HaMizrachi | Chanukah Edition 5782

‫ַה ִּמ ְז ָר ִחי‬

UK EDITION VOL 4 • NO 7

Est.

1902

120 YEARS OF RELIGIOUS ZIONISM

WITH GRATEFUL THANKS TO THE FOUNDING SPONSORS OF HAMIZRACHI THE LAMM FAMILY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

SOUVENIR ISSUE

120 Years of Mizrachi A CELEBRATION OF RELIGIOUS ZIONISM

CHANUKAH 5782

Dedicated to Rabbi Doron Perez, whose leadership has rejuvenated Mizrachi around the globe

INSIDE Est.

1902

120 YEARS OF RELIGIOUS ZIONISM

www.mizrachi.org www.mizrachi.tv office@mizrachi.org +972 (0)2 620 9000

CHAIRMAN

Mr. Harvey Blitz EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

Our First 120 Years

Rabbi Doron Perez DEPUTY CEO

Rabbi Danny Mirvis E D U C AT I O N A L D I R E C TO R S

Rabbi Reuven Taragin Rabbanit Shani Taragin

World Mizrachi is the global Religious Zionist movement, spreading Torat Eretz Yisrael across the world and strengthening the bond between the State of Israel and Jewish communities around the world.

Based in Jerusalem and with branches across the globe, Mizrachi – an acronym for merkaz ruchani (spiritual center) – was founded in 1902 by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, and is led today by Rabbi Doron Perez. Mizrachi’s role was then and remains with vigor today, to be a proactive partner and to take personal responsibility in contributing to the collective destiny of Klal Yisrael through a commitment to Torah, the Land of Israel and the People of Israel.

Twenty-four pages on Mizrachi’s history from Rabbi Reines until today PAGE 8

join in the mizrachi

Chanukah Challenge for the whole family!

Join Hallel and Shammai on a journey through jewish history and complete the challenges for a chance to win one of ten great prizes!

www.mizrachi.org.uk uk@mizrachi.org 020 8004 1948 PRESIDENT

turn to page 60 to take part!

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis CHAIR OF TRUSTEES

Steven Blumgart CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Rabbi Andrew Shaw BOARD

Michelle Bauernfreund Matti Fruhman Andrew Harris Grant Kurland Sean Melnick David Morris Alex Pfeffer

Regulars

29 Rabbanit Shani Taragin 40 Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon 41 Rabbanit Sharon Rimon 46 Aliyah Diaries

4 Rabbi Doron Perez 23 Rabbi Hershel Schachter 28 Rabbi Reuven Taragin

50 Food from Israel 54 Places in Israel 56 What’s In A Word?

58 Story for the Table

Rabbi Elie Mischel editor@mizrachi.org | A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R Esther Shafier Rabbi Aron White | C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R Jonny Lipczer & D I S T R I B U T I O N M.H. Media Ltd. ms75pr@gmail.com

EDITOR

A S S O C I AT E E D I TO R PUBLISHED BY WORLD MIZRACHI IN JERUSALEM

To dedicate an issue of HaMizrachi in memory of a loved one or in celebration of a simcha, please email uk@mizrachi.org

2 |

PRINT

HaMizrachi seeks to spread Torat Eretz Yisrael throughout the world. HaMizrachi also contains articles, opinion pieces and advertisements that represent the diversity of views and interests in our communities. These do not necessarily reflect any official position of Mizrachi or its branches. If you don't want to keep HaMizrachi, you can double-wrap it before disposal, or place it directly into genizah (sheimos).

FROM THE

I

Editor

n what seems like the blink of an eye, the Israel I visited and experienced as a child has been transformed. Israel is now a military power, and signs of growing economic prosperity are everywhere. A telling example: A friend who recently made Aliyah with minimal Hebrew language skills began looking for a job on Sunday and had several job offers in hand by the end of the week!

Though some relics of the past remain (new immigrants should drink a few l’chaims before visiting an Israeli bank), the land of our forefathers has moved squarely into the future.

Aliyah. One of the speeches recorded in the sefer was given on a particularly notable date – Parashat Emor, 1948 – the day after the formal declaration of the State of Israel.

As Israel lurches forward, it’s once dominant secular Zionist ideology has lost its verve, and no longer inspires meaning or identity among young Israelis in the way it once did. The goals of the founding generation have largely been met; Israel is established and strong, and a home for all Jews who wish to live here. The great question, of course, is what comes next? Is there anything left to yearn for and work for?

Rashi cites the Midrash: “This is comparable to a king who became angry with his flock, and demolished the sheepcote and took out the flock and the shepherd.

Sometime later, he restored the flock and rebuilt the sheepcote, but he did not mention the shepherd. Said the shepherd, “Behold, the flock is restored and the sheepcote is rebuilt, but I am not mentioned.”

Rabbi Yaakov Friedman, the third Rebbe of Husiyatin, made Aliyah from Vienna in 1936 and settled in Tel Aviv.

A scion of the Ruzhin dynasty, Rabbi Friedman was a Chassidic Rebbe – and a card-carrying member of Mizrachi!

His fascinating sefer, Oholei Yaakov, includes many of the divrei Torah Rabbi Friedman shared after making

We hope and pray that “G-d will save Zion and build the cities of Judah… and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell therein.” These words are the final verses of the 69th chapter of Tehillim, and are followed immediately by the opening words of the 70th chapter: “For the conductor; of David, to make mention.”

When “G-d saves Zion” and, despite the threats of our enemies, “builds the cities of Judah and His servants inherit it,” we must remember David. The establishment of the State of Israel, though its importance must not be underestimated, is not yet the hoped for redemption that we have been promised, the true redemption that is bound up with the coming of Mashiach ben David.

[Even now, after the establishment of

the State of Israel, we must remember and yearn for David]; “Of David, to make mention…”

As Rabbi Friedman so eloquently writes, the establishment of the State of Israel, for all its significance, is not the ultimate fulfillment of our hopes.

As believing Jews, we will never stop yearning for our ultimate redemption until Mashiach ben David arrives on his humble donkey – however long it takes! This is what drives our community forward. Armed with G-d’s promises and a longing for the Temple rebuilt, our Religious Zionist movement grows ever stronger and more vibrant, even as secular Zionism fades away.

In this special edition of HaMizrachi, we celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Mizrachi World Movement, from its founding by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines in 1902 to the dynamic movement of today. With the wind at our backs, we look ahead to the future of Religious Zionism and the leading role our community must play in the destiny of our people. One thing is sure – the best is yet to come!

Elie Mischel Rabbi Elie Mischel Editor

| 3

Trailblazers of Partnership Rabbi Doron Perez

I

ncredibly, barely 50 years after Herzl’s founding of the modern Zionist movement, the Jewish people succeeded in establishing a sovereign Jewish State. It was an extraordinary achievement, and the result of the commitment by Zionists from all over the world to the collective return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.

From the very beginning, religious Jews were faced with a dilemma: should they be part of a movement led by people espousing values often at odds with Torah Judaism? Could the secular Zionist movement become a spiritual and sacred enterprise?

Despite facing skepticism and opposition from many leading Orthodox figures, a group of Eastern European rabbis, led by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, believed that Zionism could be transformed into a holy movement.

They believed that the body of the movement could only be sustained by a soul, and that they could and must strive to build bridges – between national and religious, physical and spiritual, Jewish and democratic.

Mutual fate could most certainly be transformed into spiritual destiny.

They believed that the only way to make an impact was from within.

And so in 1899, the brilliant Rabbi Reines formally joined the World Zionist Organization and became a delegate to the World Zionist Congress.

This could not be overlooked by his rabbinic colleagues, as Rabbi Reines was recognized as one of the Gedolei Yisrael, the great Rabbis of his generation. He was head of the Beit Din of Lida and renowned for his intellectual genius and pious character. Yes, there

4 |

were other Rabbis already present at the first Zionist Congress in 1897, but Rabbi Reines’ stature and charisma brought greater religious gravitas to the movement.

The religious faction within the movement was faced with a painful dilemma. How could they remain committed to a Zionist movement that was explicitly committed to secularism?

Exceptionally thorough, Rabbi Reines had studied Herzl’s personality and the organization he founded for two long years. When he was convinced Herzl deeply cared about the Jewish people and wanted the Zionist Movement to be a unifying force, he threw his full weight behind it, emerging as one of the prominent leaders of the movement.1

Some did indeed leave, eventually helping to found Agudath Yisrael. However, Rabbi Reines and many others agreed they must find a way to stay in the movement without compromising their values and religious authenticity. To achieve this, they created their own distinct faction within the Zionist movement.

The culture controversy and the founding of Mizrachi Events at the 5th Zionist Congress in 1901 irrevocably changed the Zionist Movement from within, dividing a unified movement into separate parties and factions. Followers of Achad Ha’am’s philosophy of cultural Zionism sought to introduce secular cultural values into the movement’s mission.

To that end, they founded a separate party, The Democratic Faction, to champion their cause.

Both Herzl and Rabbi Reines vociferously opposed the move. As long as Zionism focused on material and practical goals such as political activism and support of the settlement enterprise, all Zionists could be united.

They understood that if the movement would segue into cultural and religious issues, it would lead to divisiveness.

Nevertheless, despite their opposition, the Congress voted to include secular culture and education as part of the movement’s purview.

On 25 Adar I 5662 (March 4, 1902), Rabbi Reines and 70 colleagues founded the Mizrachi Movement. Mizrachi is an acronym for merkaz ruchani, a “spiritual center,” and its mission was to synthesize modern Zionism with Judaism’s age-old spiritual mission. Within two years, Mizrachi grew meteorically to 120 new chapters across Europe, and a Religious Zionist revolution had begun.

A paradigm for Jewish unity: the four species Like other groups and federations within the Zionist movement, Mizrachi was independent yet integrally involved in the broader Zionist Movement. Rabbi Reines was asked about the rationale (both logical and halachic) of such a framework.

How could they be independent and interdependent simultaneously?

Rabbi Reines responded with a remarkable insight. The mitzvah of the four species, the Arba’a Minim, is understood by our Sages to symbolically

represent unity between different types of Jews.2 While the etrog has both a fine taste and a pleasant aroma, representing Jews committed to both Torah and good deeds, the other species possess only one or neither of these qualities.

Rabbi Reines explained that the way the four species are held and waved highlights the Torah’s formula for achieving Jewish unity. The etrog is not bound up with the other three species, which are all tied together.

We hold the etrog in one hand and the lulav, hadas and arava in the other. And yet, on its own, the etrog serves no purpose. To fulfil the mitzvah of the four species, we must hold our two hands together and wave the etrog together with the other three species. Only when the etrog is held together with its fellow species, as one unit, is the mitzvah fulfilled.

Like the etrog, religious Jews must remain independent and separate in order to uphold the integrity of Torah values. But at the same time, if we are not interdependent and integrated with the rest of the Jewish people, we have no individual value. Our lot must be bound up with that of all Jews.3

Rabbi Mohilever’s Mizrachi The Mizrachi Movement’s unique stance of partnership within the World Zionist Movement was based on a similar trail of partnerships blazed in earlier decades. From 1882–1897, in the 15 years before the official founding of the Zionist Movement, Jews from all over Europe founded Chovevei Tzion (Lovers of Zion) fraternities dedicated to settling and supporting Jews in Eretz Yisrael. In 1884, at a conference in Katowice, these fraternities joined together to create a centralized movement led jointly by Dr. Leon Pinsker and Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever. Dr. Pinsker was an acculturated secular Jew, while Rabbi Mohilever was one of the

Participants of a convention of Chovevei Tzion 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.

(PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL)

great rabbis of Eastern Europe, serving as Chief Rabbi and head of the Beit Din in Bialystok. Rabbis, lay leaders and Jews of all types – secular, traditional and religious – forged a union for the sake of a greater good.

In 1893, challenges arose and the organization split into two separate yet still affiliated centers – one in Odessa, run by the more secular Jews, and one in Bialystok, led by Rabbi Mohilever. The latter was named the Merkaz Ruchani, or Mizrachi for short. And so a decade later, Rabbi Reines and his colleagues, perpetuating the same ideology as Rabbi Mohilever, chose the same name.4

our existence, the soul of our collective body, our spiritual center. The Land and the State of Israel are an inextricable part of our destiny. With a deep and unshakable belief in a common journey that must be traveled together, we can overcome any challenge, however large. Seemingly irreparable ideological differences can be reconciled along a common path.

With dedication and creativity, we must somehow find a way to retain our authenticity, independence and integrity while being committed to our collective national mission. This has been our Mizrachi mission for our first 120 years and one we remain deeply committed to today.

Conclusion The path of partnership and commitment to a collective fate and destiny, originated by Rabbi Mohilever and continued by Rabbi Reines, still drives Mizrachi today. It is a concurrent and complementary commitment to Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael!

At the core of this trailblazing path is an unswerving belief in the immeasurable value of the Jewish people as a whole and the necessity of collaboration and partnership with other groups within our nation. It is an authentic commitment to loving our fellow Jews, developing camaraderie and an attitude of mutual responsibility.

Once deep common bonds are established, we can and must make the effort to shape a combined destiny. The values of our Torah are the essence of

Rabbi Y.Y. Reines, Shnei HaMe’orot, Part 2 (Zikaron BaSefer), section 2, p. 22.

1

Vayikra Rabbah 30.

2

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon recounts this insight from Rabbi Reines in his introduction to Rabbi Reines’ book, Nod Shel Dema’ot, published in Jerusalem in 1934.

3

Abraham Joshua Slotsky, a leading Jewish writer involved in Chibat Tzion and present at the founding of Rabbi Reines’ Mizrachi in 1902, suggested using the same name to continue the spirit of partnership inspired by Rabbi Mohilever (Rabbi Yitzchak Nissenbaum, Alei Cheldi, p. 178).

4

Rabbi Doron Perez is the Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi.

| 5

MIZRACHI UK:

Inspiring Leaders, Influencing our Future Rabbi Andrew Shaw

“T

oday the two most powerful movements in Jewish life are assimilation and segregation.

Jews are either engaging with the world at the cost of disengaging from Judaism, or engaging with Judaism at the cost of disengaging from the world.”

Rabbi Sacks zt”l wrote these words in 2013 at the end of his Chief Rabbinate.

Just two years later, Mizrachi UK was reborn with a mission to transform British Jewry through a Judaism engaged with the world.

In 2015, there were no Modern Orthodox and Religious Zionist young couples from the UK in Israel studying for semichah. Today, six couples from the UK are studying in Israel, and two couples, Rabbi Jack and Rivka Cohen and Rabbi Yossi and Chana Hambling, are already back in the UK, transforming communities in Hampstead and Birmingham. Next year, another three couples plan to begin semichah studies in Yerushalayim.

In 2015, there were only a handful of Religious Zionist shlichim inspiring the UK community in schools, communities and on campus.

Today, there are ten shlichim couples teaching in London, Leeds and Manchester, and G-d willing, many more are on their way. Working together with the United Synagogue, Chaplaincy, Jewish schools and provincial communities, Mizrachi UK is bringing Torat Eretz Yisrael to the UK. In 2016, Rabbi Eliyahu and Yocheved Silverman revolutionised Torah

6 |

learning at Hasmonean High School for Girls. Two years later Rabbi Moshe and Moria Gold joined the Borehamwood community and the Bet Midrash programme at Yavneh. Since 2018, Rabbi Joel and Sarah Kenigsberg have served as the rabbinic couple at Magen Avot as well as the Rav and Rabbanit shlichim of Bnei Akiva. Rabbi Ari and Laura Silberman arrived in 2019, beginning a Mizrachi revolution in the north of the UK. These are just a few examples of shlichim who are changing the Jewish landscape in the UK. Mizrachi has also led the way by offering inspirational programming to all segments of our community, including HaMizrachi magazine, the Tzurba M’Rabanan series and our Shabbatonim at Home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

G-d willing, our wonderful Weekend of Inspiration in May will return this year after a two-year absence, and our myriad film productions, including ‘Dreams of a Nation,’ have been viewed by thousands on YouTube.

Most recently, our Yehudi initiative has the potential to inspire the next generation of young men and women to be role models and leaders for our community and instill a strong Jewish and Zionist identity in thousands of our youth. In the first year alone, we are working in 15 primary schools, engaging with 660 year-six children who are led by 130 leaders from sixth form and university.

In these and so many other ways, we are fulfilling Rabbi Sacks’s call to engage with Torah and to engage with the world.

This edition of HaMizrachi is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of World Mizrachi. Over the last six years, our movement has been reborn thanks to the vision of Rabbi Doron Perez. Here in the UK, Josh Pomerance restarted Mizrachi UK in 2015 along with trustees who saw the need for a strong Mizrachi in the United Kingdom. I am honoured to be a part of that vision.

On Sunday 5th and Monday 6th of December we will be asking the whole community to join us in supporting the transformation of the UK community and the strengthening of our community’s connection to Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

Our Chanukah campaign is no coincidence. Chanukah celebrates the extraordinary story of a small group of passionate individuals who made a monumental difference in the direction of the Jewish people.

Although our Modern Orthodox and Religious Zionist community is fairly small in the UK, we have made, and continue to make, a monumental difference to the direction of UK Jewry – just as the Maccabees did for our people so long ago.

Please join us and allow Mizrachi UK to continue our mission to inspire our community!

Rabbi Andrew Shaw is the Chief Executive of Mizrachi UK.

Hotels PRESENTS

*UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF RAV ELIYAHU ROTTENBERG NO KITNIOT, NO GEBROCHT*

PESACH IN SARDINIA 2022 FORTE VILLAGE RESORT AWARDED WORLD’S LEADING RESORT 22 YEARS IN A ROW!

9 NIGHTS

FROM 15/04 TO 24/04 AMENITIES

GENERAL INFORMATION Set among 50 hectares of beautiful gardens along a white sandy beach on the south coast of Sardinia, our luxury resort offers you a selection of stunning hotels, as well as 13 luxury villas all with private pools.

We will offer you the best of European and Israeli cuisine all with the highest Kasher l’Pesach standards. Buffet restaurants, numerous pools, endless activities for couples and families, incredible kids club and a charming plaza with trendy boutiques and nightly musical entertainment under the stars.

We will be joined by top Scholars in Residence, daily shul services, private and communal sedarim. Our commitment is to create for you an inspiring kosher Pesach vacation filled with unforgettable and meaningful experiences. l RESTAURANTS l BARS l SPA l GYM l BOWLING l GOLF l TENNIS & PADDLE l FOOTBALL l KARTS l SHOPPING l CHILDREN ACTIVITIES l AND MORE

Nestled on the exquisite Sardinian coastline, built beneath the lush, wildlife rich, pine forested mountain range, Forte Village resort’s magnificent, 55-acre complex rolls out on their own, award-winningly exemplary beach. Over a mile of fine, white sand outlines the vivid emerald, azure and cobalt-glinting Mediterranean sea.

Set amongst this beauty and just 200m from the private beach, both the Pineta and Le Palme Hotels are an oasis of luxury and serenity. The Mediterranean-style architecture is made up of three horseshoe-shaped structures on two levels, each overlooking a courtyard. The two hotels enjoy a very convenient location between the beach, the Oasis pools and the Acquaforte Spa, a member of the elite ‘Leading Spas of the World’ Group. The accommodation includes double and triple rooms, ideal for families. All rooms have air conditioning, telephone, LCD TV, minibar, safe and balcony or patio.

ROOMS

Superior room with terrace - 28-32 m²

SO JOIN K DELUXE FOR A PESACH TO REMEMBER CONTACT : LAURENT COHEN

n +34

607 652 083 LAURENT@KDELUXE.COM

Deluxe family room - 37 m²

EASYKOSHERHOLIDAYS

KDELUXEHOLIDAYS

1902

The first Mizrachi conference is held in Vilna on March 4, 1902, led

by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines

1904

Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook arrives in Israel to become the Chief Rabbi of Jaffa

1908

Tachkemoni, the first Mizrachi school, opens in Jaffa

Mizrachi

The first hundred and twenty years

Banquet of the HaPoel HaMizrachi of Chicago, at the Morrison Hotel on January 3, 1936.

(PHOTO: MIZRACHI–RELIGIOUS ZIONISTS OF CHICAGO ARCHIVES)

8 |

1914

The first Mizrachi USA convention is held in Cincinnati, led by Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan

1917

Great Britain issues the Balfour Declaration, pledging its support for a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine

W

e live in a world our great-grandparents could only dream of.

In the prime minister’s office of the State of Israel sits a Jew who dons a kippah and refuses to take calls from Vladimir Putin on Shabbat. Religious Israeli musicians sing songs of faith to sold-out stadiums packed with Jews of every kind. And increasingly, Religious Zionists play a pivotal role in the most dynamic areas of Israel’s economy, from elite cyber units in the IDF to cutting-edge tech startups. Religious Zionists at the center of Israeli life have become so ubiquitous, so commonplace, that it is rarely deemed worthy of notice.

1917

1918

The Mizrachi Teachers Institute HaMizrachi begins publication is established in New York in Warsaw under the editorship of Rabbi Yitzchak Nissenbaum

religious Jews would play a vital role in returning our people to the Land of Israel and in every stage of our people’s rebirth that was to follow.

hundreds of shlichim to Jewish communities all over the world, inspiring Jews everywhere with the Torah of Eretz Yisrael.

Reflecting on Mizrachi’s role in the miracle of modern Israel, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik wrote: “If not for Mizrachi, Torah-true Judaism would not have participated in the building of the Land of Israel and the establishment of the State. It has written a glorious chapter in the annals of the Jewish people and salvaged our honor.”

But it wasn’t always so.

Alongside the socialist pioneers of HaShomer HaTza’ir, HaPoel HaMizrachi pioneers settled the land, building religious yishuvim and communities. As the new Yishuv developed, Mizrachi built a religious education system, providing a Torah education for tens of thousands of children on the eve of the declaration of the State. And at the extraordinary moment of modern Israel’s birth, Religious Zionist leaders stood proudly alongside David Ben-Gurion, infusing the nascent state with a spirit of faith and the recognition of G-d’s hand in history.

Torah Jews had always longed for Zion, but when Herzl’s political Zionism burst onto the scene in the late 1890s, many Orthodox leaders refused to join, offended by the secularism that dominated the movement. But by founding Mizrachi in 1902, Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines ensured that

Following the establishment of Israel, Mizrachi fought to ensure Israel would be not only a State for the Jews but also a Jewish state, in which Shabbat observance and kashrut would be recognized and honored, if not yet observed by all.

And today, as the locus of Jewish life has shifted to Israel, Mizrachi sends

Indeed, it is difficult to imagine the Israel of today without the beating heart of Mizrachi and Religious Zionism.

Today, many of these accomplishments are taken for granted. But as we celebrate the 120th anniversary of Mizrachi’s founding, it is an opportunity to reflect upon our movement’s astonishing history and give thanks to the extraordinary people who did so much to make the dreams of our people come true.

| 9

1918

The first Mizrachi conference in the United Kingdom is held in Manchester

1920

The Mizrachi Teacher Training College is established in Jerusalem; Rav Kook would attend several future graduations

1920

Mizrachi Poland grows to 225 branches

The Early Years Rabbi Pini Dunner

I

t was an ordinary Shabbat afternoon in the early spring of 1891, and 21-year-old Moshe Reines – son of Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines – reached for a book on the top shelf of the bookshelf in his father’s study. Suddenly, the entire bookcase collapsed on top of him without warning, crushing him with its weight.

A postcard featuring Rabbi Reines (center, seated) and other members of Mizrachi, in Vienna, 1902.

(PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL)

10 |

The Reines family desperately tried to save his life, but to no avail; Moshe – a prodigy who had mastered the entire Talmud and was an acknowledged expert in Jewish history – was dead. Despite the shocking tragedy, his father somehow remained calm, even as it became clear that Moshe’s

life had been snuffed out. Without expressing any emotion, Rabbi Reines told the family to leave Moshe’s body in the study until after Shabbat. They left the room, and Rabbi Reines closed the door and went to shul to daven.

After Maariv, Rabbi Reines returned home and made havdallah, still calm and composed. But moments later, Rabbi Reines turned pale, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted to the floor, collapsing to the ground in a heap of unbearable grief.

Rabbi Reines’ twostage reaction to his son’s death made such an impression on his family that his descendants still recall it with awe. In January 2020, at an event inaugurating the gift of Rabbi Reines’s archives – a collection of 20,000 handwritten manuscript pages – to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, it was the main story of a speech given by his great-granddaughter. Indeed, it is this story that encapsulates Rabbi Reines, who balanced his utter devotion to G-d with deep-seated humanity, and whose superhuman religious faith was the hallmark of his exceptional personality.

Rabbi Reines came from a background steeped in difficulty and tragedy, and at the same time, enveloped in hope and optimism. His father, Rabbi Shlomo Naftali Reines (1797–1889), was part of a group – followers of the Vilna Gaon – who moved from Lithuania to Eretz Yisrael in 1809. The members of this group, led by Rabbi Yisrael of Shklov (1770–1839), were motivated by a mystical conviction that mandated living in the Holy Land in anticipation of messianic redemption. They settled in Tzfat, where living conditions were rudimentary, and supporting a family was almost impossible.

Rabbi Shlomo Naftali was an energetic, enterprising man, and he opened a printing press for Hebrew books. For a time, his publishing business was quite successful. But in 1834, local Arabs revolted against the Egyptian governor of Palestine, and as part of the rebellion, initiated a vicious pogrom against the Jews of Tzfat.

During the riots, Rabbi Shlomo Naftali’s printing press was destroyed, and he was left destitute. At the request of communal leaders, he traveled to Russia and Poland to raise money for the Tzfat community. But while he was in Warsaw, Rabbi Shlomo Naftali heard the terrible news that his entire family – his wife and seven children – had been killed in an earthquake that devastated Tzfat on January 1, 1837.

As a result of this disaster, in which 1,800 people were killed, the Jewish community of Tzfat dramatically declined. On the advice of friends, Rabbi Shlomo Naftali remained in

1920

The Tachkemoni rabbinic college is founded in Warsaw, with Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik as Head of Talmudic Studies

Europe and settled in the city of PinskKarlin. The following year he remarried, and in 1839 had a son, whom he named Yitzchak Yaakov. This boy would be an outstanding educator and leader, paving the way for Orthodoxy in modernity, as a trailblazing leader in Jewish education and Religious Zionism.

Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines studied in the yeshivot of Volozhin and Eishishok, where he excelled as a Talmudic scholar. He married the daughter of Rabbi Yosef Reizin, the rabbi of Telz and later Slonim, and in 1867 was appointed the Rabbi of Saukenai (Shukian) in Lithuania and soon afterward the Rabbi of Svencionys (Shvintzian). There he began to write and publicize a highly original approach to the study of traditional Jewish texts. This curriculum included general-knowledge topics extrapolated from Talmudic material and other rabbinic sources. But although many of his colleagues welcomed this original approach, some opposed it because it crossed the self-imposed red lines of traditional Orthodoxy.

Undeterred, in 1884, Rabbi Reines opened a yeshivah based on his innovative system. He called the yeshivah Torah VeDaat (“Torah and Knowledge”), and introduced a groundbreaking integrated curriculum which included Tanach, Talmud, halacha and general studies – all aimed at training rabbis who would be firmly rooted in tradition while also able to operate in the rapidly assimilating Russian-Jewish community. But vigorous opposition forced the yeshivah’s closure after four years, and it wasn’t until 1905 that Rabbi Reines was able to reopen his yeshivah, this time in Lida.

In Lida, Rabbi Reines first promoted the idea of embracing political Zionism, a movement led by secular Jewish nationalists actively working towards creating a sovereign Jewish state for the first time in almost 2,000 years.

1921

Mizrachi elementary and secondary schools are founded in Krakow; its graduates include many of the founders of Kfar Etzion

Rabbi Reines had previously been involved with the Chovevei Tzion movement, which promoted Jewish settlement in Palestine. But with the advent of Zionism in the mid-1890s, many rabbis who had eagerly supported Chovevei Tzion became horrified by the prospect of an irreligious Jewish state and openly criticized Zionism and its secular leadership.

Initially, Rabbi Reines remained neutral, and he did not attend the first two Zionist Congresses of 1897 and 1898.

But in 1899, Rabbi Reines decided that the issue of Jewish hegemony over Eretz Yisrael was too important to be set aside for any other considerations.

He attended the Third Zionist Congress in Basel. Overwhelmed by the experience, he became a devoted and determined proponent of the Zionist cause.

He later wrote that after returning home, a group of his anti-Zionist colleagues came to see him to persuade him to leave the Zionist movement.

But Rabbi Reines firmly believed that Zionism was the only way forward for Torah-observant Jews. He was determined to lead an Orthodox group within the Zionist movement that would become a beacon of Religious Zionism. Even the Chofetz Chaim – one of his closest friends – was unable to change his mind, and in 1902 Rabbi Reines formally launched the Mizrachi movement. With Rabbi Reines at the helm, Mizrachi immediately became the exclusive organizational home for Religious Zionists and one of the strongest membership groups within the Zionist movement.

Rabbi Reines passed away in 1915 at the age of 76, but his legacy is broad and deep. Orthodox Judaism was only able to participate in the Zionist project due to his deep commitment to political Zionism. His visionary leadership ensured that at every stage leading

1922

Hapoel HaMizrachi, the Torah va’Avodah movement, is founded

up to and then after the creation of the State of Israel, as a direct result of the Mizrachi movement he created, Israel would be a “Jewish” state rather than just a state for Jews.

Rabbi Pini Dunner, Senior Rabbi at Beverly Hills Synagogue, hails from a prominent German rabbinic dynasty that miraculously survived the Holocaust and reestablished itself in London, England. He is an expert on antiquarian Hebrew books and manuscripts, and is frequently consulted by libraries, academics, and private collectors.

1923

Bank Mizrachi is founded by the Mizrachi movement

1924

The Mizrachi Women’s Teacher College is founded

1925

The Mizrachi Women’s Organization of America, later known as AMIT, is founded by Bessie Gotsfeld

1927

Sde Yaakov, named after Rabbi Reines and the first Moshav built

by HaPoel HaMizrachi, is founded

1927

The Mizrachi educational system in Israel grows to 5,500 students and 53 institutions

Mizrachi in the Interwar Second Polish Republic Rabbi Yehuda Geberer

A group portrait of faculty and students of the Yavneh Hebrew elementary school in Bedzin, Poland, taken in June 1936.

(PHOTO: UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM, COURTESY OF MOSHE SHEPS & BAT-SZEWA SHEPS ADMONI)

I

n the kaleidoscope of Polish Jewish politics in the Second Polish Republic of the interwar period, a unique niche was filled

by Mizrachi, the political organization of Religious Zionist Polish Jews.

Competing for adherents with both the secular Zionist parties and the non-Zionist Agudath Yisrael, Mizrachi succeeded in developing a party infrastructure and institutions at the national and local levels.

Similar to other political parties at the time, Mizrachi’s primary focus was

12 |

education. The Yavneh educational network was inaugurated in 1927, lagging behind and competing with rival Jewish educational networks including the secular Zionist Tarbut schools, the Yiddishist Tzisha, and Chorev of Agudath Yisrael. The Yavneh network defined itself and set itself apart by clarifying its three educational goals, which reflect the uniqueness of Mizrachi’s values.

Yavneh schools provided their students a well-rounded education in Torah studies, Jewish Nationalism and

Zionism and a variety of general subjects. Hebrew and alternatively Polish or Yiddish served as the languages of instruction.

The school’s primary source of funding was derived from tuition, an uncertain source of income due to the grinding poverty prevalent in the Jewish community. Financial difficulties compelled most parents to send their children to tuition-free Polish public schools, a challenge for all Jewish private schools in interwar Poland.

Local municipalities provided limited

1929

The first Bnei Akiva branch opens in Jerusalem; a young Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria joins as a madrich in 1931

1933

The first AMIT school, Bet Zeirot Mizrachi in Jerusalem, opens with 24 students

1936

Hatzofeh, Mizrachi’s official newspaper in the Yishuv, begins publication

1936

The first Camp Moshava opens in Hightstown, New Jersey

funding for a time, and the Joint Distribution Committee was another source of funding. JDC records illuminate the scope of Yavneh’s activities. In 1936 there were approximately 16,000 students in over 200 schools across Poland.

Given its late entry into the crowded field of Jewish education, coupled with the financial limitations of the parent body to pay tuition, these are impressive numbers indeed.

The Yavneh network maintained schools for all ages, yet two of its institutions for older male students stand out. The Tachkemoni Rabbinical Seminary in Warsaw was seen as the flagship institution of the entire school system. Although Rabbi Yitzchak Nissenbaum, the rabbinical leader of Mizrachi in Poland, envisioned it as an elite yeshivah, Mizrachi lay leaders such as Heshel Farbstein ultimately guided Tachkemoni in a different direction, shaping its course as a rabbinical seminary that also included a strong general curriculum. Seen as a continuation of Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines’ yeshivah in Lida, it grew significantly over the two decades of its existence.

During the 1920s, the rabbinical department was headed by Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik, and the general studies department was headed by the famed Polish Jewish historian Professor Meir Balaban. While Rabbi Soloveitchik delivered his Talmud classes in Yiddish, Professor Balaban lectured in Polish and most of the remainder of the classes were taught in Hebrew.

Another unique institution affiliated with Yavneh was the Warsaw-based yeshivah, Beit Shmuel. Named after the founder of the Chovevei Tzion movement Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever, this was truly a Religious Zionist yeshivah in the fullest sense. Hachshara (preparation) for Aliyah to Palestine was a component of the institution’s educational philosophy and curriculum and agricultural training and

The Educational Committee at the Mizrachi Conference in Staszow, Poland, January 1919.

(PHOTO: YAD VASHEM PHOTO ARCHIVES)

hands-on practice were key parts of the students’ training.

One of the founders of this agricultural yeshivah was Warsaw native Shmuel Zanvil Kahana. His father, Rabbi Shlomo David Kahana, was a member of the Warsaw Rabbinate for over four decades, known for his expertise in assisting with the plight of many agunot in the wake of the First and later Second World Wars. In his later years, he served as the last rabbi of the Old City’s Jewish Quarter before its fall during the War of Independence.

Shmuel Zanvil’s maternal grandfather and namesake was Rabbi Shmuel Zanvil Klepfish, who, as rabbi of Warsaw in 1889, had formulated the original ‘heter mechira’ for the new agricultural settlements in the Land of Israel during the Shemitta year.

Shmuel Zanvil Kahana graduated from the Tachkemoni Rabbinical Seminary with semichah from Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik. He later obtained a doctorate from the University of Liege, Belgium. Upon his return to Warsaw, he threw himself into Jewish education by overseeing the opening of new branches of Yavneh schools around the country. At the same time, he initiated the founding of the Beit Shmuel agricultural yeshivah. As a member of

HaPoel HaMizrachi, he was involved in the political side of the organization as well.

With the outbreak of war, the yeshivah closed and Shmuel Zanvil escaped Europe, arriving in the Holy Land in 1940. Rising through the ranks of Mizrachi, he served as the manager of the Misrad HaDatot (Israel’s Ministry of Religious Affairs) for twenty years – the longest anyone has served in that position.

The Yavneh network laid the institutional foundations for Religious Zionist schools in the State of Israel.

And while most of the students of Yavneh, Tachkemoni and Beit Shmuel would fall victim to the fate of Polish Jewry during the Holocaust, many of its surviving alumni would serve in leadership positions in postwar Jewish communities worldwide.

Rabbi Yehuda Geberer is an historian, a popular tour guide of historical Jewish sites in Europe, and the host of the Jewish History Soundbites podcast.

| 13

1937

The first Mizrachi kibbutz, Tirat Tzvi, is established, named after Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer

1938

Following a public debate, Melbourne Jews vote to establish Mizrachi Australia

1939

The first Bnei Akiva high school Yeshiva is founded by Rabbi Neria in Kfar HaRo’eh

1941

Mizrachi Canada is founded

Kibbutz Buchenwald Dr. Rafael Medoff

“H

ow different it is from the holiday at Buchenwald!” a Holocaust survivor marveled at the Chanukah celebrations in Kibbutz Afikim, in the Jordan Valley, in 1945. “Rows of free people, marching in a procession… standing erect… An armed Hebrew watchman makes his rounds, protecting and guarding us… At the top of the tower, a comforting fire glows, spreading light and faith…” However, this survivor and his friends were not entirely strangers to kibbutz life because they had recently taken part in a remarkable hachshara project in postwar Germany called “Kibbutz Buchenwald.” The story of Kibbutz Buchenwald involves a group of stubbornly idealistic young Holocaust survivors, a feisty American military chaplain, and an interesting connection to the history of the Religious Zionist movement.

The chaplain was Herschel Schacter, an Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn and future president of the Religious Zionists of America (Mizrachi USA).

Schacter’s unit liberated Buchenwald in April 1945, and he chose to remain in the camp for more than two months, counseling and assisting the survivors.

Rabbi Schacter was approached by a group of young survivors who sought his help to obtain a tract of land in the

14 |

vicinity. Some had been members of the Mizrachi youth movement HaShomer HaDati or other Zionist youth groups, and they were anxious to resume training for their future lives in Eretz Yisrael.

What happened next was described by Schacter in the pages of HaMigdal, the magazine of HaShomer HaDati’s U.S. wing. Here, from the pen of an American rabbi, came an inspiring story of hope among the ruins.

Schacter explained to his American readers how U.S. military officials agreed to requisition a farm at Geringshof, 100 miles southwest of Buchenwald, where a pre-war hachshara group had once labored. Soon after the “kibbutzniks” arrived, they came across torn pages from a Torah scroll, which they gathered and buried. On the rear wall of a shack, they discovered that someone had written the words “We Will Yet Return” – the final pledge of the previous residents, members of Bachad, a Religious Zionist youth movement.

“There is a remarkable element of historic justice in this fact,” Schacter wrote. “For on the very site where there had been a kibbutz in pre-Hitler days there was now another kibbutz of those very Jews whom Hitler sought to destroy. They were again building the ideal of Zionism and of a new Jewish

life which the Nazis attempted to annihilate.”

Rabbi Schacter titled his essay “A Message from the Chalutzim of Kibbutz Buchenwald to the Chalutzim of HaShomer HaDati.” He understood that he was addressing an audience of potential olim, and so he emphasized themes of Zionist pioneering, idealism, and triumph over tragedy.

“I will never forget the afternoon when we celebrated the Chanukat Habayit of this, the first hachshara in Germany after the destruction of Nazism,” he wrote. “The inspired songs and animated Horas which these people had not sung or danced for so many tragic years reverberated, I am sure, for miles around. A huge Zionist flag was hoisted on a long flag-pole over the roof of the farmhouse.”

“Of course, their songs were mingled with sorrow and their smiling faces were dampened by the bitterness of their tears,” Rabbi Schacter continued. “For how could they forget the overwhelming losses that they had sustained?… Not one had a father or mother. No one knew of sisters or brothers. They were completely alone, bereft of their dearest relatives and any possessions that they may have had.”

But the final chapter had not yet been written. He emphasized: “In the midst

1942

Kibbutz Be’erot Yitzchak is founded in memory of Rabbi Yitzchak Nissenbaum, hy”d, president of Mizrachi Poland, who was murdered by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto

1943

Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan arrives in the United States to advocate for Holocaust rescue efforts

1944

Mizrachi activists Yehoshua Ungar and Moshe Kraus lead efforts to save over 40,000 Budapest Jews from deportation

of the sorrow and pain and tears, one ideal sustained them, one hope gave them indomitable faith. They were chalutzim and now they are chalutzim again. The tragic interruption notwithstanding, they are taking up where they left off. They can see a ray of light again piercing the black and foreboding clouds of despair. They see again the road; hard and long as it may be, they are nevertheless again on the road to Eretz Yisrael.”

Avraham Gottlieb, one of the core group who founded Kibbutz Buchenwald, wrote with admiration at Rabbi Schacter’s approach in his visits to the farm and his counsel to its members.

Gottlieb was struck by the fact that instead of attempting to pressure the young people to observe Jewish religious tenets, the rabbi urged them to “not allow ideology to divide them, as it had before the war, but instead become one band with a place for each individual with a declared wish to live as a Jew among Jews.” (Gottlieb’s account is found in the 1997 book Kibbutz Buchenwald: Survivors and Pioneers, by Judith Tydor Baumel.) The kitchen at Kibbutz Buchenwald was kept kosher, and Shabbat was treated as an official day of rest, thus enabling the Orthodox minority to feel their wishes were being respected.

Schacter concluded: “The message these heroic chaverim asked me to bring to our chaverim in America is one which should stir our hearts and inspire our minds. When I told them of the various chalutziut movements in America, they were thrilled… They are in desperate need not merely of our financial and political assistance, but even more, are they clamoring for CHALUTZIM FROM AMERICA. We must prove to them, to the rest of the tragic remnants of our people and to all the world, that we, the Jewish Youth of America, stand with our chaverim who are still in the throes of the Galut of Europe and share with them a

Members of the Kibbutz Buchenwald hachshara are gathered beneath a banner bearing their name in Hebrew. (PHOTO: UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM, COURTESY OF EVA TUCHSZNAJDER LANG)

common hope for the establishment of a Jewish state. Our solidarity must be stronger than ever before. We must join with them in building the hope of the Jewish people – a free democratic Jewish Commonwealth.”

The first group of Kibbutz Buchenwald members reached Palestine in September 1945, eventually joining a group of chalutzim who established a new settlement in central Israel called Kibbutz Buchenwald. After a few years, the association of kibbutzim to which Kibbutz Buchenwald belonged urged a change of the name, both because of the trend in Israel to Hebraicize “foreign” names and the jarring sound of an Israeli town bearing the name of a Nazi concentration camp. The new name that the kibbutz members chose, however, was still linked inextricably to Europe – they wanted to honor Enzo Sereni, one of the Palestine Jewish parachutists who gave their lives trying to aid the Jews in Europe. The Labor government’s “National Names Committee” initially resisted, but

the committee relented after a lively public debate.

“Netzer Sereni” remains to this day a living reminder of the kibbutz that arose from the ashes of Buchenwald and the state that emerged from the ashes of history to become – as Rabbi Schacter so memorably put it – “the hope of the Jewish people.”

Dr. Rafael Medoff is founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies and author of more than 20 books about Jewish history, Zionism, and the Holocaust, including The Rabbi of Buchenwald: The Life and Times of Herschel Schacter (Yeshiva University Press, 2021).

| 15

1945

1947

The foundation stone is laid for Mizrachi’s central office in Jerusalem, Beit Meir, named after Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan; both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Chief Rabbis attend the ceremony

Mizrachi opens its first office in Paris

Rabbi Maimon

AND THE FOUNDING OF THE STATE

David Ben-Gurion signs the Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948. Sitting beside him: Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon. (PHOTO: HANS PINN, GPO)

H

erzl, Ben-Gurion, Weizmann – these are the names most famously associated with the birth of modern Israel.

But this list of founders should also include a Mizrachi leader, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon, who played a critical role during the most awe-inspiring moments of Israel’s birth, imbuing the nascent State of Israel with the Mizrachi spirit of Torah and faith.

Yehuda Leib Fishman grew up in Bessarabia, and after years of study in Lithuanian yeshivot, received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, the author of the Aruch HaShulchan. A Religious Zionist from a young age, he joined Mizrachi from its inception in 1902, attending Zionist Congresses and advocating on its behalf.

16 |

In 1913, he moved to Palestine to lead Mizrachi in Eretz Yisrael, where he Hebraicized his last name to Maimon and became the head of Mizrachi’s educational system, which ultimately grew to include tens of institutions and thousands of students.

At the outbreak of World War I, he was imprisoned by the Turkish authorities and sentenced to death, but was eventually freed due to the intervention of American Jewish leaders and brought to the United States. While there, he helped organize and strengthen Mizrachi USA before returning to Eretz Yisrael at the end of the war.

In June 1947, a United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) delegation came to Palestine to examine the situation. The committee was preparing a report that would play a critical role

in determining whether the United Nations would support the founding of a Jewish State. When the delegation met with the Zionist leadership, Ben-Gurion asked Rabbi Maimon to speak to the committee about the religious foundation of Zionism. His speech is a powerful summary of the Mizrachi worldview and was a golden opportunity to explain how religious Jews view the idea of a Jewish state to the nations of the world.

“There is an insoluble bond between the People of Israel and its Torah, and there is similarly a strong and enduring tie between our people and this land, the like of which is not to be found elsewhere. The bond between the people and the land was maintained throughout the ages and throughout the lands of exile.

From the time of Joshua to the present day, for a period of 3,318 years, Jews have

1947

On November 29 the United Nations General Assembly votes in favor of the partition of Palestine and the creation of a Jewish state

lived in the Land of Israel in an unbroken sequence. After the destruction of the First Temple by Babylon and again after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, Jews continued to dwell on this sacred soil. Those who were exiled to foreign lands strove at all times to strengthen the Jewish population of Palestine materially and spiritually. From the days of Daniel to the present day, every Jew has turned his face towards Jerusalem as he says his prayers...

Throughout the ages, we find Jews making efforts to reach the Land of Israel.

Many would leave their homes and property, their families and friends, to wander from country to country in an attempt to reach the Holy Land... The Mizrachi Organization, which is wholly religious in character, has been enabled... to take part in the reconstruction of the country.

Dozens of [Mizrachi] villages have been established together with elementary and secondary schools, and they exert a most profound influence... Religious Jewry wants to see the new Jewish life in this country built upon the foundations of the law of Israel…”

On November 29, 1947, three months after the committee’s visit to Palestine, the United Nations voted to partition Palestine and support a Jewish State.

Despite his disappointment that parts of Eretz Yisrael had been designated for an Arab state, Rabbi Maimon declared that this U.N. decision is “the start of

1948

1949

The State of Israel is born in the midst of Israel’s War of Independence

our redemption, the dim twilight of a new morning which is steadily coming towards us.”

In May 1948, Rabbi Maimon would famously play a critical role in the declaration of the State of Israel. While the People’s Council gathered in Tel Aviv to vote on independence, Rabbi Maimon was trapped in Jerusalem under an Arab siege. In need of Rabbi Maimon’s support for an immediate declaration of independence, Ben-Gurion sent a small plane to Jerusalem to pick up Rabbi Maimon and fly him to Tel Aviv.

The airplane was a single-man craft without space for a passenger, and so Rabbi Maimon instructed the pilot to tie his tallit and tefillin tightly to the back of the pilot’s seat. They promptly flew to Tel Aviv, with Rabbi Maimon’s legs hanging out over the side of the aircraft!

Upon arriving in Tel Aviv, Rabbi Maimon demanded that G-d be acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence, which led to angry opposition by the atheists and communists on the Council. Ultimately, a compromise was reached, with the Declaration’s concluding paragraph stating: “Placing our trust in the Rock of Israel (Tzur Yisrael), we affix our signatures to this proclamation…”

In her biography of her father, Rabbi Maimon In His Generations (Mossad HaRav Kook, 1998), Rabbi Maimon’s daughter

The first Mizrachi convention is held in Israel, addressed by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion

Geulah Bat-Yehudah describes the fateful moment of Israel’s birth: “The moment has arrived. Ben-Gurion reads the ‘Foundation Scroll’ (Declaration of Independence) clause by clause. When he reaches the sentence, ‘We hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz Yisrael, to be known as the State of Israel,’ the assembled rise and break out with prolonged applause.

Ben-Gurion continues to read, ‘Placing our trust in the Rock of Israel…’ and when he finishes, he says, ‘let us accept the Foundation Scroll of the Jewish State by rising.’

Rabbi Maimon rises, shaking with emotion, his throat choking with tears, and using the Divine Name, recites the Shehecheyanu blessing, ‘Who has kept us alive and sustained us to this season.’

Cries of ‘Amen’ from the assembled resound through the air.”

After the ceremony, the founders of Israel all signed their names to the bottom of the Declaration of Independence. When signing his name, Rabbi Maimon added the words ’‫בעזרת ה‬, “with the help of G-d,” ensuring G-d’s name would be inscribed upon the founding document of the Jewish State. In doing so, Rabbi Maimon represented believing Jews worldwide, who had yearned for so long to see this day. n

Arieh’s Special Task on Declaration Day

A

mong those watching David Ben-Gurion read out Israel’s declaration of independence was Mizrachi UK leader Arieh Handler.

He had earned his place in the hall by his dedication to Zionism and his heroic work to rescue Jewish children during the Second World War. He became one of the pioneers of Bnei Akiva, overseeing

the foundation of the movement in Britain.

Handler’s task that day was to drive Rabbi Maimon home before the start of Shabbat, only hours away. That day’s announcement of the birth of the state was a milestone. For Arieh and for Jews everywhere, it marked the realization of a dream: the establishment of a Jewish state.

Handler – described by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks as “one of the true giants of our community” – was the last surviving witness of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He passed away in 2011.

Now, photographs, grainy film footage and a voice recording are all that remain of that historic day.

And, of course, the declaration itself – a document that went

through countless revisions in the days and hours leading up to the event. As Handler himself said later: “I had this feeling in me that this was an historic moment, not just for the Jews but for the world.”

| 17

1953

Rabbis Michel Kossowsky and Joseph Bronner establish Yeshiva College of Johannesburg, the first Torah school in South Africa

1954

Mizrachi helps to found Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh, the first yeshiva gevoha whose students also serve in the IDF

BLAST

From the Past

M

olly Schatz, an active member of HaPoel HaMizrachi – Religious Zionists of Chicago (RZC), served as an RZC Council Delegate and was among the organizers of Camp Moshava. A gifted writer, Molly edited RZC’s Sabbath Voice – Kol Shabbat newsletter (still distributed weekly, now via email), never faltering in her efforts to produce a quality bulletin each week.

Together with her husband Louis, who worked with tremendous zeal as co-Chairman of RZC’s Overseas Relief Committee, the Schatzes were deeply devoted to strengthening Religious Zionism in America.

In 1953 they moved to California, continuing their work for Mizrachi, locally and nationally.

In the Rosh Hashanah 5709 (1948) issue of HaShofar, the annual magazine of HaPoel HaMizrachi–Religious Zionists of Chicago, Molly Schatz authored this heartfelt poem, which eloquently captured the awe-inspiring emotions of the day, a few years after the trauma of the Holocaust and only a few months after the establishment of the State of Israel. n

18 |

1954

The first volume of Or HaMizrach, the Mizrachi movement’s Torah journal, is published

1955

American Mizrachi founds Bar-Ilan University in memory of Mizrachi leader Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan

1956

Israel wages the Sinai Campaign to end terrorist incursions into Israel and remove the Egyptian blockade of Eilat

1956

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik delivers a powerful speech titled “Kol Dodi Dofek,” describing the six miraculous events accompanying the establishment of the State of Israel

Medinat Yisrael Molly Schatz My heart; ’tis an image of multitudinous feelings.

Etched — in the trials and the toil of chalutzim;

in the blood of European Jews.

Dead and dying; in Israel’s historical redemption in my day.

Israel once again a Jewish Homeland; a sanctuary of G-d.

Now sending forth its courageous message of renewed faith,

reborn hope for a new life.

“Arise, Israelites, exiles; beseech worthiness of this great redemption.

Teach and live anew the precepts of a G-d fearing people.”

Yea, we fought lest we betray our past leaders, our freshly-buried martyrs.

Israel must heroically symbolize the triumph of Right over evil might.

Structures for living, for learning, for labor, for worship, must rise Resplendent with the boundless joy and pride of a nation rededicated.

And yesterday’s heritage, today’s sacrifice, must bring tomorrow’s Glory.

Efface, oh Israel the spectre of two thousand empty, tragic Galut years.

Live on, oh Israel, in Divine fulfillment of an historic Destiny.

October 1948

| 19

1956

1960

The newly merged Mizrachi and HaPoel HaMizrachi, and other Religious Zionists, form the National Religious Party

1962

The first Bnei Akiva “Ulpana” for girls is founded in Kfar Pines

World Mizrachi establishes the Center for Religious Education

My Rebbe, Rav Neria Rabbi Dr. Michael Zvi Nehorai

I

t was a few years before the establishment of the State of Israel. I was a boy, arriving alone in the country as a refugee, the only remaining member of my family, on a ship of unauthorized immigrants. I was ultimately brought to a camp in Atlit. After I was there for a length of time, they needed to transfer me to an institution. Most of the institutions belonged to anti-religious movements, and all the refugee children had to choose which movement they would join. They had us line up, and when each of the children went up to the counter, they told him where to go – Mapam, Mapai, and so on – unless the child took the initiative to tell them where he wanted to go. Most of the children were sent to non-religious movements.

I thank Hashem for the miracle that happened to me. I was standing in line and getting closer to the table where my fate was to be sealed. While I was standing there, a tall older man came over and gave me a gentle push. I looked up at him as if asking, “What do you want?!” and he said to me in Yiddish, “Where will you register to go, dear boy?” I said, “HaShomer HaTza’ir.” Then he asked, “Why?” I explained that I’d heard good things about it – the food, a pool, lots of fun, hikes. “Tell me,” he said, “did your father put on tefillin? Did your mother light candles?”

20 |

I said, “Of course!” “Did you eat matzah?” “Definitely!” “Did you have a mezuzah?” “Obviously,” I answered, and then I burst out crying. “What do you think I am, not Jewish?” Then he said, “My boy, if you go to HaShomer HaTza’ir, you should know that they eat chametz on Pesach, there’s no mezuzah, there are no tefillin, there’s no Shabbat!” I didn’t know such a thing was possible. It had never occurred to me! I asked what to say at the counter, and he said, “Say ‘Mizrachi’!” When I got to the counter and said “Mizrachi,” I was different from everybody else.

That’s how I got to Kfar HaRo’eh, and from that point onward, I was under the wing of Rabbi Neria.

Back then, most of the country thought that a democratic state, by definition, was entirely at odds with Torah and Judaism. Years later, I was asked to speak about Rav Kook at Yad Mordechai, a kibbutz affiliated with HaShomer HaTza’ir. I said that the whole idea of a Zionist state is contained in the Torah, which educates us to be Zionists. I explained to the crowd that we must adhere to the Torah because it sustains the people, and our priority is to take care of the people.

We have Jews and we have a state, and neither can exist without the other. That’s what I said to my audience at the kibbutz. There

1962

In honor of Mizrachi’s 60th anniversary, a fund for 1 million Israeli Lira is created for scholarships for religious education

was an older man there who said, “You’re a boy. You don’t know what you’re talking about. When we joined the Zionist movement in my house in Poland, the city’s rabbi excommunicated us. He threw us out of the congregation and didn’t let my father be part of a minyan. And you’re saying that the Torah teaches Zionism?!”

That’s how things were then, and even among religious people, some considered Zionism an enemy. How sad it was. There can be no comparison, in terms of the religious outlook of Israelis, between those days and now. I was embarrassed back then to walk around with a kippah! In pictures from those days, you’ll see young people walking around in berets and caps, so nobody would know they were religious. It was a source of embarrassment. I remember how the Yemenites came from Yemen, and they cut off their pe’ot and beards in the transit camps. They saw it as a source of pride as if they were taking the dirt and disfigurement from their faces.

That was the atmosphere in those years, before and for a little while after the state was established.

1964

Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman, a central figure of pre-war Mizrachi, becomes the second Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel

My friends! Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria has still not received the recognition he deserves from the people of Israel.

We cannot imagine the extent of the greatness, the lifework, and the roots of this great man. He was a student at Lifshitz Seminar in Jerusalem, which taught educators and trained them as teachers. Rabbi Neria left the institution and did not receive certification as a teacher; he had a mission to accomplish. He had one principle that galvanized him: Disseminating Torah so that the country would have a religious majority. Think about this for a moment. Rabbi Neria was living at a time and place when that goal seemed ludicrous. Yet he decided: I want to spread Torah in Israel. He believed in the power of the Torah to educate the young generation. That with time, the younger generation would grow and develop and ultimately form the country’s majority. And he was right.

Look at the Israel of today, with a vast and growing religious community, and appreciate what one man’s will can

1967

Within the brief span of six days, the IDF captures the Sinai peninsula, Yehuda and Shomron, the Golan Heights and the Old City of Jerusalem

Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria. Backround image: Students of the Yeshivat Bnei Akiva in Kfar HaRo’eh in front of the yeshiva building, between 1948 and 1951.

(PHOTOS: PUBLIC DOMAIN)

accomplish! When you see the results of his life’s work, it’s truly unbelievable.

Rabbi Neria sent the seniors from Yeshivat Bnei Akiva of Kfar HaRo’eh, headed by Rabbi Yaakov Kilav, to Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav. I was privileged to be in Yeshivat Kfar HaRo’eh’s first class of Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, all thanks to Rabbi Neria. I was also among those sent several years later to establish Yeshivat Bnei Akiva in Meiron, and later Yeshivat Netiv Meir in Jerusalem and the yeshiva in Ra’anana. In every possible place where he found a building, Rabbi Neria established a place for studying Torah. The entire project was his brainchild, and it was a success!

Rabbi Neria’s work to spread Torah among the people of Israel wasn’t just about teaching the youth. He instilled in the national consciousness of Israel, among the secular majority, that there is such a thing as a “yeshiva.”  This essay was first published in Hebrew in Makor Rishon in November 2020 to mark Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria’s 15th yahrzeit. The author passed away a few weeks before the essay was published.

Rabbi Dr. Michael Zvi Nehorai (1931–2020) was a longtime professor of Jewish Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University, a formidable Torah scholar and a passionate Religious Zionist.

| 21

1968

Led by Rabbi Chanan Porat, Bnei Akiva activists re-establish the settlement of Kfar Etzion, 20 years after the Jordanian Arab Legion massacred 127 defenders of Kfar Etzion during the Independence War

1971

Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein makes Aliyah and joins Rabbi Yehuda Amital as Co-Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Leaves Agudath Yisrael for Mizrachi (PHOTO: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES)

F

or the first time in the annals of o‎ ur e‎ xile, Divine Providence has amazed our enemies with the astounding discovery that Jewish ‎blood ‎is not cheap!... If we want to courageously defend our continued national and ‎historical ‎existence… The Torah has always taught that a man is permitted, indeed, has a sacred obligation, to d ‎ efend ‎himself... P ‎ ublic and private honor is ‎dependent upon the possibility of defending one’s life and one’s honor. A ‎ people that cannot ‎defend its freedom and tranquillity is neither free nor independent. The third ‎of the phrases of ‎Divine redemption is “And I shall redeem you with an outstretched hand and w ‎ ith great ‎judgments” (Shemot 6:6). Thank G-d we have lived to see the day when, with the help o ‎ f G-d, J‎ ews have it within their power to defend themselves.‎ Let us not forget that the poison of Hitlerite antisemitism (which made Jews fair game to all) s‎ till ‎permeates this generation, which looked with equanimity upon the horrible scene of ‎the ‎suffocation of millions in gas

22 |

chambers as a normal event that need not be challenged. T ‎ he a ‎ ntidote for this venom that poisoned minds and dulled hearts is the readiness of the State ‎of ‎Israel to defend the lives of its citizens. Listen! My Beloved Knocks!  Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Kol Dodi Dofek, Yom HaAtzmaut 1956.

I

n 1935, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik submitted his candidacy to become the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv as the representative of Agudath Yisrael. Less than a decade later, in 1944, Rabbi Soloveitchik was the chairman of the Central Committee of the Religious Zionists of America. Rabbi Soloveitchik’s shift in allegiance from Agudath Yisrael to Mizrachi resulted from a frank and painful reevaluation of his philosophy in response to the Holocaust. Witnessing the destruction of European Jewry, Rabbi Soloveitchik came to believe that Mizrachi’s activist approach to building a Jewish future in the Land of Israel had saved Judaism and the Jewish people from extinction.

In a 1962 address to the Religious Zionists of America, Rabbi Soloveitchik explained: I was not born into a Zionist household.

My parents’ ancestors, my father’s house, my teachers and colleagues were far from the Mizrachi Religious Zionists... My links with Mizrachi grew gradually; I had my doubts about the validity of the Mizrachi approach... I built an altar upon which I sacrificed sleepless nights, doubts and reservations. Regardless, the years of the Hitlerian Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the accomplishments of the Mizrachi in the Land of Israel, convinced me of the correctness of our movement’s path. The altar still stands today, with smoke rising from the sacrifice upon it... Jews like me… are required to sacrifice on this altar their peace of mind as well as their social relationships and friendships.  Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Rav

Speaks: Five Addresses on Israel, History and the Jewish People (Judaica Press, 2002) pp. 34–36.

1973

Israel defeats Syria and Egypt in the Yom Kippur War, but loses 2,688 soldiers

1974

Gush Emunim, a movement committed to building settlements in the newly liberated territories, is established

1976

World Mizrachi’s Education Center grows to 184,000 students in Israeli schools, yeshivot and midrashot

1977

Over 80 Mizrachi kibbutzim and moshavim are now flourishing throughout Israel

“The Rav was an independent thinker, but he fundamentally agreed with the Mizrachi approach.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH RABBI HERSHEL SCHACHTER

L

must try to choose the lesser of two evils. The Gemara in Eruvin explains this principle.

ast month, Avi Borgen asked Rabbi Herschel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, to reflect on Rabbi Soloveitchik’s move to Mizrachi.

Rabbi Shach ultimately reached the same conclusion as Rabbi Soloveitchik, many years later after the Rav – that we have to be involved, be willing to join the government, and get things accomplished.

AB: Why did Rabbi Soloveitchik become an activist in the Mizrachi movement?

AB: Over the years, Rabbi Soloveitchik occasionally disagreed strongly with some of Mizrachi’s positions. How did he feel about the movement in his later years?

RHS: The Rav said that he felt the Agudah had made a major mistake by not encouraging European Jewry to move to Eretz Yisrael before the war.

So many lives could have been saved from the Holocuast if more Jews had gone to Eretz Yisrael!

But the Rav also disagreed with the approach of Agudath Yisrael after the State of Israel was established. Many rabbanim believed that it was yehareig v’al yavor, that one must give up his life before joining the coalition government in the State of Israel! But Rabbi Soloveitchik said that even when the government is doing anti-religious things – and in the early years, the government was very anti-religious – you have to choose the lesser of the two evils and join the coalition government. You have to act, you have to be involved, to make a difference!

Years later, Rabbi Elazar Shach took the same position as the Rav, and said that the Charedi community must join the coalition government. When his position became public, he was attacked by Rabbi Moshe Shternbach,

Top: Rabbi Schachter with Rabbi Soloveitchik; Below: Rabbi Schachter at Mizrachi’s Yom Yerushalayim Mission in 2017.

then a young whipper-snapper, who quoted great rabbis from earlier generations who said it is forbidden to join the coalition government. So Rabbi Shach wrote a letter to his relative, Rabbi Shneur Kotler in America, and said they should hang this letter up in all the yeshivot in America. In this letter, Rabbi Shach explained why he felt that the Charedi community had to join the coalition, for we have a tradition from our rabbanim that we

RHS: The Rav would sometimes condemn the government for taking a certain stand and praise Mizrachi for standing up to the government. And sometimes he would strongly disagree with Mizrachi when he felt they took the wrong position. After one such disagreement, someone asked the Rav if he was leaving Mizrachi. Rabbi Soloveitchik responded, “I didn’t say I’m quitting Mizrachi! A husband and wife never have disagreements?

I don’t get divorced every time I have a disagreement with my spouse. Yes, I disagreed with the position the party took in the Knesset, but I’m not getting divorced from Mizrachi!” The Rav was an independent thinker, but he fundamentally agreed with the Mizrachi approach.

Avi Borgen is a media ops manager at Initiative, a global media agency. He is a graduate of Yeshiva University.

| 23

1981

The 100th Volume of Or HaMizrach is published

1982

Three IDF soldiers are taken captive in the first Lebanon war; Zvi Feldman, Zechariah Baumel, a soldier in the Hesder program at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and Yehudah Katz, a soldier in the Hesder program at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh

The Groundwork is Laid for the Hesder Movement

Yeshiva Students

AT WAR Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody

I

n April 1948, a 20-year old yeshiva student at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, Shear-Yashuv Cohen (1927–2016), was on a short reprieve from his service in the Haganah. Just months beforehand, the United Nations had voted to partition Palestine. The Jews accepted the plan, but the Arabs rejected it, leading to a period of violent skirmishes that became the first stage of Israel’s War of Independence. As the Haganah pushed for widespread enlistment, some leading rabbinic scholars, including one of the yeshivah’s deans, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlop, protested the attempted enlistment of their students.

They published proclamations featuring quotations from the yeshiva’s founder, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, who supported draft exemptions for yeshiva students in Britain during World War I. This came as a shock to Cohen, who revered Rav Kook.

As fate would have it, upon exiting the yeshiva, he ran into Rav Kook’s son, Rabbi Zvi

24 |

Yehuda, and inquired whether he had somehow erred by enlisting in the nascent Jewish army.

Rabbi Zvi Yehuda was outraged by the publication of the handbills, considering them a distortion of his late father’s views. He promised to publish a treatise on why fighting for the Jewish homeland was different from fighting on behalf of another nation’s army. Rabbi Zvi Yehuda blessed his pupil and sent him back to his post.

Cohen would need that blessing. Over the next month, he fought to hold the besieged Old City of Jerusalem until the outnumbered Jewish fighters were forced to submit to Jordanian forces.

Cohen helped convince the surviving fighters to surrender and not create a modern-day Masada by “saving one last bullet” for themselves. Severely wounded, he spent the next nine months in Jordanian captivity until he was ultimately freed in a prisoner exchange. While recuperating in Jerusalem in 1949, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda gave him a copy of the promised treatise defending army service by yeshiva students that he had published soon after Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook was not the only rabbinic scholar to support the conscription of yeshiva students. Similar

1985

The Mizrachi Torah Scholarship Fund provides for over 1,000 students, totaling 3.6M shekels, equivalent to $8M today

1986

Over 20 AMIT institutions serve more than 16,000 people throughout Israel

essays were written by Rabbis Yitzhak Herzog, Shlomo Yosef Zevin, and Cohen’s own father, R. David Cohen (known as “the Nazir”). Yet Rabbi Zvi Yehuda’s treatise was particularly fascinating because it addressed an earlier era in which religious Jews were much more conflicted over whether they had a homeland to fight for.

Jews were active participants on both sides in World War I: More than a million Jews served with Allied forces, while 450,000 Jews served in the armies of the Central Powers. Some, particularly in countries like Turkey (Central Powers) and Russia (Allies), were forced into service by rulers they loathed. In other countries, such as Austria-Hungary and Britain, many Jews patriotically enlisted, thankful for the relatively safe position of the Jewish community in those countries.

For over a century, Rabbis debated whether Jews should fight for their host countries. Partly due to the difficulty of observing ritual laws while serving, many were opposed to such participation. Yet recognizing that it was often not a matter of choice, like in Tsarist Russia, they nevertheless guided enlisted soldiers in the observance, to the extent possible, of dietary and Sabbath laws. The “Chofetz Chaim,” Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, would even write a popular handbook for Jewish soldiers called “Machane Yisrael.”

More fundamentally, many rabbis spoke out against the wanton bloodshed of warfare when not fighting in self-defense. Proactive belligerence, in their view, flagrantly violated the commandment of “Thou Shalt Not Murder.” To this was added the fear that Jewish soldiers on one side might be killing Jewish soldiers on the other side, a trope common in Jewish literature throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Other rabbis, however, deemed military service a religious duty. Rabbi

1990

Solly Sacks is elected Secretary-General of the Mizrachi World Movement

conscription of yeshivah students to the newly formed IDF. But Rabbi Zvi Yehuda argued that the scenarios were not compatible. In England, the British army was drafting yeshivah students, including many Russian refugees, into an army that was foreign to them; in 1948, Jewish soldiers were needed to defend their own people and true homeland from the ongoing attacks of their enemies. When it comes to defending the Holy Land, all Jews must be willing to fight.

Moshe David Glasner of Germany (the “Dor Revi’i”) denounced Jewish draft dodgers. In his mind, the obligation to follow the state’s laws demanded not only paying taxes (damim in Hebrew) but also risking one’s blood (also damim). If national service entailed violating the Sabbath and other commandments, so be it.

Similarly, Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz of Britain praised Jewish servicemen and regularly condemned those who neglected their combat duties, particularly if they did so in the name of religion.

This proclamation was opposed by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, who was living in England after being stranded in Europe due to the outbreak of war in 1914. Much to Rabbi Hertz’s dismay, Rav Kook wrote letters for yeshivah students to receive a draft exemption for religious reasons.

Rav Kook felt that Jews should avoid military service if the government would not allow them to maintain their religious lifestyle. Interestingly, when the so-called ‘Jewish Brigade’ was formed toward the end of the war, Rav Kook praised its soldiers while providing halachic guidance to its chaplain regarding kashrut and other ritual observance.

These letters in favor of religious exemptions during World War I were now being cited in 1948 to protest the

(PHOTOS: IDF)

Over time, Israel would establish different models, including the Hesder Yeshiva system, to enable religious citizens to both study Torah and serve in the army. In fulfilling both of these great religious values, these scholar-soldiers are following the path blazed before them by the brave 20-year old Shear-Yashuv Cohen in 1948. While best known for becoming the Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi Cohen would first serve as head chaplain of the Israeli Air Force, serving alongside his brother-in-law, IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren – a fitting way to serve his nation as both a scholar and a soldier.  This article is adapted from the author’s forthcoming book, Judaism Confronts War: Jewish Military Ethics in the 21st Century (Maggid Books).

A member of the Mizrachi Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody is the co-dean of the Speakers Bureau

Tikvah Online Academy and a post-doctoral mizrachi.org/ fellow at Bar-Ilan University Law School. speakers

| 25

1991

Over one month, Iraq fires 38 Scud missiles at Israel during the Gulf War

1996

Torah MiTzion, which establishes Religious Zionist Kollels around the world, is founded

1998

The first Torah MiTzion Kollel in Australia is founded in Melbourne

MIZRACHI TODAY YESHIVOT AND SEMINARIES Strengthening Torah learning in Israel

THE RELIGIOUS ZIONIST SHLICHUT CENTER Sending quality Israeli educators to your communities

26 |

CONNECTING WITH ISRAEL Bringing the world to Israel, and bringing Israel to the world

2005

Israel unilaterally disengages from Gaza, dismantling 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip

2006

Hezbollah murders eight Israeli soldiers and kidnaps two others, provoking the Second Lebanon War

2009

HaBayit HaYehudi, the Jewish Home party, replaces the NRP as Religious Zionism’s political party

World Mizrachi is the global Religious Zionist movement, spreading Torat Eretz Yisrael across the world and strengthening the bond between the State of Israel and Jewish communities around the world. Based in Jerusalem and with branches across the globe, Mizrachi – an acronym for merkaz ruchani (spiritual center) – was founded in 1902 by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, and is led today by Rabbi Doron Perez.

Mizrachi’s role was then and remains with vigor today, to be a proactive partner and to take personal responsibility in contributing to the collective destiny of Klal Yisrael through a commitment to Torah, the Land of Israel and the People of Israel.

RABBINIC AND EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP Creating tomorrow’s leaders for your communities

MIZRACHI REPRESENTATIVES IN THE NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Gael Grunewald, Avraham Duvdevani and Roi Abecassis

CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY Impacting thousands of students worldwide

A GLOBAL MOVEMENT Creating and re-energizing around the world

MIZRACHI’S LEADERSHIP Harvey Blitz (Chairman); Kurt Rothschild (President); Rabbi Yechiel Wasserman (Co-President); and the professional staff

| 27

2014

2014

Rabbi Doron Perez is appointed CEO of Mizrachi partners with Manhigut Toranit, World Mizrachi after 15 years of shlichut a five-year program preparing scholars as head of Mizrachi South Africa for rabbinic positions in the Diaspora

2015

Mizrachi establishes Shalhevet, a two-year leadership and shlichut training program

2015

Mizrachi and Koren publish the first-ever Hebrew-English Yom HaAtzmaut Machzor

Inspiring Identity Rabbi Reuven Taragin A uniquely Greek threat

Chanukah’s modern message

hrough the centuries, many enemies have persecuted the Jews. Some threatened us physically, as we recall on Pesach and Purim, when Hashem saved us from slavery and annihilation. Later we faced threats of forced conversion; religions like Christianity and Islam tried to force us to accept their faith, while ideologies like socialism and communism pressed us to adopt their secular creed.

For 2,000 years, Chanukah has reminded Jews that we must be ever vigilant in protecting our unique identity. The need for this protection has grown as Jews have become increasingly integrated into modern society, leading to assimilation, dilution of Jewish identity, and radical reformulations of Judaism that try to align it with secular notions and alien religious ideas and practices. Such trends have affected not only non-Orthodox Jews but the Modern Orthodox community as well. Efforts to engage with and even benefit from the larger society can bring exposure to problematic ideas and cultural influences.

T

Yet the challenge posed by the Greeks and their Hellenist sympathizers, which we remember each year on Chanukah, presented a threat that in some ways surpassed all the others.

Scan here to join Rabbi Taragin’s daily Divrei Torah WhatsApp group

The Greeks demanded that we subvert Judaism by aligning it with their own culture. They pressured our people to deny our unique relationship with Hashem and treat Torah and mitzvot as merely human customs, to be abandoned in the face of other customs – such as their own – that they deemed superior.

This Greek initiative was insidious: Jews would not have to convert, but they would have to integrate into the larger society on society’s terms.

The Chashmona’im appreciated the gravity of this threat. They fought the Greeks and Hellenists to protect the purity of our Jewish religion and identity.

With Hashem’s help, their efforts ensured that we Jews would remain committed to the true understanding of mizrachi.org/ our unique faith and relationship with speakers Hashem.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau

28 |

Orthodox youth often enter adulthood living in tension between Jewish and secular worldviews. Although these young men and women study Torah texts, gain Jewish perspective, and commit to a halachic life, they also devote themselves to secular studies in order to succeed in college, and sustain connections with pop and sports culture and the world of social media.

The importance of a year in Israel These considerations help explain why the post-high school gap year in Israel has become so important to the Modern Orthodox community. This experience exposes and connects our young adults to life in Eretz Yisrael, strengthens their Torah knowledge and observance, and, perhaps most importantly, allows them to reflect on the place of Torah and Jewish values within their own identity and lifestyle.

This ‘lech lecha’ experience – leaving their cultural milieu for a year of

immersion in Israeli yeshivot and seminaries – has powerfully impacted thousands of Orthodox teenagers.

Whether immediately or after a few years, many move to Israel. Others go back home and make dramatic impacts on the religious life of Modern Orthodox communities around the world, growing membership and intensifying commitment.

Mizrachi and the year in Israel As an organization focused on connecting Jews to Israel, Mizrachi has always been at the forefront of encouraging and facilitating the gap year in Israel.

Most recently, Mizrachi played a critical role in helping yeshivot and seminaries cope with new challenges. When Masa announced funding cuts for yeshivot and seminaries, Mizrachi lobbied to restore funding and organized campaigns that raised over $10 million to support yeshivot and seminaries. When Covid regulations barred entry into Israel, Mizrachi worked with government officials to ensure that yeshiva and seminary students could enter the country, and has continued working to help maintain all aspects of the gap year experience.

Baruch Hashem, Mizrachi’s success in the recent World Zionist Organization elections will enable us to assist gap year yeshiva and seminary programs in new ways. Inspired by the goals and victory of the Chashmona’im, we at Mizrachi are committed to strengthening our young people’s connection to Torah, Israel, and the Jewish people.

Rabbi Reuven Taragin is Educational Director of Mizrachi and Dean of the Yeshivat Hakotel Overseas Program.

2017

3,000 people, including Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and Minister Naftali Bennett, gather as part of Mizrachi’s celebration of 50 years of a reunited Jerusalem

2018

The first edition of the new English language HaMizrachi magazine is published

2022

Mizrachi celebrates its 120th anniversary since its founding by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines in 1902

Miracles, Midrashot and Mizrachi CHANUKAH AND CHINUCH FOR WOMEN Rabbanit Shani Taragin

T

he days of Chanukah were established as holidays of ‫ַה ֵ ּלל‬ ‫ – וְ הוֹ ָד ָאה‬days when we recite Hallel and prayers of thanksgiving – an appropriate time to thank Hashem for both past and modern miracles. It is a time to celebrate the bayit, our homes, upon which the mitzvah of lighting candles is predicated (‫נֵ ר ִא ׁיש‬ ֹ‫ – ו ֵּביתו‬a candle per home), and also a time to celebrate chinuch – the rededication of the Temple. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch explains that the name Chanukah derives from the same root as the word chanoch, to educate. Jewish education was threatened by a Hellenistic cultural darkness that dismissed the study of Torah and the observance of mitzvot, and so we light the Chanukah candles, rededicating ourselves as parents and educators to battle for the continuity of Jewish identity. This mitzvah is incumbent upon every household and every individual in the home, women included, reinforcing the significance of chinuch in every bayit.

Although women are generally exempt from positive, time-bound mitzvot, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches that women are obligated in the mitzvah of Chanukah lights, for ‫אף ֵהן ָהי ּו ְ ּבאוֹ תוֹ ַה ֵ ּנס‬,ַ “they too were part of that miracle.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi uses the same formulation regarding a woman’s obligation to drink the Pesach seder’s four cups and hear the megillah reading on Purim.

Early commentators offer different interpretations of “they too were part of that miracle.” According to Rashi, due to the active role of women in catalyzing these miracles of redemption, they are obligated to actively commemorate the respective miracles. Tosafot maintain that women played a passive role in

benefitting from Hashem’s miraculous intervention and therefore must convey gratitude for national salvation. The latter argue that perhaps women should be obligated in other mitzvot which express thanksgiving for miracles (e.g. sukkah, three meals on Shabbat).

Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l limits the “they too” inclusion of Tosafot by distinguishing between different commandments that include commemoration of a miracle. Some mitzvot only peripherally require commemoration, so not everyone included in the miracle is obligated to commemorate the miracle.

Regarding the three rabbinic mitzvot of Chanukah lights, four cups and megillah, however, the publicizing of the miracle is central to the fulfillment of the mitzvah, thereby requiring even “passive” beneficiaries of the miracle to publicize the mitzvah.

Women are equally obligated in publicizing the miracle of Chanukah through the chinuch of the home and the nation.

Today as in the past, women are actively involved in catalyzing miracles of redemption and restoration of family values and national destiny. Women are also among the passive beneficiaries of the miracle of the return to Zion and are required to publicize and perpetuate the chinuch of Chanukah, lighting candles and igniting souls with Torah values.

Beginning with the Mizrachi Teachers Training College (today Lifshitz–Herzog College of Education) established in Yerushalayim in 1921, the Talpiot Beit Midrash for Teachers (1937) and Machon Gold, founded in 1958 by the Torah Education Department of the WZO, the Religious Zionist movement built a strong foundation of batei midrash for women.

With over 60 post high school midrashot in Israel, more women than ever before in Jewish history are learning Torah on advanced levels.

World Mizrachi has led world Jewry in strengthening our Religious Zionist values in the political, social and educational spheres. It is a tremendous privilege to work with dreamers and builders who never cease to promote programs for Jewish education and leadership-training for both men and women. Mizrachi recruits and trains female educators through the Shalhevet two-year leadership program and the Lapidot three-year program for preparing women to teach topics of Torah shebe’al peh in Israel and the Diaspora. These programs ignite, inculcate and proudly celebrate the reestablishment of the core values the Seleucid Greeks attempted to undermine – the personal and national homes of the Jewish people.

On Chanukah we are reinvigorated to restore and perpetuate inspired Jewish education as we simultaneously celebrate Jewish sovereignty and opportunity in our homeland. Torah education for women is a vital component in assuring the success of this endeavor.

Chanukah reminds us of the Jewish woman’s critical role in shaping our people’s identity and destiny. On the holiday that celebrates the Jewish home, our people turn to the Jewish woman, the ‫ע ֶק ֶרת ַ ּביִ ת‬,ֲ the foundation of the home, to participate and publicize.

Rabbanit Shani Taragin is Educational Director of Mizrachi and the Director of the Mizrachi Matan Lapidot Educators’ Program.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/ speakers

| 29

Collaborating

with G-d

W

Rabbi Hillel Van-Leeuwen

hy did G-d select Avraham as the founder of His chosen people?

Unlike the choice of Moshe, for whom the Torah relates several outstanding actions as the reason for which he was picked to lead, the Torah itself gives no reason for the selection of Avraham.

The Midrash1 suggests that Avraham essentially chose himself. He saw a “burning palace,” i.e., a world full of pain, tragedy, suffering, wars and bloodshed, and began searching for the palace’s owner to “put out the fire.”

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks noted that although G-d introduced Himself to Avraham as the owner of the place, He did not assume responsibility for putting out its flames! That task was entrusted to Avraham.

As Avraham and Sarah’s descendants, the traits of responsibility, caring for others and working tirelessly to improve life on all fronts – domestically and globally – are in our national genes. The Sfat Emet2 explains that G-d calls out “Lech Lecha” to all people, in all generations; Avraham was simply the first to hear the call and the first to respond to it. This, ultimately, is the root of Avraham’s chosenness.

The Mishnah famously identifies the challenges awaiting humanity before Mashiach’s arrival: a culture replete with chutzpah, sky-high cost of living, an absence of truth and a confused generation – a perfect description of our own generation! The Mishnah continues: “And on whom can we lean? On our Father in Heaven.” The common understanding of this last sentence is that our only salvation from this A member of myriad of troubles will come from the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau Heaven.

3

mizrachi.org/ speakers

30 |

The Lubavitcher Rebbe,4 however, interprets this Mishnah in a brilliantly

Some of this year’s shlichim at the preparation seminar earlier in the year. (PHOTO: DAVID STEIN)

radical way: When the Mishnah states, “On Who can we lean? On our Father in Heaven,” the Mishnah is not offering a solution to the challenges of our pre-messianic generation, but rather identifying another one of its challenges. Not only will our generation experience chutzpah, financial difficulty and confusion, but people will also excuse themselves from exerting their own efforts to bring the redemption by passively “leaning on G-d” for help instead!

When asked why it was specifically his generation that merited the first steps of redemption, Rav Kook5 responded: “…it merited redemption (of the Land of Israel) because it busied itself with redemption…” This is the ethos of shlichut – to reject passivity and defeatism, and do all in our power to strengthen our people and bring redemption!

In response to assimilation, intermarriage rates exceeding 85% worldwide, and the rapidly decreasing emotional attachment of many young Jews to Israel, World Mizrachi’s dedicated shlichim – men and women who heard the resonating call of Lech Lecha – take up rabbinic and educational leadership positions all over the world.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has often said that, whereas seventy years ago, the State of Israel was the project for the Jewish nation, today, the Jewish nation is the project of the State of Israel. Indeed, many communities abroad are clamoring for Israeli shlichim to enrich their schools, youth movements, university campuses, JCCs and synagogues to strength their Jewish and Zionist identities through Torat Eretz Yisrael.

Bereishit Rabbah 39:1.

1

Lech Lecha 5632.

2

3

Sotah 5:15.

Shaarei HaMoadim II, p. 238.

4

Shemonah Kvatzim 7:201.

5

Rabbi Hillel Van-Leeuwen is Head of Leadership Development at World Mizrachi and Director of its Shlichut Center. A former IDF paratrooper, Rabbi Van-Leeuwen served as a shaliach in Canada for three years.

JEWSwithVIEWS

We asked three accomplished Jews from around the world what they think the mission statement of Religious Zionism should be as we embark on the next 120 years.

Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Sivan

Rabbi Danny

R

A

Schacter

abbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, the founder of the Religious Zionist movement, clearly defined what he meant when he chose the name “Mizrachi.” Contrary to popular perception, it had nothing to do with “mizrach,” or east. He explicitly defined it as a conflation of the two words, “merkaz ruchani.”

He wanted his new organization to serve as a spiritual center, to, in his words, “impart the faithful spirit of Judaism to Zionism in general”.1 Over the years, our movement has lost its way. Particularly in the last few decades, it has unfortunately positioned itself and is experienced, even by those like me who deeply identify with it, as a “merkaz politi,” placing politics rather than spirituality at its center.

But its ideals remain exalted and even more necessary than ever before. Nowhere else can we see the profound relevance of Torah values to modern society in all its facets, as in the G-d given gift of our times called Medinat Yisrael. Nowhere else can we potentially see the actualization of the love of Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael in so broad and profound a way. As we celebrate the remarkable milestone of 120 years, let us explore how to be the most effective, inspirational “merkaz ruchani” envisioned by our founder.

Rahav Meir Mirvis

I

am not afraid that there will be no next generation of religious doctors or religious lawyers. Nor am I afraid there will be no religious journalists or religious high-tech workers.

I fear that the next generation will not include rabbis, spiritual leaders and Torah scholars of a serious stature; that we will not develop the next Rabbi Kook or the next Rabbi Soloveitchik, the next Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria or the next Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.

Our young people hear a lot about the complexity of life and the integration of different worlds and less about dedication, devotion, and concentration on Torah learning.

It is my great wish that the Torah will not be a ‘side dish’ but the ‘main dish.’ I hope that our community will cherish and respect those who dedicate their lives to Torah, and that rabbis and tzaddikim will not only appear in children’s stories about the Jews of yesteryear but will be living and breathing role models at the center of our community.

I thank G-d for the privilege of sitting in Jerusalem and writing about the future challenges of the Jewish people.

This was something we could only dream about 120 years ago!

1. Rabbi Y. L. Hakohen Fishman, Sefer HaMizrachi: Kovetz leZeicher haGaon Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines zt”l (Mossad HaRav Kook, 1946), pp. 98–101.

Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter is University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and Senior Scholar at the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University.

Sivan Rahav Meir is a popular Israeli media personality and World Mizrachi’s Scholar-in-Residence.

s we cast our eyes to the future, the priorities of our global movement should be guided by the same core tenets of Religious Zionism which have formed the central pillars of our ideology throughout our proud history: Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

Though it may not have been the initial intent when the name “Mizrachi” was comprised from the words “merkaz ruchani” (spiritual center), we should take inspiration from the origins of our movement’s name to promote a thriving and confident “merkaz ruchani” – a spiritual middle-ground. Religious Zionism is uniquely placed to respond to the challenges of ever-increasing polarization by providing a centrist ideological home for a Judaism that is proudly Zionist, cares deeply about Jewish unity, and is unashamedly committed to Torah and Torah values.

We must resist the temptation to limit ourselves to our historical comfort zones and expand our horizons beyond education and politics. Religious Zionism must educate the next generation to bring our values and beliefs to every sphere of leadership and influence.

By cultivating future Religious Zionist leadership and empowering a network of international branches, shlichim, affiliated institutions and ideological partners, we can create the platform to further advance the global revival for our Israel-centered vision for the Jewish world.

Rabbi Danny Mirvis is Deputy CEO of World Mizrachi.

| 31

Extinguishing Evil or Spreading the Light?

Rabbi Shalom Rosner

Y

osef is the only one of the twelve tribes to whom the Torah attributes two reasons for his choice of name. First, we are told that Rachel selected the name Yosef because ‫ָא ָסף‬ ‫אלוֹ ִקים ֶאת ֶח ְר ּ ָפ ִתי‬,ֱ “G-d has taken away my reproach” (Bereshit 30:23). In the very next verse, Rachel provides an additional explanation for naming her son Yosef – ‫( יוֹ ֵסף ה‘ ִלי ֶ ּבן ַא ֵחר‬may Hashem grant me yet another son).

These two reasons for Yosef’s name exemplify Yosef’s two strengths, the first concerning the past – (removing Rachel’s past suffering) and the second looking towards the future (Rachel requesting another son in the future).

Yosef transmitted these two strengths to his own sons as evidenced by their names. One was called Menashe ‫ִ ּכי נַ ּׁ ַשנִ י‬ ‫אל ֹקים ֶאת ָ ּכל ֲע ָמ ִלי‬,ֱ “G-d has caused me to forget all my toil and all my father’s house” (Bereshit 41:51), relating to forgetting a painful past. The other was named Ephraim – ‫כּ י ִה ְפ ַרנִ י ֱאל ֹקים ְ ּב ֶא ֶרץ‬ ‫עׇנְ יי‬, “G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction,” (ibid. 41:52) relating to Yosef’s present and future.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/ speakers

32 |

In Jewish tradition, the actions of the fathers foreshadow the fate of their descendants. Yosef’s two children represent middot that we all must internalize. Our people are referred to as she’erit Yosef, the remnant of Yosef, and haben yakir li Ephraim, my precious son Ephraim. We are all Yosef’s children, and so we are all Menashe and Ephraim. They represent two of our kochot (strengths): Menashe represents turning from evil – help me root out

my pain, my difficulties, the negative.

Ephraim represents doing good, gaining the positive. We need to incorporate both “‫( ”סוּר ֵמ ַרע‬avoiding evil) and “‫”ע ֵשׂה טוֹ ב‬ ֲ (actively pursuing good).

Hellenistic nature of so many of the Jews of their time. They then actively purified the Beit HaMikdash and rekindled the menorah’s lights and the light of Torah and mitzvot.

The people of Israel are never referred to as “the children of Menashe” because turning from evil is not the ikar, the main goal of our nation.

Instead, we are called “the children of Ephraim” because the ikar is to actively pursue good and to bring the light of Torah to the world. Focusing on doing good will eventually lead to eradicating evil.

What was the Maccabim’s primary goal?

Which aspect of their extraordinary accomplishments do we remember most? This is the core issue debated

by Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai. Beit Shammai posits that we descend from lighting eight candles to one, to underscore that the main objective is to root out the negative, symbolized by progressively reducing the number of candles that we light throughout the holiday. However, Beit Hillel argues that the main objective is to spread light – that the darkness will automatically disappear with the addition of more light – and so we are to increase the light by adding a candle each night.

Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin and Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke of Nikolsburg both suggest that these two middot may serve as the root of the well-known debate between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai concerning the lighting of Chanukah candles. “Beit Shammai maintains: On the first day, eight candles are lit and thereafter they are gradually reduced. But Beit Hillel says: On the first day one candle is lit and thereafter they are progressively increased” (Shabbat 21b).

Fire accomplishes two different things; it destroys and removes, and yet it also illuminates and shines. Both qualities of fire are necessary to our spiritual growth. We must root out our yetzer hara and our negative tendencies, and we must also focus on the positive, by actively spreading the light of the Torah.

The Maccabim accomplished both of these goals. They first worked to burn out the Greek mentality, the

Our custom follows that of Beit Hillel – that our primary objective is to spread light like Ephraim, not to extinguish evil like Menashe. This Chanukah, may we follow the example of Ephraim and Beit Hillel, and enlighten those around us with the beauty of the Torah.

Rabbi Shalom Rosner is is a Rebbe at Yeshivat Kerem b’Yavneh and Rav of the Nofei HaShemesh community.

MIZRACHI’S WEEKEND OF

INSPIRATION 2022

N E W E D U C AT O R S NEW COMMUNITIES NEW PROGRAMMES

S AV E T H E DAT E 1 3 – 1 5 M AY 2 0 2 2 CULMINATING WITH THE ANNUAL MIZRACHI, KINLOSS AND STENECOURT

DAY OF INSPIRATION

One on One with Rabbi Yitzchak Neria Rabbi Yitzchak Neria is the son of Rabbi Nachum Neria and the grandson of Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria zt”l, the “father of the kippah serugah (knitted kippah) generation.” Rabbi Neria is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Torah B’Tzion in Efrat, the founder of Keren Echad L’Echad and chairman of Torah MiTzion, which sends Religious Zionist shlichim all over the world. He previously served as the Rosh Kollel of the Torah MiTzion Kollel in Montreal.

34 |

O

n the 19th of Kislev, your family and so many others will mark the 26th yahrzeit of your holy grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria zt”l, one of the most influential Religious Zionist rabbis of his time. Can you share some memories of your grandfather with us?

I was very attached to my grandfather.

When I was a teenager he pushed me to enter the field of Jewish education, even though I was interested in other pursuits at the time. He encouraged me and persuaded me that my calling in life is in the rabbinate and Jewish education.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of my grandfather was his constant concern for the broader Jewish community, a concern which guided his own actions and which he sought to transmit to his children and grandchildren. This was a direct result of the teachings of Rav Kook, who my grandfather learned with and was deeply attached to. A Jew is obligated to act on behalf of Am Yisrael and the entire world.

My grandfather was also deeply concerned with the great challenge of bringing the younger generation closer to Torah. He wanted to build a Religious Zionist community commited to Torah, a community that is alive and constantly growing and moving forward.

He understood that sometimes a deep dedication to Zionism can lead, G-d forbid, to a weakening of our dedication to Torah. He believed that the only way to avoid this is by giving our children a deep Torah education which brings the light of Torah to every aspect of life and community.

When my grandfather felt that there was a need for another yeshiva, he wasn’t worried about the impact the new yeshiva would have on his own. In fact, he would send his students to open more yeshivot because he understood that we must strengthen the foundation of Klal Yisrael through Torah study.

How has the Religious Zionist community in Israel changed in the decades since your grandfather passed away?

We could talk about this question for hours!

Thank G-d, there have been good changes, foremost among them the growth of the Torah community. But there are also many new challenges among Religious Zionist youth, including those who study in religious institutions. It’s not certain that

many of these young people will succeed in preserving their faith when confronted by the powerful currents of a secular society disconnected from holiness. Thank G-d, our country is strong, both economically and militarily. But on a spiritual level, the high percentage of young people removing their kippot is very concerning. Regarding olim specifically, sometimes children feel that the most important mitzvah is to become “Israeli,” which may come at the expense of being “Jewish.”

Today, as the State of Israel flourishes with newfound prosperity, we must continue to light a holy fire for Judaism so that people not only continue to observe Torah and mitzvot but do so with passion and excitement. My grandfather was very connected to the Rebbe of Piaseczna, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira hy”d, who wrote that there is no extraordinary wisdom in seeing how good things are in the yeshivot. Instead, we must pay attention to what is happening in the streets, where much work is to be done.

You spent three years on shlichut in Montreal as the beloved Rosh Kollel of the Torah MiTzion Kollel. How did the experience impact your family and career, and how has it informed your work in Israel?

To this day, we are still very connected to the community in Montreal, and many of our friends from there have made Aliyah.

I am also the Chairman of Torah MiTzion, and I periodically visit Jewish communities around the world.

Our shlichut in Montreal made a tremendous impact on us. The way Jewish community life works in the Diaspora is a model that we should copy here in Israel, not as a social model but as a spiritual model. The rabbi and lay leadership create a vibrant center filled with life, learning and holy joy. In Israel, a successful example of this model is the Shirat David shul in Efrat, led by Rabbi Shlomo Katz. There is a holy fire; not a fire that burns, G-d forbid, but a fire that warms the community.

You currently serve as Chairman of the Board of Torah MiTzion, which sends Religious Zionist shlichim to Jewish communities worldwide.

What are some of the challenges and opportunities you encounter in the Torah MiTzion Kollels?

The great difficulty is that we are Zionists.

The Diaspora communities love this; they are excited to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut

with us, and they pray with emotion for the IDF and State of Israel. But at the same time, they want their Israeli Rosh Kollel to remain in their Diaspora community for twenty years! The joke we often make is that during the first year, the shaliach is in shock. In the second year, everything works well. And in the third year, the shaliach makes plans to return home to Israel!

We are always thinking about different models, such as partnerships with community rabbis and institutions like Yeshiva University. But the fundamental tension remains, as we genuinely want Am Yisrael to return to its Land, which is a vital part of our message as a Zionist Kollel.

You have worked in many different roles – as a Torah educator, community rabbi and nonprofit leader – in both Israel and the Diaspora, giving you a unique perspective on Jewish communities all over the world. In your opinion, how do Religious Zionist communities in Israel differ from those in the Diaspora? What can they learn from one another?

I believe with all my heart that we must always be learning from each other to ensure that we move forwards and not backwards. When my grandfather established his yeshiva, he said he wanted “Lithuanian lomdus (in-depth Torah study) together with a Chassidic service of G-d and the enthusiasm of young Israelis.” We can and must learn from everyone!

Today, through our foundation Echad L’Echad, we are cultivating the next generation of Religious Zionist gedolei Torah (great Torah scholars) who will be the foundation of our community for the next fifty years.

We find the top students studying in yeshivot throughout Israel and give them a monthly stipend to continue learning Torah. Every society, including our own, must cultivate a spiritual elite without apology, for these leaders will be the ones to confront the spiritual challenges of the next generation. We have learned this from the Chareidi world and must incorporate it into our community as well.

Israel has much to learn from Diaspora Jewry about community, respect for others, and the great importance of every Jew. In our prayers we say: ‫יהם עֹל‬ ֶ ‫וְ ֻכ ָ ּלם ְמ ַק ְ ּב ִלים ֲע ֵל‬ ‫מ ְלכוּת ׁ ָש ַמיִ ם זֶ ה ִמ ֶּזה‬,ַ “and they all accept the yoke of Heaven from one another.” When we look at each other with eyes of kindness and direct our hearts towards Hashem, there is much that we can learn from one another. n

| 35

Gevurah in Our Day FROM THE CHASHMONA ’ IM TO THE IDF Rabbi Reuven Brand

S

itting under the stars on the hard stone slab of an amphitheater, witnessing the swearing-in ceremony of newly minted Israeli tank soldiers, is a powerful experience. As a young Jew from the Diaspora attending the ceremony, I felt many emotions.

I was awed by the precision and professionalism of the officers and cadets. I was moved by the parents of these young soldiers, beaming with pride. I was also conscious of witnessing history, of experiencing firsthand a historic transition of the Jewish people. As a Jew, especially one still living in the Diaspora, I was attentive to what was playing out before my eyes – a new type of gevurah.

Gevurah, as Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l explained in an address to a Mizrachi convention nearly 70 years ago, does not connote physical strength:

36 |

“Gevurah signifies heroism. The hero is not the physically strong one, but the one possessed of the quality of heroism.”

For as long as our people could consciously remember, collective gevurah has meant one thing: The heroism of survival. Despite impossible odds, the Jewish people have done “the paradoxical, the absurd” in the words of the Rav: We have survived.

We survived physically, despite being exiled, expelled and tormented. And we have survived spiritually, despite experiencing periods of loneliness and Divine hiddenness. Across centuries of oppression, our people collectively found the courage to cling to Hashem.

As communities scattered across a vast Diaspora, we blessed Hashem each day, ‫אוֹ זֵ ר יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ִ ּבגְ בו ָּרה‬, “Who girds Israel with strength.”

Individually, we have followed the strict interpretation of the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (4:1): ‫ֵאיזֶ ה ּו ִ ּגבּ וֹ ר ַהכּ וֹ ֵב ׁש ֶאת‬ ֹ‫יִ ְצרו‬, “who is a gibor? One who conquers his inclination.” Throughout our long history, we have lived in Christian, Muslim and secular cultures of every

kind, subject to powerful cultural influences that threatened to pull us away from a life of Torah. On occasion, individuals have slipped into the tide of darkness, losing their grip on Hashem’s hand. Yet our people have overwhelmingly found the gevurah to uphold our inner spiritual and religious convictions, embracing Hashem with our choices, despite the ongoing moral chaos and confusion that has surrounded us.

Chanukah, however, reveals a different dimension of gevurah, a form of heroism from our distant historical past, “‫ב ָ ּי ִמים ַה ֵהם‬,” ּ ַ which is re-emerging in our day, “‫ב ְּז ַמן ַה ֶּזה‬.” ּ ַ It is the gevurah of the Chashmona’im. The Chashmona’im were Jews who became heroes through their military initiative.

Hashem blessed their physical efforts with success, and the Rambam highlights their political victory as the reason for our celebration of Chanukah today.

In the modern era we have witnessed this gevurah in the soldiers in the IDF. A sparse group of courageous Jews formed this fighting force after the

Holocaust and overcame impossible odds; with their improbable victory over six Arab nations, Hashem blessed them with the State of Israel. Today we witness this gevurah in young people who put their personal lives and aspirations on hold and dedicate years of their lives to national service, in chayalim who risk their lives by wearing a uniform that makes them a target of our enemies. Many thousands of these heroic young men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice, going up to the Akeidah of Yitzchak, the paradigm of gevurah, but not returning from their journey.

The IDF has revealed new dimensions of gevurah within our nation. The Ramban interprets gevurah as “overwhelming force” (Bereishit 7:18), a form of strength and power the Jewish people could only dream of during our long exile. But this form of gevurah is no longer a fantasy, and the IDF’s reputation as a great military force is a constant source of pride for our people.

Most importantly, the IDF’s purpose and guiding values express the deepest form of gevurah. It represents the

collective will of the Jewish people to stand together in righteousness, to uphold our Divine values even in the height of battle.

together through their gevurah, their heroic willingness to fight on behalf of Hashem, His people and His land.

For this we recite Al Hanissim.

The IDF’s mission dictates that “Soldiers of the IDF shall act according to the values of the IDF and its commands, while abiding by the law, upholding human dignity, and respecting the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.” As Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook explained in his note on the daily ‫אוֹ זֵ ר יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ִ ּב ְגבו ָּרה‬ blessing: “This is the gevurah that is the bond of Israel, that is fitting for the ethically pure foundation and elevated value of a human being.”

When we sit at an Armored Corps swearing-in ceremony or see a proud young Jew crossing the street in uniform, defending the land of our fathers, we are witnessing a modern Chanukah miracle – but not an unexpected one. Long ago, the rabbis promised us that the gevurah of Chanukah would one day shine forth again among our people, ‫ב ָ ּי ִמים ַה ֵהם ַ ּב ְּז ַמן ַה ֶּזה‬, ַּ “as it was in those days, so it will be again in our time.” ‫יענ ּו‬ ָ ‫ֶׁש ֶה ֱחיָ נ ּו וְ ִק ְ ּי ָמנ ּו וְ ִה ִ ּג‬ ‫לזְ ַּמן ַהזֶ ּה‬,ַ Blessed are You Hashem, for the gift of seeing this promise fulfilled, before our eyes!

The members of the Chashmonai clan, whose individual and collective gevurah we celebrate each Chanukah, are reborn in our own time through the holy and heroic soldiers of the IDF. Certainly, the legacy of the Chashmona’im is complicated, their efforts did not produce complete redemption and not every aspect of the IDF has achieved Rav Kook’s spiritual vision.

Nonetheless, the Chashmona’im of old and the chayalim of today are bound

Rabbi Reuven Brand is the Rosh Kollel of the YU Torah MiTzion Kollel, a community Torah institution with a vibrant Beit Midrash, array of creative learning opportunities, unique women’s initiative and diverse outreach programming. He lives in Skokie, Illinois with his wife, Nechama, and their five children.

| 37

The Singular Light of

Chanukah Rabbi Danny Mirvis

the supreme purpose of life, these many individual lights appear to us as if they are separate matters…

However, the distinctions will not last forever, for as long as there are arguments, holiness cannot be established in the world. The essence of this blessing is the blessing for peace, and it will be fulfilled in the future when the realization is clear to all that all the individual lights are really one light.

Therefore, the Chanukah blessing does not mention lights (in the plural), for it focuses its attention towards the more exalted distance, towards the more supreme future.” (Olat Re’iyah Vol. 1, page 435)

E

very night of Chanukah, we light numerous lights, ascending in number each day.

Many families (following the predominant Ashkenazi custom) do not suffice with one set of lights, but light several sets, corresponding to the number of members of the household.

With so many lights being lit, why do we bless in the singular form, “To kindle the Chanukah light,” as opposed to the seemingly more appropriate blessing, “To kindle the Chanukah lights”?

On a straightforward level, one can answer that we make a blessing on the basic requirement of one light per household per night, regardless of which night of Chanukah it is.

Seeing as any additional lights are a hiddur (beautification) and not part of the core commandment, they are not included in the blessing.

38 |

(This answer is less straightforward, however, when coming to explain why each member of Ashkenazi households makes a blessing. Unless we require every member of the household to actively or passively exclude themselves from being included in the blessings made by others, we may need to assume that one does in fact make a blessing on a hiddur and our original question remains.)

Rav Kook addressed this question in his commentary on Tefillah, Olat Re’iyah.

For him, the blessing we make on Chanukah is not only about the technical act being performed at that moment.

It represents the inner nature of light and the supreme purpose of life: “Chanukah… depicts all the sources of light that need to radiate in the Nation: the light of Torah, the light of prophecy, the light of wisdom, the light of justice, the light of courage, the light of joy, the light of lovingkindness, the light of love, etc. However, prior to the realization of

The world has many lofty values and priorities. Whilst each of these individual “lights” has an important role to play, they can also become a source of conflict as they compete for significance and superiority. In truth, however, “all the individual lights are really one light” – from a spiritual perspective, all these important values originate from a singular source and are destined to reunite in harmonious unity. The less we argue and the more we recognize “the supreme purpose of life,” the more holiness can be established in the world.

Thus on Chanukah, we light numerous separate lights, as indeed there are multiple ways to find light and share light in this world. While acknowledging the plurality of lights, the ultimate ideal is reflected in our blessing of peace and unity – “To kindle the (singular) Chanukah light.”

Rabbi Danny Mirvis is Deputy CEO of World Mizrachi.

VOLUME

10

– HILCHOT TEFILLA – AVAILABLE NOW!

Experience a revolutionary way of learning Halacha

the lax family edition

TZURBA M’RABANAN Clear and concise introductions and a modern English translation alongside the original Hebrew text

A systematic and concise learning method, from the Talmudic source through modernday halachic application

Color-coded sections, icons and elucidation to guide the learner, in addition to in-depth essays and responsa to complement the learning

Cover 300 major topics in Shulchan Aruch, learning once a week during a four-year cycle

Order now at www.tzurbaolami.com

WHY DO WE RECITE

Al HaNissim AFTER MODIM? Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon

T

he Tosefta (Berachot 83) states that on days when there are special holidays, but when we do not recite Mussaf – that is, on Chanukah and Purim – we insert words of remembrance of the event into our tefillah.

The words of remembrance that we recite on these holidays are found in the first siddur, written by Rav Amram Gaon, and they open with the words “Al HaNissim.”

The Gemara (Shabbat 24a) says that Al HaNissim is recited during the Birkat Hoda’ah, also referred to as Modim (thanksgiving blessing). But why do we not recite it during Retzei, the blessing in which we yearn for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple and the blessing in which we insert Ya’aleh VeYavoh on Rosh Chodesh and other holidays?

This question can be answered simply, as Ya’aleh VeYavoh is recited on Biblical holidays when sacrifices are offered in the Temple, and so it is appropriate to mention them in the blessing of Retzei, the blessing in which we pray for the return of the Temple service (the Avodah). However, Chanukah is a Rabbinic holiday that is unrelated to sacrifices and the Temple service, so there is no reason for it to be included in Retzei.

But there is also a more fundamental reason for reciting Al HaNissim in Modim. The blessing of Modim is primizrachi.org/ marily focused on the hidden miraspeakers cles that G-d performs on our behalf

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau

40 |

ָ ‫וְ ַעל נִ ֶּס‬, “and for Your – ‫יך ֶׁש ְ ּב ָכל יוֹ ם ִע ָּמנ ּו‬ miracles that are with us every day.”

The essential purpose of Modim is to seek out G-d within those things that outwardly appear to be natural occurrences.

The Chanukah miracle was a ‘natural’ miracle. The Hasmonean victory in war can be explained as a brilliant tactical victory, stemming from the wisdom or power of the Maccabees.

However, upon deeper reflection, it is clear that the Maccabees’ victory was truly a great miracle! When we reflect deeply on nature, we come to realize that G-d stands behind all of existence and causes everything to occur. Therefore, we recite Al HaNissim precisely during Modim, so that we will reflect upon events that appear to be ‘natural’ and learn to see the hidden hand of G-d behind it all.

In light of this we can explain something that at first looks pretty odd – that the name of G-d is entirely absent from the text of Al HaNissim! Although we directly address G-d in this prayer (e.g., “that You did to our fathers,” “and You in Your many mercies stood by them in their trouble,” “and You made a great and holy name in Your world”), the name of G-d is never explicitly mentioned in Al HaNissim! Simply understood, the reason for this is that Al HaNissim is inserted into the middle of the Modim blessing, and since G-d’s name is mentioned earlier in Modim, there is no need to repeat it again in Al HaNissim. But the absence of G-d’s

name in Modim may also reflect that the miracle of the war was a ‘natural’ miracle, so we must search for the name of G-d hiding behind the scenes.

What is the purpose of reciting Al HaNissim? The Tosefta states that Al HaNissim is recited simply as a ‫ֵמ ֵעין‬ ‫ה ְּמא ָֹרע‬,ַ a way of mentioning the special nature of the day. However, based on Rashi’s words it appears that Al HaNissim is recited because there is a special obligation to individually list the miracles that took place on Chanukah: ‫יטא ָלן ׁ ֶש ֲה ֵרי ְל ַה ֵ ּלל ו ְּלהוֹ ָד ָאה‬ ָ ‫ַ ּב ְּת ִפ ָ ּלה ּ ְפ ׁ ִש‬ ‫נִ ְק ְ ּבע ּו‬, “Al HaNissim is recited in prayer, for it was established in order to praise and give thanks.” According to Rashi, we understand why Al HaNissim is not recited in Retzei, for Al HaNissim it is not merely a way to mention the special nature of the day, but the fulfillment of our obligation to individually list the miracles of Chanukah and to broaden our thanks for the ‘natural’ miracles “that are with us every day” – a form of thanks that belongs specifically in the blessing of Modim.

Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon is Head of Mizrachi’s Educational Advisory Board and Rabbinic Council. He serves as the Rabbi of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Rosh Yeshiva of the Jerusalem College of Technology and is the Founder and Chairman of Sulamot.

Yehudah’s

LEADERSHIP Rabbanit Sharon Rimon

I

n the story of the sale of Yosef, Reuven and Yehudah both exercised their leadership abilities to rescue Yosef from the other brothers. While Reuven was able to dissuade his brothers from killing Yosef, it seems clear that they did not accept his leadership as the firstborn son, a rejection described in Divrei Hayamim: “Reuven… was the firstborn, but… his birthright was given to the sons of Yosef the son of Israel…”

(Divrei Hayamim I, 5:1). Why wasn’t Reuven suitable to be leader of the house of Yaakov?

As the brothers plotted first to kill and later to sell Yosef to the Ishmaelites, Reuven was nowhere to be found: “Reuven returned to the pit, and behold, Yosef was not in the pit… And said, ‘The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?’” (Bereishit 37:29–30). Reuven was distant and detached from his brothers. Although this detachment meant that Reuven did not share his brothers’ harmful views, it also meant that they did not view Reuven as their leader.

Moreover, Reuven’s reaction to the sale of Yosef reveals that he was primarily concerned that Yaakov would blame him for what occurred. Reuven was not pained over Yosef’s disappearance, but rather anxious about his own fate – indicating that he was just as disconnected from Yosef as the other brothers. Many years later, as Yosef dealt harshly with his brothers in Egypt, Reuven stood apart from his brothers and rebuked them: “Did I not

tell you…?” (Ibid. 42:22). From Reuven’s words, it is clear that he was aware of his failure of leadership and that the brothers had refused to listen to him.

How was Yehudah’s leadership different from that of Reuven? Why was Yehudah, specifically, chosen to be the leader of the house of Yaakov?

The key element of Yehudah’s leadership style is sensitivity and brotherhood.

Unlike Reuven, Yehudah had a close relationship with his brothers. He included himself with them, and spoke with them as an equal. He did not preach to his brothers but talked to them in their language: “What will we gain from killing our brother and covering his blood?” (Ibid. 37:26). Only then did Yehudah address the moral considerations: “Let our hand not be upon him, because he is our brother, our flesh” (Ibid. 37:27). To persuade people, it is not enough to be right. One must know how to speak in a way that will enter their hearts.

The key element of Yehudah’s leadership style is sensitivity and brotherhood. Yehudah twice emphasizes that Yosef is “our brother.” This emphasis on brotherhood made the sons of Yaakov feel a sense of partnership with Yehudah, that he was one of them. As

a result of Yehudah’s influence, they looked at Yosef differently as well: not as an enemy, but as a brother. In the end, the brothers accepted Yehudah’s guidance. Yehudah’s authority grew out of his relationship with his brothers. Therefore, he received the position of leadership that had been taken away from Reuven. “And his brothers hearkened unto him” (Ibid. 37:27). By respecting his brothers and treating them as equals, Yehudah supplanted Reuven as the leader of the brothers.  This article is adapted from Rabbanit Sharon Rimon’s new book Prisms: Perspectives on the Parasha, (Sulamot, Ktav Publishing, 2021). For each parasha, the book focuses on one topic, with a summary of the key idea, guiding questions, a study of the literal meaning and commentators and culminating with a concluding message.

Rabbanit Sharon Rimon teaches Tanach and is Content Editor for the HaTanakh website.

| 41

The

Menorah as the Symbol of the Jewish State Rabbi Shimshon HaKohen Nadel

T

he official symbol of the State of Israel is a menorah flanked on each side by an olive branch. This familiar image was designed by Gabriel and Maxim Shamir, two brothers from Latvia who studied graphics and design in Berlin prior to making Aliyah, and were responsible for creating a number of emblems, medals, stamps, and currency for the young State. Their menorah was adopted as the official emblem by the Provisional Council of the State of Israel on February 10, 1949.

It’s easy to understand why the developing nation adopted the emblem.

The menorah has been a central Jewish symbol since antiquity. In addition to its role in the Mishkan, the Beit HaMikdash, and the Chanukah story, images of the menorah have been found in synagogues, cemeteries, mosaics, and seals throughout Jewish history.

The decision to surround it with olive branches is based on the prophet Zechariah’s vision of a menorah flanked by olive branches (Zechariah 4:3).

But the choice of the menorah was not without controversy.

Upon careful inspection, the menorah depicted on Israel’s national emblem is the same menorah that appears on the

42 |

28b) and Rashi (Shemot 25:31), the menorah had a three-legged base and not a hexagonal base. Images of a three-legged menorah appear in carvings on many ancient synagogues and graves and ancient mosaics throughout Israel.

Arch of Titus in Rome. Built circa 81 CE by Emperor Domitian to commemorate the victories of his brother Titus, including his conquest of Jerusalem, the south panel of the Arch famously depicts Roman soldiers with celebratory wreaths on their heads parading vessels taken from the Holy Temple: The Shulchan, trumpets, fire pans, and at its center, the menorah.

Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Halevi Herzog strongly objected to the choice for Israel’s emblem, as he believed that the menorah which appears on the Arch of Titus is not the menorah from the Beit HaMikdash. For Rabbi Herzog, the most problematic aspect of the Arch of Titus menorah is its hexagonal base.

According to the Talmud (Menachot

Rabbi Herzog was also troubled by the depictions of dragons and other mythical beasts like griffins, lions, eagles, and sea creatures that are found on the base of the Arch of Titus menorah.

According to Rabbi Herzog, it is inconceivable that such idolatrous creatures could be represented on a menorah that stood in the Holy Temple. The use of objects ornamented with dragons is strictly forbidden by Jewish law (Mishnah, Avodah Zarah 3:3).

Given these significant deviations from Jewish tradition, Rabbi Herzog concluded that the menorah depicted on the Arch of Titus cannot be the menorah from the Beit HaMikdash.

Instead, Rabbi Herzog suggested that it is possible that something happened to the original base of the menorah on its way from Jerusalem to Rome, leading the Romans to replace the original base with the hexagonal base depicted on the Arch.

The Knesset Menorah, a gift from the UK Parliament in 1956 in honor of the eighth anniversary of Israeli independence. (PHOTO: COL. RICHARD KEMP)

Rabbi Herzog concludes and writes, “What emerges from this is that our government has not done well today when we have merited again the light of Zion symbolized by the menorah, copying specifically the image of the menorah on the Arch of Titus which was made by the hands of foreigners and not made in the purity of holiness according to the Torah of Moshe Rabeinu, a genius of geniuses, and from other sources derived by Chachmei Torah. And not just that, but an expert archeologist testified before me that the menorot depicted on the graves in the catacombs of Rome are all three-legged, as are all of the menorot depicted in mosaics of the remains of synagogues found in the Land of Israel.”

Rabbi Herzog was not the only one to question the identity and authenticity of the menorah that appears on the Arch of Titus. Both Rabbi Yosef Kapach and the Lubavitcher Rebbe believed that the branches of the Temple menorah were straight and not curved, based on an illustration of the Rambam in the manuscript of his Peirush HaMishnah on Tractate Menachot. Accordingly, they did not believe that the menorah on the Arch of Titus accurately depicts the menorah from the Beit HaMikdash.

grace the cover of one of its supplements. Ultimately, the symbol was formally adopted by the Jewish State.

The “Spoils of Jerusalem” relief inside the Arch of Titus in Rome. (PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

It would appear as if the Shamir brothers anticipated the objection – at least the objectionable mythical beasts on the base of the Arch of Titus menorah – and obscured the images in the emblem of Israel. Instead, they appear as faint squiggly lines on the emblem’s base.

Rabbi Herzog advocated that the Provisional Council adopt one of the other submissions, but his opposition fell upon deaf ears. Even other Religious Zionist rabbis did not voice an objection. Very quickly, the controversial new emblem gained acceptance. In time for Israel’s first Independence Day, the Religious Zionist newspaper Hatzofeh chose the new emblem to

For some, the choice of the menorah from the Arch of Titus in Rome for the newly created modern State of Israel was symbolic and meaningful.

For centuries, the Arch of Titus represented the destruction of the Holy Temple and Jerusalem and our people’s long Exile. But following Israel’s independence, that very same image took on new life and new meaning.

Now that they had built a state and returned home to Jerusalem, Israel’s founding generation viewed the image with a newfound sense of hope and even victory. And so the menorah of the Arch of Titus, along with other images invoking the famous relief in Rome, began to appear on Jewish book covers, monuments, and religious art, following the founding of the State of Israel. What was once a symbol of derision has now become a symbol of national pride!

Rabbi Shimshon HaKohen Nadel lives and teaches in Jerusalem, where he serves as Mara D’atra of Har Nof’s Kehilat Zichron Yosef and Rosh Kollel of the Sinai Kollel.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/ speakers

| 43

Raising the Flag Ohad Tal

I

n 1929, Yechiel Eliash founded Bnei Akiva, “a youth movement of Torah and Avodah (work) that aims to educate a healthy and brave Hebrew generation, dedicated and loyal to its People, its Land and its Torah.” A young yeshivah student who immigrated to Israel from Poland, Eliash was active in the Mizrachi Movement and sought to spread the Torah and Avodah mission. “In my vision, I saw before me a proud religious Judaism, which creates and shapes the image of the Jewish state along the way.”

Eliash’s great vision has repeatedly encountered many objections, both at home and abroad. In those days, many religious Jews considered a youth movement – even a religious one – to be a fundamental contradiction to religious-conservative values.

But Eliash did not give up and, with great effort, succeeded in fulfilling his vision and establishing Bnei Akiva, an extraordinary movement that has succeeded in inspiring young Jews all over the world to proudly raise the flags of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

The late Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria wrote: “The Bnei Akiva movement will be considered one of the great wonders of the generation. No ‘decision from above’ motivated these youths. Not the decision of a party and its leaders,

44 |

the Histadrut and its doers... but rather ‫א ֶמת ֵמ ֶא ֶרץ ִּת ְצ ָמח‬,ֱ ‘truth springs up from the earth’ (Tehillim 85:12)…

Bnei Akiva was not a ‘free gift.’ It has been achieved through years of effort, efforts that have not stopped to this day.”

I did not inherit my Religious Zionist identity; it is an identity that I chose independently, for I believe that there is no better or more correct path.

I did not grow up in the religious world.

I was born in Eilat to a non-religious family and only when I reached third grade did my family start to become religious – we began keeping Shabbat and going to shul. Step by step, I got on the “path” – I went to Bnei Akiva, yeshivah and the army.

I did not inherit my Religious Zionist identity; it is an identity that I chose independently, for I believe that there is no better or more correct path. I believe that the three great flags of Religious Zionism – Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael – are the truest expression of Judaism.

A few years ago, I went on shlichut with my family to the Netherlands on behalf of World Bnei Akiva, where we found a warm community struggling with many challenges. In particular, we saw that Bnei Akiva alumni who stayed in the Netherlands for their college studies did not have a Jewish-Zionist community to be a part of, without which many could be lost. And so we set up a framework specifically for this age group: Shabbat meals, evening activities during the week, Hebrew lessons, holiday gatherings and more.

It was in this context that one of my most exciting shlichut stories occurred: In our second year of shlichut, in preparation for Chanukah, we decided to hold a “Chanukah Caravan” – traveling from city to city and from campus to campus all across the Netherlands with guitars and doughnuts, running Chanukah parties and activities for Jewish communities and young people.

On the first night of Chanukah we held a large party in Leiden, and on the second night we came to The Hague.

At the end of the community candle lighting in The Hague, an elderly lady approached me. She asked: “Are you the ones who hold activities for Jewish students in Amsterdam every Saturday?” I answered: “Yes.”

“You were in Leiden yesterday?” she continued. Again, I answered: “Yes.” “You do not know what you are doing to my life,” she said.

I did not understand; I had never met this lady before. “How are we impacting your life?” I asked her.

“You know, I do look Dutch but the truth is that I am a former Israeli ...

I lived on a kibbutz in the north, but 30 years ago I decided to leave Israel, I did not want to be connected to Jewish life in any way. I came to the Netherlands, married a non-Jew and we lived together. The towns here have no Jewish community at all. A son was born to us. This son is now a student and in the last two years, he has started asking me all kinds of questions: Who are we? Where did we come from? What does it mean that we are Jews?

“To tell you the truth, I did not know how to answer him. A year ago, he heard about your activities for Jewish students, and every Saturday, he comes to you in Amsterdam to see what it means to be a Jew and to hear a little about Israel. Yesterday, he even gave up the tickets he had for the Ajax (football) game to go to your Chanukah party.”

Then she said something that I will never forget: “You should know: you changed his life and you changed my life.”

To this day, this story resonates with me as it captures everything that Bnei Akiva symbolizes.

Some time ago, World Bnei Akiva decided on a key motto: “to be a movement of the people,” a movement that takes responsibility for all parts of the Jewish people, humbly and without a hint of condescension, out of great commitment to the future of the Jewish people. This motto represents our movement’s commitment to act with all its might to strengthen the Jewish and Zionist spirit of our people and to reach out to every Jew, wherever they may be.

It is possible that if that young Jew in the Netherlands had not been exposed to Bnei Akiva, he would still be living without any connection to his Jewish-Zionist identity, and ultimately be lost to the Jewish people.

The challenges our movement is working to address are not simple. In today’s world, the younger generation is greatly impacted by modern culture’s extreme individualistic values​​ and a general indifference to religion – a culture that has distanced so many of our young people from Judaism and

the Jewish people. At the same time, we face significant competition from other movements and well-funded movements who seek to attract the support of world Jewry. Some are Jewish but not Zionist movements, while others are Zionist movements with a problematic approach to Jewish identity. And many of these organizations work to advance various political interests. Unlike us, most of them are heavily funded by stakeholders. None of these organizations, however, are raising all three flags of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

To meet these challenges, we must join forces with all local and global organizations that are committed to our values. We are therefore proud of our long-standing partnership with World Mizrachi, and will work to strengthen it so that together we can most effectively uphold the vision of the founders of our movement: to assist every community and every Jew, and to “educate a healthy and brave Hebrew generation, dedicated and loyal to its People, its Land and its Torah.”

Ohad Tal is the Mazkal (Director) of World Bnei Akiva.

| 45

A L I YA H D I A R I E S

Making a Difference

or Making Aliyah?

Ariela Davis

T

wenty-eight years ago, I received “Forever My Jerusalem” for my Bat Mitzvah, a memoir by Puah Shteiner about her experiences as a young girl living through the siege of Jerusalem during the War of Independence.

I picked it up on a whim and found myself gripped. Between her powerful story and the infectious love for Israel that my grandparents had always shared with me, I decided I wanted to make Aliyah at 12 years old – before I ever stepped foot in the country.

Once infected with the Israel bug, it only got worse. My first email address was Zionist15. As a 16-year-old, my dream was to be Prime Minister. I was the girl who everyone knew was making Aliyah.

It just took a lot longer to get here than planned.

The problem with being an idealist is that I was driven to share my passion with others. My Israel obsession followed me into adulthood. As a teacher, I taught hundreds of students about the IDF’s daring bravery. As a Rebbetzin, I spoke about the great gift of our beautiful land and led trips to Israel in which we explored, hiked and connected with our birthright. I loved to teach, and I felt most alive when I taught about what I loved most.

46 |

But when it was time to leave Israel after these trips, I felt like I was severing myself from the place where I was so obviously meant to be.

Aliyah was a subject of constant discussion. Objectively, we were living a deeply meaningful life in America.

My husband was the rabbi of a shul he loved, and I was the Judaic Director of a school, working with teachers who had become like family and with students who were engaged and hungry to learn. We lived in a beautiful home in one of the most beautiful cities in America, where I walked along the beach on idyllic sunset walks.

Material considerations aside, we wondered if Aliyah was even the right choice. We were accompanying so many people on their Jewish journeys, many of whom had little knowledge of Judaism when they’d started but had since come so far. In a place like Charleston, where it isn’t easy to procure kosher food, where the mikvah needs to be filled and drained with each use and where Shabbat observance is uncommon, we were deeply inspired by the sacrifices our congregants made to begin observing mitzvot. Each wedding and birth in the community felt like our own family simchah. With so few Orthodox Jews in our community, we had to work together in a thousand different ways to build and maintain the community

infrastructure. Leaving our community would be akin to ripping our family in two.

At the same time, living in such a small community meant that our own kids didn’t have a “normal” social life and the opportunity to be friends with other religious kids their age. Our daughter was graduating eighth grade, and there was no Jewish high school in our area for her to attend. We had come to a fork in the road. Should we send her away? Find a new pulpit? Or was it time to make the jump and fulfill our lifelong dream of Aliyah?

If we moved to Israel, how would we support our family? We had followed our hearts when choosing our professions; the job prospects in Israel for a pulpit Rabbi and a Judaic studies principal were dim. We knew that even if we were lucky enough to find jobs in Israel in another profession, the work wouldn’t be as fulfilling as what we were doing in America.

Our intellects warred with our emotions, warning us that we would be crazy to move.

The Torah describes the relationship between Yaakov Avinu and his son Yosef as “ ֹ‫נַ ְפ ׁשוֹ ְק ׁשו ָּרה ְ ּבנַ ְפ ׁשו‬,” “their souls were bound together.” When they were separated, Yaakov knew no peace. In the same way, my heart was intertwined with Israel and I knew

that I would not know peace until I was home. I also knew that raising our children in Israel would be the greatest gift we could ever give them and would change our family’s trajectory for future generations. After years of giving to the community, we had to put our children first. At the same time, I felt guilty that my husband would leave the work that was so clearly his life’s mission and for leaving behind the families with whom we had grown so close. To say there were a lot of tears and uncertainty is an understatement.

We made Aliyah in the summer of 2020 during the pandemic when all flights to Israel were grounded and all government offices were closed. We moved without an inkling of what we would do in Israel to support ourselves; it was a leap of faith.

We experienced incredible hashgacha pratit and found jobs that could have only come from Hashem. Within a few months, I found a job with an organization of Israeli generals who advocate for policies to protect Israel’s security. For the girl who wanted to be Prime Minister, meeting people like Ambassador David Friedman and writing letters to world leaders on the organization’s behalf was exhilarating.

Despite the excitement of the job, I missed working with kids, and when the opportunity to become

the principal of a girls’ school in Beit Shemesh came up, I was thrilled.

I’ve been blessed with the incredible opportunity to help fellow olim find success. My husband also found meaningful work at an incredible organization that utilizes many of his talents and gives classes (in Hebrew!) in our community.

We take our kids on hikes retracing the steps of our ancestors and pinch ourselves when we realize we are the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise to Avraham; we are the descendants to whom this land was promised!

To say that there aren’t bumpy moments or times when we miss our old life, our identities and the people we left behind would be a lie. Aliyah is a process of integration and acclimation that doesn’t end at the magical moment that you receive your teudat zehut, and there are certainly many ups and downs. But in those difficult moments, we look at our children who have settled into their new schools, have found incredible friends and are learning the Torah of Israel in the

Land of Israel, and tears fill our eyes.

We take our kids on hikes retracing the steps of our ancestors and pinch ourselves when we realize we are the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise to Avraham; we are the descendants to whom this land was promised!

During mindless chores, we look out at the view from our porch and see the mountains and valleys so beautifully described in Parashat Eikev and are overwhelmed that we get to live in the place that Moshe so desperately yearned for.

At these moments we know that every sacrifice was well worth it. We are home; there is nowhere else we are meant to be.

Ariela Davis is the Principal of Ulpanat Orly in Beit Shemesh and a former Rebbetzin and Director of Judaics and Interim Principal in Charleston, SC, from where her family made Aliyah in the summer of 2020.

Scan here to join Ariela’s Inspiring Divrei Torah WhatsApp group

| 47

Chanukah’s Golden Opportunity David Reuben

A

s one walks along the streets of Israel over the eight days of Chanukah, the roads are illuminated by the bright lights of the chanukiot found in the doorways of each home. The chanukiah stands on the bottom left of the door frame, while on the upper right, the doorway is ornamented by the mezuzah.

The Talmud (Shabbat 22a) explains that the positioning of the chanukiah and the mezuzah indicate that we should be surrounded by mitzvot as we enter and leave our homes. But this explanation leaves us seeking more.

What is the deeper significance to the placement of these particular mitzvot on the two sides of the doorway?

The halachah requires the mezuzah to be placed in the upper third of the door frame. Interestingly, the Talmud also teaches that our Torah study should be divided into thirds. “Rabbi Safra said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chanina: One should always divide his study-time into three – a third should be devoted to Scripture, a third to Mishnah, and a third to Talmud (Kiddushin 30b).

Rabbi Safra’s teaching can inform our understanding of the mitzvot surrounding our doorways. The mezuzah, which

48 |

is placed within the upper third of the doorway, corresponds to the first “third” of Torah study mentioned above – that of “Scripture” – from which the content of the mezuzah is derived.

The chanukiah, on the other hand, is ideally placed no higher than ten tefachim (handbreadths) from the ground – the bottom third of the doorway. This represents the final “third” of Torah study – the Talmud. The Talmud, which represents the Oral Torah more broadly, is constantly growing, expanding, and developing from one generation to the next, just as the candles of the chanukiah increase from one night to the next.

The Scripture, or Written Torah, consists of fixed verses dictated by Hashem that must never be altered by human hands. Appropriately, the Written Torah is represented by the mezuzah that remains securely fastened to the door and remains unchanged. The mezuzah is so “fixed” that even when moving to a new home, the halachah often requires us to leave our mezuzot behind.

This is not the case with the chanukiah.

Although placed at the bottom third of the doorway and seemingly lacking in the loftiness of the mezuzah, the

chanukiah represents the light of the Oral Torah, and the Divinely inspired ability of the Sages to deliberate and expand upon the Torah in each generation. It is no coincidence that the mitzvah of Chanukah itself is not a mitzvah d’orayta, a Biblical mitzvah, but rather a mitzvah d’rabanan, a rabbinic law. While the mezuzah contains text found in the Torah, the chanukiah contains no words. It represents the Oral Torah in its original form, an oral tradition passed on from generation to generation. Though it can be transmitted from one person to another, the Oral Torah is neither physical nor trangible. So too, the flame of a candle can never be grabbed in one’s hand.

As our families gather together around the chanukiah, we have a golden opportunity to teach our children about the precious gifts of the Written and Oral Torahs, the true foundations upon which our homes are built.

David Reuben is the Director of Programming at Mizrachi UK.

The Source of Maccabean Courage Rabbi Elan Mazer

C

entral to our Chanukah celebration is the Al HaNissim prayer we add in the Shemona Esrei and in Birkat HaMazon throughout all eight days of the holiday. We praise G-d for the incredible victory and the re-establishment of authentic Judaism in the Land of Israel.

One of the main points of this prayer is to emphasize the significant discrepancy in size and strength between the Jews and the Greeks: “the courageous against the weak, the many against the few, the evil in the hands of the righteous.”

Today we say this prayer joyously, but it’s worth considering this reality from the point of view of the Maccabees. There they were, standing on the brink of battle, with the mighty Greek army in front of them.

By all laws of nature and warfare, this confrontation was doomed to end in defeat. Victory was an impossibility. How on earth did the Maccabees gather the courage to take to the battlefield in the first place?

Throughout our history, Jews have consistently shown tremendous resilience and the ability to hope and yearn for a future that seems not only far-fetched but downright impossible.

One of the most powerful examples of this comes a few hundred years after the story of Chanukah, after the destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash, during the revolt led

by Bar Kochva. Beitar was the last stronghold of the Jewish people and that was soon conquered as well, with the Romans capturing all the bodies of the fallen soldiers. The families waited a full year for the return of the bodies, until finally they were returned for burial.

Miraculously, they were fully intact.

Because of this miracle, a fourth blessing was added to Birkat HaMazon,

‫יטיב‬ ִ ‫ה ּטוֹ ב וְ ַה ֵּמ‬,ַ the G-d who does good and will do good with us.

when we are down, and never leaving us.

This response is quite strange. While it was an incredible miracle that the bodies remained whole for a full year, it was nonetheless a horrible situation.

This is what gives us the ability to leverage a difficult situation for the better. The institution of the ‫ַה ּטוֹ ב‬ ‫יטיב‬ ִ ‫ וְ ַה ֵּמ‬beracha was to cement the understanding that our relationship with G-d endures even during the darkest times.

The Jews had just lost the war and the Land of Israel, their Temple was destroyed, their army decimated, and thousands of lives were lost. So having the bodies returned intact for proper burial was indeed a miracle, but if G-d was going to perform wonders that year, would it not have been better to have thrown in a miracle to win the war? Why do we add the blessing of G-d being good after losing almost everything?

Similarly in Parashat Vayeshev, when the brothers threw Yosef into the pit and then sold him. Rashi says G-d performed a wonderful miracle for Yosef, in that the caravan which carried him down to Egypt was carrying fragrant spices, and not dung or tar or other pungent substances. Yosef was accompanied by pleasant smells on the trek down.

Big deal! Why should this be a miracle worthy of praise? G-d could have saved Yosef and never let him be betrayed by his family and sold into slavery in the first place! How is providing a nice smell a substitute for what could have been? Why is this seen as a positive event?

The Maccabees did not need to wait for their military strength to match that of the Greeks before fighting for their liberation, for the hand of G-d was a constant in their lives.

The Maccabees did not need to wait for their military strength to match that of the Greeks before fighting for their liberation, for the hand of G-d was a constant in their lives. The question they faced was not “Will we win?” but rather “What is the right thing to do?”

This mindset, exemplified by the Maccabees, and borne by the Jewish people throughout the generations, has lifted our people beyond a story of circumstance to a history defined by acts of faith-full courage.

What we can learn from both of these episodes is the true meaning of our relationship with G-d. Noticing and appreciating His intervention even during the most difficult times.

When we pay attention to Him only during the good times, that’s indicative of a very shallow relationship.

When we can see G-d during the bad times, as in the stories of Beitar and Yosef, we realize how much He is there with us, holding our hands

Rabbi Elan Mazer is the ‎National Director of Mizrachi Canada.

F O O D F RO M I S R A E L

Ijeh b’Lahmeh Janna Gur

T

his delicacy hailing from Syrian Jewish cuisine is a wonderful alternative to the traditional Chanukah latkes, with a big plus: As opposed to the classic Ashkenazi potato latkes, ijeh can be made in advance and served at room temperature.

Called havitat yerek in Hebrew (literally “omelet with greens”), it is sold, stuffed in pitas, at many roadside eateries and falafel joints. But the real thing, which also contains ground meat, is found almost exclusively in Syrian Jewish homes. Delicious and so easy to make,

Ijeh b’Lahmeh

(Herb & Meat Latkes)

Remove to paper towels to drain.

Pita, bread rolls or a ciabatta

To serve: Brush pita, bread rolls or ciabatta with olive oil and toast in a hot pan or oven. Arrange the pancakes on the bread (it will absorb the flavorful juices) and top with onion, herbs, and tahini. If not serving immediately, store the pancakes in the refrigerator – they are delicious cold or at room temperature in a sandwich or as a light snack with freshly cut veggies and a dollop of tahini.

Olive oil Slices of red onion Chopped fresh herbs

4 eggs

Tomato slices

1 large onion, roughly chopped

Tahini

1 bunch parsley 1 bunch cilantro ½ bunch mint 3 to 4 scallions 300 grams (about 10 ounces) ground beef (or a mixture of lamb and beef) Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 to 3 tablespoons pine nuts (optional) Vegetable oil for frying

50 |

Janna Gur was born in Riga, Latvia, and immigrated to Israel in 1974. She is the founder of Al Hashulchan, the premier Israeli food and wine magazine, which she edited for almost 30 years. She edited and developed nearly 40 Hebrew cookbooks, many of them national bestsellers. For the last decade, Gur has been touring and speaking extensively about Israeli and Jewish food in Israel and worldwide. She also hosted several culinary missions and led numerous food tours around Israel.

To serve (optional):

Ingredients (15–20 pancakes)

About 2 tablespoons matzo meal or breadcrumbs

this is one of my favorite lunch fixes.

It is also great for sandwiches and picnics.

Preparation Put all the ingredients, except for the beef, pine nuts and oil, in a food processor. Pulse only until herbs are chopped. Be careful not to overwork, lest the herbs turn mushy.

Transfer to a bowl.

Add ground beef and pine nuts (if using them) and mix thoroughly.

Heat a little bit of oil in a large non-stick frying pan. With a large spoon, ladle pancakes 7 cm (3 inches) wide and fry on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until deep golden. Be careful not to crowd the pan (work in batches).

Variation (for a vegetarian option): Skip the meat. Increase the amount of breadcrumbs or matzo meal to 5 tablespoons. You might also want to add 1 to 2 chopped and slowly sautéed onions for extra flavor.

 Originally published in Jewish Soul Food from Minsk to Marrakesh (Shocken Books).

Photography by Daniel Lailah.

Why Didn’t the Greeks Destroy the Temple Rabbi Yehoshua Asulin

O

il, oil and more oil. We light the chanukiah with oil as a reminder of the menorah in the Temple. And our Chanukah menu also revolves around that same miracle – doughnuts, latkes and various other fried (and usually fattening) delights. But does the miracle of the oil justify all this attention?

The Pnei Yehoshua1 argues that there was no need for the miracle of the oil at all. This is because there was a rule in the Temple that “impurity is permitted in public” – if the majority of the people are ritually impure, it is permissible to bring regular sacrifices even in a state of impurity. As the majority of the people were impure as a result of the war, and since the mitzvah of lighting the candles had a fixed time, the Kohanim were allowed to light the menorah with impure oil! Moreover, it appears that by following the same rule, impure oil was, in fact, used in the Temple for the Minchah offerings because there was only one cruse of pure oil available and it was used for lighting the menorah.

If the miracle was not necessary, why do we eat so many doughnuts? In all seriousness, not only was the miracle necessary, it was almost imperative.

Let us take a step back. What was the war with the Greeks all about? On Purim, our enemies sought to physically destroy our people – “to destroy, kill and annihilate.” On Chanukah, however, the Greeks declared war on our spiritual identity – “to make them forget Your Torah.”

The Greeks considered themselves to be the most enlightened people in the world. But if they were so open to wisdom and learning from all cultures, why did they intensely oppose the Torah?

The Ramban2 explains that the chanukiah we light in our home is a “continuation” of the Temple menorah, so to understand the chanukiah, we need first to understand the menorah.

The Talmud associates the menorah with the wisdom of Torah.3 The light of the menorah represents the light of the Torah, as it says, “For a candle is a mitzvah and the Torah is light” (Mishlei 6:23). However, although the Torah is also called wisdom, there is a considerable difference between the Greeks’ wisdom and that of the Torah.

Our Sages have a saying: “Wisdom among the non-Jews – believe. Torah among the non-Jews – do not believe.”4 In other words, wisdom lies in a natural framework, while the Torah is the Word of G-d, beyond nature, and so it is eternal, does not change with the times, and is always relevant.

Non-Jewish society possesses much wisdom. The Greeks were pioneers in many areas of wisdom and progress.

But the Torah, which is beyond nature, was something they couldn’t understand at all! And so they fought against Judaism specifically, not the Jews.

The Greeks were prepared to accept the Torah as an intellectually stimulating pursuit, as just another form of natural wisdom. For this reason, they

did not destroy the Temple but planned to transform it into a museum.

This is the meaning of the Greeks’ defilement of the Heichal.5 Purity and impurity are entirely spiritual concepts; they have no significance or relevance in the world of nature. This was the battle the Greeks waged against our people. They defiled the Temple as if to say: The Torah is just like all the other wisdoms and sciences and there is nothing here beyond nature.

This is why the miracle of the oil was so critical. G-d performed a supernatural miracle for us to emphasize that the Torah is the Word of G-d, unlike and above all natural wisdom.

When we celebrate the miracle of the oil, we must remember that natural wisdom comes and goes. This world is transient, and opinions and trends change.

But our Torah is not just another body of natural wisdom. Our Torah is the true and eternal light – always shining, always relevant, always illuminating our paths in every generation.

Shabbat 21b.

1

Bamidbar 8:2.

2

3 4

Bava Batra 25b.

Midrash Eicha Rabbah 2:13.

Sanctuary, another expression for the Temple.

5

Rabbi Yehoshua Asulin is the Rav Shaliach of Yeshiva College Schools, Yeshiva Mizrachi Community and Mizrachi South Africa.

| 51

T H E WAY O F A

Rabbi Natan Kapustin

S

o this is the way dreams die.

Dreams are meant to die in a flash, as time winds down and your team misses its last shot, and the championship is lost. But that is not the way dreams die.

Dreams should die in a blaze of agony, as your beloved leaves you, and you are all alone.

But that is also not the way dreams die.

I have seen dreams die – and it is not quick.

I have seen dreams die – and by the end, it is no surprise.

I have seen dreams die – and it is agony.

Slow, but certain: the death of dreams marches with determination.

Provider of false hopes, teaser extraordinaire, the killer of dreams is patient.

I know, because I have seen a dream die.

It is overwhelming. It is defeating. It is mind-numbing. It is agony.

Is this how Yosef felt?

Separated from his father, sold by his brothers, seduced by his master’s wife, sentenced to prison.

Salvation was finally at hand.

As the butler was released, Yosef could taste freedom.

Pharaoh would hear of his powers of interpretation.

Pharaoh would hear of his plight. Pharaoh would send for him, would raise him from the pit, and set him free.

As the cell door closed behind the butler, Yosef dreamed it would reopen... ...but it didn’t.

Not the next day, or the day after, or that week, or that month, or that year.

Yosef stared at the door, waiting for it to open, each day less sure than the one before.

52 |

For that is how dreams die: Day, by day, by day.

Slowly, painfully, cruelly.

Is that how Yaakov felt?

Driven away by his brother, wrenched from his parents.

Destitute and despondent, far from home.

He too had a dream.

Soaring ladders and climbing angels, his dream was one of legends, and of promise.

G-d would protect him. G-d would provide for him. G-d would bring him home.

Yaakov set off to find a wife and escape his brother, dreaming of returning... ...but he didn’t.

Not the next year, or the year after, or the year after that.

Given the wrong wife, denied wages, swindled by his father-in-law, Yaakov waited for G-d to respond, each day less sure than the one before.

For this is how dreams die: Year, by year, by year.

With self-doubt, with hurt, with shame.

This is how dreams die.

I know, for I was once a dreamer.

I dreamt of the future, of a land, of a home.

My heart was in the East; I dreamt of Israel.

And now? My heart is in the East, but I... I am in Yosef’s pit, at the end of the West.

At first, people would ask about our Aliyah plans.

‘They’re coming along,’ I would say. And they were.

And then some would joke: ‘You’re not going anywhere.’

For that is how dreams die – with the mockery of others.

Their scoffing was the forgetfulness of the butler, and the lies of Lavan: Nails in the coffin of dreams.

The jokes have now stopped, and so have the questions.

Now it is the silence that hurts... for it is the silence of failed expectations.

It is a silence borne in agony.

For that is how dreams die – in the silence of one’s thoughts, in the depths of one’s soul.

Day after day, year after year.

This is how dreams die.

Is this how Moshe felt?

Hidden by his mother, raised by another, chased by Pharaoh, adopted by Yitro.

Taken from his family, cut off from his home.

He was given a dream.

A free nation and covenant with G-d; his dream was lofty. A dream, like Yosef’s and Yaakov’s, that would bring him to the land.

Torah in hand, the people would follow, they would all cross the Jordan... but he never did.

Not that year, nor the next, or even 40 years later.

As he stood on top of a mountain overlooking the Promised Land, he no longer dreamed.

He begged. But G-d would not let him go further.

For this is how dreams die: with advancing age, and endless wandering in a personal desert.

But this is also how dreams live.

With a heart that beats faster to the cadence of HaTikvah.

With blood that runs blue and white – the colors of Jewish dreams.

With the pain of being a stranger in a strange land.

The agony remains, but also gratitude.

For Israel has given me an indescribable gift: I live the life of a dreamer.

A life of broadened horizons, and untold possibilities.

A life of imagination, of legend, of linkage to ancestors.

A life of Yaakov’s ladder and Yosef’s bones, brought to the promised land.

A life of heroes and prophecies, of hope and pride, and Jewish destiny.

For dreams don’t die. Only dreamers do.

And this is the way dreams live.

They live with the butler, who finally remembered Yosef… and became the ally he needed.

They live with Yaakov’s financial planning… and his determination to leave Lavan.

They live with G-d… Holder of Dreams, who was always at their side.

This is the way dreams live.

They live as a double-edged sword; they hurt but also give us life.

The Zohar teaches: ‘Through a dream Yosef was distanced from his brothers, and through a dream he was raised above his brothers, and above the entire world.’

For this is the way dreams live: They bring us down, and they raise us up.

With anguish and hope, We long for the land of dreams.

With patience, with faith, with perseverance.

Yosef waited two years, Yaakov 20; our people, 2,000.

And me? My dream lives on.

Rabbi Natan Kapustin is the Dean of Students and 12th Grade Dean at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in Manhattan.

| 53

Modi’in and the Ancient Maccabee Synagogue Ruchama Alter

T

he story of Chanukah begins with an act of rebellion against the Greeks in the ancient town of Modi’in.

What made this town unique?

synagogue. The synagogue area dates to the late Herodian period, the strata below it to King Yannai (104–67 BCE), and the strata below that to Yochanan Horkenus, nephew of Yehudah the Maccabee (134–104 BCE). As is typical in ancient synagogues, there is no ark; scholars believe the Torah scroll was stored nearby and brought into the synagogue for Torah readings. A stone base found in the center of the synagogue was likely the table on which the Torah was read, while worshippers sat on stone benches located alongside the walls.

The rabbis rule that only those who do not live “too far” from Yerushalayim are obligated to make the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash, with “too far” defined as any location more than 15 mil from Yerushalayim in any direction (Pesachim 93b). In the Mishnah, Modi’in is used as a concrete example of this distance. While in modern times, this distance is a mere 30-minute drive from Yerushalayim, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled that Modi’in set the boundary for all generations.

Similar to other synagogues of the second Temple era, additional benches were discovered in an adjacent courtyard, suggesting that this was the site of the local school. The Talmud’s praise supports Rabbi Yehoshua ben Gamla (1st Century BCE), who established compulsory universal education for all Jewish children aged six and up.2

This designation of Modi’in highlights its geographic significance in ancient Israel. It was situated close to three major roads leading to Yerushalayim amidst fertile fields and so it became a convenient stop for pilgrims on their way to Yerushalayim. Additionally, the Rabbis considered Matityahu’s priestly family of Yehoyariv halachically reliable, decreeing all pottery made in Modi’in to be tahor (ritually pure).1 This gave pilgrims the green light to purchase local produce and pottery in Modi’in on their way to the Beit HaMikdash.

A member of the The archaeological site of Umm El Mizrachi Tour Umdan (derived from the name Guides Bureau ‘Modi’in’) is situated at the outskirts of mizrachi.org/ modern Modi’in, where the excavation tour-guides uncovered a village with an ancient

54 |

Near the synagogue, archeologists uncovered alleyways leading to houses (known as insulae) built around a central courtyard. Some homes had second floors and were well built, indicating the village was prosperous.

Water cisterns, ovens, wine and olive presses were also uncovered nearby.

Adjacent to the industrial area and the synagogue is a mikvah, indicating that the workers would use it to become ritually pure before engaging in wine and olive production. This was critically important, as it ensured the final product remained pure and could be used in the Beit HaMikdash or by Chaverim (people who carefully observed the laws of ritual purity in their daily lives). The mikveh was also important for pilgrims to Jerusalem, who were often housed in the synagogue, allowing them to immerse and wash their hands before eating their meals.

The ancient village of Modi’in is a wonderful place to visit on Chanukah. Visitors can stop at the newly

Umm El Umdan. (PHOTO: HOWIE MISCHEL)

opened Hasmonean Heritage Museum in Modi’in and then travel to the site.

Walking through Umm El Umdan, you can relive the moment when Matityahu slays the Greek officer who tried to force the people to worship idols and stand in the very place where Yehudah the Maccabee launched the war that was to free the Jewish people from Greek domination. The light of our Chanukah candles began to shine at this extraordinary site.

Tosefta Chagiga, Ch. 3 Halacha 29.

1

Bava Batra 21a.

2

Ruchama Alter, originally from Toronto, is a certified tour guide in Israel. She specializes in Biblical and Mishnaic/Amoraic period sites, and loves to share her enthusiasm for Israel and its history.

HaMizrachi brings Torat Eretz Yisrael to homes across the globe before every major Jewish and Israeli holiday. In Israel, it is distributed to English-speaking communities countrywide.

ADVERTISE IN

• TEN EDITIONS A YEAR • LONG SHELF LIFE • REACH COUNTLESS READERS Looking to expand abroad? HaMizrachi is distributed in the USA, Australia, Canada, the UK, South Africa and across Europe and South America, with over 350,000 readers. Options are available to advertise in each country at a separate rate.

Reserve your page today! Email uk@mizrachi.org for more details

W H AT ’ S I N A W O R D ?

Spiritual

Center David Curwin

I

n honor of the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Mizrachi movement, let’s take a look at the history of the movement’s name.

While the political organization was founded in 1902, the name precedes it by nearly a decade. In 1893, Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever created a religious branch in the Chovevei Tzion movement (a predecessor to Herzl’s Zionist movement) which he called Mizrachi – an acronym for ‫מ ְר ָ ּכז רו ָּחנִ י‬,ֶ meaning “spiritual center.” Later, when Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines founded the Religious Zionist movement, the writer Avraham Yaakov Slutsky suggested that he adopt the earlier name, and the movement became “Mizrachi.”

In addition to the abbreviated ‫ֶמ ְר ָ ּכז‬ ‫רו ָּחנִ י‬, the name Mizrachi is strongly associated with the word ‫מזְ ָרח‬,ִ “east,” the direction long associated with praying toward and longing for Eretz Yisrael – even if many Jews lived to the north of Israel.

This dual meaning represents two critical components of Religious Zionist ideology. “Spiritual center” expresses the belief that spiritual concerns must remain central to our movement, even when working together with secular political partners. At the same time, “east” expresses our belief that redemption will not come from above while we wait passively in the Diaspora. We must do our part by actively going east and settling the land.

“Mizrachi” also derives from the root ‫זָ ַרח‬, which means “to shine” or “to rise.” “Mizrach,” therefore, means “where the sun rises” or “where the sun begins to shine.” Another word

56 |

deriving from the same root is ‫אזְ ָרח‬,ֶ meaning “citizen, civilian.” It originally meant “one who rose and grew up in the land,” that is, one who was born there.

A synonym for ‫ ִמזְ ָרח‬in Biblical Hebrew is ‫ק ֶדם‬,ֶ deriving from the root ‫ק ַדם‬,ָ meaning “to be before, in front.” For those accustomed to seeing maps with the north on top, it may seem strange to view the east as “in front” of the rest of the world. But as the English word “orient” attests, we find our bearings when facing east. While ‫ ֶק ֶדם‬isn’t used in modern Hebrew for “east,” the root appears in many common words, including ‫“ – ֻמ ְקדָּ ם‬early,” ‫ ִק ְד ָמה‬- “progress,” and ‫ימה‬ ָ ‫“ – ָק ִד‬forward!”

In the poetry of Tehillim, sunrise is described as ֹ‫כ ָח ָתן י ֵֹצא ֵמ ֻח ּ ָפתו‬,ּ ְ “like a groom coming forth from the chamber” (19:6). The idea of the sun “going out” at sunrise is found in other Semitic languages and eventually gave us the name “Asia” – “the land of the sunrise (in the east).” A parallel can be found in a suggested origin of the name “Europe” – from ‫ע ֶרב‬,ֶ where the sun sets at night (in the west).

By contrast, ‫ ֶמ ְר ָ ּכז‬is of recent origin. It entered Hebrew in the Middle Ages, borrowed from the Arabic markaz, meaning “foothold, stand, center.” This Arabic word is related to the Hebrew root ‫“ – ָר ַכס‬to bind,” the root for words such as ‫“ – ֶר ֶכס‬mountain ridge” (the mountains are fastened together), and ‫“ – רוֹ ְכ ַסן‬zipper.” ‫ ָר ַכס‬is also related to the root ‫ר ַכ ׁש‬,ָ originally meaning “a team of horses” (Esther 8:10), as horses were bound to the same vehicle. However, today ‫ָר ַכ ׁש‬

generally means purchasing, from the word ‫“ – ְרכו ּׁש‬property.” This is because possessing animals, like horses, cattle or camels, was a sign of wealth. Other words in Hebrew that connect animals and property include ‫“ – ִמ ְקנֵ ה‬cattle” (from the root ‫“ – ָקנָ ה‬acquire”), ‫ְסגו ָּלה‬ – “property” (related to the Akkadian word sugullu – “herd of cattle”), and ‫“ – נְ ָכ ִסים‬property” (related to the Aramaic root for killing, ‫נֶ ֶכס‬, meaning “cattle to be slaughtered”).

The second half of Mizrachi’s name, ‫רו ָּחנִ י‬, derives from ‫“ – רו ַּח‬spirit.” The same word also means “wind” or “breath” and is similar to ‫ נֶ ֶפ ׁש‬and ‫ – נְ ׁ ָש ָמה‬meaning “breath” and “soul.”

The root ‫ רו ַּח‬also means “to be wide, spacious,” as in the word ‫רוַ ח‬,ֶ meaning “space,” “relief,” and “profit.”

Some scholars connect the two roots by saying that the space between two things is composed of air or wind.

The converse of “spiritual” is ‫– ַ ּג ׁ ְש ִמי‬ “physical” and was incorporated into medieval Hebrew from Arabic. It is related to the Aramaic ‫ג ׁ ְש ָמא‬,ּ ֻ meaning “body.” Some say it is connected to the Hebrew ‫“ – ֶ ּג ׁ ֶשם‬rain” because the rain was considered very heavy as if it had a body.

David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog, balashon.com.

The Wisdom of Goose Fat Hannah Abrams represented by the geese. These wisdoms had grown huge and fat on all the knowledge they had acquired, but their learning had not brought them closer to G-d. On the contrary, their wings drooped down to the ground.

Rabbah bar bar Channah asked them if it was possible to use their knowledge to earn a portion in the world to come. They lifted a leg and a wing to indicate that, yes, it was still possible to elevate this knowledge. Rabbi Elazar then told him that not only is it possible to advance this knowledge in the service of G-d but that the people of Israel must do so to bring the final redemption.

I

n Eastern European communities before the war, preparation for Chanukah and Pesach began at the very same moment. On Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 30 geese were stuffed into a small cage so they could not move. They were fattened for the next three weeks (given little water but much food) until the shochet came at sunrise on the 21st day. He said a special prayer, slaughtered the geese, plucked, kashered, and most importantly, rendered them for goose fat.

This fat was split into two parts. One part was for the winter, but especially for Chanukah. In those days, latkes consisted of buckwheat flour fried in goose fat, not potatoes in olive oil!1 The second half of the goose fat was set aside for Pesach, when the usual kitniyot oils could not be used. In some houses, only days before Chanukah, part of the kitchen would be kashered for Pesach as kosher-for-Pesach containers were brought out to store the goose fat.2 Although all this was done for purely practical reasons, a story in

the Gemara adds a layer of depth to this minhag. Amongst the legends of Rabbah bar bar Channah (Bava Batra 73b) is a story about some particularly fat geese.

Rabbah bar bar Chanah said: Once, we were traveling in the desert and we saw geese whose wings were drooping because they were so fat, and streams of oil flowed beneath them. I said to them: Is there a portion of the World to Come in you? One raised a leg and one raised a wing. When I came before Rabbi Elazar, he said: In the future, Israel will be held accountable for them.

Rav Kook explains this mysterious story in his Ma’amarei Ha’Raya. The goose is a Talmudic symbol for the wisdoms of the world.3 These wisdoms have the potential to be sanctified in the service of G-d, but they have been handed over to the nations of the world, and they are not currently being used for G-d.

Now let us understand the parable. The travelers were in the desert, far from Torah, and met the world’s wisdoms,

What is the more profound link between goose fat, Chanukah, and Pesach? On Chanukah, the Greeks threatened to overwhelm us with their wisdom and culture, and so the Maccabees tried to expel Greek wisdom altogether from the people of Israel.

During that difficult time, our people’s self-preservation left us no choice but to utterly reject Greek wisdom. However, rejecting Greek wisdom entirely will not bring us to the final redemption in the long term. And so on Pesach we yearn for the final redemption, when we will lift up and sanctify worldly wisdom – our cherished ‘goose fat’! – and use it in the service of G-d.

May it come speedily in our days!

Memoirs of a Grandmother, Pauline Wengeroff, (1908), translated by Shulamit Magnus (2010).

1

Geese, Sholom Aleichem (1902).

2

3

Berachot 57a.

Hannah Abrams is a Mizrachi UK Fellow, and will be going to the UK on shlichut in 2023.

She is a participant in Mizrachi’s Shalhevet leadership program and is learning at Matan’s Advanced Halakhic Institute.

| 57

STO RY F O R T H E TA B L E

S EE

ING MORE WITH ONE EYE Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

I

n a great article, Sight to Behold, L. Jon Wertheim tells the story of Luis Salazar. A longtime majorleague infielder and minor-league coach, Salazar had been out of baseball for a year, happily sitting at home in Boca Raton. But in August 2010, he got the itch to return, so, with the blessing of Graciela, his wife of 33 years, Salazar sent out his résumé. The Atlanta Braves offered him a job managing their Class-A Carolina League team, the Lynchburg Hillcats.

58 |

Salazar joined the Braves for their spring training games in 2011 and was coaching third base one March afternoon. As Wertheim tells it: Salazar was 55, a former third baseman whose reaction times were not what they once were.

No matter. He had no chance. Not with slugger Brian McCann hitting from maybe 60 feet away and the foul ball traveling over 100 miles per hour. The projectile smacked Salazar in his left eye, making a

hideous sound and knocking him backward, down the dugout steps.

He fractured his right arm in the fall, but that was the least of it. He was unconscious, concussed, and blood poured from his nose, mouth and eye, puddling around his head as he lay face down. As a helicopter transported Salazar to an Orlando trauma center, the players struggled to keep it together, not least McCann, who left the game.

Salazar regained consciousness in the hospital that night. He says he saw a white light – ”very bright, so bright” – and fell back asleep. He woke up the next day after surgery, the first of three. “What happened?” he asked his wife. She told him. He nodded. He went to the bathroom and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Then the gravity set in.

“It’s scary when you don’t recognize yourself,” he said. “That’s when I knew how bad it was.”

Doctors first told him the good news. He was alive. And, blessedly, he’d suffered no brain injury. Then, a few days later, the bad news: his left eye was so damaged it would need to be removed.

Six days after he was hit, Salazar’s left eye was surgically removed, his socket suddenly resembling a garage without a car. He conceded that was “a tough day,” but he was more focused on thanking God that he had come out of the ordeal relatively unscathed. The doctor told him that losing the eye meant only that he couldn’t be a fighter pilot. Otherwise, there would be no restrictions. He put a bandage over the eye – beating others to it by making the obligatory Pittsburgh Pirates joke – and went about his business.

When Salazar was finally released from the hospital, he drove the three hours from Orlando to Boca Raton.

“I needed to do that for myself,” he said. On April 15, he made his managerial debut in Lynchburg. By this point, his story had generated some media attention – particularly among Braves fans – and a capacity crowd turned out to welcome the new manager. Graciela was in the stands as well. “Just putting on the uniform, going to home plate and handing the lineup card to the umpire,” he said. “That was the best moment of my baseball career.”

During his season managing in Lynchburg, Salazar often spent the duration of bus trips returning voicemails from friends. “In a way, I see more now than I did with two eyes,” he said. “I see friends, teammates I haven’t spoken to in 25 years. I notice more around the ballpark. It’s maybe crazy to say, but in some ways, it’s been a blessing.”

We take it as a given that we light the Chanukah candles to see the flames.

We tend to assume that the pirsumei nissa, the publicizing of the miracle, is achieved by lighting oil and commemorating a miracle from many years ago.

Somehow, after thousands of years of persecution and systematic attempts to destroy, the Jewish people are still here. We are the miracle!

chief importance of the ner, the candle, is to illuminate the ish and the beito, the people and the household who surround us – to remember how fortunate we are to be in this moment together with those we love.

Louis Salazar sees more with one eye than he ever saw with two. When we light that menorah, we too must see beyond what our eyes perceive and appreciate the blessings and the miracles that surround us.

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is the Senior Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS), a rapidlygrowing congregation of over 850 families and over 1,000 children in Boca Raton, Florida.

But perhaps we are missing the point.

Maybe the real purpose is not to see the flame itself but to allow the flame to illuminate the darkness and reveal what is all around us.

Perhaps publicizing the miracle is not accomplished through the candle, but rather by taking a moment to consider the trials and tribulations we have been through and then allowing the light to illuminate how fortunate and blessed we are nonetheless.

Somehow, after thousands of years of persecution and systematic attempts to destroy, the Jewish people are still here. We are the miracle!

Individually, each of us has struggled in our own way. Even for the most fortunate among us, life is not easy. And yet we are still here, and we are grateful.

On Chanukah, the rabbis commanded us to light one candle per household, ner ish ubeito. Homiletically, perhaps the

| 59

A MIZRACHI CHANUKAH JOURNEY

60 |

COMPETITION! Complete all the tasks for a chance to win one of ten great prizes, including a selection of children’s books and siddurim from koren publishers and the award-winning game “the genius star”! more details at mizrachi.org/chanukah

| 61

Chanukah W

1

2

3

4

5

13

14

17

18

21

7

28

30

31

37

50

53 57 62

63

64 70

71

72

73

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Across J A filling M R E M C 1. Doughnut 13 14 15 4. “Man on the Moon” band U R I A L I O 7.17Nickname for Steve Rogers 18 19 10.D Coolers, E forNshort M I D J U 13.

L’Tzedek22 21 23 N I whose M grandson A hadDa BarA R 14.A Muhammad 25 Mitzvah 26 27 H A M I N L G A 15. Latke liquid 29 30 16. Bulls in boxscores S Y N E R G 17. Daniel survived one 32 33 HTammuz E R E some E 18. When the W 17th of falls out 35 years 36 37 38 A A R O 20.E WhenMsquared, aNkosher cracker 42 43 44 45 21.R AZemirot D A R S T U 23.

47 Some calendars have 48two49 24. IIt’s used C toEwalk the dog?

A T T E S 52 Sephardic cousin 53 of cholent 25.

H A N G E 27.C NYC airport 57 58 28. Aired Seinfeld,56 say H E M S E 29.

Cooperative interactions 62 59 60 61 63

L

U

L

L

I

N

E

M

E

I

R

71

AthisPpuzzle) regarding A CtheS events alluded to

by a dreidel 16 I L C H I 33. “ shorts!” (Bart Simpson) 20 35.

L Hatzalah Y lettersT A M 37. Notable24ancestor of the Maccabees 39.

SEmerald Isle Y O Y O 42. Screen that blips 28 R character E R that A observes N Chanukah 45. Rugrats 31 46. Company that collapsed in 2001 E Hermon S 47.I Mount has it (Masada does not) 34 48. Certifies by oath A T M Y 51. Flight stat 39 40 41 52.

NDimes and Eagorot, I e.g.

R E 54. Achilles’ victim in “The Iliad” 46 56. Fashion E lines N R O N 58. Author Stanley Gardner 50 51 TIt comes S at theAend of L theTyear 59.

54 62. Comedy55duo that played “Gefilta Fresh & Dr. HDreidel”, E C Key &T O R 64.

RMade L likeEany country that’s fought Israel (bli ayin64hara)65 66 67

E

E

L

U

P

T

H

E

S

T

A

I

D

72

65

832. Location 9 10 11 12 question (answered two ways in

P

69

67

58

69

E

66

55

68

68

41

51

54

61

40

46

49

56

62 |

39

45

48

60

34

38

44

47

59

20

33

43

12

16

27

36

11

24

32

52

10

23 26

42

9

19

29

35

8

AUTHOR OF KOSHER CROSSWORDS

15

22

25

6

BY YONI GLATT

E

L

O

S

T

L

U

K

E

S

P

I

N

70 73

68. Ancestry 69. ante (raise) 70. Jedi who saved the day in “The Mandalorian” 71. Former Prime Minister born “Mabovich” 72. Stiffly formal 73. Play dreidel Down 1. A Maccabee 2. Sports venue 3. Notable agricultural sheva 4. Shofar provider 5. Oscar winner Kazan 6. Setting of the Maccabee rebellion, in modern day terms 7. Like the Maccabees 8. Suffers from a plague 9. Tissue layer 10. Adam Sandler, e.g.

11. Wife of Rabbi Menachem (Mendel) 12. A Maccabee 19. Hockey great Jaromir 22. It barely mentions the events of Chanukah 24. All-too-agreeable fellows 26. Famous Science Guy 28. Emeritus: Abbr.

30. Supporter of arms, for short 31. Actor McKellen who has played both a Nazi and a Holocaust survivor 34. Word before Shamayim or Hashem 35. Bana of Munich 36.

Hach 38. 1 or 66, abbr.

40. Caramel-filled chocolate candy 41. ’acte (play break) 43. Narc’s org.

44. What Matityahu felt when he rebelled 46. Donkey, in Berlin 49. “Time flies,” with “fugit” 50. Kind of movie glasses 53. 19-Down, e.g.

55. Human body’s 50,000,000,000,000 or so 57. YK month, often 58. K–12, in education 59. Tree that’s an anagram of comic legend Brooks 60. One can be told for “Shalom Bayit” reasons 61. College, to an Aussie 63. TLV posting 65. Kosher label with an extra caveat 66. Word with “jet” or “water” 67. Sons of Haman Bonus! When you’ve completed the crossword, look out for the hidden message in the sevivon!

Aliyah Investment & Tax Planning for UK Olim • • • • •

10 years tax free income No inheritance tax Tax efficient pension income Offshore investing Specialist investment management for Olim

Raymond James Financial Inc (parent co) • 3100+ office locations worldwide • $1.18tn client assets • S&P 500 company (data as at 31.09.21)

“Simon created a low-risk portfolio which has done amazingly well in these troubled times” FP. “His professional expertise has produced excellent results” SF. “Particularly understands the needs of those making aliyah” Anon.

“I have the highest regard for Simon Benarroch... an excellent team” AH.

For more information on our wealth management services please contact our team at 020 8202 1944 or email RJUKGoldersGreen@RaymondJames.com www.GoldersGreen.RaymondJames.uk.com Risk Warnings – With investing, your capital is at risk.

Raymond James Investment Services Ltd is a member of the London Stock Exchange and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Registered in England and Wales number 3669657 Registered office Ropemaker Place, 25 Ropemaker Street, London, EC2Y 9LY

“

GOOD LEADERS CREATE FOLLOWERS.

GREAT LEADERS CREATE LEADERS. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z”l

”

Mizrachi UK is investing in the future of British Jewry, to create a generation of leaders with a strong Jewish identity and a love of Israel.

The work of Mizrachi UK touches every part of the UK Jewish community.

With your support we will continue to be inspiring leaders and influencing our future.

To find out more email uk@mizrachi.org or visit www.mizrachi.org.uk

All dona tio will be ns doubled!

www.mizrachi.org.uk | 020 8004 1948 | uk@mizrachi.org Registered Charity Number 1137199