the capacity to
years ago, Torat Eretz Yisrael took on international levels to end the scourge fully engage the private, communal and
a whole new meaning, or, better yet, of the agunah crisis. And as citizens of a global arenas of Jewish life and outlook.
a renewal of a meaning that had been state that is both Jewish and democratic, Here in Israel, we have the opportunity
fossilized. As Rav Soloveitchik described we must explore the halachic principles and ability to restore the Torah to its
in remarks delivered on June 12, 1967 that can and should guide us in fairly rightful prominence.
before the RCA, “In the last 2000 years, engaging the minority populations who The Torah is no longer orphaned from
the Jewish people played no role in the live among us, particularly with those its engagement with the rest of the
historical arena. Now, the great miracle who pledge allegiance to this country global community. Today’s Torat Eretz
has happened, that our people some- and even serve in our armed forces. Yisrael has the capacity to be holistic
how emerged from the shadows, from and visionary, confidently confront-
anonymity, and are now in the center of The purview of Torat Eretz Yisrael is ing the needs of Am Yisrael in its own
the universal stage.” The Jewish people not limited to what happens within our sovereign state. It is a calling to forsake
finds itself today not as a small, minority national borders. With more nations neither our ancient traditions nor the
community dispersed across the earth. ready to establish bilateral relations ever-changing realities around us, but
Rather, we are now an independent, with Israel, and with governments and to find the interconnectivity between
sovereign nation, bound together by regimes the world over committing them. This is the Torah of Eretz Yisrael!
a shared destiny, and a full-fledged atrocities against their own popula- May we merit to study it, to teach it and
member of the family of nations. tions and those of their foes, how will to bring it to life.
What does the return to sovereignty we be guided by the Torah’s eschato-
mean for Torat Hashem and for the logical vision of a lasting, harmonious
observant Jew, as we build not just a world peace? Perhaps like no other time 1 In addition to the contemporary idea I will be
suggesting, there are many other interpretations
state for Jews, but a Jewish State? Torah in history, we can explore the role the of this statement including Rav Yehuda Aryeh
now has a renewed responsibility to deal Jewish State should play in facilitating Leib Alter of Gur (Sefat Emet, Beshalach 5656)
with a government and an army, and the and advancing a more just and equita- concerning the development of Mitzvot Hat-
luyot BaAretz, and others who point out the
repercussions of such power. We need to ble world order. These questions and so differences in the paradigmatic construction of
discuss how Shabbat and Chagim look many more are what make Torat Eretz the Jerusalem Talmud vs. Babylonian Talmud.
in the public sphere – how we operate Yisrael unique, rich and expansive. And
our hospitals, army bases, power plants by engaging in these issues, the Jewish Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander is the Pres-
and recreational spaces. We must ensure people are propelled onto the world ident & Rosh Yeshiva of the Ohr Torah
that religion is not a political tool of the stage, with the opportunity to make a Stone Network and Rabbi Emeritus of the
few but a portal of ethical and spiritual global impact. Boca Raton Synagogue.

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