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Zionism As Judaism
By Robert Wolfe
There exist innumerable definitions of Zionism.
The one I prefer is: Zionism is the national liberation
movement of the Jewish people. The question I want to
raise here is: what is the relationship of Zionism to
Judaism? Some see Zionism as an outgrowth of Judaism,
others as its antithesis. In my view, Zionism is
Judaism.
Judaism is of course a relatively modern concept.
Traditionally there was no such thing as Judaism but
only the religion of the Jews. There was no need to
speak of an "Orthodox" version of this religion because
there was only one version, that handed down from one
generation to another by the rabbis. Only after the
emergence of the "Reform" movement in the early 19th
century of the Christian era did it become necessary to
define what was "Orthodox" and what was not. And once
people began to argue over the real nature of the
religion of the Jews, Judaism was born.
Today we have Orthodox Judaism, Conservative
Judaism, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Humanist
Judaism and who knows what else. The only point on
which all these versions of Judaism agree so far as I am
aware is that it is a good idea to celebrate the
Jewish holidays. Humanist Judaism regards the concept of
God as unnecessary, while Reconstructionist Judaism
treats it as a metaphor for something or other.
Conservative Judaism is generally supportive of the nation of
Israel, while most of the other versions tend to the
critical side. Orthodox Judaism equates virtue with
performance of the mitzvot, while most of the others
equate it with conformity to some kind of philosophic or
ethical ideal.
In short, defining Judaism based on
the doctrines of the Judaists is a hopeless task. I
would propose a different method, which is to define
Judaism based on the religion of the Jews.
Anyone who has studied this religion in any depth
can have no doubt as to what it was all about. It was
about the expectation that if the Jews performed the
mitzvot correctly, the Messiah would come and restore
the Jews to the land of their birth. This was the
faith which sustained the Jewish people during the long
centuries of exile, segregation and persecution. If
there was a difference among Jews, it was between those
who passively awaited the coming of the Messiah and
those who sought to "force the end" by actions intended
to bring about the ingathering of the exiles even
without divine intervention.
From the 13th century
onwards, those who sought to "force the end" were identified
with the teachings of Kabbalah. And central to
Kabbalah was a text known as the "Zohar", which taught that
only in the land of Israel could the religion of the
Jews reach its full stature. Starting in the late 15th
century in connection with the expulsion from Spain
and Portugal and the rise of the Ottoman empire,
literally tens of thousands of Kabbalists, most of them
Sephardim, did in fact settle in the land of Israel in the
"four holy cities" of Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias and
Hebron. These Kabbalists were Zionists in all but
name, and their Zionism was a direct expression of the
religion of the Jews as they understood it.
However, the Zionist movement which actually
succeeded in bringing about the ingathering of the exiles
and the establishment of a Jewish state in the land of
Israel was predominantly secular in character. Why was
this? It was because the religious Zionists could not
free themselves from the belief in miracles. The
Kabbalists who settled in the land of Israel continuerd to
await the coming of the Messiah once they were there.
They failed to develop a realistic program for
cultivating the land or defending themselves against Arab
aggression because they expected God and the Messiah to
solve these problems for them.
The only form of
Zionism that could actually succeed was one which had
entirely abandoned the expectation of miracles and relied
solely on its own strength and capabilities. But the
goals of the secular Zionists were at heart no different
from those of the religious Zionists. Those goals
were to create a Jewish state and society in the land of
Israel that would serve both to rehabilitate the
Jewish people and act as a light unto the nations. This
was the program of the "Zohar" no less than it was the
program of Ben Gurion, and Ben Gurion repeatedly
described this program as "Messianic" in his writings and
speeches.
Orthodox Judaism today also claims to perpetuate
the Messianic tradition, but this claim has become
highly suspect. Most Hasidim, who constitute the dominant
element among Orthodox Jews today, regard the state of
Israel as an illegitimate entity precisely because it
was not brought into being by miracles. They say that
they are still awaiting the coming of the Messiah and
in the meanwhile claim to owe no real allegiance to
the state of Israel. In short, their Messianism has no
practical result, while the secular Messianism which
did have a practical result they scorn and disdain.
Most of the other Judaists have explicitly repudiated
the Messianic tradition. In particular, Reform Judaism,
Reconstructionist Judaism and Humanist Judaism all say
that they do not believe in the coming of the Messiah
and do not regard the birth of the state of Israel as
the culmination of Jewish history. They say that the
true mission of the Jews is to spread some kind of
vague philosophic ideal of goodness and mercy around the
world. This doctrine does not have much in common
with the religion of the Jews from which secular Zionism
emerged. It must be Judaism, since they call it that,
but it is a Judaism which faces an uncertain future
since it does not greatly differ from many other
religious and philosophic teachings.
Properly understood, Judaism is first and foremost
Judahism. The word Judaism is derived from the word
Judah, which is the English form of the Hebrew word
"Yehudah". Judah was originally the name of one of the
Hebrew tribes, and because it was the tribe of David,
Judah became the name of the Hebrew kingdom which David
founded. In other words, Judah in ancient times was
not the name of a religion but of a nation state. This
nation state occupied approximately the same territory
as the modern nation of Israel, and its people spoke
the same language as modern Israelis, namely Hebrew.
The people of Judah also had a religion, but this
religion is not perpetuated by any modern version of
Judaism since it was centered around the Temple in
Jerusalem, which no longer exists, and required the sacrifice
of large numbers of sheep, a ritual which is no longer
practiced. What remains of Judah today is above all
the ideal of a Hebrew language nation state on the
territory of the land of Israel, and this ideal is
embodied in Zionism to a far greater extent than it is in any
modern version of Judaism that is actually called by
that name.
What would it take for Zionism to be recognized as
authentic Judaism? It would take weekly "services"
such as are associated with all the other forms of
Judaism. And what would be the content of these
"services"? Worship of God for making Zionism possible?
Hardly. Zionism from the start even in its religious guise
was based on the concept of "forcing the end", not
waiting for God but relying on our own powers and
ability.
God in any case is not necessary to Judaism as has
been demonstrated by Reconstructionist and Humanist
Judaism. What is necessary is an ethical ideal, and
this is the missing component in the contemporary Zionist
movement. Zionist culture is rich in ethical
teachings, but there is no single, agreed upon exposition of
Zionist ideals that could be used as a basis for
conducting weekly gatherings. Yet there is a real need for
such gatherings, both in Israel and in the Diaspora,
as a way of inspiring Jews everywhere with a spirit of
dedication to the Zionist movement.
The following statement of the Zionist ideal by
Yigal Alon provides a good example of the type of
formulation that could provide a solid basis for weekly
educational and inspirational gatherings of a Zionist
Judaism:
WHAT IS ZIONISM?
Zionism is the modern expression of the ancient Jewish
heritage.
Zionism is the national liberation movement of a
people exiled from its historic homeland and dispersed
among the nations of the world.
Zionism is the redemption of an ancient nation from a
tragic lot and the redemption of a land neglected for
centuries.
Zionism is the revival of an ancient language and
culture, in which the vision of universal peace has been a
central theme.
Zionism is the embodiment of a unique pioneering
spirit, of the dignity of labour, and of enduring human
values.
Zionism is creating a society, however imperfect it
may still be, which tries to implement the highest
ideals of democracy - political social and cultural - for all
the inhabitants of Israel, irrespective of religious
belief, race or sex.
Zionism is, in sum, the constant and unrelenting
effort to realize the national and universal vision of the
prophets of Israel.
I am sure that other formulations along similar
lines could also be found. I propose a wide ranging
discussion of Zionist ideals with a view to developing a
movement for the creation of a Zionist Judaism.
~~~~~~~
from the April Passover 2005 Edition of the Jewish Magazine
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