Only recently did I realize that while I was very familiar with (and supportive of) the Ashkenazi Gedolim’s attitude toward political Zionism, I wasn’t so knowledgeable of the opinions of the Sephardi Gedolim.
This is very understandable in light of the fact that the English-speaking charedi world is heavily weighted on the Ashkenazi side of things, so we end up hearing more about people like Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Kanievsky, Rav Shteinman, Rav Miller, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, as well as the various Chassidic Rebbes, especially those prominent in the English-speaking world.
And this is good because they are true talmidei chachamim.
Furthermore, my Moroccan-Israeli husband’s entry into charedi Yiddishkeit was via Litvish yeshivahs.
While my husband goes according to Sephardi talmidei chachamim for halacha, he respects all true talmidei chachamim equally with regard to hashkafah (as is the correct attitude). And despite certain differences among groups, the real talmidei chachamim have more in common than not.
So when I asked my husband about Sephardi Gedolim and Zionism, he summed it up that Sephardi Gedolim place less emphasis on the "anti-Tziyoni," but other than that, don’t differ much in hashkafah from Ashkenazi Gedolim.
Also, many Sephardi Gedolim opine as Rav Shteinman that if a boy is anyway out on the street committing all kinds of transgressions and generally wasting his life, then Nachal Charedi is a better option for him. (Several other Ashkenazi Gedolim oppose even this.)
I think that sums it up on one foot, anyway.
Finally, it's important to know that the term itself (Tziyonut) is not remotely based on Torah or mitzvot (other than the name of the geographical location: "Tzion").
Tziyonut was only coined in 1890 by Nathan Birnbaum, who was a secular ethnocentrist at that time. (He did complete teshuvah later, baruch Hashem.) He promoted Jewish nationalism based on the Yiddish language and culture (however he defined that).
So Tziyonut was a secular ethnocentric (Ashkenazi-only Yiddish-only) idea from the get-go. (To be fair, Sephardim only comprised around 10% of world Jewry at that time, but they still numbered over a million spread throughout North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, Western Europe, including thousands in North & South America. Quite a lot to ignore, actually.)
Baruch Hashem, Birnbaum also dropped his ethnocentrism later too. Sincere teshuvah cleanses all sins.
(Quite an interesting fellow. Please see HERE for more about him.)
This is very understandable in light of the fact that the English-speaking charedi world is heavily weighted on the Ashkenazi side of things, so we end up hearing more about people like Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Kanievsky, Rav Shteinman, Rav Miller, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, as well as the various Chassidic Rebbes, especially those prominent in the English-speaking world.
And this is good because they are true talmidei chachamim.
Furthermore, my Moroccan-Israeli husband’s entry into charedi Yiddishkeit was via Litvish yeshivahs.
While my husband goes according to Sephardi talmidei chachamim for halacha, he respects all true talmidei chachamim equally with regard to hashkafah (as is the correct attitude). And despite certain differences among groups, the real talmidei chachamim have more in common than not.
So when I asked my husband about Sephardi Gedolim and Zionism, he summed it up that Sephardi Gedolim place less emphasis on the "anti-Tziyoni," but other than that, don’t differ much in hashkafah from Ashkenazi Gedolim.
Also, many Sephardi Gedolim opine as Rav Shteinman that if a boy is anyway out on the street committing all kinds of transgressions and generally wasting his life, then Nachal Charedi is a better option for him. (Several other Ashkenazi Gedolim oppose even this.)
I think that sums it up on one foot, anyway.
Finally, it's important to know that the term itself (Tziyonut) is not remotely based on Torah or mitzvot (other than the name of the geographical location: "Tzion").
Tziyonut was only coined in 1890 by Nathan Birnbaum, who was a secular ethnocentrist at that time. (He did complete teshuvah later, baruch Hashem.) He promoted Jewish nationalism based on the Yiddish language and culture (however he defined that).
So Tziyonut was a secular ethnocentric (Ashkenazi-only Yiddish-only) idea from the get-go. (To be fair, Sephardim only comprised around 10% of world Jewry at that time, but they still numbered over a million spread throughout North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, Western Europe, including thousands in North & South America. Quite a lot to ignore, actually.)
Baruch Hashem, Birnbaum also dropped his ethnocentrism later too. Sincere teshuvah cleanses all sins.
(Quite an interesting fellow. Please see HERE for more about him.)
Ashkenazi Gedolim & Sephardi Gedolim Face Very Different Audiences
Furthermore, as my very yeshivish son pointed out, Sephardi Gedolim are talking to an extremely varied group, and they need to pasken according to needs of different Jews.
For example, charedi Sephardim listen to Sephardi Gedolim. Yet secular-traditional Sephardim also listen to Sephardi Gedolim. And then you have all the Sephardim in between those 2 extremes.
Yet who listens to, say, Rav Kanievsky outside of charedim (both Sephardi & Ashkenazi) and the very committed chardalim (charedi-dati-leumi)?
My son pointed out that when Rav Ovadia Yosef ztz”l spoke about army service, he needed to speak to both the Sephardi charedi bnei Torah AND “amcha” (the non-yeshivish Sephardim) at the same time.
I believe Sephardi Gedolim face a similar challenge if they decide to talk about tziyonut negatively to constituents who self-identify as tziyoni. (Many if not most Israelis — or Jews worldwide, for that matter — do not realize the origin of the term or the idea.)
Ashkenazi Gedolim could and do also speak to Jews at different stages of observance, but they do so on the individual level because there is no real need (or demand) to do so on the general level.
(For example, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach opposed heter mechirah for Shemittah, but if a person came to him who was insistent on heter mechirah, the rav would tell him how to observe heter mechirah according to halacha.)
Also, it’s always hard to discuss this kind of thing in a public forum because black-and-white thinkers tend to see the above as charedi compromise/capitulation/loophole or hypocrisy, with a smirky attitude of “Oho—gotchya Gadol Hador!”
But really, it’s more a matter of assisting a person “ba’asher hu sham” (Beresheit 21:17 with Rashi) and that’s not compromising on Torah values at all.
But it's very difficult to explain this to black-and-white thinkers.
So I hope there are no black-and-white thinkers reading this.
(Or if they are, I fervently hope they do not comment because I find the circular arguments & misleading blanket statements very stressful to deal with.)
But back to Sephardi talmidei chachamim and Zionism…
For example, charedi Sephardim listen to Sephardi Gedolim. Yet secular-traditional Sephardim also listen to Sephardi Gedolim. And then you have all the Sephardim in between those 2 extremes.
Yet who listens to, say, Rav Kanievsky outside of charedim (both Sephardi & Ashkenazi) and the very committed chardalim (charedi-dati-leumi)?
My son pointed out that when Rav Ovadia Yosef ztz”l spoke about army service, he needed to speak to both the Sephardi charedi bnei Torah AND “amcha” (the non-yeshivish Sephardim) at the same time.
I believe Sephardi Gedolim face a similar challenge if they decide to talk about tziyonut negatively to constituents who self-identify as tziyoni. (Many if not most Israelis — or Jews worldwide, for that matter — do not realize the origin of the term or the idea.)
Ashkenazi Gedolim could and do also speak to Jews at different stages of observance, but they do so on the individual level because there is no real need (or demand) to do so on the general level.
(For example, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach opposed heter mechirah for Shemittah, but if a person came to him who was insistent on heter mechirah, the rav would tell him how to observe heter mechirah according to halacha.)
Also, it’s always hard to discuss this kind of thing in a public forum because black-and-white thinkers tend to see the above as charedi compromise/capitulation/loophole or hypocrisy, with a smirky attitude of “Oho—gotchya Gadol Hador!”
But really, it’s more a matter of assisting a person “ba’asher hu sham” (Beresheit 21:17 with Rashi) and that’s not compromising on Torah values at all.
But it's very difficult to explain this to black-and-white thinkers.
So I hope there are no black-and-white thinkers reading this.
(Or if they are, I fervently hope they do not comment because I find the circular arguments & misleading blanket statements very stressful to deal with.)
But back to Sephardi talmidei chachamim and Zionism…
An Enlightening Q&A with Hidabroot
Here is a Q&A from Hidabroot (my translation):
Q:
Shalom Kavod Harav,
I’d like to know if the Shas Party is for or against the Religious-Zionist stream.
Regards,
Avi
A:
Shalom u’vracha.
We are not spokesmen for Shas.
Maran {Rav Ovadia Yosef}, may his merit guard over us, was supportive of anyone who walked completely in the way of Hashem without any compromises and he fought against anyone who tried to compromise on an issue.
Regards,
Binyamin Shmueli
Here’s another on Hashkafah & Yirat Shamayim:
Q:
Shalom.
In Heaven, is there significance regarding a person’s hashkafah? Regarding army/State/Zionism, etc…or is the important thing that a person is God-fearing and upholds the Shulchan Aruch…
A:
The Supreme importance is the observance of all the mitzvot of the Torah, as explained in the Shulchan Aruch, without any fishy leniencies.
Anyone who wants to think that the State of Israel is the beginning of the Geula is welcome to do so.
However, he must be careful not to be drawn after leniencies of Torah or any change in the priorities of Torah versus nationalism, and likewise, will continue to be wary of joining with those who can remove him or his children from the Torah.
Likewise, to – God forbid – go after the spirit of the distorters that there is holiness to the army and that the virtue of military service is greater than the virtue of Torah scholars, God forbid.
Furthermore, it’s forbidden to consider Herzl a prophet or anything else. Herzl was a heretic and nothing more. Anyone who considers Herzl a prophet or visionary despite his Sabbath desecration and the rest of his severe transgressions – such a person is a disbeliever in the Torah and disparages all the Nevi’im.
Therefore, the obligation to submit to the Gedolei Yisrael is an absolute obligation and cannot change regardless of any form of hashkafah.
I hope I have succeeded in summarizing in these few lines everything necessary to know on one foot.
Regards,
Binyamin Shmueli
That’s pretty unequivocal.
And this next one is a particularly fun read.
For those who like to compare and contrast, here is a Sephardi rabbi discussing Satmar & Neturei Karta hashkafahs – you sure don’t see that every day!
(Please scroll down to #5 in the original Hebrew.)
UPDATE: A reader knowledgeable in Satmar hashkafah wrote to clarify points mentioned in the answer given by Rabbi Nachum. Please see R' Yisroel Tzion Kash's comments below for elucidation of the authentic Satmar hashkafah.
A Few Questions on Satmar & Zionism:
And this next one is a particularly fun read.
For those who like to compare and contrast, here is a Sephardi rabbi discussing Satmar & Neturei Karta hashkafahs – you sure don’t see that every day!
(Please scroll down to #5 in the original Hebrew.)
UPDATE: A reader knowledgeable in Satmar hashkafah wrote to clarify points mentioned in the answer given by Rabbi Nachum. Please see R' Yisroel Tzion Kash's comments below for elucidation of the authentic Satmar hashkafah.
A Few Questions on Satmar & Zionism:
Q:
Shalom Kavod Harav…
5. Is it better to live in a country led by secular-Tziyoni evildoers than to live outside of Eretz Yisrael? What is the view of Satmar chassidim? How are they different from Neturei Karta? And what is so bad about their actions? Thank you.
A:
5. It’s preferable to live in Eretz Yisrael because of kedushat ha’Aretz {the holiness of the Land}. The Gemara (Yevamot 82b) says about this that the Land maintains its holiness even in the days of Galut {Exile}.
The opinion of the Admor of Satmar of blessed memory, the author of the book The Three Oaths – which is according to the Gemara Ketubot 111 – is that it’s forbidden for Jews to ascend from the Galut as a “wall” (Rashi explains: “together by force”) [that is to say, to take by force Eretz Yisrael from the grip of the nations of the world].
The Neturei Karta part ways from the shitah of the Admor of Satmar of blessed memory as stated above, and their opinion today is that even though the secular Israelis already took the Land by force from the grip of the nations of the world and not as according to the Gemara mentioned above, the proper path is to turn the present reality back to what it was before.
This is different than the shitah of the rest of the charedim – including Satmar chassidim today – who are of the opinion that after the new reality has already occurred, one should operate according to Torah observance within the current reality.
The mistake of Neturei Karta in practicality is that they think that they are rescuing Jewish lives when they show the Arabs that it is only the secular Tziyonim who took the Land from them, and that is not the opinion of the religious Jews – therefore, they aren’t supposed to fight against or harm Jewish charedim.
The mistake is that the belief of the Arabs goes against this aspect of the belief of Judaism, and therefore it is not just a matter of taking the Land that will appease the Arabs permanently.
{Sorry, that last sentence was a bit convoluted. The rabbi means that due to the diametric contrast in religious belief, Muslims cannot be more than temporarily appeased by taking Land from the Jews. In other words, their religious belief system demands more than just taking Land. —MR}
May it be His Will that the Blessed Hashem will help every single Jew to come out of this Galut speedily in our days, Amen.
Rabbi Nachum
The Value of Sephardi Insight
I just want to add that I really value the knowledgeable Sephardi views on Arabs and Islam.
You still have many Sephardim who understand Arabic and are familiar with Muslim-Arabic culture in a way similar to those of us who grew up among Western non-Jewish culture.
These Sephardim pick up on nuances that others don’t and actually understand what Arabic-speakers mean when they say stuff.
And while they can be sympathetic toward Arabs and easily see them as individuals (just like we Americans relate toward our non-Jewish friends & neighbors), they are at the same time very aware of cultural values and behaviors.
You still have many Sephardim who understand Arabic and are familiar with Muslim-Arabic culture in a way similar to those of us who grew up among Western non-Jewish culture.
These Sephardim pick up on nuances that others don’t and actually understand what Arabic-speakers mean when they say stuff.
And while they can be sympathetic toward Arabs and easily see them as individuals (just like we Americans relate toward our non-Jewish friends & neighbors), they are at the same time very aware of cultural values and behaviors.
What Do Ben Shapiro, Rav Avigdor Miller, and Neturei Karta Have in Common?
And with regard to Rabbi Nachum's summary of Neturei Karta’s views (which sound extreme under the Neturei Karta label, but are actually shared by many thinking frum Jews):
I’m seeing a similar dynamic among American Jews — those frum Jews who wish to disassociate themselves from the increasingly immoral views of liberal/Leftist Jews and the degenerate high mucky-mucks who are Jew in name only.
Disassociation is important both for the sake of truth and to avoid the undeserved fallout that occurs when decent frum Jews are lumped together with anti-Torah Jews.
Even the modern Orthodox Ben Shapiro disassociates himself from the widespread Jewish vote for Obama with:
I’m seeing a similar dynamic among American Jews — those frum Jews who wish to disassociate themselves from the increasingly immoral views of liberal/Leftist Jews and the degenerate high mucky-mucks who are Jew in name only.
Disassociation is important both for the sake of truth and to avoid the undeserved fallout that occurs when decent frum Jews are lumped together with anti-Torah Jews.
Even the modern Orthodox Ben Shapiro disassociates himself from the widespread Jewish vote for Obama with:
“Most Jews aren’t Jewish in any real sense beyond ethnic identification.”
(Source)
Or this:
“…the Jews who vote for Obama are, by and large, Jews In Name Only (JINOs). They eat bagels and lox; they watch "Schindler's List"; they visit temple on Yom Kippur – sometimes. But they do not care about Israel. Or if they do, they care about it less than abortion, [same-gender] marriage and global warming.”
(Source)
Here’s something similar by Rav Avigdor Miller:
Rav Avigdor Miller on Neturei Karta & Dirty Laundry.
In other words:
“They don’t represent us. They don’t represent the authentic Jewish position.”
It’s also impossible to miss the implied plea not to hate or judge or condemn us (or authentic Torah Judaism) or attack us because of the “JINO” majority — an approach which shares some similarity with the Neturei Karta approach.
Also, please don’t think I’m equating Ben Shapiro with talmidei chachamim and real daas Torah. My point is that there is a logical response that any committed frum Jew could instinctively have. It’s self-protective, not extremist.
(And isn't it really bizarre to find a similarity in approach between Ben Shapiro & Neturei Karta & Rav Avigdor Miller? I had no idea I'd reach this conclusion when I started writing this post.)
Anyway, getting back to Sephardi chachamim & Tziyonut…
Rav Avigdor Miller on Neturei Karta & Dirty Laundry.
In other words:
“They don’t represent us. They don’t represent the authentic Jewish position.”
It’s also impossible to miss the implied plea not to hate or judge or condemn us (or authentic Torah Judaism) or attack us because of the “JINO” majority — an approach which shares some similarity with the Neturei Karta approach.
Also, please don’t think I’m equating Ben Shapiro with talmidei chachamim and real daas Torah. My point is that there is a logical response that any committed frum Jew could instinctively have. It’s self-protective, not extremist.
(And isn't it really bizarre to find a similarity in approach between Ben Shapiro & Neturei Karta & Rav Avigdor Miller? I had no idea I'd reach this conclusion when I started writing this post.)
Anyway, getting back to Sephardi chachamim & Tziyonut…
A Sampling of Sephardi Chachamim & Their Opinions
Here are 2 articles written by differently hashkafahed Jews:
Here’s a dati-leumi rabbi summing it up:
https://www.etzion.org.il/en/sephardic-rabbinical-approaches-zionism
And here is a Sephardi frum fellow summing it up:
https://bariveshema.blogspot.com/2006/05/sephardic-rabbis-and-zionism_04.html
This is the first time I’ve come across Bari VeShema and I’m not sure what his exact hashkafah is, but I prefer his summary of Sephardi Gedolim because it’s better-sourced.
Also, I found it difficult to research Sephardi Gadolim & Zionism because in the English-speaking Sephardi world, I think many prefer to think their Gedolim are dati-leumi, so I found the English-speaking Sephardi presentation slanted toward their own preference, which I'm not sure is completely accurate.
That's my impression. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Sincerely, I mean that.
So looking at Bari V’Shema, I was surprised to discover that Chacham Alfandari did not think that Agudas Yisrael was anti-Tziyoni enough.
Also, the Ben Ish Chai comes off as very strong in his stance.
Then there is this quote by the Baba Sali from Etzion’s Rabbi Jachter above:
Here’s a dati-leumi rabbi summing it up:
https://www.etzion.org.il/en/sephardic-rabbinical-approaches-zionism
And here is a Sephardi frum fellow summing it up:
https://bariveshema.blogspot.com/2006/05/sephardic-rabbis-and-zionism_04.html
This is the first time I’ve come across Bari VeShema and I’m not sure what his exact hashkafah is, but I prefer his summary of Sephardi Gedolim because it’s better-sourced.
Also, I found it difficult to research Sephardi Gadolim & Zionism because in the English-speaking Sephardi world, I think many prefer to think their Gedolim are dati-leumi, so I found the English-speaking Sephardi presentation slanted toward their own preference, which I'm not sure is completely accurate.
That's my impression. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Sincerely, I mean that.
So looking at Bari V’Shema, I was surprised to discover that Chacham Alfandari did not think that Agudas Yisrael was anti-Tziyoni enough.
Also, the Ben Ish Chai comes off as very strong in his stance.
Then there is this quote by the Baba Sali from Etzion’s Rabbi Jachter above:
“Ki Ata be-eish hitzata, u-va-eish Ata atid livnota” – with fire Yerushalayim was destroyed and with fire it will be rebuilt. He explained that just as Jerusalem was destroyed by the fire of avoda zara, it will sadly be rebuilt by avoda zara.
Very powerful.
I read this in another place and I wish I knew the source for this for sure. I love this quote and it makes sense that the Baba Sali said this, but I'm uncomfortable without solid sources for quotes.
Also, regarding the discussion that follows in the comments section of Bari V'Shema's post: I personally do not equate Zionism with the mitzvah of yishuv ha’Aretz, although many frum Jews do. (But many also do not.)
At the risk of this turning into a useless discussion of semantics, I think that equating Zionism with yishuv ha'Aretz confuses things — especially since the entire origin of the term & idea is secular & ethnocentric.
(This confusion can be seen, for example, in describing Doña Gracia Nasi as being one of the early “Zionists” because she strove to provide Jewish settlement in Tiveria, which some people do. Neither the term nor the idea even existed in the 1500s. There is a mitzvah of yishuv ha’Aretz. That’s all.)
Likewise, in the Etzion article, I’m not sure if the Sephardi chachamim were pro-Zionism per se or whether they were pro-yishuv ha’Aretz and in favor of winning battles against Jew-hating enemies.
What were the exact terms they used? I don't know. It doesn't say.
For example, Rav Ovadia Yosef was in favor of praying for Israeli soldiers. Doing so is not specifically Tziyoni. Why is davening for a fellow Jew to succeed against Jew-haters "tziyoni"?
To compare: Rav Avigdor Miller encouraged support of the IDF & Tziyonim against Jew-hating terror. He clearly says you SHOULD pray for Israeli soldiers. He was against these insane & suicidal “Land for peace” policies:
Rav Miller on Praying for the IDF (January 2001)
Rav Miller on Land for Peace (October 2000)
Yet he was clearly not “pro-Zionist.”
Rav Miller on the Sinking Boat of the Zionist State (November 1975)
In other words, Rav Miller loved all Jews and wanted what was truly best for us.
Secular Leftist anti-Torah tyrannies are not good for us.
Again, because of a tendency to equate fighting terror or settling the Land with “Zionism,” it’s not clear to me that these chachamim were “pro-Zionism.” Did they even use that specific term? Again, I do not know.
I personally do not & will not call myself a Zionist anymore than I would call myself a “Sabbathist” for keeping Shabbat or an “environmentalist” for observing the Torah prohibitions of bal tashchit and not uprooting fruit trees.
I don't refer to myself as a "monotheist" for believing in One God. Anyone can be a monotheist.
I'm a Torah-observant Jew.
I am not a Zionist. I’m a Torah observant Jew who, in addition to fulfilling other commandments in the Torah, also fulfills the commandment of yishuv ha’Aretz — to settle in Eretz Yisrael.
That’s it.
Anyway, I think this sums up everything I’ve learned so far about Sephardi Gedolim and Tziyonut.
I read this in another place and I wish I knew the source for this for sure. I love this quote and it makes sense that the Baba Sali said this, but I'm uncomfortable without solid sources for quotes.
Also, regarding the discussion that follows in the comments section of Bari V'Shema's post: I personally do not equate Zionism with the mitzvah of yishuv ha’Aretz, although many frum Jews do. (But many also do not.)
At the risk of this turning into a useless discussion of semantics, I think that equating Zionism with yishuv ha'Aretz confuses things — especially since the entire origin of the term & idea is secular & ethnocentric.
(This confusion can be seen, for example, in describing Doña Gracia Nasi as being one of the early “Zionists” because she strove to provide Jewish settlement in Tiveria, which some people do. Neither the term nor the idea even existed in the 1500s. There is a mitzvah of yishuv ha’Aretz. That’s all.)
Likewise, in the Etzion article, I’m not sure if the Sephardi chachamim were pro-Zionism per se or whether they were pro-yishuv ha’Aretz and in favor of winning battles against Jew-hating enemies.
What were the exact terms they used? I don't know. It doesn't say.
For example, Rav Ovadia Yosef was in favor of praying for Israeli soldiers. Doing so is not specifically Tziyoni. Why is davening for a fellow Jew to succeed against Jew-haters "tziyoni"?
To compare: Rav Avigdor Miller encouraged support of the IDF & Tziyonim against Jew-hating terror. He clearly says you SHOULD pray for Israeli soldiers. He was against these insane & suicidal “Land for peace” policies:
Rav Miller on Praying for the IDF (January 2001)
Rav Miller on Land for Peace (October 2000)
Yet he was clearly not “pro-Zionist.”
Rav Miller on the Sinking Boat of the Zionist State (November 1975)
In other words, Rav Miller loved all Jews and wanted what was truly best for us.
Secular Leftist anti-Torah tyrannies are not good for us.
Again, because of a tendency to equate fighting terror or settling the Land with “Zionism,” it’s not clear to me that these chachamim were “pro-Zionism.” Did they even use that specific term? Again, I do not know.
I personally do not & will not call myself a Zionist anymore than I would call myself a “Sabbathist” for keeping Shabbat or an “environmentalist” for observing the Torah prohibitions of bal tashchit and not uprooting fruit trees.
I don't refer to myself as a "monotheist" for believing in One God. Anyone can be a monotheist.
I'm a Torah-observant Jew.
I am not a Zionist. I’m a Torah observant Jew who, in addition to fulfilling other commandments in the Torah, also fulfills the commandment of yishuv ha’Aretz — to settle in Eretz Yisrael.
That’s it.
Anyway, I think this sums up everything I’ve learned so far about Sephardi Gedolim and Tziyonut.
Oh, Wait...One More Sephardi Opinion
Please see this tefillah of a huge Sephardi tzaddik for settling in Eretz Yisrael. This was in 1824 when Eretz Yisrael was under the occupation of Turkish Ottoman Empire.
A Prayer to Make Aliyah & Live in Eretz Yisrael
(The Pele Yoetz preceded Herzl & Tziyonut by decades, by the way, as did religious aliyah & settlement within Eretz Yisrael.)
The Pele Yoetz refers to aliyah as "likboa dirato ba'Eretz Yisrael — to set his residence in the Land of Israel" or "halichat Eretz Yisrael — going to Eretz Yisrael."
That's what I and millions of other Jews have done:
We went to Eretz Yisrael & we set our residence in Eretz Yisrael.
(Please see the Pele Yoetz's chapter on Eretz Yisrael in Ivrit or Eretz Yisrael in English.)
No Zionism, no political labels, no ethnic or cultural focus...just mitzvah.
A particularly heartwarming & fulfilling mitzvah.
A Prayer to Make Aliyah & Live in Eretz Yisrael
(The Pele Yoetz preceded Herzl & Tziyonut by decades, by the way, as did religious aliyah & settlement within Eretz Yisrael.)
The Pele Yoetz refers to aliyah as "likboa dirato ba'Eretz Yisrael — to set his residence in the Land of Israel" or "halichat Eretz Yisrael — going to Eretz Yisrael."
That's what I and millions of other Jews have done:
We went to Eretz Yisrael & we set our residence in Eretz Yisrael.
(Please see the Pele Yoetz's chapter on Eretz Yisrael in Ivrit or Eretz Yisrael in English.)
No Zionism, no political labels, no ethnic or cultural focus...just mitzvah.
A particularly heartwarming & fulfilling mitzvah.
Lake Kinneret (The Sea of Galilee)
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