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| Pâ•qidꞋ Yi•rᵊmᵊyâhꞋu |
2000.07.23, David Weinberg, The Jerusalem Post, p. 6 – "For many religious Zionists, a diplomatic process which abandons much of Yᵊhud•âhꞋ and the Shom•ronꞋ, not to mention parts of Yᵊru•shâ•laꞋyim, is theological cataclysm. An earthquake with far-reaching ideological ramifications.
"After all, it wasn't supposed to be this way. Ël•oh•imꞋ's own Redemptive Hand had returned us to our biblical birthright! Not surprisingly, religious Zionist thinkers are scrambling to reinterpret the times. A quick survey of opinion among several leading philosophers and rabbis reveals utter confusion and deep disagreement within the religious Zionist ideological camp.
"Start with MK Rabbi Khaim Druckman (National Religious Party),head of Yeshivot B'nei Aqiva and Yeshivat Or Etzion, one of Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook's most profound disciples. Based on Rabbi Kook's teachings, Rabbi Druckman has been speaking for 30 years about the unstoppable 'messianic process' of redemption under way: an inexorable process which runs according to a 'messianic clock' that can't be turned back.
"The return of Jewish life to Yᵊhud•âhꞋ and the Shom•ronꞋ was part of the unassailable process, according to Rabbi Druckman and his colleagues in Gush Ë•mun•imꞋ, Qᵊdum•imꞋ, Beit Eil and united Yᵊru•shâ•laꞋyim were proof that we were on a one-way journey, with no lay-overs, to even more complete redemption.
"So where do the Oslo and Camp David withdrawals it into the messianic process? Well, the messianic process is still alive, insists Rabbi Druckman, but is going through a corrective phase. Basing himself on the medieval Jewish philosopher Abravanenl (Yᵊshu•ōtꞋ Mᵊshikh•ōtꞋ chapter five) and some qabalistic writings, Rabbi Druckman now posits the need for the messianic 'vessel' (the state and society of Israel) to undergo a 'cleaning-out' process before the 'vessel' gets filled with the ultimate Judaic content of the full messianic era.
"In Rabbi Druckman's words, 'the abandonment by Israeli society of core Jewish and classical Zionist values, including the grave deterioration in appreciation for the Land of Israel' is part of a theologically-mandated dark period, a purgatory and cleansing interval, on the road to better times.
"This frightening, knotty thesis of 'required ruin before reconstruction' has been picked up by Rabbi ShᵊlomꞋoh Aviner and other prominent thinkers in Rabbi Kook's messianic camp. Funny how none of them spoke of 'required ruin' before Oslo.
"On the far opposite side of the philosophical spectrum is Yoske Ahituv, ideologue of the Religious Qibutz Movement. Ahituv, an expert on Maimonides, a prolific writer and a religious-secular dialogue activist, rejects Rabbi Druckman's 'illusionary messianic Zionism' altogether.
"Ël•oh•imꞋ didn't bring us back here in 1948; Ël•oh•imꞋ didn't give us Yᵊru•shâ•laꞋyim in 1967; and neither Ël•oh•imꞋ nor some 'messianic process' is taking Yᵊhud•âhꞋ and the Shom•ronꞋ away from us now,' proclaims Ahituv. 'History has no meta-physical meaning; good things happen in Jewish history because good Jews act appropriately – that's all. It is folly for human beings to attempt to identify Divine processes in history.'
" 'I believe that the State of Israel has the potential to be part of the promised ultimate redemption,' continues Ahituv. 'But my vision of redemption involve more than Israeli sovereignty over land, however biblically attached we are to that land. Redemption involves the creation of a moral Jewish society , a light unto the nations. Changes in our borders out of political necessity does not affect or impair my belief in Judaism or Ël•oh•imꞋ one whit.'
" 'Both Druckman and Ahituv speak utter nonsense,' thunders yet another leading Religious Zionist thinker, Rabbi Yō•eilꞋ Bën-Nun (one of the founders of Gush Ë•mun•imꞋ and Ō•phᵊr•âꞋ, now a maverick supporter of the peace process).
" 'Both unforgivably strip Ël•oh•imꞋ out of the equation. Rabbi Druckman says that everything happening is terrible and evil, therefore Ël•oh•imꞋ has to step out of the picture while the laundry is done or discarded, creating darkness. Ahituv denies the role of Divine Providence in Jewish history.
" 'Neither knows how to read the Ta•na"khꞋ,' counters Bën-Nun. 'The Ta•na"khꞋ teaches us that Jewish history has ups and downs, successes and setbacks, even with Ël•oh•imꞋ hovering in the background. The crises we experience don't wipe away the grandeur of Ël•oh•imꞋ's Providence. The Israelites (in the books of Yᵊho•shuꞋa and Sho•phᵊt•imꞋ) suffered many defeats at the hands of the Pᵊli•shᵊt•imꞋ. But this does not erase the reality of the Yᵊtzi•âhꞋ from Egypt, the law-giving at Sin•aiꞋ or the miraculous conquering of Kᵊna•anꞋ. So too with the establishment of Israel and the victory of 1967.'
"Bën-Nun, who once wrote that Oslo was a miracle just like the Six Day War, goes one gigantic theological step further.
" 'The Heavens are awakened by human action and accept what the majority of the Jewish people in Israel decide. And the majority here seems to support continuation of a peace process. Ipso facto, this desire becomes Ël•oh•imꞋ's will, too. So the peace process is a Divinely-confirmed decree. 
We can participate in it and help shape it, but not fight it,' says Bën-Nun.
[Note that Bën-Nun's "reasoning" both asserts that [a] Jews are rulers over Ël•oh•imꞋ, the ultimate blasphemy and idolatry (re: Dân•iy•eilꞋ 7.25), and [b] enables him to take up whatever banner he likes, or whatever the Jewish majority follows, as "Divinely-confirmed decree." By Bën-Nun's criteria, worship of the Golden Calf was a "Divinely-confirmed decree." Notice also that in the next paragraph, Bën-Nun is speaking of legitimate messianic rabbis, not pseudo-"messianic" Christians.]
" 'And one more thing: how dare the messianic rabbis preach doom and gloom to our community!' roars Rabbi Bën-Nun. 'Is everything today in the State of Israel really so terrible, compared to the pre-1948 or 1967 years? Was there not even greater anti-religious hatred and division back in Brenner's time? Did we not build magnificent communities in Yᵊhud•âhꞋ and the Shom•ronꞋ and Yᵊru•shâ•laꞋyim, most of which will stay ours, even under Bâ•râqꞋ's terms for peace? Did we Religious Zionists not build ourselves up through the settlement effort and contribute greatly to broader Israeli society?'
" 'Indeed we did. We are not at an apocalypse because of Oslo or Camp David. Not at all,' concludes Bën-Nun."
Biblical prophecies don't fail; interpreters of prophecies err. These are all shallow. For in-depth and authoritative analysis, see my book, The 1993 Covenant.
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