Questions for Chevrutah
Breakout Rooms
-When you read these biblical and prophetic texts in which God promises the Jewish people’s return to the Land of Israel, how do they make you feel in regard to the modern State of Israel?
-What is the resonance of these texts for you?
-What do they make you think about and what questions do they raise for you?
Middle Paragraph of the Shema (Deut. 11:13-21)
| 13And it will be, if you hearken to My commandments that I command you this day to love the Lord, your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, | יגוְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמֹ֤עַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֹתַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָֽנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם לְאַֽהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ וּלְעָבְד֔וֹ בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁכֶֽם: | |
| 14I will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil. | ידוְנָֽתַתִּ֧י מְטַר־אַרְצְכֶ֛ם בְּעִתּ֖וֹ יוֹרֶ֣ה וּמַלְק֑וֹשׁ וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֣ דְגָנֶ֔ךָ וְתִירֽשְׁךָ֥ וְיִצְהָרֶֽךָ: | |
| 15And I will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat and be sated. | טווְנָֽתַתִּ֛י עֵ֥שֶׂב בְּשָֽׂדְךָ֖ לִבְהֶמְתֶּ֑ךָ וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָֽעְתָּ: | |
| 16Beware, lest your heart be misled, and you turn away and worship strange gods and prostrate yourselves before them. | טזהִשָּֽׁמְר֣וּ לָכֶ֔ם פֶּן־יִפְתֶּ֖ה לְבַבְכֶ֑ם וְסַרְתֶּ֗ם וַֽעֲבַדְתֶּם֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וְהִשְׁתַּֽחֲוִיתֶ֖ם לָהֶֽם: | |
| 17And the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will close off the heavens, and there will be no rain, and the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from upon the good land that the Lord gives you. | יזוְחָרָ֨ה אַף־יְהֹוָ֜ה בָּכֶ֗ם וְעָצַ֤ר אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ וְלֹא־יִֽהְיֶ֣ה מָטָ֔ר וְהָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן אֶת־יְבוּלָ֑הּ וַֽאֲבַדְתֶּ֣ם מְהֵרָ֗ה מֵעַל֙ הָאָ֣רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה נֹתֵ֥ן לָכֶֽם: | |
| 18And you shall set these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes. | יחוְשַׂמְתֶּם֙ אֶת־דְּבָרַ֣י אֵ֔לֶּה עַל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וְעַל־נַפְשְׁכֶ֑ם וּקְשַׁרְתֶּ֨ם אֹתָ֤ם לְאוֹת֙ עַל־יֶדְכֶ֔ם וְהָי֥וּ לְטֽוֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵֽינֵיכֶֽם: | |
| 19And you shall teach them to your sons to speak with them, when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way and when you lie down and when you rise. | יטוְלִמַּדְתֶּ֥ם אֹתָ֛ם אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְדַבֵּ֣ר בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֨ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ: | |
| 20And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates, | כוּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזוּז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ: | |
| 21in order that your days may increase and the days of your children, on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to give them, as the days of heaven above the earth. | כאלְמַ֨עַן יִרְבּ֤וּ יְמֵיכֶם֙ וִימֵ֣י בְנֵיכֶ֔ם עַ֚ל הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע יְהֹוָ֛ה לַֽאֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֖ם לָתֵ֣ת לָהֶ֑ם כִּימֵ֥י הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ: |
Questions
-The middle paragraph of the Shema reminds us that our relationship with the “good land that God is giving us” is conditional on our behavior.
-What, in your mind, constitutes “our hearts being misled”?
R' Abraham Isaac Kook, "The Soul of Nationhood and Its Body"
The love for the nation, or more broadly, for humanity, is adorned at its source with the purest ideals, which reflect humanity and nationhood in their noblest light. In the conceptual world, these are entities full of majesty and beauty, delight and life, mercy and truth, justice and humility, valor and joy, intelligence and feeling. They are in a state of continuing progress, which brings joy to every noble heart. This is how they appear in the conceptual world. But when they enter the world of action, and are set within boundaries, at once some elements of the higher light disappear. The large aleph becomes a small aleph. The obstructions of life multiply. The agitation of anger and fear, of hostilities and arrogance, grow and fill the atmosphere. Humanity, on the practical level, robes itself in soiled garments; its many lights fall into hard shells in which it is wrapped. The one who loves it as it is will be unable to rise toward a higher life. He is rather likely to absorb into himself the filth accumulated within it than the holy sparks hidden in its secret places.
Question
-Rabbi Kook is somewhat esoteric and challenging to unpack. His writing is poetic. What is the message of this quotation from Rav Kook’s essay on "The Soul of Nationhood and its Body"? What is he saying and why is this relevant?
R' Art Green, "Dear Brothers and Sisters: A Letter to Israelis," in Judaism for the World: Reflections on God, Life and Love, 260-1.
The ingathering of exiles and the forging of a single nation became [Israel's] greatest pride and purpose. Despite all its problems, this achievement has been a great success, one o fthe most marvelous historical happenings of our era. But in the rush of celebrating that success, we (yes, all of us Jews) did not fully realize how deeply our values would be put to the test as we employed them to bring forth this new social and political reality. We failed to notice that the return to Zion and the creation of a Jewish state in the aftermath of the Holocaust was also taking place at the very moment of the breakup of the colonial era in world history. This co-incidence (I use the term without judging whether it is of divine or accidental origin) surely calls upon us to think about the meaning of those events in both of those contexts, the Jewish and the world-historical, simultaneously. From a Jewish point of view, we see the return to Zion as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies. It is hard to deny this, reading the prophets and seeing both the dispersed people gather and the desert bloom. Even for a Jew like me, who wants to find nothing messianic in Zionism, witnessing the rebuilding of Israel makes the echoes of Isaiah's prophecies resound in my ears. The sense of historical "rightness" of Jews returning to our ancient homeland, one of which we had always dreamed, is very strong. But the other narrative, that which sees a Western people coming to what they proclaimed "a land without a people for a people without a land," when it in fact did have a native population, also cannot be ignored. A colonial society is one in which a self-defined “superior” population imposes itself upon, and appropriates the resources, including the land, of, a “native” human group, whom it then deprives of freedom. This is not only the perception from a Palestinian point of view, but the way much of the world, itself only recently liberated from colonialism, inevitably views the Zionist enterprise. We cannot ignore it, nor can we dismiss it as simply a failure of our own public relations campaign, as we so often do. Our Jewish values and our own memory of historical oppression cannot permit us to be or to create a colonial society. This is the great pain of Israel, the historical moral flaw in its creation, without which it would not exist today. The New Historians in Israel are forcing us to examine these questions in more open and honest ways.
Questions
-Rabbi Green does not say outright, it’s important to note, that the State of Israel is a colonialist project. That would be too strong, even for him. Jewish people have lived continuously in the Land of Israel for centuries, our prayers have pointed toward and aspired to a messianic redemption which would lead to the Jewish people returning to Israel for two thousand years. But he does highlight an important historical context here. The land of Israel has never been "a land without a people for a people without a land," as David ben Gurion would say, quoting Theodore Hertzl. Why is it important that we not simply ignore or dismiss the way in which so much of the world views the Zionist enterprise as colonialist? Do you agree or disagree with his message and why?
-How is Art Green’s critique in conversation with the Zionist narrative summed up in HaTikva? / Why did I pair these two texts together?
This traditional version of the Prayer for the State of Israel was published by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel in 1948.
Our Father who is in heaven, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the dawn of our deliverance. Shield it beneath the wings of Your love; spread over it Your canopy of peace; send Your light and Your truth to its leaders, officers, and counselors, and direct them with Your good counsel.
Strengthen the defenders of our Holy Land; grant them, our God, salvation and crown them with victory. Establish peace in the land, and everlasting joy for its inhabitants. Remember our brethren, the whole house of Israel, in all the lands of their dispersion. Speedily bring them to Zion, Your city, to Jerusalem Your dwelling-place, as it is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses:
“Even if you are dispersed in the uttermost parts of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather and fetch you. The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your ancestors possessed, and you shall possess it; and God will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors.”
Unite our hearts to love and revere Your name, and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah. Speedily send us Your righteous Messiah of the House of David, to redeem those waiting for Your salvation. Shine forth in Your glorious majesty over all the inhabitants of Your world. Let everything that breathes proclaim: “The Lord God of Israel is King; His majesty rules over all.” Amen. Selah.
This alternative version is adapted from the Kol Haneshama siddur, 1994.
Please God, bless the State of Israel. Protect it in the abundance of your love. Spread over it the shelter of your peace. Send forth your light and truth to those who lead and judge it, and to those who hold elective office. Establish in them, through your presence, wise counsel, that they might walk in the way of justice, freedom and integrity.
Strengthen the hands of those who guard our holy land. Let them inherit salvation and life. And give peace to the land, and perpetual joy to all its inhabitants. Appoint for a blessing all our kindred of the house of Israel in all the lands of their dispersion. Plant in their hearts a love to Zion. And for all our people everywhere, may God be with them, and may they have the opportunity to go up to the land. Cause your spirit’s influence to emanate upon the dwellers of our holy land.
Remove from their midst hatred and enmity, jealousy and wickedness. Plant in their hearts love and kinship, peace and friendship. And soon fulfill the vision of your prophet, “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Let them learn no longer the ways of war.” And let us say, Amen.
Aryeh Cohen, a professor of rabbinic literature at American Jewish University and a founding member of the Shtibl Minyan, composed an alternative Prayer for Israel (in English and Hebrew) for the May/June 2002 issue of Tikkun Magazine. Copies of the prayer are available during services [at the Shtibl Minyan in Los Angeles], and members may choose to recite it—or whatever prayer they feel appropriate—instead of the traditional Prayer for Israel:
Questions
-What are the major differences between these various versions of the Prayer for the State of Israel (traditional, Reconstructionist, Reform and modern)?
-Which is your favorite version and why?