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Moshe Kempinski , author of The Teacher and the Preacher, is the editor of the Jerusalem Insights weekly email journal and co-owner of Shorashim, a Biblical shop and learning center in the Old City of Jerusalem.
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By Moshe Kempinski
February 17, 2006
For decades the religious Zionist community has seen themselves as the bridge between Secular Zionism and Torah Judaism. That model and concept has been shattered in the last couple of months. The very notion that a bridge was necessary between those two ideas was inherently false. It implied there was an ideal of Zionism that espoused the values of a self governing Jewish state on the one hand that needed to be bridged with the eternal ideal of God's revealed message, Torah, on the other.
The truth is that these two are inseparable. Zionism has no raison d'etre and lacks the power to sustain itself without torah. Torah faith on the other hand is inexorably linked with the process of Divine redemption and its ultimate fulfillment is expressed within a self governing Jewish entity.
After the last several months it has become clear that Religious Zionism cannot see itself any more as the Bridge but must focus on its ultimate goal of being the Destination.
The tragic expulsion of Jews in the summer that was followed by the viciously violent destruction at Amona has completely changed other concepts as well.
It has always been the accepted understanding that the struggle for the heart and soul of the people living in Zion rages between the Israeli Left and the Israeli Right. In the last ten years the Israeli Left has been losing moral and political support in this country. Their visions have proven to be fleeting and their parties are dwindling in numbers. In fact the only reason that their ideology still receives the attention it receives is because the Judiciary system and the media in Israel are still in the hands of the old Left.
The Disengagement/expulsion was not a function of ideology or principle. It was a result of the new politically correct stance of "non-ideology?.
In this battle for the land of Israel, those faithful to the vision inherent in this land are not facing off against the left anymore. The battle lines have been drawn against a large amorphous non-ideological mass of people who just want to be led in strength. They don?t care where they are being led to or what the motivation is that guides their leaders. They just want to see "something happening". A large portion of this country is simply tired. They are tired of eternal visions. They are weary of grand understandings whether these understandings come from the right or the left.
The fact that the Islamic world has moved into the phase of the "hidden Mahdi" with all its cataclysmic implications has made it even more overwhelming for the common Israeli. All streams of Islam believe in a divine savior, known as the Mahdi, who will appear at the End of Days. He is said to have gone into "occlusion" in the ninth century, at the age of five. His return will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war and bloodshed.
After an earth-shattering confrontation with evil and darkness, Muslims believe that the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace. Most Muslims believe that the struggle in Israel and that in Iraq signal the awaited final victory of Islam.
Facing this ocean of hatred that has become Islam, is much too overwhelming for most Israelis. It is far easier for this majority of Israelis to attack any group of Jews that stand for an ideology or faithfulness that may in fact stir and anger this Islamic ocean of hatred.
Using arguments that relate to the eternity or destiny of the Jewish people simply evokes insecurity and fear amongst this general "non-ideology" mass of people. The insecurity and the fear comes from a deep insecurity amongst many of these people. They simply do not consider themselves worthy of contemplating such lofty ideals as Destiny or Eternity. The high number of parliamentary seats being predicted by the polls for Olmert's Kadima party does not come in spite of the fact that Kadimah has not outlined their party platform but as a result of it.
We are watching a nation undergoing a type of collective psychological breakdown. It is this precarious and delicate state of self that cause the majority of citizens to reach out for authority figures and strength. For them, the belief in the army and in the police is all they have left. For many of them who have lost their faithful belief in their Heavenly Father will look to any Sharon-type to be their father-figure.
We need to walk very carefully in this psychological mire. On the one hand, we need to do everything possible to stand against the evil and brutality of those criminals in uniform who were ordered "to open the heads of those girls and boys" at Amona. Evil cannot be ignored and the perpetrators and those that sent them must be found and punished.
Yet we must be careful not to destroy and attack the last anchors the non-ideological majority of this country still believes in. Just as we were correctly incensed at how the political left hijacked the concepts of "peace" for their own political agenda we must resist allowing the concepts of "Statehood" and the "Jewish homeland" from being hijacked by the self-serving campaign manipulators of Olmert's Kadima party.
We have no common ground for discourse with those who decide to or perpetrate violence against brothers and sisters. Yet the rest of this country are waiting to hear strength and vision within the context of what we share, using a language they will understand. Rather than disconnecting from the anchors that give this floundering people a sense of security, we need to give them the eyes to see those anchors in a much more elevated light.
This state was born in miracles. Its military victories continue to defy human logic. Every fruit and flower is a testament to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. The State of Israel is a vessel that is ready to be filled with holy purpose. We cannot allow it to be abandoned to the self serving interests of small minded politicians.
We cannot just curse the darkness, as HaRav Kook was wont to say. We need to add light.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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