Rabbi Meir Soloveitchik related that the Brisker Rav once asked: Why is the wording of the last oath different from the first two? In the first two (Shir Hashirim 2:7 and 3:5) it says “If you arouse and if you awaken,” and in the last one (8:4) it says, “Why do you arouse and why do you awaken?” He answered that the verses refer to two different situations during the Jewish people's exile. Shlomo Hamelech foresaw with his holy inspiration that there would come a time when people of Jewish descent would try to force the end of exile. Therefore, in the first two oaths, he warned the Jewish people not to do this. But the third oath refers to the period after the oath has already been violated, when forcing the end and provoking the nations have become facts of life. This is why the oath reads, "Why do you arouse?" After you have seen that violating the oath did not help you at all, why do you continue in your folly of provoking the nations and spilling Jewish blood like the gazelles and deer of the field? (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 187. Note: After receiving inquiries about the authenticity of this story, we verified it by directly consulting Rabbi Meir Soloveitchik shlit"a, and we have adjusted the wording above to match what Reb Meir said.) After the decision of the United Nations to establish a Jewish state, when many religious Jews also rejoiced over the Zionists’ success, some of the anti-Zionist Jews of Yerushalayim came to ask the Brisker Rov how they should word the signs they were planning to post about the current situation. Right away, he opened up a Tehillim to Chapter 2 and said, “Here Dovid Hamelech describes our situation: ‘The kings of the earth stand, leaders meet together' - this refers to the United Nations - 'against Hashem and His moshiach.’ We must strengthen ourselves in our belief that the exile was decreed upon us by Hashem Yisborach, and we must wait patiently for Him to redeem us and save us through moshiach. We must pass the tests. Then we will merit to see Hashem’s laughter at the wicked and their false redemption, as Dovid Hamelech continues, “He Who sits in heaven will laugh, Hashem will mock them.” (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 195) Once someone asked the Brisker Rov, “Where does it say in the Gemara or Shulchan Aruch that the idea of Zionism is illegitimate?” “Gemara? Shulchan Aruch?” he replied. “Bring me a siddur and I will show you where it is written.” He showed him the words of Shmoneh Esrei, “‘And may our eyes see when You return to Zion…’ In other words, we are waiting for Hashem to reveal Himself again, and we must not hope to be redeemed on our own, before the building of the Temple and the revelation of the honor of Heaven upon us.” (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 195) At the time of the establishment of the state, anti-Zionist activists asked the Brisker Rov, “When we speak to Jews about the state, should we stress the fact that the leaders of the state are wicked people whose whole purpose is to uproot Torah and cast Jews in a new mold, empty of any spark of Judaism? Or should we stress the serious prohibition of establishing any Jewish state at all before the coming of moshiach and the Sanhedrin in the hewn chamber?” He replied that they should stress the prohibition of establishing any Jewish state, lest anyone think that if the State were run according to the Torah and Shulchan Aruch it would be permitted to establish it. Similarly, he once said to Rabbi Amram Blau, “We must stress that the problem with the State is not just the chillul Shabbos and other aveiros that they do. For even if you would be the prime minister, it would be forbidden to establish the State.” Rabbi Meir Soloveitchik quoted his father, "Even if they appointed the Chofetz Chaim himself as the leader of the state, it would be forbidden." (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 196) The Brisker Rav also said: "The Rambam (Melachim 12:2 and Teshuva 9:2) says that moshiach will redeem the Jewish people from their subjugation to the nations. Anyone who believes that it is possible to be redeemed from subjugation to the nations without moshiach is lacking in full belief in moshiach." (Yalkut Divrei Torah) The Brisker Rav once said to Reb Zalman Sorotzkin, “Why does the Torah say, ‘And Esav despised the birthright,’ implying that that was his main sin? The Gemora (Bava Basra 16b) says that he committed five sins that day: he violated a betrothed girl, he murdered, he denied the revival of the dead, he denied Hashem, and he despised the birthright. How could despising the birthright be considered the worst of those sins? The answer is that it is understandable that a person can stumble in sin. But to sell a birthright for lentil soup – that shows that all service of Hashem is worth nothing to him. The same is true of Zionism and the State. The Jewish people has lived throughout history relying on the promise of Hashem through true and just prophets, and on their faith in the coming of moshiach and the open miracles that will take place then. The founding of the state came to destroy all of that, like lentil soup in place of the birthright. There is no other sin like it!” (Teshuvos Vehanhagos, v. 2, siman 140) When the Brisker Rav came to Eretz Yisroel [in 1941] they asked him if he planned to go back or to stay. He replied, “Do I plan to go back?? I plan to run away!!” After the Brisker Rav came to Eretz Yisroel someone remarked to him, “The Rav is certainly happy now that he merited to fulfill the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisroel.” He replied, “If not for the great destruction that the Germans, yimach shmam, have brought on the Jews of Europe, I would have stayed there until the coming of Moshiach. I had no specific desire to come to Eretz Yisroel. Only need and desperation brought me here.” Reb Yaakov Rosenheim visited the Brisker Rov and discussed with him the situation in Eretz Yisroel. The Brisker Rov said that one must leave the State because it is a place of danger. “Isn’t there a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisroel today?” asked Rosenheim. “There definitely is, but from such a state one must flee,” said the Brisker Rov. He then quoted the Rambam in Hilchos Deos (6:1): “The nature of man is that his character traits and actions are influenced by his neighbors, friends and the people of his country. Therefore… if one is in a country whose practices are bad, and whose citizens do not walk in the straight path, he should go to a place whose residents are righteous and follow proper practices.” Rabbi Ahron Katzenellenbogen once related in a speech, “The Brisker Rov said that the Zionist State was the most dangerous place for Jews, both physically and spiritually. I asked him, ‘If so, perhaps we should go and live outside Eretz Yisroel.’ He replied, ‘Yes, according to halacha perhaps we are obligated to do that. But since there is no place as good as Yerushalayim for the proper Jewish education of boys and girls, for it is the only place in the world where there are no secular studies, we must be moser nefesh for the education of our children, and Hashem will help us.’” (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 207-8) Once activists who were working for the observance of Shabbos in the Zionist state came to discuss an issue with the Brisker Rav. He said to them, “You are happy with the state; you see it as an achievement and a place of refuge for the Jewish people. Only, you want to make it better, that it should at least have a religious character. But in my book the whole thing is wrong. When it comes to pork, it makes no difference if there is a lesion on the lungs or not!” (ibid. p. 198) He was referring to the story of the girl who became fatally ill, and the doctors said the only cure was to eat the meat of a pig. She was a very religious girl, however, and she said to her father, “I would rather die than eat from a pig!” Her father brought her to the rav of the town, who explained to her that when a life is in danger, the laws of the Torah are pushed aside. Finally she relented, but said to the rav, “There is one thing that would make me feel a little better about this. Please ask the shochet to slaughter the pig according to the laws of shechitah.” The rav was surprised at this request, but promised to fulfill it. So the shochet slaughtered the pig, and then the girl asked him to examine the lungs. He found a questionable lesion on the lung, and he sent it to the rav for his ruling. The rav looked it over for a long time, and then said, “I don’t know what to say. If this question had been found on a kosher animal, I would not hesitate to say, ‘Kosher, kosher.’ But how can I say the word ‘kosher’ when the animal is a pig? No matter what reasons I can think of to permit it, a pig remains a pig.” (My Uncle The Netziv, p. 130) When the Zionists campaigned in the United Nations for permission to establish their state, the Agudath Israel lay leaders worked alongside them. The Brisker Rav, fearing the great bloodshed the state would bring about, tried to dissuade them from these diplomatic missions. "But," someone said to the Brisker Rav, "it says in the works of Kabbalah that before the coming of moshiach there will be a government in the hands of the eirev rav." "I don't believe that," said the Brisker Rav. The man persisted, "The words of the prophets, too, contain a hint that the Land will be partitioned and governed by a Jewish government before the coming of moshiach." The Brisker Rav replied, "The Gemora states explicitly that even when something is foretold by prophecy, it is forbidden to violate the law of the Torah. It says in Berachos 10a that Chizkiyahu foresaw that he would have wicked children, and because of this he refrained from having children. Why? If he saw prophetically that he would have children, it would happen no matter what, so why did he try to avoid it? The answer is, since - according to what Chizkiyahu held - it was forbidden to bring bad children into the world, he was obligated to make all efforts to avoid doing it, despite the knowledge that his efforts would fail and the children would be born anyway. So too here, it is forbidden to found a state, for it will cause bloodshed. Even if the prophets say it will happen anyway, it is forbidden for us to help." The Brisker Rav gave another example to illustrate this point: "The Rambam writes that we can see the hand of Hashem even in the spreading of the major religions of the gentiles. These religions serve to prepare the world for the Days of Moshiach, by bringing belief in Hashem and the Torah – albeit in a corrupted form - to the whole world. Does that mean that we should go and help spread these religions?" (Teshuvos Vehanhagos v. 2, siman 140) Once the Brisker Rav was going over his household expenses with his daughter, and she had written, among the items bought, the word "mivreshes." The Brisker Rav asked her what "mivreshes" meant. Just at that moment, his talmid Reb Mordechai Solomon came in. "Reb Mordechai, what is a 'mivreshes'?" asked the Rav. "The original Yiddish word was 'bersht' (brush)," said Reb Mordechai, "but the Zionists changed it to 'mivreshes.'" Then the Brisker Rav said to his daughter, "If so, erase 'mivreshes' and write 'bersht.'" (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 2 p. 192) At the Keren Hatzalah gathering in Tamuz 5754 (1994) during the Beirach Moshe’s visit to Eretz Yisroel, Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch told the following story: In the months preceding the establishment of the Zionist State, the Brisker Rav was very worried and he asked many rabbanim to work hard to prevent the new state from coming into being. After the State was established, the Chazon Ish heard that the Brisker Rav was feeling ill. He sent him a message, “You need not fear the State, for we have a rule that ‘a decree usually becomes annulled’ (Kesubos 3b). So the State will not last long.” The Brisker Rav told the messenger, “Go back and tell the Chazon Ish that it is true that a decree is usually annulled, but that would only apply here if the community considered the State an evil decree. However, I fear that the community does not think of it as a decree at all, and religious Jews will join the Zionists in running their state. Not only that, I fear that the wicked will be nourished from our holiness, from the yeshivos and chadarim that they support. If so, it will be a bitter decree for us. Go and tell the Chazon Ish that I fear that this evil decree will remain until the coming of moshiach!” (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk v. 4, p. 209) Reb Dovid Soloveitchik reports that his father, the Brisker Rav, once said, "Those who keep far away from the Zionist movement – from their deeds, their money and all that is theirs – need not fear, G-d forbid, the evil that will befall those who support Zionism." (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 203) Reb Elyakim Shlessinger once asked the Brisker Rav why his wife's grandfather, Reb Yaakov Rosenheim, changed his views on Zionism in his old age. Throughout the pre-State era, Rosenheim constantly reiterated the decision of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, that Jewish law did not permit the founding of the proposed Jewish state. We must see the planned state as a great misfortune for Jewry, Rosenheim wrote in a 1944 letter to Rabbi Chaim Bloch. But after the State was founded and the Agudah activists, without the benefit of any explicit ruling from the Moetzes, began to participate in the government, Rosenheim began to speak more positively of it. "I will tell you something the Kotzker said," said the Brisker Rav. "The Torah says that Yisro heard about the Exodus and came to join the Jewish people in the desert. Rashi explains that he heard about the parting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek. Why did Rashi select these two things? So the Kotzker said, Yisro heard about the great miracle of the Red Sea and he wanted to be a Jew, but that didn't mean he had to come out to the desert to join the Jewish people. He could have waited till they entered the Land of Canaan and joined them there. But then he heard about Amalek's attack. The Amalekites had also heard about the miracles, and yet they continued to be wicked. How could that be? Because Amalek didn't have a rebbe. One must never rely on his own reading of events; one must always have a rebbe. In that case, said Yisro, I must come to be with the Jewish people right away. Your grandfather," the Brisker Rav concluded, "in his younger years, always had a rebbe. He listened to my father and to the Chofetz Chaim. The gedolim then were all much older that he. But I and the other rabbanim of today are closer to his age. In his formative years, we were all mere yungerleit, and that is the permanent picture he formed of us. Now, in his old age, when all his rebbes are gone, it's no wonder that he can't see us as his rebbes. So he is left without a rebbe. And without a rebbe, it is impossible to stay on the proper path." (Mikatowitz Ad Hei B'Iyar, p. 343) At the Knessia Gedolah of Agudath Israel in Marienbad, 1937, the central topic of discussion was the recent proposal of England's Peel Commission to partition Palestine, designating a piece for a Jewish state. The Brisker Rav, who was not at the Knessia, was also very angry when he heard that they were considering the idea of a Jewish state, which would bring bloodshed, G-d forbid. He lamented, "They are sitting and discussing whether it is permitted to give up on part of Eretz Yisroel, but to give up on one Jewish life is definitely forbidden!" Reb Avrohom Kalmanovitz visited the Brisker Rav and tried to calm him, saying, "What difference does it make what the Agudah says? The British aren't going to take the opinion of rabbis into consideration in any case." The Brisker Rav opened a Gemora to Sanhedrin 26a and read: “Shevna's lectures were attended by 130,000 people, and Chizkiyah's lectures were attended by 110,000 people. When Sancheiriv came and beseiged Jerusalem, Shevna wrote a note and delivered it with a shooting arrow: ‘Shevna and his followers surrender, Chizkiyah and his followers do not surrender.’ Chizkiyah was afraid, saying, ‘Perhaps the mind of the Holy One, blessed is He, follows the majority. Since the majority will be delivered into the hands of Sancheiriv, we will also.’ The prophet Yishayah came and said to him, ‘Do not call a conspiracy, what this people calls a conspiracy.’ In other words, it is a conspiracy of the wicked, and a conspiracy of the wicked does not count.” He finished reading and explained, "Yishayah told Chizkiyah that G-d indeed goes after the majority, but the opinion of the wicked does not count toward determining that majority. Here also, G-d does not care about the plans of the secular Zionists. He looks only at what the Torah Jews say. At this Knessia the majority of the gedolim of our generation are present, and G-d goes after the majority - we cannot call them "a conspiracy of wicked people." If they decide that there should be a state, then I am afraid that there will be a state. “In our holy Torah, it makes no difference what character this Jewish state will have. Even if it would be a Jewish state run completely according to the Torah law, even if the president and prime minister would be Reb Chaim Ozer, and everything would be done according to the Torah – even then it is forbidden that even one Jew be killed in order to establish a Jewish state. That is the crux of the issue here. The issue is not how the Jewish state will be run, religiously or secularly. The point is that it is forbidden for Jewish blood to be spilled for the purpose of establishing a Jewish state. And since it is impossible to accomplish the partition without spilling Jewish blood, it is forbidden to accept this plan.” "But," said Reb Avrohom, "why does the Rav say that there will be bloodshed? The plan is that the British and the League of Nations will carry out the partition peacefully, with the agreement of the Arabs." "It will never be so," said the Brisker Rav. "The Arabs will never agree to the establishment of a Jewish state. There will definitely be bloodshed. Even if there were only a possibility of bloodshed it would be forbidden, all the more so now that it is definite bloodshed." (Teshuvos Vehanhagos v. 2 siman 140, Peninei Rabbeinu Hagriz p. 148) The Gemora says (Sanhedrin 63b): “The righteous Eliyahu walked among the people dying of hunger in Jerusalem. He found a child who was swollen from hunger, lying in the garbage heaps. ‘From which family are you?’ he asked. ‘From such-and-such a family,’ he said. ‘Is there anyone surviving from that family?’ ‘No, except for me.’ ‘If I teach you something through which you will live, are you willing to learn it?’ ‘Yes,’ said the child. ‘Say every day, “Hear O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.”’ The child said, ‘Be quiet, do not mention the name of Hashem!’ For his father and mother did not teach him that. Immediately, he took out his idol from his bosom and hugged it and kissed it until his stomach split, and his idol fell on the ground and he fell on top of it, to fulfill the verse, 'I will place your corpses on the corpses of your idols.'" The Brisker Rav used to repeat this passage often, and he would say, “This is the situation today. People see that rebelling against Hashem will not succeed, and that because of the establishment of the State we are suffering bitterly from our Arab neighbors. Every day people are killed and wounded, may Hashem have mercy. All the arms of the Zionists do not help to stop terror. And still people continue to support the State and think that it is the salvation of Hashem and the redemption of the Jewish people. They do not understand that this is a threat of destruction to the Jewish people!” (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk v. 4, 191) When the Brisker Rav would be called up for the Haftorah during the Seven Weeks of Consolation, he would always cry. He explained, "Throughout history, the hope of every Jew was always hanging on the words of the prophet, "Console, console My people" and "It is I, it is I, Who consoles you" (51:12) – and all the other verses of consolation spoken by Hashem through His true prophets, promising that Hashem Himself will redeem us. This promise breathed life into every Jew. But now, the Zionists have come and created a new vision, claiming that there is a natural solution to the "Jewish problem." Jews must take their fate into their own hands, they say. They think that their state somehow saves the Jewish people, when in reality it is the worst exile of all." (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 189) A religious politician once came to the Brisker Rav to request his approval to take a certain action, promising that this action would bring much benefit to the yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel. The Brisker Rav said, "It is written (Devarim 10:17) that G-d does not take bribes. What does this mean? How could anyone give a bribe to G-d, Who owns the entire world? The answer is that when one strengthens Torah study by giving in on other areas, when one tries to cover up a sin with a mitzvah, that is a bribe to G-d. And G-d does not accept bribes." (See Rabbeinu Bechaye and Sforno.) During the fight over the drafting of girls, one rosh yeshiva suggested to the Brisker Rav that the Zionists might be so angry at the charedim's refusal that they would begin drafting yeshiva boys. It might be wise to be more lenient on the issue of national service for girls, in order to keep the yeshivos strong. The Brisker Rav said, "Heaven forbid to permit the forbidden in order to strengthen Torah study. We find that when the Beis Hamikdash was burning, the kohanim went up on the roof and threw the keys up to the sky, saying, 'Since we did not merit to be trusted caretakers, we are giving the keys back to You.' A hand came out of the sky and took the keys (Taanis 29a). So too, if we cannot continue the study of the Torah except by permitting serious sins, then we are not responsible to continue it. We leave Hashem responsible to fulfill His own promise that the Torah will never be forgotten." (Mishkenos Haro'im, p. 842) When the Zionist state was proclaimed and the Holy Land was bathed in bloodshed, one religious Jew who was a participant in the provisional government came to visit the Brisker Rav. He said, "I will not exaggerate and say that we religious have a great influence in the government, but our influence is not too small." The Brisker Rav replied, "Previously I thought that you had no influence at all, and even in that case you would share in the blame for the blood that is being shed. Now that I hear you say that you do have some influence, and not too small, even if you succeed in getting all the Jews to put on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, I do not envy your portion, because of your responsibility for what is happening." (Lechoshvei Shmo, Sivan 5748, p. 8) The Brisker Rav said, "Two things are certain: 1) Zionism is idolatry, and 2) every Jew living in Eretz Yisroel stumbles in Zionism." (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 4 p. 197) Reb Moshe Shmuel Shapiro relates that when he was young, at one point he was not sure if he should open a yeshiva or become a dayan within the Zionist system. He went to speak to the Brisker Rav, and he found him sitting together with his son Reb Berel. The Brisker Rav told him, "To be a dayan in their system is much worse than taking their money for yeshivos!" "Is there any prohibition to take money from them?" asked Reb Moshe Shmuel. "I'm not saying that it it's a prohibition," said the Brisker Rav, "but would you be able to take money for a yeshiva from someone who owns a pork store?" Then he looked at his son and Reb Moshe Shmuel and said, "I promise you that as long as you take money only from clean sources, you will never lack money." (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 2 p. 181) Reb Dovid Soloveitchik later expressed his father's position in another way: How can one take money for the support of Torah from those who are trying to destroy Torah? Chazal say, "One who causes another to sin is worse that one who kills him." (Sifri quoted by Rashi, Devarim 23:9) If Hitler, yimach shmo, had proposed to support the yeshivos at the same time that he was murdering the Jews of Europe, would they have accepted it? ("Today, maybe they would..." he added.) So why is this any different? The Zionists are working as hard as they can to destroy whatever remains of Torah-observant Jewry. (ibid. p. 179) Although the official declaration of the Zionist state was made on May 14, 1948, it was preceded by six months of fighting, in which the Zionists brought the anger of the local and neighboring Arabs upon the Jews of Eretz Yisroel. Jerusalem was besieged, and the Arab villages along the western approach to Jerusalem became major battefields. In the midst of this war, on April 8, 1948, the Brisker Rav and the Chazon Ish encouraged all the religious Jews of Jerusalem to come out to the streets and wave the white flag to show the Arabs and the British that they were not Zionists and wanted no part in this war. The demonstration was led by Rabbi Yaakov Halperin, a close disciple of the Chazon Ish, and Rabbi Amram Blau, a close disciple of the Brisker Rav. Several hundred Jews of the Old Yishuv gathered in the Meah Shearim Yeshiva to say Tehillim and hear speeches. Then they came out and began to march down Meah Shearim Street. Businesses closed and thousands of other residents joined the march. They held white banners reading, "We are for peace! We demand a ceasefire!" The leaflets they handed out read, "Do not blindly follow the leaders of the Zionist Agency, who refuse to listen to our holy Torah! Do not allow your sons and daughters to be killed for the sake of a state of emptiness! We are for peace! Jews, rise up against the policies of the leadership of the Agency, who are mafkir Jewish blood. The Zionist leadership does not represent us! We are Jews, and we will follow the Torah's guidance! We are for peace! We turn to the British Government to save us from our predicament!" The demonstrators had planned to march to the British Mandate offices to deliver their message in person. But they had only reached Geulah Street when the Zionist Haganah met them with blows and shots. They beat the demonstrators mercilessly until they scattered and ran home. The Zionists also confiscated all films and pictures taken of the demonstration before they could reach the media. The Jews of the Old Yishuv submitted their plea to the British in writing. The Brisker Rav once said, "The Zionists take credit for protecting the Jews in the Holy Land with their military might. This is similar to the false prophet described in the Torah (Devarim 13:2) who claims to have received a prophecy that Jews should worship idols, and brings a miracle as proof of his authenticity. The Torah says that despite the miracle, we must not listen to him, for "Hashem your G-d is testing you." Our Sages say, "Even if he makes the sun stop in the sky." G-d may cause the sun to stop in the sky one day, and the prophet will claim that this unusual event is connected with him, but in reality there is no connection. The imagined connection is a test from G-d. Here too, the seeming connection between the Zionists and the survival of the Jews in the Holy Land is but a test from G-d, and in reality the Jews are saved in the merit of those faithful to the Torah among them." "Any miracles in Eretz Yisroel in our time were not done for the Zionists, as if G-d desires the existence of their state and their army. People say that the state is a place of refuge for the Jewish people, but that is false. The state is a great misfortune for the Jewish people, and no one knows what will be in the end. Our prayer is that we be saved through the kindness of G-d from all the dangers threatening us from inside and outside, without any connection to the Zionists and their state. G-d forbid that we should pray for their success in their wars." The Brisker Rav gave an analogy: "A mother washed her young child and dressed him in his finest Shabbos clothes, and then he went stomping in the mud puddles. When he came home, his mother, in her love and mercy, washed him again and put clean clothes on him. Then the foolish child went and bragged to his friends about his greatness, his success, his wisdom and his power, showing them the beautiful new clothes he had received. Here too, how foolish are those who got themselves into deep mud, pulling all the Jews of the Holy Land after them into terrible danger, and then when G-d has mercy and they are saved, they take credit for the saving, as if G-d did miracles for their sake!" (Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk, v. 3 p. 50) The Brisker Rav once compared the Arabs to the Emorites described in the Torah (Devarim 1:44), who came out to fight the Jews who invaded Eretz Yisroel too early. The Torah says that "They pursued you like bees, and they beat you in Seir until Chormah." Rashi comments, "Just as a bee, when it stings a person, dies immediately, so too when they hit you they died immediately." The Brisker Rav posed the question: The Torah seems to be using the comparison to bees to explain how strongly the Emorites fought, yet Rashi says that the comparison to bees was meant to highlight their weakness, that they died immediately. How does Rashi's comment conform to the simple meaning of the Torah? The Brisker Rav explained: If A hits B repeatedly and B does not hit back, we only see that A hates B a little. But if B hits back double for every time A hits him, and still A continues to hit B, we see that A must really hate B, for he is willing to suffer so much just to hit B. Here too, the Emorites also knew that when they fought against the Jews, they would die on the spot, and yet this did not deter them from pursuing the Jews - so powerful was their hatred. Thus the description of the Emorites dying like bees is meant to show how strongly motivated they were to pursue the Jews. The Brisker Rav quoted the Vilna Gaon, who gave a similarly explanation to a comparison to bees in Tehillim (118:12): "They surround me like bees..." David Hamelech is describing his enemies' motivation to fight as so powerful that they are willing to die like the bees. The Brisker Rav concluded, "The Zionists think that if they kill Arabs, the Arabs will be afraid and surrender to them. But we find here in the Torah that these nations pursued the Jews like bees - even when they knew it would cost them their lives. The Arabs kill and wound because they were sent by Heaven!" (Nesivos Rabboseinu v. 2 p. 164) In Uvdos Vehanhagos Leveis Brisk (v. 4, p. 190) we read that the Brisker Rav once said, “The Zionists’ use of this word (Chashmal) from Yechezkel shows that they deny the meaning and existence of that holy concept mentioned by the prophet Yechezkel.” The Brisker Rav pointed out many other falsifications of the Holy Tongue committed by the Zionists, and his blood would boil with anger whenever he heard someone speak a word or expression of Modern Hebrew. When he spoke to Bnei Torah who did not understand Yiddish, he would speak in Lashon Hakodesh with the Ashkenazic pronunciation, but never in Modern Hebrew. He said, “The motive of those who introduced Modern Hebrew was to create a language barrier between the younger generation and the older generation, so that each one should not understand the other.” In the end of days, the Torah foretells in Parshas Nitzavim, the “last generation” of Jews, as well as “the gentile who comes from a faraway land,” will see the desolate condition of Eretz Yisroel and ask, “Why did Hashem do this to this land? Why was this great anger aroused?” And the answer will be that they worshipped idols (29:23-25). The Brisker Rav commented: The worst part of the tragedy described here is that the Jews will be just as ignorant as the gentiles as to what caused the Jewish people’s problems. But note that only the gentiles from faraway lands will be ignorant; the gentiles from Eretz Yisroel will know well what the problem is.

In the summer of 1937, the third convention of the rabbinical leaders of Agudath Israel was held in Marienbad. It was attended by hundreds of rabbis, heads of yeshivas and grand rabbis of Chassidic communities from a number of countries. Rabbi Aharon Kotler attended this convention. The periodical Hapardes (Year 11, Issue 7) reports that “Rabbi [Elchonon] Wasserman, Rabbi [Aharon] Kotler, Rabbi [Mordechai] Rottenberg from Antwerp and rabbis from Czechoslovakia and Hungary were unanimous in rejecting any proposal for a Jewish State on either side of the Jordan River, even if it were established as a religious state because such a regime would be a form of heresy in our faith in the belief in the coming of the Messiah, and especially since this little Jewish state would be built on heresy and desecration of the Name of G-d." The late Rabbi Shlomo Rottenberg (a historian and author of Toldos Am Olam and other works), who also attended the Convention in 1937, used to say that he could still remember what was discussed there, and the harsh opposition of these rabbinical leaders to a 'Jewish State', which is a violation of the Three Oaths mentioned in the Talmud. (Rabbi A.L. Spitzer) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [From Lo Sasur (Thou shalt not depart) Page 42 Declaration and Letters,Document 17] American Israeli Torah Center 5 Beekman Street, Suit 531-2 New York, NY 38 Thursday, of the Torah Portion Emor, May 6, 1954 To: The Esteemed Rabbis and Community Leaders in Toronto Whereas the situation of children learning Torah in the Holy Land is in a horrific and frightful condition, with every day worse than the previous one, it requires extensive efforts, and we must stand up at this fateful hour under conditions that never existed in the history of the Jewish People. We would like to present our esteemed friend, the philanthropist ………. who took it upon himself to visit you on behalf of the American Israeli Torah Center. The American-Israeli Torah Center, which was established here at the request of the great rabbis and heads of yeshivas in the Holy Land has the goal of establishing new Torah schools in the maabarot camps and new settlements , and to assist small religious schools in the Holy Land from joining the government-run school system. These schools also are unaffiliated with the government-supported religious school system [Chinuch Atsma’i]. These unaffiliated schools are organized under the American Israeli Torah Center, and include some 5,000 Jewish children who study Torah with reverence as has been the practice throughout history. The government does not interfere in the curriculum, and does not provide even a single cent. This is the foundation of the existence of Judaism for maintaining the Jewish yeshiva schools and the Torah in the Holy Land. Therefore, we ask urgently ask you to assist us to try to create great success for this great and lofty goal, and may G-d fulfill in you the verse Blessed is he who sustains the Torah. May you be blessed with all the best. Yours truly, Aharon Kotler When Bais Yaakov of Borough Park began teaching classes in Ivrit B'Ivrit (that is, translating the holy words of Chumash into Modern Hebrew), a group of parents complained, until the school staff agreed to present the question to Rabbi Aharon Kotler. The staff and a group of parents (among them the Debretziner Rav) came before Reb Aharon. The staff argued that they had no textbooks besides those produced in Eretz Yisroel, which were written in Ivrit. The parents argued that the purpose of teaching in Ivrit was to inculcate the students with the Zionist ideology. They demanded that the school teach in Yiddish, or at least arrange for separate Yiddish classes. As he listened, Reb Aharon's face grew stormy. He stood up and said fervently, "There is no doubt that teaching in Ivrit is completely forbidden. It is an assimilation worse than all other assimilations in the world. For the goal of Zionism is to uproot the holy Torah from its source. Assimilation with gentiles is like a gentile idol, which can be nullified; but assimilation with Ivrit is a Jewish idol, which can never be nullified! (See Avodah Zarah 52a.) If you teach in English, that is the language of the country and we have no choice, because we need to know the language to earn a living and so on. This is like teaching one's child a trade. But if we teach in Ivrit here in America, it serves no constructive purpose; it is only to bring the children closer to Zionism. Therefore it is definitely forbidden." But the staff threatened that if Reb Aharon ruled this way, they would resign in protest and Bais Yaakov would have to close down. The Debretziner Rav commented, "Who ever heard of one of the parties in a Din Torah threatening the dayan?" In the end, Bais Yaakov arranged separate classes in Ivrit and Yiddish. (Botzina Kadisha v. 1 pp. 263-264; Shailos Utshuvos Be'er Moshe v. 4, 140:6) ‍

The Rogachover Gaon (1858-1936), in a letter of reply to Rabbi Yitzchok Sternhell of Tzanz, editor of the monthly Torah journal "Hakochav," wrote: Regarding what you asked about settling the Holy Land, this is only for individuals, and we must not do it as a group, as it states at the end of tractate Kesubos, that we must not go up as a wall. See Yuma 9b [where it is clear that group immigration, even when peaceful, is considered 'as a wall']. The Rambam also holds that only settling Eretz Yisroel is a mitzvah, not buying land there. For in this matter there is a contradiction between Gittin 8b [where it states that there is a mitzvah to buy fields in Eretz Yisroel] and Bava Kama 80b [where only houses are mentioned], and the Rambam (Hilchos Shabbos 6:11) rules in accordance with Bava Kama. In Tzofnas Paneach on Parshas Miketz, he wrote that when Yaakov Avinu faced danger from the ruler of Egypt (who was actually his own son Yosef) he employed two of the same strategies he had used when meeting Esav. Just as he had met Esav's challenge with a gift and a prayer, so too here he used a gift of the best fruits of the Holy Land and a prayer: "May G-d Almighty give you mercy before the man..." But he did not use war, because he wished to teach a lesson to his descendants not to fight wars during the exile, as it states in Kesubos 111a: "He adjured them not to rebel against the nations." (It seems that the Rogachover Gaon understood that Yaakov's exile to Egypt really began from this time. Previously, when meeting Esav, he had not been considered in exile and thus was permitted to fight if necessary.) ‍

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch devotes a long section of his book Horeb (pp. 460-461) to the obligation of Jews to seek the welfare of their government (Yirmiyahu 29:7). If this applied under the Babylonians, who exiled the Jews by force, all the more so in our current countries of residence, in which we settled by choice. If this applied in Babylonia, where Jews were sent for a pre-specified period of 70 years, all the more so today, when the length of our exile has not been revealed to us. For hundreds of years, Jews have honored and loved the rulers of the countries in which they took refuge, and followed all their laws faithfully. Israel’s nationhood does not depend on a common land, writes Rav Hirsch. Even when the Jewish people lived on its own land, it was not the land that united them. The land and the external trappings of statehood were only a means to better fulfill the obligations of the Jews. The Torah was not given for Eretz Yisroel; Eretz Yisroel was given for the Torah! The Torah united all the individual Jews and made them a nation, and therefore even after they were distanced from their land and deprived of sovereignty, they are a nation, not primarily because of their past, nor because of their future, when they hope Hashem will return them to their land, but because they are the bearers of an eternal tradition, a people that fulfills its covenant with Hashem. It was thanks to this identity that they have been able to maintain their existence despite the destruction of their land and sovereignty. When we mourn the destruction of the Holy Land, Jerusalem and the Temple, we are not mourning any physical weakness that led to our defeat, but rather we affirm that the destruction was a punishment for our sins, and it is over those sins that we cry. Whatever tragedies befell us, we accept lovingly, knowing that they are the chastisements of a loving Father to induce us to improve our ways. When we pray that Hashem return us to our land, we are not motivated by a desire to become a powerful nation among nations, but to be united as a nation in order to fulfill the Torah’s commandments completely. But this Torah commands us that as long as Hashem does not call us back to the land He set aside for us, we have to remain living in the countries Hashem has chosen for us, have a love and loyalty to those countries, and dedicate all our powers and money to the welfare of those countries. The Torah obliges us, further, to allow our longing for the far-off land to express itself only in mourning, in wishing and hoping; and only through the honest fulfillment of all Jewish duties to await the realization of this hope. But it forbids us to strive for the reunion or possession of the land by any but spiritual means. Three oaths – say our Sages – Hashem made Israel swear in the lands of its exile: 1) That the children of Israel should not immigrate by force, with an outstretched arm, to build the walls of the land of their inheritance. 2) That they should not rebel against the nations, but rather be loyal to the country that accepted them as residents. 3) That the nations should not afflict the people of Israel too much (Kesubos 111a). The Jewish people's fulfillment of the first two oaths is confirmed in the pages of history. And as to the third oath, let the nations judge themselves. In 1864, Rav Hirsch wrote to Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer, founder of Chovevei Tzion: "My mind is too small to recognize the good and truth that will result, according to you, from your efforts in colonizing Eretz Yisroel. What you consider a mitzvah and a great obligation, does not seem so in my humble opinion. I have no knowledge of secret matters, and I see nothing better than to continue on the road paved by our fathers and predecessors, who made it their goal only to improve our Torah observance, and to look forward to the redemption, which might come any day, if we only listen to G-d's voice. They never approached redemption through the improvement of the Holy Land, only through the improvement of our hearts and deeds." (Shemesh Marpei, p. 211) Near the end of his life in 1886, Rav Hirsch wrote to Rabbi Yaakov Lipshitz, personal secretary of Rabbi Yitzchok Elchonon Spector, “I was completely opposed to Rabbi Kalischer on this subject. More than three or four times he wrote to me and sent me his books and pressured me to take a leading role in his movement to settle Eretz Yisroel, until he finally came to me and accused me of delaying the redemption. And I asked him to leave me alone on this matter, for what they consider a great mitzvah is in my eyes no small sin, and therefore it is impossible to reach common ground.” (Shemesh Marpei, p. 216) In his commentary to the Siddur (p. 703), Rav Hirsch speaks about the tragedy of Beitar. The fourth blessing of Birkas Hamazon reads, “He did good to us, He does good to us, He will do good to us; He bestowed upon us, He bestows upon us, He will bestow good upon us forever.” Rav Hirsch explains that this threefold repetition was intended to combat a heretical idea. The blessing was composed after the uprising of Bar Kochba, when the Romans gave the Jews permission to bury their dead. ‍ “When, during the reign of Hadrian, the uprising led by Bar Kochba proved a disastrous error, it became essential that the Jewish people be reminded for all times of another important fact; namely, that Israel must never again attempt to restore its national independence by its own power; it was to entrust its future as a nation solely to Divine Providence. Therefore when the nation, crushed by this new blow, had recovered its breath and hailed even the permission to give a decent burial to the hundreds of thousands who had fallen about Betar as the dawn of a better day, the sages who met at Yavneh added yet another blessing to the prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem. This fourth blessing is an acknowledgement that it has always been G-d and G-d alone Who has given us, and still gives us to this very day, that good in which we have had cause to rejoice; and that for future good, too, we may look to none other but G-d, and none besides Him. (Commentary to the Prayer Book, p. 703) Rabbi Julius Hirsch His son, Rabbi Julius (Yehuda) Hirsch (1842-1909), wrote a commentary on the Book of Isaiah in his father's style. On Chapter 35, verse 4 he writes as follows: Tell those of overhasty heart: “Be strong, fear nothing! Your G-d is here; retribution will come, brought to bear by G-d; it will come and become your salvation." (Isaiah 35:4) “Those of overhasty heart are good-natured people who are prone to act hastily – “the head follows the heart.” Every thinking, observing Jew must realize that it is the deviation from the path of faithful performance of our duties that led to our exile, and only return to G-d and His Torah can put an end to our misery. And again: be strong, remain firmly committed to your heritage, do not fear the inadequacy of your actions, G-d is omnipresent to judge your deeds and the wrong done to you. The dream of the revival of your national existence will become reality only with the help of G-d – Who will also judge the surrounding nations for their deeds. Only when G-d brings about the salvation will it be enduring. This thought motivated our Sages as they convened in Yavneh to add the fourth blessing to our grace after meals. The uprising against Hadrian led by Bar Kochba proved to be a fatal error. Many thousands of bodies lay unburied in Betar, serving as a silent and moving reminder to the Jewish people never again to attempt to regain its national independence by its own power. When, years later, permission was given to bury the corpses, it was welcomed by the downtrodden nation as the beginning of better times. This stressed the need for the repeated warning that only Divine providence could secure Israel’s national future. Another son, Rabbi Mendel Hirsch, wrote a commentary on the Haphtoroth, the weekly readings of the prophets that follow the Torah reading. In the following comment he echoes his father's words in Horeb that Israel's nationhood does not depend on a common land: The existence of all other nations is based on their having a country of their own, and their rights and laws grow out of their national life. That is why their existence and history comes to an end as soon as they lose their common country. But Israel’s “common country” is the Law of G-d. Through the Law it became a nation in the wilderness before it had a country, yea, it received its country itself only for the expressed purpose of keeping that Law. That is why its national existence was not attached to the continuance of its possession of its land, and until this very day it forms the world-historic wonder of the continued existence of a nation scattered amongst all the other nations for thousands of years after it had lost its own common land. But that loss had to occur after it had worshipped the possession of land and riches as the highest goals, but the Torah of G-d had become held in contempt as being a hindrance to attaining them and disturbing in enjoying them. That loss itself was a necessity for Israel to regain itself. (The Haphtoroth, p. 303 on Haphtorah Bamidbar, Hoshea 2:7)

However the call for a Jewish state is something not all Jews agree to at this time, especially if it comes about through protests and threats, for regarding this the Holy One blessed is He already made us swear not to go up as a wall - with strength, and not to force the end, and even that they should not pray excessively. (Kol Yisroel number 16, 22 Teives 5706 (1946))

I hereby make known that it is forbidden for any Jew whose forefathers stood at Mount Sinai and has a portion in the G-d of Israel and His Torah, to remain a member in the Nationalist Council, which has lifted up its hand against the Torah of Moses and desecrates the laws of the Torah brazenly. G-d forbid for any good Jew to be in their company, let alone to aid and abet these sinners in any way, shape or form. And since the honourable [British Mandate] government has given permission to opt out of the Nationalist Council, it is a holy obligation upon all observant Jews to go as soon as possible and to opt out from the Nationalist Council while it is still possible. (Responsa Saba Kadisha 1:32) When a certain Rebbe came to Eretz Yisroel and visited Rav Kook, and then later wanted to come visit Rabbi Alfandari, Rabbi Alfandari said, “I have had enough of Rebbes. Since he went there, let him not come here.” (Related by Rabbi Yitzchok Grohman, quoted in Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

These words come from a speech given by Rabbi Adler in English on November 12, 1898, in reaction to the then-new Zionist movement. It can be found today in the book Ohr Layesharim: “I ask myself: Was there ever a movement similar to this in the time of the prophets? When the Jewish people went into the Babylonian exile, there were among them some who found no rest under the enemy government, and their only thought all day long was to return to their land. The false prophets among them told them to rebel against the king of Babylon. “At that point, Yirmiyahu the Prophet wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, Kohanim and Levites who had already gone to exile. The letter said, ‘Thus said Hashem Tzevaos, G-d of Israel, to all the exiles that I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, give your daughters to husbands, let them have sons and daughters, increase there and do not decrease. And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray on its behalf to Hashem, for with its peace you will have peace. For so says Hashem Tzevaos, G-d of Israel: Do not let your prophets and sorcerers fool you; do not listen to their dreams, with which they answer your queries. For they prophecy to you falsely in My name; I did not send them, said Hashem… And you shall call Me, and go to pray to Me, and I will hear you. And you shall seek Me and find Me, if you seek Me with all your heart… and I will restore your captivity, and gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have scattered you…’ (Yirmiyahu 29:4-9). “The prophet’s letter is indeed long, but very fitting for this movement. And I say: In the Babylonian exile they had a well-known and short time limit of seventy years, yet Yirmiyahu found it necessary to warn them so much with the word of Hashem to stay put and not take any action on their own. Now that the end is hidden and sealed, and we are forbidden under oath from taking any action, certainly we must not deviate from the words of the prophet in his letter that he sent to the exiles. “My brothers! I look at this movement with worry in my heart, since I see it as opposed to the Torah of Hashem and to politics. There is a great danger involved in it. That is why I don’t see in it the great quality of love of Zion... "They ask me: If you are opposed to the idea of a Jewish state, and you don't believe in settling millions of Jews in the Holy Land, how is this consistent with all the prayers in which we express our hope and desire for the return to Zion and the cities of Judah? How can you say the words, 'may it be Your will that You bring us up in joy to our land and plant us in our border,' if you do not believe in the movement that seeks to fulfill these words? "I reply: The books of the prophets do not say that the return to Zion depends on our efforts, and will occur whenever we want it to occur. It is stated explicitly that our redemption will come by the hand of Hashem, whenever He decides to send us His moshiach. Then all the nations will join hands to bring back our scattered brethren to the land of our fathers. Are there any faint signs of moshiach now? "Scripture says, 'I, Hashem, will hasten it in its time' (Yishaya 60:22). When the time for the redemption arrives, I will hasten it. On the verse in Shir Hashirim 2:7, 'I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem...' Chazal explain that Hashem made the Jewish people swear three oaths not to force the end before its time... "The hope which the Torah implanted in our hearts cannot lead us into intrigues, diplomatic maneuvers, rebellion or fighting in order to inherit the land of our fathers and found a kingdom there. On the contrary, our faith teaches us to seek the welfare of the nations under whose protection we dwell, to take part in their national efforts and work for their success, and to wait silently for the day when the words of the prophets will be fulfilled. "And if there be a group of enthusiasts who succeed in conquering Palestine by force of arms, or buying it up from its owners, we must not consider this to be even a glimmer of our future hope. This is the path that the leaders of the Jewish people received by tradition throughout history: only to wait, without taking any action." ‍

Let us consider the history of other nations! First they are small and unimportant; they grow stronger and more powerful by perpetual warfare against their neighbours and other enemies; thus they become great, mighty and rich. Later on they stagnate and become the victims of other advancing nations. Israel, however, always remains in fighting trim; it never dares rest or sink into somnolence, for in every age new enemies arise who threaten it with destruction. But Israel’s methods of warfare are different from those of other peoples. Israel has neither an army nor a navy, neither guns nor other weapons – its sole defence depends on G-d’s help. If we abandon our sins and return to our Father in Heaven, our salvation is assured and our enemies will perish. This continuous fight and continuous salvation does not permit us to sink into sinfulness and depravity. Every Israelite feels himself a part of the whole, and knows that each Jew is made responsible for all others. (Commentary on the Passover Haggadah, p. 72)

<p>We find in Sefer Daniel (11:14): "And the wicked among your people will rise up to actualize a vision, but they will stumble."</p><p>Clearly in reference to this verse, the Rambam writes at the end of Iggeres Teiman: “And these are things the prophets have already foretold, and they have told us about what I have told you, that when the time of the true moshiach draws near, there will be many who lift themselves high and place doubts in people's minds, but their claims will not be born out, and they will perish and many will perish with them. And when Shlomo, peace be upon him, made known with his holy inspiration, that this nation when it is sunk into exile will try to arouse itself not at its proper time, and they will die because of this and travails will come upon them – he warned against this, and made an oath against this in an allegorical way, and said (Shir Hashirim 2:7), ‘I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem…’ And you, our brethren, our beloved – keep his oath and do not arouse the love before it is desired!”</p><p>Although the Rambam wrote Iggeres Teiman against a particular false moshiach, in retrospect we see that that false moshiach did not get very far, neither did any other false moshiach in Jewish history. Even the Sabbatean movement’s spread among a large part of the Jewish people lasted less than a year; after that it was a mostly undercover, shunned heresy. The warning of Shlomo Hamelech was clearly referring to the by far most successful false messianic movement in Jewish history: Zionism.</p><p>Another verse from the prophets, also quoted by the Rambam in his Letter to Yemen, predicts Zionism. “And Zion said, Hashem has deserted me, and Hashem has forgotten me” (Yishaya 49:14). G-d foretold, says the Rambam, that due to the length and heaviness of the exile, many would think that He had deserted us and removed His face of kindness from us, G-d forbid. But afterwards He testified that He would never leave us and never forget us, as the prophet continues: “Can a woman forget her baby, and not have mercy on the fruit of her womb? They can forget, but I will not forget you.”</p><p>“The king moshiach will arise and restore the dynasty of David to its original power. He will build the Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel.” (Hilchos Melachim 11:1) If moshiach will be the one who gathers in the Jewish people, then it is clear that we are not allowed to gather ourselves in before the coming of moshiach.</p><p>‍</p>

<p>A festive meal was held to celebrate the completion of a Torah scroll in memory of the Jews killed in the Holocaust. All the Chassidic rebbes and heads of yeshivas attended, including the Rebbe. He said down at the table opposite the Zionist chief rabbi [Herzog]. He asked others who this man was, and they replied that it was the Zionist chief rabbi. The Rebbe immediately stood up from his place and left the hall. On the way home, he said, “I did not want to sit at the meal together with him.” One of the Chassidim commented that this chief rabbi was somewhat better than his predecessor, but the Rebbe said angrily, “I don’t want to hear any praises of him. If he is with them, it is forbidden to speak positively of him.”</p><p>Once the Rebbe was taking a walk in the field and his Chassidim wanted to bring him a chair to sit on and rest. But the Rebbe refused, preferring to sit down on a rock. “I don’t want to sit on something that the wicked Zionists made,” he said. “I would like to sit on a place that these wicked people did not yet touch and defile.”</p><p>He scrupulously avoided any words that came from the Zionist language, modern Hebrew. Once he was at an engagement meal and was honored with reading the engagement contract aloud. The contract said that the bride's side promised to give "rehitim" (furniture). When the Rebbe reached this word, he stopped reading and said, "This is a Zionist word! Although we find the word used in the Bible (Song of Songs 1:17), it has not been used for a long time, and so whoever uses it today is using it because of the influence of modern Hebrew!" (Furthermore, the original meaning of the word was beams or bolts, not furniture.) Then he tore up the document and told them to rewrite it. "But what word should we use for 'furniture'?" they asked. He replied that they should use the Yiddish word "mebbel." (Mishkenos Haro'im, p. 743)</p><p>It is a temporary settlement that will not be successful in the end, for soon we will see the fulfilment of “to dump the wicked out of the land”. (Az Nidberu, p. 77)</p><p>The Rebbe always spoke strongly against coming close to the wicked, saying that we must have no connection with them and stay as far from them as possible. At the end of his life he said often that it is a miracle that these wicked people do not command us to put on tefillin, for if they were to pass such a law, it would almost be forbidden to put on tefillin, since we must always do the opposite of what they do. (Preface to Shomer Emunim)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Avraham, son of the Rambam, writes in the Sefer Hamaspik Leovdei Hashem (Maamar Habitachon) about the trust a Jew must have in Hashem. He says that when the nations of the world are trying to kill Jews, our trust in Hashem must be accompanied by protective actions. In the times of King David, this would mean war; but in exile it means flattery and flight. We see that Rabbi Avraham forbids war even when the nations are trying to kill us.</p>

<p>The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh finds a reference to the oaths in the first Tochacha: “And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you; and your land will be desolate, and your cities waste” (Vayikra 26:32-33). “I will scatter” refers to the first oath, which mandates that the Jews remain scattered and not come up as a wall, with a strong hand, to resettle Eretz Yisroel. “Among the nations” refers to the second oath, which mandates that the Jews remain submissive to the nations and not rebel against their authority. “I will draw out a sword after you” means that G-d will enforce the oaths: if the Jews violate them, they will die by the sword, G-d forbid, as the Gemara says (Kesubos 111a), “If you keep the oaths, good, but if not I will permit your flesh like the gazelles and deer of the field.” The final words “and your land will be desolate…” are the reason for the oaths: G-d wants the Holy Land empty in order that it should rest and make up for the Shmittah years that were not observed. We see here that the Ohr Hachaim says that the purpose of the oath is that the land be desolate and empty. The oath has nothing to do with the nations, and so the nations’ permission makes no difference.</p><p>The Ohr Hachaim comments that the book of Shemos, which describes the exile, begins with the word "and" alluding to Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov who were the first to live during exile. (The promised 400 years of exile began with the birth of Yitzchok.) Just as the Avos accepted the exile, these twelve sons accepted it as the decree of the King, unlike Esav, who moved to the land of Seir in order to avoid the decree (Bereishis 36:4 with Midrash Rabbah 84:2).</p><p>This also provides an answer to Rashi's question: Why does the Torah repeat the names of the twelve sons of Yaakov who came down to Egypt? It already listed them in Bereishis 46. According to the Ohr Hachaim, the answer is that the Torah is making a point of listing those who willingly accepted the exile.</p><p>The rest of the words of the verse fit in with this theme: "Who were coming" is in the present tense to indicate that even if they had not been forced to come, they would have come willingly. "With Yaakov" indicates that they were similar to Yaakov in their willingness to accept the exile. "Each man with his household they came" is the proof that they were accepting exile, for if they had come to Egypt for some temporary personal reason, they would not have uprooted their entire households from Canaan.</p><p>The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh in his commentary Rishon Letzion explains the meaning of the verse in Eicha 1:7, “When her people fell into the hands of the enemy, and she had no helper, the enemies saw her and laughed at her end.” When the Babylonians besieged the city and Yirmiyahu announced clearly that it would fall into their hands, and similarly when the Romans besieged the city and Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai announced that it would fall into their hands, the Jewish people had no helper, i.e. they did not take the advice of their helpers, their sages. Hashem gave them a chance to save themselves and the Temple by surrendering to the enemies, but instead they fought back and lost everything. “The enemies laughed at her end” – at the fact that everything came to an end and the Jews lost their city and the Temple.</p><p>The next verse continues on the same theme: “Jerusalem sinned a sin; therefore she became an outcast.” Hashem’s decree was only that the Jews should be subservient to Babylon, not necessarily that they should go into exile. Hashem would have found a way to punish them in their land. But because Jerusalem stubbornly refused to give in, the destruction of the Temple resulted, says the Ohr Hachaim.</p><p>In his commentary Rishon Letzion on Shir Hashirim, the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh connects the oath in Shir Hashirim 2:7 with the previous verse, 2:6: “His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces me.” The “left hand” of Hashem is an expression for His attribute of strict justice and retribution, while His “right hand” signifies mercy. We find the same symbolism used by Rashi on Shemos 15:6, who says that when we do Hashem's will, even His left hand becomes a right hand. In Sotah 47a we find that a person as well “pushes away [a child or disciple] with his left hand and brings near with his right hand.” Here too, in exile Hashem chastised the Jewish people, but with His right hand he embraces them by allowing them to attain great heights of Torah knowledge.</p><p>Perhaps the Jews will feel abandoned in exile and say, “Although we are studying Torah, we are suffering and it seems as though Hashem is ignoring us.” Therefore Scripture says, “I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem…” Do not force the hour and do not arouse the love, for perhaps Hashem does not want to bring the redemption now. When Hashem desires the love, He will rush to bring it.</p><p>This explains the next verse, 2:8: “The voice of my Beloved, behold it has come…” It is so certain that Hashem will fulfill His promises to us that it is considered as if it already happened.</p><p><strong>tags: </strong></p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Avnei Nezer (Yoreh Deah 454) asks: when and where did the Jewish people accept the Oaths that prohibit them from leaving exile and taking over Eretz Yisroel? He answers that the Jewish Oaths were imposed on the roots of the Jewish souls in Heaven, and the gentiles' oath was imposed on the angels of each nation.</p><p>This fits well with the Zohar (Bereishis 242a), which says in reference to Shir Hashirim 5:8 that the words “daughters of Jerusalem” refer to the souls of the righteous. Here too, Hashem made the souls of the Jewish people swear to keep to the terms of exile. This is similar to the oath administered to the soul before it comes into the world, “Be righteous and do not be wicked” (Niddah 30b).</p><p>If every person’s soul swears to be righteous before it is born, what was the purpose of the oath the Jews took when they accepted the Torah? The Avnei Nezer answers that an oath accepted by the soul is not legally binding. It merely means that the soul is infused with a desire to be good. But a person can ignore his soul and follow the evil inclination. The Jews had to take an oath in this world; otherwise they would not have been punished for not listening to the soul.</p><p>At this point, the Avnei Nezer is bothered: if the oaths are not legally binding, how could there be a punishment for violating them? He answers that “I will permit your flesh as the gazelles and deer of the field” is not to be understood as a direct punishment, but as a cutting off of Hashem’s protection that comes as a result of the sin. Sometimes even when a person cannot be culpable for what he did, the sin itself distances him from Hashem. We find this in Tikunei Zohar regarding the concept that the Heavenly Court does not judge a person under twenty years of age (Shabbos 89b). Why, then, do people sometimes die under the age of twenty? Because, says the Zohar, “a wicked person’s own sins entrap him” (Mishlei 5:22).</p><p>Here too, if the Jews violate the terms of exile and conquer Eretz Yisroel or fight against the nations, Hashem will ask their souls why they did it, and the souls will answer, “We tried our best to push the bodies in the right direction, but they did not listen to us.” Then He will call their bodies in for judgement, but the bodies will reply that they never took any oath; only the souls did. Each has a good excuse, but the connection between body and soul has been ruptured. Hashem’s providence and supervision is removed from the body, and the body is left as ownerless as the wild animals, which have no soul. The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim (3:17) and the Chinuch in Mitzvah 169 write that Hashem's supervision does not apply to the particulars of each animal but only to the preservation of the species. The same will be the case for a human being who distances himself from his soul.</p><p>Of all wild animals, the gazelle and the deer are singled out because they are used elsewhere as the symbols of detachment from holiness. In three places, when the Torah wants to teach us that meat is not holy, it says “like the gazelle and the deer.” Devarim 12:15, says Rashi, is talking about sacrificial animals that became blemished and were redeemed with a replacement animal. The new animal is brought as a sacrifice instead, and the blemished one may be eaten as plain meat without any special restrictions. The Torah uses the same comparison in 12:22 when referring to plain meat that was never designated as a sacrifice, and in 15:22 when referring to a firstborn animal that became blemished and is permitted to eat as plain meat.</p><p>In two out of those three places, the Torah is discussing meat that was once holy but now its holiness has been removed. Here also, the result of violating the oaths of exile is that one is cut off from his source of holiness and removed from Hashem’s supervision, may Hashem spare us.</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Chaim David Chazan was the Rishon Letzion (Sephardic chief rabbi of Jerusalem under the Ottoman empire). He writes in his letter of approbation to the sefer Derishas Tzion, by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer::</p><p>Not by might and not by power, G-d forbid, to rebel against the nations of the world, the benevolent kings who surround us; or, G-d forbid, to go up against the walls, to fight with the rulers; but rather to fulfill our desire and perfect our hearts, to fulfill the will of G-d, by arousing from below, by doing what we have the power to do, with G-d’s help and the help of benevolent kings and their complete willingness.</p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Chida suggests that the three oaths correspond to the three segments of the Jewish people in exile: our familiar Jewish exile in the four corners of the earth, the ten lost tribes, and the descendents of Moshe. Despite the fact that the lost tribes are powerful and unified, they are not permitted to force the end and leave exile before the time (Chomas Anach, Shir Hashirim 3:14).</p>

<p>The secular leaders of the State of Israel are placing us in danger. Here there is a greater danger than any other place, because things are more serious here due to the holiness of Eretz Yisroel. They put us in danger by rebelling against the Three Oaths. That’s why the situation in Eretz Yisroel is more dangerous than elsewhere. Only the Torah and mitzvos that Jews keep here provide protection.</p><p>As our Sages say, if the gentile nations only knew what benefit the Temple brings them, they would place guards to prevent it from being destroyed. They come to undermine the Torah, unaware that the Torah is protecting them. If they knew, they would give anything to help scholars sit and study. In any case, they are truly endangering us.</p><p>I will tell you the truth. You see what happened, G-d spare us, at Yeshiva Merkaz Harav. Why did it happen there, of all places? You'll say, the terrorist just happened to walk in there? Nonsense. There is a message from Heaven here. And why was it religious settlers in particular who were expelled at Gush Katif? Because this whole idea, this worldview that holds this is the redemption, this entire state and all that is in it, is the opposite of our faith and is a violation of the Three Oaths. It’s terrible. And those who keep Torah and mitzvos are held to a higher standard when their worldview is wrong.</p><p>Someone came to tell me that they announced the massacre on the radio, and a second later they said, “Now we return to the basketball stadium,” as if nothing happened. The person came to me in a state of shock. “Why are you so shocked?” I asked him. “The leaders here don’t care about anything. For a little glory, they are constantly killing people. Like that wicked man (Ben-Gurion) and the one with the missing eye (Moshe Dayan) made the war in Sinai in order to go down in history. They murder in a terrible way. What copious tears the Satmar Rebbe cried over the blood that was shed! That’s how everything goes. Everything is their personal calculations and they don’t care about anything. They are exactly like the worst of the nations, on the lowest level. It’s terrible! They have taken power here and they do whatever they wish. (Speech given to his students on Monday, March 10, 2008)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>“Avraham foresaw the length of this exile and the great misfortunes it brought, and he feared that his descendants would rise up to leave the exile before the time set by Hashem, just as the children of Ephraim left the Egyptian exile before the time, whereupon Hashem became angry at them and killed thousands of their best. So Avraham, knowing the time of the End, chased away the birds (Bereishis 15:11) - the son of David (i.e. moshiach) - preventing them from coming down on the carcasses - the nations - until evening, i.e. the time of redemption and the end of exile, as it says, ‘And at the time of evening there will be light.’</p><p>“And there is no doubt that it was in reference to this that Shlomo said (Shir Hashirim 2:7), ‘I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, with the deer and the hinds of the field, that you not awaken nor arouse the love before it desires.’ And in Kesubos 111a, ‘Rabbi Yossi bar Chanina said: To what to these three oaths refer? One, that Israel should not go up as a wall. One, that the Holy One, blessed is He, adjured Israel not to rebel against the nations of the world. One, that the Holy One, blessed is He, adjured the nations not to subjugate Israel too much.’ The prohibition on ‘rebelling against the nations’ means that we must bear the yoke of the exile and live under them until the time of the End, when they will pass on. And this is what the prophet Tzefaniah meant when he said (3:8), ‘Therefore wait for Me, said Hashem, for the day when I arise,’ i.e. He commands them to wait until the time of the End, and not rebel and leave the exile before the time set by Him.” (Yeshuos Meshicho v. 1, p. 11b)</p><p>In his commentary on Vayishlach he echoes the Ramban: “Just as Yaakov prepared himself with prayer, gifts and war, so it will happen to us in all generations, that our efforts to be saved from Esav and his descendents will be, firstly, by prayer and supplication before the G-d of Yaakov, with gifts, bribes and presents to him, and with war – to flee and save from his hand.” We see clearly that for later generations, war does not mean real war.</p><p>"And Hashem your G-d will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you, and He will once again gather you from all the nations where Hashem your G-d scattered you." (Devarim 30:3) The Abarbanel writes that we learn from this passage that at the time of the future redemption G-d Himself will bring back our exiles, in contrast to the time of the Second Temple when the Jews returned to Eretz Yisroel by the permission of the Persian emperor Cyrus. That settlement, since it was established at the command of a mortal human being, was temporary; it came to an end with the destruction of the Second Temple 420 years later. But the future settlement will be established by G-d Himself, and therefore it will be permanent. (Mashmia Yeshuah, Mevaser 2, Nevuah 3)</p><p>In the Haggadah we say, "Ha lachma anya - this is the poor bread..." in Aramaic. But the final words, "Next year we will be free" are in Hebrew. The reason is so that the non-Jews of Babylonia (who spoke Aramaic) should not understand, lest they think the Jews were planning to set themselves free by means of a rebellion against the government. (Zevach Pesach, commentary on the Haggadah, reprinted in Hishbati Eschem)</p><p>Our Sages say that everything that happened to Yaakov with Esav was symbolic of what would happen between us and Esav's descendents, and just as Yaakov prepared himself with prayer, gifts and for war, so it will be with us in every generation: we must make efforts to save ourselves from Esav and his descendents, firstly through prayer and supplications before the G-d of Yaakov, through gifts and bribes, and through war - to run away and be saved from under his hand. (Abarbanel on Vayishlach)</p>

<p>The Rokeach in his commentary on Shir Hashirim speaks about the oaths and offers two new explanations of the word “bitzvaos.” 1) It means that Hashem made the Jewish people swear by Tzevaos, one of His holy names. 2) It means the legions of the Jewish people (as in Shemos 12:41).</p><p>Then he offers an entirely new explanation of the verse, “I adjure you…” The word “hishbati” (I adjure you) can also be read “hisbati” (I sated you). “When the proper time comes, I will sate you with the nations, who are like gazelles and deer.” In order words, the Jews will dominate the other nations. We find that the Torah uses the word “eating” in the sense of dominating: “And you will eat all the nations that Hashem your G-d gives you” (7:16). According to this interpretation, says the Rokeach, we can understand the second half of the verse as a warning not to do things too early: “That time will come. Do not hurry to dominate the nations before the time. Do not arouse or awaken the love before it is desired – until moshiach comes.”</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Isaac of Komarna has a different explanation of why the Rambam doesn't count settling Eretz Yisroel as a mitzvah. He contends that the Rambam basically agrees to the Ramban that there is a mitzvah to conquer Eretz Yisroel and that we must not leave it in the hands of gentiles or unoccupied. However, he holds that it cannot be counted among the 613 mitzvos because we do not count mitzvos that are not within human power to fulfill. For example, prophecy is central to Judaism, yet there is no mitzvah for a Jew to be a prophet, because a Jew cannot select that status for himself; it is up to G-d to give it to him.</p><p>Here too, the conquest of Eretz Yisroel, no matter at what point in history, was not something that the Jews could just do on their own. They needed to be commanded by a prophet to do so. The conquests of Yehoshua and David, as well as the establishment of the Second Commonwealth in the time of Ezra and the Men of the Great Assembly, were all accompanied by commands from the prophets of the time. But in the absence of a command, Jews are forbidden under oath to rebel against the nations, and we must accept exile with love until the coming of moshiach. When moshiach arrives, the restoration of the Jews to Eretz Yisroel will not take place naturally, but through prophecy and wonders. Thus it cannot be counted as one of the 613 mitzvos, for the mitzvos were given to men of flesh and blood, not to prophets who change the laws of nature. (Otzar Hachaim, Kitzur Taryag Mitzvos, p. 59)</p>

<p>The Shach on the Torah, in the name of the Shaarei Orah, explains that Yitzchok loved Esav because he saw that Yaakov’s children would one day sin and deserve to be punished in Gehinom. In order to spare them this punishment, Yitzchok chose for them the lesser punishment of exile, and chose Esav to carry out the exile. In this manner, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Avraham Avinu, who also chose exile for his children (Bereishis Rabbah 44:21). This is the meaning of the Midrash in Shir Hashirim. “Do not arouse the love before it is desired” is understood by the Midrash to mean: “Do not use actions to upset the love of Yitzchok for Esav before the desire of the patriarch [Yitzchok] has been achieved.” In other words, Yitzchok’s love for Esav is behind our exile, and it is forbidden to use actions to upset that love.</p>

<p>The question of the oaths was first presented to rabbis as a practical issue in 1937, when Britain's Peel Commission proposed partitioning Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. In that year, Agudath Israel held its Knessiah Gedolah and presented the question of a Jewish state to its rabbinic panel, the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah.</p><p>Two of the rabbis of the Moetzes were Rabbi Yehuda Leib Zirelson of Kishinev and Rabbi Mordechai Rottenberg of Antwerp. Rabbi Zirelson was in favor of the state, Rabbi Rottenberg opposed the state, and each put his opinion into writing.</p><p>However, it would inaccurate to call it a dispute over the oaths, because Rabbi Zirelson did not mention the oaths at all. In fact, he did not even present his essay as a response to the question of whether or not Jews are allowed to have a state. Instead, his focus was on whether we should accept a state in such a small area of land (about 20% of Palestine). He based his support for the state on five points: 1) The heart of a king is like streams of water in the hand of Hashem (Mishlei 21:1). Thus if the British are making this proposal, it must be the will of Hashem and we should accept it. 2) The state will eventually be big and powerful, but let it at least start now, even if small. The Zohar says that blessing cannot take effect on an empty table. We have to start with something, and later it can be enlarged. 3) It could be this small state is referred to in the Yerushalmi Berachos 1:1, which says that the redemption of the Jewish people will start out small and increase slowly, like the dawning day. 4) We need not fear that the irreligious will rule over us and persecute us. Hashem can save us, and besides, as the Gemara (Berachos 10a) says, "What business have you with the secrets of Hashem? Do what you are commanded to do, and let Hashem do what He wants." 5) The Gemara (Berachos 7a) says that when Moshe asked to see Hashem, Hashem replied, "You missed your chance. When I wanted to show you, you didn't want to see. Now that you want, I don't want." Let's not miss our chance! Let's not let such an opportunity slip through our hands, for if even Moshe was punished for missing an opportunity, all the more so will we.</p><p>To this Rabbi Rottenberg replied: "I am shocked that you rule on such a serious halacha question based solely on Aggadah. Would you permit an agunah (stranded woman) based on Aggadah?" Nevertheless, he responded to the above Aggadah points before beginning his halachic discussion. 1) The Yalkut on Mishlei 21 says that if the generation is worthy, Hashem inclines the king's heart to good, and if not, He inclines him to do evil. How are we to know whether this decision of Britain to give a piece of Eretz Yisroel to the Jews is for good or for evil? 2) We have to start with something, but not something negative. Having nothing is better than having something bad - a state under the control of the wicked. 3) The Yerushalmi gives, as an example of a slow redemption, the story of Mordechai. Clearly it has to begin with a tzaddik. 4) History proves that when the irreligious come to power, they use their power to incite the Jewish people away from Hashem. In such a case, we must indeed "do what we are commanded to do" - not join the wicked. 5) You say let us not miss our chance. It sounds like it's obvious to you that it is the will of Hashem that we should found a state as Britain proposes. But to me it is obvious that even besides the prohibition on joining the wicked, founding a Jewish state before the coming of moshiach is against the will of Hashem and against the best interests of the Jewish people.</p><p>The Gemara in Kesubos 110b brings a dispute between Rabbi Zeira and Rav Yehuda as to whether an individual Jew is allowed to return to Eretz Yisroel during exile. But all agree that the oaths at least prohibit the Jewish people from going up "as a wall" - which Rashi explains as "together, with a strong hand." And there is no greater instance of "as a wall" than the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisroel. And see the Ahavas Yonasan who says that even if all the Jews are ready to go to Jerusalem, and all the nations agree, G-d forbid that we should go there.</p><p>Furthermore, who can estimate what loss we will have from this when the true redemption arrives? The Midrash (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 2:7) tells us the reason for the oath against going up as a wall: “If so, why does the king moshiach have to come to gather the exiles of Israel?” The Maharzu explains that it is moshiach’s job to bring all of Israel up together from the exile, and if, G-d forbid, they do this on their own, they will lose the redemption of the moshiach.</p><p>Lastly, we must fear that if we accept this gift from Britain, we will be considered like the Jews who brazenly ascended the mountain to conquer Eretz Yisroel against the will of Hashem (Bamidbar 14:44).</p><p>Therefore, Agudath Israel, in keeping with its goal of resolving every question in accordance with the Torah, must say no to this gift. And in the event that another Jewish party does accept it, they must beg the British government to ensure freedom of religion in the new state. In any case, we must proclaim to the world leaders that although we long to see our scattered people gathered to Zion and Jerusalem, we are waiting for moshiach to do the job. (Shailos Uteshuvos Yad Mordechai, Siman 53)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Ramban holds that permission granted by a gentile government for Jews to return to Eretz Yisroel does not nullify the oaths. In his Sefer Hageulah, end of Shaar 1 (p. 274 in the Chavel edition), he asks: Why were the Jews at the time of the Purim miracle still scattered in all the states of King Achashverosh? Just a few years earlier, the first Persian king Cyrus had given permission for the Jews to return to Eretz Yisroel and build the Temple (Ezra 1:3). The permission to build the Temple was later revoked, but we should still expect to find most of the Jews back in Eretz Yisroel. Yet the vast majority remained in exile (and only 42,360 Jews were back in Eretz Yisroel, according to Ezra 2:64). And even later, when Darius reinstated the permission, only about 1500 Jews came up with Ezra from Babylonia (Ezra 8:1-20). The answer is, he says, that the Jews would not have taken advantage of these kings’ offers had they not been foretold by a prophet, speaking in the name of Hashem. That prophet was Yirmiyahu, who said (29:10), “When seventy years of Babylonia are complete, I will revisit you.” Now, the Jews were uncertain whether these kings had meant to give permission for all the tribes of Israel to return, or only for Yehuda. And even if they had meant to give permission to all of Israel, perhaps Yirmiyahu’s prophecy had only referred to those Jews living in Babylonia proper, not in all the 127 Persian states. The king’s permission was not enough; they needed Hashem’s permission as well. Without Hashem’s permission, they had no right to leave exile; this would be “forcing the End.”</p><p>We see clearly that the Ramban did not agree with the contention that permission from a king alone is proof of a Divine visitation. For the Jews in Ezra's time, nothing short of prophecy was enough to warrant their return, and they were not sure if the prophecy referred to all of them.</p><p>The Ramban at the beginning of Vayishlach writes: “This passage (about Yaakov meeting Esav) is a guideline for all generations, because everything that happened to Yaakov Avinu with his brother Esav happens to us continually with Esav's descendants. We must therefore adopt the righteous Yaakov's approach, to prepare ourselves in the three ways that he prepared himself: tefillah, gifts, and saving by way of war, to flee to safety.”</p><p>Lest anyone think that the Ramban means that war and fleeing to safety are both valid options during exile, the Chofetz Chaim writes (on Parshas Devarim): “The Torah teaches us not to resist the nations even when they fight against us. We must follow in the footsteps of Yaakov Avinu in his encounter with his brother Esav. As the Ramban writes in Vayishlach, everything that happened between Yaakov and Esav happens to us constantly with Esav’s children…” and he continues to quote the Ramban. It is clear from the Chofetz Chaim that he understood that “to flee to safety” is the Ramban’s adaptation of “war” for our times.</p><p>“As long as we walked on that well-tread path, Hakadosh Baruch Hu saved us from their hands. But since we have strayed from the path and new leaders have arisen who chose new methods, leaving behind our ancestors’ weapons and adopting the methods of our enemies, we have fared worse and worse, and great travails have befallen us. May Hashem have mercy on our people and restore our judges as of old,” concludes the Chofetz Chaim.</p><p>Alternatively, it is possible that the Ramban meant real war, but only in reference to Yaakov himself. The word “war” refers back to the “three ways that he (Yaakov) prepared himself” and not to us in later generations.</p><p>This seems to be how the Abarbanel understood it. In his commentary on Vayishlach he echoes the Ramban: “Just as Yaakov prepared himself with prayer, gifts and war, so it will happen to us in all generations, that our efforts to be saved from Esav and his descendents will be, firstly, by prayer and supplication before the G-d of Yaakov, with gifts, bribes and presents to him, and with war – to flee and save from his hand.”</p><p>The Ramban in Sefer Hamitzvos writes, "We were commanded to take possession of the land that G-d promised to our forefathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak and to Yaakov, and that we should not leave it in the hands of any other people, or leave it desolate... We must not leave the land in their [the Canaanites] hands or in the hands of any other people in any generation." Many have asked: how could the Ramban say that we must conquer Eretz Yisroel in every generation, if there are these three oaths prohibiting such a conquest? Obviously, these people say, the Ramban must hold that these oaths are not halachically binding.</p><p>However, one cannot understand the Ramban to mean we must conquer Eretz Yisroel in every generation, including during exile, because if one takes a look further in the Ramban one will see that it's not so. He brings a proof from Chazal's statement that Dovid Hamelech was wrong to conquer Syria before completing the conquest of Eretz Yisroel, and he ends off, "So we see that we were commanded to conquer it in all generations."</p><p>Then he says, "And I say that the mitzvah of which Chazal speak highly, living in Eretz Yisroel...is all part of this positive commandment, for we were commanded to take possession of the land in order to live in it. If so, it is a positive commandment for all generations, in which each one of us is obligated, even during exile."</p><p>We see clearly that the Ramban needed a second proof, from the fact that Chazal speak highly of living in Eretz Yisroel, that the mitzvah applies during exile. His first proof from Dovid Hamelech did not cover exile.</p><p>Why then does he say "we were commanded to conquer it in all generations"? The answer is that he is anticipating someone defending the Rambam, who does not count this mitzvah, by saying that the mitzvah was a one-time-only command to Yehoshua to conquer the land. One-time-only mitzvos aren't counted in the 613, as per the Rambam's third rule of counting mitzvos. The fact that the mitzvah applied to Dovid Hamelech proves that it was not a one-time-only mitzvah. To use the halachic terms, it is ledoros (for the generations) and not leshaah (one-time-only). And that is exactly what the Ramban means when he says we were commanded to conquer it in all generations - that it is a permanent mitzvah. But there are certainly times when the mitzvah of conquest is suspended, namely during exile. In this respect it is just like all the mitzvos relating to the Beis Hamikdash and the korbanos, which are considered permanent mitzvos, counted among the 613, yet are suspended during exile.</p><p>It is true that in the end, the Ramban proves that the mitzvah of living there applies during exile too, but that is only the mitzvah of living there, not the mitzvah of conquering. You have to read the Ramban carefully. Up until this point, the Ramban calls the mitzvah lareshes, "to take possession" of the land. Now he makes an additional point: that the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisroel of which Chazal speak is also part of this same mitzvah, "for we were commanded to take possession of the land in order to live in it." In other words, the real mitzvah is to live in the land, and conquering is only a hechsher mitzvah - a preparatory stage in order to reach the mitzvah. Writing tefillin is preparation for putting them on, but the mitzvah is only to put them on. If one has pre-written tefillin, he is under no obligation to write them. Building a succah is preparation for sitting in it, but the mitzvah is only to sit in it. If one has a pre-built succah he does not have to build another one. Similarly, from the fact that Chazal speak highly of living in Eretz Yisroel even during exile, the Ramban concludes that the real mitzvah is living there, not conquering it. Conquering in the time of Yehoshua and Dovid was only a preparation that made it possible to live there, but if one can live there without conquering it, he also fulfills the mitzvah. Therefore, even during exile when conquest is forbidden under the oaths, it is possible to live there and fulfill the mitzvah.</p><p>And on the contrary, the Ramban actually sounds like he makes the unstated assumption that there is an oath that forbids conquest during exile. Otherwise, why does he have to bring another proof that the mitzvah applies during exile? What should be the difference between Dovid Hamelech's time and our time, if not the oath?</p><p>And the Ramban expresses no surprise that Chazal in their time speak only of the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisroel, not conquering it. He merely says that despite the suspension of the hechsher mitzvah of conquering, it is still possible to do the mitzvah itself, living there.</p><p>Also note his words: "It is a positive commandment for all generations, in which each one of us is obligated, even during exile." Why does he say "each one of us"? Because he knows that if the mitzvah were on the Jewish people as a whole, it would be impossible to fulfill it during exile without conquest. There is no way that any power ruling the land would allow the entire Jewish people to return to the land en masse - they would see it as a threat to their rule. They would only allow one Jew here and one Jew there to come. Therefore, the Ramban says, it is a mitzvah that whatever individual Jews can come and live there, should do so.</p><p>Furthermore, pay close attention to the Ramban's words: "And I say that the mitzvah of which Chazal speak highly, living in Eretz Yisroel, to the point that they said in Kesubos: Anyone who goes out of it and lives in Chutz Laaretz should be in your eyes as if he worships idols..." If you look in Kesubos 110b, the Gemara doesn't say "anyone who goes out of it." It says, "Anyone who lives in Chutz Laaretz is similar to one who has no G-d... is as if he worshipped idols." Why did the Ramban misquote the Gemara?</p><p>The answer is that there are really two different statements of Chazal: one in the Gemara, and one in the Toras Kohanim on Parshas Behar (Vayikra 25:38). The Torah says, "To give you the Land of Canaan, to be your G-d." Chazal comment, "Every Jew who lives in Eretz Yisroel accepts upon himself the kingdom of Heaven. And whoever goes out to Chutz Laaretz is as if he worships idols." Rashi quotes this in his commentary on Vayikra 25:38. According to this statement, only one who is born in Eretz Yisroel and leaves it is considered as if he worshipped idols, but one who is born in Chutz Laaretz is under no obligation to move to Eretz Yisroel.</p><p>It is this statement that the Ramban quotes. Based on this, it seems clear that the Ramban did not even mean that an individual who is able to move to Eretz Yisroel should do so. He meant that it is an optional mitzvah that one fulfills if he lives there, but is not obligated to go.</p><p>The Gemara in Kesubos indeed says, "Anyone who lives in Chutz Laaretz..." It sounds like even those born in Chutz Laaretz are not allowed to stay there. This could be understood in the context of the Tosefta Avodah Zarah 5:2, which says, "Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Jews in Chutz Laaretz worship idols in purity. How so? If an idol worshipper makes a feast for his son, and goes and invites all the Jews in his city, even if they eat their own food and drink their own drinks and their own waiter waits on them, they are idol worshippers." Here too, the Gemara in Kesubos is talking about Jews who socialize with the gentiles, which has bad consequences even for those who are born in Chutz Laaretz.</p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Kossover Rebbe quoted the oath against forcing the end (yidchaku) and applied it to Zionism. Rashi says it means that we must not pray too much; how much more is it forbidden to try to end exile through political means.</p><p>According to the other version of the text, that they should not delay the end (yerachaku), we also have a proof against Zionism. Rashi says it means delaying the end through our sins. If sins delay the end, then only teshuva can hasten the end, not political maneuvering.</p><p>The Kossover Rebbe says that the reason for the oaths is that every Jew must accept upon himself the yoke of exile lovingly, until the time of the redemption arrives. The exile is of great importance, because it atones for the sin of Adam eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Furthermore, exile was chosen by Avraham our father at the Covenant Between the Parts to spare us from Gehinom. We must not try to force the hour, for in so doing we will really just be delaying the redemption, since G-d will in any case make us return to exile to serve the remainder of our term.</p><p>With this in mind, we can explain the two versions of the text in Kesubos 111a as being identical in meaning. According to one version, G-d adjured the Jewish people not to force (yidchaku) the end of exile. According to the other version, the oath was not to delay (yerachaku) the end of exile. Seemingly these two version are opposites, but according to the above, the oath forbids pushing for the end, since by so doing we will really be delaying the end.</p><p>Therefore we must be wise and scrutinize any movement that superficially seems to be working to bring the redemption nearer, lest it actually be delaying the redemption.</p><p>If we understand the atonement we are getting through exile, wrote the Kossover Rebbe, we can feel its sweetness and accept it lovingly. (Leket Ani)</p><p>The Kossover Rebbe brings further proof against Zionism from the Gemara in Sanhedrin 97a: "Whenever Rabbi Zeira saw the rabbis occupied with the subject of moshiach, he said to them, 'I beg of you, do not delay him.' For three things come only when our mind is diverted from them, and one of them is moshiach." From the words of the Gemara, it does not sound like the rabbis were praying for moshiach; it sounds like they were actively seeking ways to accelerate his coming. And Rabbi Zeira told them that this sort of activity actually delays his coming. As Shlomo Hamelech said, "If Hashem does not build a house, its builders toil in vain" (Tehillim 127:1). Not through might and strength will we return to our land, and not through political skill will our kingdom be restored to us. It will happen only when Hashem bestows upon us His spirit of favor from above, and a voice proclaims to us, "Long enough you have dwelt in the valley of weeping! Return, children, to the land of your ancestors!" (Leket Ani, Purim)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Netziv supported the Chovevei Tzion movement, but at the same time he cautioned that settling the land should never be associated with messianism, the Temple or the redemption in any way. When asked in 1891 whether Rabbi Hirsch Kalischer's book should be reprinted, he responded:</p><p>All these things were only considered appropriate [by Rabbi Kalischer] because he thought that the light of redemption had begun to shine in his time. But in our time, when we are in exile and new decrees are constantly made, it is forbidden for us to mention the idea of redemption in connection with the settlement of the Land. For without a doubt the Sultan and his ministers will hear that Jewish settlement in the Land is the beginning of redemption, and he will, G-d forbid, put a stop to all settlement. Other governments will get worried about it and pass decrees like those of Haman, G-d spare us. Therefore, G-d forbid to point out any signs of redemption in connection with the project of settling the Land. Rather, Hashem has inspired our hearts to build up the ruins of the Land and make it a settled place; more than this we do not know. We must not speak about it, but only wait and believe in our hearts that there will be a redemption, in whatever way Hashem wants, according to our deeds. Therefore I do not approve of the republication of the book Drishas Tzion, for it contains a danger to the entire project [of settling the Land]. May Hashem Yisborach show us the straight path, and may we be successful in doing His will, to build up the ruins of the Land, and may we merit to see Israel in their dwellings.</p><p>If the Netziv was worried about a mere book arousing the anger of the nations, he would certainly not have approved of an armed takeover of Eretz Yisroel, followed by 63 years of continual war.</p><p>The Netziv also says that the Jewish people’s survival is a clear demonstration of Divine Providence, and he understands that this is the meaning of G-d’s promise to Yaakov Avinu: “And your descendents will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out west, east, north and south; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendents” (Bereishis 28:14). “Like the dust of the earth” means, as the Sforno explains it, that the Jewish people will be in exile, as low as dust. Only afterwards will they “spread out” in the Holy Land at the redemption. “The families of the earth will be blessed through you” means that during exile, when the nations witness the Jewish people’s wondrous survival and come to recognize the greatness of the Shepherd who watches over them. This recognition is only possible during exile (Haamek Davar, Vayeitzei).</p><p>The Mechilta (introduction to Beshalach) says: The Bnei Ephraim were killed when they escaped from Egypt 30 years early, as Scripture says, “For they did not keep the covenant of G-d and they refused to follow His Torah” (Tehillim 78:10). They transgressed the End and the Oath. The Netziv comments: The explanation of this oath is the verse, “I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, not to arouse…” The Gemara explains in Kesubos and in the Midrash there, that He made them swear not to force the end. This was known by tradition to the Jews who went down to Egypt. (Birkas Hanetziv)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Kli Yakar, in his work Ir Giborim, speaks about the lesson from the meeting of Yaakov and Esav that we must prepare ourselves with prayer, gifts and war. He interprets our war to be the war of Torah (the disputes waged between scholars of the Torah), with which we can win over Esav. This is based on Chazal’s famous statement, “When the voice is the voice of Yaakov, the hands are not the hands of Esav” (Bereishis Rabbah 65:20). But, he says, “real war is impossible, as our Sages (Kesubos 111a) derived from the verse, I adjure you daughters of Jerusalem etc.”</p><p>In his comment on Vayikra 25:2, the Kli Yakar quotes some of the reasons given by the commentators for the mitzvah of Shmittah, rejects them, and then gives what he holds is the real reason. The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim says that the purpose of Shmittah is to let the earth rest, so that it will produce more in the working years. The Kli Yakar argues: 1) If so, why did the Jewish people deserve exile for not keeping Shmittah? The punishment should have been the simple result of their actions: that the land would grow tired and stop producing. 2) Why is this called a "Sabbath to Hashem," if it is for the sake of the land? 3) Why does the Torah say (26:34) that during exile the land will rest and make up its missed Sabbaths? When the gentiles take over Eretz Yisroel, they will certainly not keep Shmittah, and it will not rest at all.</p><p>The Akeidah says that Shmittah is a reminder of the creation of the world. The Kli Yakar argues: For that we already have Shabbos. If a reminder every week won't help, how will a reminder once every seven years be any better?</p><p>But the true reason for Shmittah, he says, is to teach the Jewish people emunah and bitachon in Hashem. Hashem feared that upon coming into the land, working it and reaping its fruits, the Jews would begin to feel that everything was natural and they need not rely on Him. They would feel that they were the owners and masters of the land. Therefore He commanded that they work six years straight, not letting the land rest every three years, as farmers usually do, and promised that not only would the land not tire - it would produce extra in the sixth year, enough to last until the ninth year. They would rest in the seventh year, rely on miracles and know that the entire land belonged to Hashem. They would depend only on Him for their food, just as the Jews in the desert depended on Him for the manna.</p><p>The Kli Yakar's reason is really explicit in the Gemara, Sanhedrin 39a: "A student asked Rabbi Avahu: What is the reason for Shmittah? He said: The Holy One, blessed is He, said to Israel: Plant for six years and let the land rest in the seventh, so that you may know that the land is Mine."</p><p>Their failure to keep Shmittah showed that they lacked faith and felt the land was theirs, continues the Kli Yakar, and for that they were exiled. Furthermore, the Holy Land was angry at them: it had hoped to be used as a vehicle to teach the Jewish people trust in Hashem, that all Jews should know that Hashem is the true Owner of the Land, and they are mere sharecroppers. The Land, wanting to be under the ownership of Hashem alone, threw them out. During exile, the Land does not mind when gentiles live on it and farm it naturally, for the gentiles are not expected to live lives based on faith. The Land prefers this situation to the Jewish people living on it and not learning the proper lessons in emunah.</p><p>"You have circled this mountain long enough; turn yourselves northward.” (Devarim 2:2)</p><p>The Klei Yakar writes: Many say that this verse contains a penetrating lesson. It refers to both the immediate context and to future generations. Circling the mountain is a prophecy that the Jewish people will circle around, not coming close to the vineyard of Hashem Tzevaos (Eretz Yisroel). For a long time Israel will wander around it, and they will not be given even a footstep of power over it, until Hashem comes and plants His feet on the Mount of Olives.</p><p>And during all the time that Israel is wandering around, the Torah says, “Turn yourselves northward.” Tzafonah (northward) also means “hidden”; thus when it is Esav’s time to rule, we must keep a low profile. If a Jew achieves any success during exile, he should hide it from Esav, for there is no nation that is as jealous of the Jews as Esav. They consider everything we have as stolen, since Yaakov Avinu took the blessings away from Esav. And so Yaakov commanded his children, “Why do you show yourselves?” Rashi explains, “Why do you flaunt your prosperity In front of Yishmael and Esav?” In their eyes, Yitzchak stole the success of Yishmael and Yaakov stole the success of Esav. That is why this command to hide our success is written specifically regarding Esav. This is the opposite of what Jews do in our time in the lands of their enemies: any Jew who has a little money walks around in high-class garments and a beautiful house, as if he were a millionaire. With this they arouse the non-Jews against them, and transgress this verse. This is the way of most of our people, and it is the cause of all the troubles that have befallen us. Let the wise understand and learn their lesson.</p>

<p>G-d forbid to accept the position of the Zionist heretics, who want to take the Holy Land by force and rebel against the government, for it will be bitter for them in the end. They hate the Torah and it is like a thorn in their eye. G-d forbid to support them with money, for they are not Jews. Without Torah, one is neither a Jew nor a gentile, and they have no right to speak in the name of the Jewish people. Who appointed them for this mission? We have no portion with them. (Lechem Shlomo, Drasha 120, Shavuos 5699)</p><p>G-d forbid to support the Zionists, for they have brought all this upon us. They want to achieve a government there. G-d forbid! For it is better for us to be in exile under the nations of the world than to be in spiritual exile under them. And I adjure you: G-d forbid to donate even one penny to those heretics and wicked Jews, by whose hands many innocent souls have been killed. (Lechem Shlomo, Drasha 144)</p><p>We do not agree to join the wicked people who are called Zionists, for there is no heavier or worse exile that what they wish to achieve when they rule over us, may G-d protect us from them and their masses. (Avnei Hamakom, Even Hoezer p. 55)</p><p>But these organization do not build, they destroy; they lay to the ground the Holy Land and the Holy City of Jerusalem. All the tragedies from which we suffer today are due to them and their actions. G-d forbid to support them with money, and whoever gives to them is strengthening the hands of heretics and bringing misfortunes upon the Jewish people; their sin is too great to bear. This is as clear as the sun to anyone whose eyes are not pasted over. (Tiul Bapardes v. 1 Lamed, 15)</p><p>Not only did the Zionists cause us to suffer great tragedies in all the countries of Europe; their wickedness goes even further. For if the filthy Zionists had not roared with a great voice, “The Land is ours” and requested that they be given the Land in order to make a Jewish state, the Arabs would not have done any harm to us. On the contrary, the Holy Land would now be a haven for Jewish refugees from Europe. The Arab people were always kind to the Jews living in Palestine; Jews could walk alone in the streets at night without fear. For many years they did not do any harm to Jews. It would not have occurred to them not to accept them or to do them any harm. But since the Arabs saw the Zionists saying, “The Land is mine” and wishing to be masters there, they were aroused to persecute us. If so, all the evil and misfortunes are the fault of the Zionists. (ibid.)</p><p>The Torah tells us that before the splitting of the Sea, Moshe said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see Hashem's saving that He will perform for you today… Hashem will fight for you, and you will be silent." (Exodus 14:13-14) Why did Moshe have to say "stand by"? Wasn't it enough to say "do not fear, see Hashem's saving"? The answer is that among the Jewish people there were many mighty men, and furthermore, anyone who sees that he is about to meet his death will put up a great fight, summoning superhuman energy. When the Jews saw the sea on one side and the Egyptian army on the other, they thought they were doomed. Let us go and fight the Egyptians, they thought, kill as many as we can of them, and perhaps we will overcome them – for in any case we are about to die. Moshe Rabbeinu knew what they were thinking, so he said, "Stand by, stay in your places and do nothing, for Hashem Yisborach does not need you to help Him save you. On the contrary, that would make it worse. "Hashem will fight for you" only if "you will be silent."</p><p>In general, Hashem comes to our aid only when we recognize that we cannot fight for ourselves. This is what Dovid Hamelech said in Tehillim (94:17), "If Hashem had not been my help, my soul would easily have dwelt in death. If I said, 'My foot has slipped,' Your kindness, Hashem, supports me." The meaning of these verses is: If I had not recognized that Hashem helps me, my soul would easily have dwelt in death. But since I say, "My foot has slipped, I am nothing, I cannot save myself with my own power" - Your kindness, Hashem, supports me.</p><p>This is why when the rebellious Jews tried to invade Eretz Yisroel against the will of Hashem after the sin of the spies, the Amalekites and the Canaanites came down and smote them and smashed them until Charmah (Bamidbar 14:45). And this is why when some of the tribe of Ephraim left Egypt thirty years before the end of the exile, the Philistines killed them (Sanhedrin 92b). Their sin was that they relied on their own power, without Hashem's help.</p><p>This is what we must know, that we cannot save ourselves with our own power, without the help of Hashem and without the holy Torah. The Zionists, however, want to conquer and control Eretz Yisroel by force, with their own power, without the help of Hashem and without the Torah. It will be bitter for them in the end, for they will never succeed or accomplish anything. They will meet the fate of the rebellious invaders of the Land and the tribe of Ephraim.</p><p>Know also, my fellows, that this group existed once before in our history, at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. Then they were called not "Tziyonim" but "Biryonim". We could have continued to live peacefully under Roman rule, but the Biryonim, the militants, wanted to fight Rome and become independent. They disregarded all the words of the great sages of their time, and fought till the bitter end – and because of them we are in exile today. (Drashos Lechem Shlomo 76)</p><p>Rabbi Hillel Lichtenstein, rabbi of Krasna, would always relate that his father-in-law, the Shimloyer Rav, when he was about to be killed by the Nazis, cried out, "Only the wickedness of the Zionists has caused this! It happened to us because we did not protest against them enough."</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Shmuel Aripol wrote in his commentary Sar Shalom to Shir Hashirim 2:7:</p><p>I adjure you, daughters who once lived in Jerusalem, and have now gone out and become scattered in a place of gazelles and deer of the field, i.e. in uninhabited places – still, you must not wake up and arise before the End.</p><p>In order words, even if you live in exile in places where the gentiles have relatively little control over you, do not arise from exile.</p><p>He explains the double expression “do not arise and do not arouse” as follows:</p><p>You yourselves must not arise, and you must not arouse a king or an official with you, to arise with you.</p><p>He continues: If we understand the words “gazelles and deer of the field” as being the anchor of the oath (i.e He made them swear by the gazelles and deer), then we can explain the choice of these animals as follows: A gazelle sleeps with one eye open. A deer runs while looking back at its pursuer. G-d warned the Jewish people: Even when you are asleep in exile, keep an eye out for the evil that will come upon you if you rise up before the time.</p>

<p>The book of Shemos begins, “And these are the names of the children of Yisroel who came to Egypt, with Yaakov, each man with his household came.” The patriarch Yaakov had two names: Yaakov and Yisroel. Why does the Torah begin with Yisroel and then switch to Yaakov in mid-sentence? The Shem Mishmuel says that the name Yisroel denotes the elevated and noble status of the Jew, as the angel said when explaining this name, "For you have ruled over angels and men and been successful" (Bereishis 32:29). The name Yaakov, on the other hand, denotes the Jew in exile who must lower himself, bow and scrape before the gentiles, just as Yaakov bowed before his brother Esav and called him "my master".</p><p>When Israel began the Egyptian exile, they had to be very careful not to assimilate there and become like the Egyptians. Therefore they armed themselves with three physical boundary-markers that safeguarded the nobility of the Jew, symbolized by the name "Yisroel": they kept their own distinctive names, clothing and language. They viewed their own culture and beliefs as superior to those of the Egyptians; they looked down on and despised the Egyptian idolatry. Hence: "These are the names of the children of Yisroel who came to Egypt" – they survived their stay in Egypt because of the power and nobility of Yisroel.</p><p>Yet at the same time the Torah says "with Yaakov" – that in addition to this nobility they maintained the attitude of subservience indicated by the name Yaakov. They accepted the yoke of exile willingly, and they did not complain about the heavy burden of exile. The Kuzari (3:12) says that a Jew who endures the exile with complaints almost loses his share in the World to Come. There was no contradiction between their subservience and their nobility and superiority, because the subservience was not to Egypt, but to G-d, Who had decreed the exile upon them. These two modes of conduct were what kept the Jewish people alive in exile.</p><p>This conduct must serve as our model during the current long and bitter exile, to feel the nobility of our Torah ways and yet bow to our oppressors, as the prophet writes, "He gives his beater his jaw, and suffers humiliation" (Eichah 3:30). Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Pshischa once said, "If a gentile calls out an insult at a Jew and the Jew answers back, he lengthens the exile, G-d protect us." Rather the Jew must bear the exile while feeling inner strength and nobility. This, he writes, is the opposite of the well-known movement that cannot bear to continue with the subservience and burdens of exile. By so doing, we will soon merit the redemption, when our ashes will be replaced by pride.</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Shmuel Salant quotes the law that a wife may force her husband to move to Eretz Yisroel (Kesubos 110b), and then asks why – even according to the Ramban, he says, there is no obligation on every Jew to move to Eretz Yisroel, since this is one of the Three Oaths. He therefore explains that she can only force him to move if she is willing to move even without him. In that case, if he refuses to come along, he is not fulfilling his marital obligations to her, and he must divorce her. But if she wants to move only with him, then he has no obligation to move. In other words, the reason why he must divorce her if she is willing to move to Eretz Yisroel is not because his refusal to move to Eretz Yisroel is considered neglecting his obligations as a Jew. It is only because once she moves, he would be neglecting his obligations as a husband. (Printed in Tzefunos, year 3 issue 1, p. 46)</p><p>Decades ago, a certain Mizrachi activist named Yitzchok Nissenbaum came to the Holy City. Like all Mizrachists in those days, he was dressed like a real religious Jew, with a long, flowing beard. In those days, the battle against Zionism had not really begun, so the common people did not recognize these Zionists and Mizrachist for who they really were. At first, this Nissenbaum met with Rabbi Shmuel Salant and presented his request: he wished to deliver a speech at Yeshiva Etz Chaim. Rabbi Shmuel Salant, who was familiar with worldly matters, of course absolutely refused.</p><p>When he saw that he was not successful with Rabbi Shmuel Salant, he turned to Rabbi Y. Winograd of Yeshiva Toras Chaim, who, without paying enough attention to who he was, gave him permission to speak in Yeshiva Toras Chaim that Shabbos.</p><p>Then Reb Tzvi Michel called his students, Rabbi O. Porush and Rabbi Moshe Semnitzer and others, and sent them to interrupt the speech. And so they did: they called out boldly from the audience and prevented him from finishing the speech. Of course, no one from the yeshiva attended the speech in any case. (Om Ani Chomah, Booklet 10, Tammuz 5729 (1969), p. 262; Mishkenos Haro’im p. 228)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>In its early years, the Zionists plastered signs on the doors of synagogues all over Europe saying, "Dear brothers and sisters! The long, two-thousand-year exile calls to us and says: If I am not for myself, who will be for me (Pirkei Avos 1:14)? If we don't help ourselves, who will take care of us?"</p><p>Rabbi Simcha Yissocher Ber Halberstam, the Chiashenover Rebbe (d. 1914, son of the Shinnover Rebbe and grandson of the Divrei Chaim) wrote in reaction:</p><p>“Woe to the ears that hear such things! The heart is torn in twelve pieces to hear their words and see their signs that they hang on the walls of the shuls and halls of study, openly denying our hope of redemption with words that stab like swords, saying, ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me?’ These are words that it is forbidden to hear, and with such words they fill the world.</p><p>“And then there arose people who are called Mizrachi, a group which is distinct from the Zionists in name only, but truthfully, inwardly, their ideology is identical to that of the Zionists, for the evil of Zionism lies not in the fact that it is sinners who support it, for the truth is the opposite: Zionism is a dangerous disease in and of itself – heresy and denial of our faith – and that is why these sinners support it.” (Divrei Simcha, 3)</p><p>Rabbi Moshe Dov Weinberger, the Payer Rav, related that he heard from his grandfather, Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel Landau, the Vitker Rav, who was a fiery Chiashenover chossid, that the Chiashenover Rav once said: “There will one day come a time when Jewish blood will be spilled in the streets, and people will run to read the newspapers to see why the bloodshed happened, and they won’t want to know that everything is happening due to the sin of Zionism.</p><p>The Satmar Rav used to quote the Chiashenover Rebbe as saying, "When a day goes by when the Zionists don't write against me in their newspapers, I have to do some introspection and repentance, because it shows that I must have let up a little in my battle against them."</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov once posed the question: Why is our custom regarding the location of a wedding the opposite of the custom at the time of the Gemara? In the Gemara's times, the kallah was brought from her father's house to the chosson's house, and the wedding took place there (Rashi on Kesubos 15b). But our custom is that the kallah's parents make the wedding in their place, and the chosson comes to the kallah. He answers by quoting the Zohar (Vayikra 6a) where Rabbi Acha asked Rabbi Shimon the meaning of the verse, "The virgin of Israel has fallen and will never get up." (Amos 5:2) Rabbi Shimon replied that it means that in the final redemption, Israel will not get up on her own as she did in previous redemptions, such as in Babylonia where the Jews went back with permission from the king. She is not allowed to do so, for Hashem adjured us not to arouse or awaken the love before its time (Kesubos 111a). Rather she will wait in her place in exile until Hashem Himself comes and helps her up. This is why the later generations established the custom of having the wedding in the place of the kallah, and the chosson comes to her to rejoice with her - the chosson symbolizes Hashem, who will come back to the Jewish people in exile. Indeed, all Israel's customs are prophecy, for they are the children of prophets! (Bracha Meshuleshes on Chullin Chapter 5, Mishnah 3)</p>

<p>Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer was one of the founders of the Chovevei Tzion movement, and in his 1862 book Derishas Tzion he claimed that Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisroel could be the beginning of the redemption. But he made clear that this did not include fighting wars and conquering the land from the gentiles, which would be prohibited under the oaths:</p><p>Regarding the oath of G-d, which forms the basis for people who retreat from listening to the words of the prophet – “Do not give Him silence until He establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth” (Yishaya 62:7) – I will respond to you in two ways: Firstly, the warning “do not arouse or awaken” (Shir Hashirim 2:7) only means that we may not go up with a strong hand to the walls of Jerusalem, as it is explicitly stated in the Gemara there (Kesubos 111a) “that they must not go up as walls” and Rashi explains “with strength”; and also that they must not rebel against the nations; but rather they must wait for the kindness of Hashem, that He turn His eye of mercy to us, if He is pleased with the work of our hands. He only made us swear not to engage in forceful immigration, to go up to the mountain with strength, but to desire its stones and to settle the land is fine, and there is no greater mitzvah than this, as I have explained at length. (Maamar Kadishin p. 35b)</p>

<p>In Perek Shirah we learn: "The animals of the field say, 'Blessed is He Who is good and does good.' The gazelle says, 'And I will sing of Your strength, and praise in the morning Your kindness.'" Rabbi Yaakov Emden in his commentary on the Siddur explains that the "animals of the field" is a hidden reference to the Jews killed in Beitar. By revolting against the Romans, they transgressed the oath against forcing the end of exile, and thereby incurred the punishment: "I will permit your flesh like the gazelles and deer of the field." (Kesubos 111a) This is why they are called "animals of the field." They are now living (=chayos) in Gan Eden, and every day they say, "Blessed is He Who is good and does good," the blessing composed by the Sages after their death. The song of the gazelle, "I will praise in the morning Your kindness," is mentioned immediately afterwards because after the war of Beitar the Jewish people learned not to force the end, only to wait and hope for the "morning," the end of exile known only to Hashem.</p><p>In his Sefer Hashimush (66b) he writes, “Whether Hashem redeems us now, or whether He keeps us in exile for thousands of years more, G-d forbid, we will not give Him up for any other belief. Far be it from us, seed of Israel that was sanctified at Mount Sinai! Hashem chose us for His unique nation in the world. He made us, not we. We have never known anything besides Him, and there is no G-d but He. We will not even seek to get our land, our inheritance – not by might and not by power. We have already been foresworn not to go up as a wall, not to rebel against the government; and Chazal permitted our flesh like the gazelles if we attempt such presumptuous things. Our eyes are uplifted to Hashem our G-d until He has mercy on us and returns our exiles, and shows us wonders as in the days of the exodus from Egypt.”</p><p>In the same work on page 76b he writes that we have suffered too many times from false messiahs, and therefore we have taken upon ourselves never to arouse the love before its time. “We will not seek to free ourselves on our own, until Hashem’s word comes, He sends His moshiach and frees us.”</p><p>In a treatise on love (Migdal Oz, Aliyas Ahava Chapter 12), he speaks about the various loves: love of wisdom, love of long life, and love of honor. Then he says: “There is another love that is good and important, but it is hated and forbidden when at the wrong time, due to the prohibition on forcing the hour, as it is written, ‘I adjure you…not to arouse or awaken the love until it is desired.’ However, we are always to await redemption soon.”</p><p>In Toras Hakanaus (p. 26), Rabbi Yaakov Emden says, “One who looks forward to the salvation and does not force the hour will merit to see the comforting of Zion and the building of Jerusalem.”</p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Pnei Yehoshua, on Kesubos 111a, asks how the oath on the nations of the world fits in with the verse "do not arouse or awaken the love before it is desired" which refers to the redemption of the Jewish people. He answers that if the nations afflict the Jews too much, they will cause the Holy One, blessed is He, to hasten to bring the redemption before its time, as we find in the case of the Egyptian exile. Even then, it will be Hashem bringing the redemption early, not the Jews on their own as Zionists claim (that once the gentiles violate their oath the Jews may violate theirs).</p><p>The Pnei Yehoshua also asks how the oath against revealing the secret to the nations (one of the six oaths derived from the verses in Shir Hashirim) has to do with the redemption. He answers based on Rashi's second explanation, that "the secret" refers to the reasons behind the Torah. When the gentiles learn the reasons and secrets of the Torah, they will come to recognize the great love between Hashem and the Jewish people, and they will then stop ruling over them and will arouse the redemption before its time. Thus Chazal with their holy inspiration foresaw today's situation, where 85 million Christians are strong supporters of Zionism and push the Jewish people out of exile prematurely, all due to the fact that they have read the Torah and recognize that the Jews are Hashem's beloved people.</p><p>In Kesubos 110b, the Pnei Yehoshua brings the Gemara in Yuma 9b, which says that Reish Lakish was swimming in the Jordan River, and Rabbah bar bar Chana came and offered him a hand. Reis Lakish said to him, "By G-d, I hate you! For it says, 'If she is a wall, we will build on her a fortress of silver; and if she is a door we will fashion upon her a plank of cedar' (Shir Hashirim 8:9). If you had made yourselves like a wall and come up, all of you, in the time of Ezra, then you would have been compared to silver, which does not rot. Now that you have come up like doors, you have been compared to cedar, which does rot." Some Zionists understand this to mean that Reish Lakish disagreed with the Three Oaths. He held that there would have been nothing wrong with all the Jews returning from Bavel. The Pnei Yehoshua concludes, "It is not a unanimous opinion and there are conflicting Agados."</p><p>However, the Pnei Yehoshua writes this only because he learns that the Three Oaths took effect at the beginning of the Babylonia exile, after the destruction of the First Beis Hamikdash. That is when the verse "they will be brought to Bavel and remain there" was said. The permission granted by Koresh was not a real redemption, he says, and that is why the majority of Jews did not respond to it. They were waiting for the true redemption with moshiach. This is similar to the Ramban in Sefer Hageulah. Accordingly, he says, Reish Lakish must disagree with this Gemara in Kesubos. But Reish Lakish still agrees to the Three Oaths and would say that they went into effect after the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash.</p>

<p>We are also obligated to make sure that there not be found among the Jews, Heaven forbid, any thought, even in the heart, of rebellion against our master the Czar and his ministers. Chazal have already stated that the Holy One, blessed is He, made Israel swear not to rebel against the governments (Kesubos 111a). And it is written, 'Fear Hashem, my son, and the king.' And a kingdom on the earth symbolizes the Kingdom of Heaven. (Aruch Hashulchan, Choshen Mishpat 2:1)</p>

<p>"I have adjured you..." (Shir Hashirim 2:7) The prophet says that G-d made them swear in Egypt not to force the end. In the end it did happen: the Bnei Ephraim forced the end and left 30 years early, for they counted the 400 years of exile from the time of the decree (the Covenant Between the Parts, when Avraham Avinu was 70 years old), while in reality the count befan when Yitzchok was born, as the Torah says, "Your seed will be strangers..." (Bereishis 15:13). That is why He made them swear by the deer and gazelles, for it is known that the nature of these animals is that during the month of mating season (the rut), they walk around without thinking, like drunkards, and that is why it's so easy for the hunters to catch them at that time. So too, the Jewish people: only love could confuse them such that they fall into the hands of their enemies, as happened to the Bnei Ephraim when they fell into the hands of the Philistines. (Drashos Ri Ibn Shuaib, Pesach)</p><p>The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 75:6) tells how Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi instructed Rabbi Efes to write a letter from him to “our master, King Antoninus.” Rabbi Efes wrote, “From Yehudah the Nasi to our master, King Antoninus.” Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi took the letter, read it and tore it up, telling him to write instead, “From your servant Yehuda, to our master, King Antoninus.” Rabbi Efes asked, “Rabbi, why do you ignore your own honor?” Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi replied, “Am I better than my grandfather? Didn’t he say ‘so says your servant Yaakov’?”</p><p>Rabbi Yehoshua ibn Shu’ib cites a version of this Midrash in which Antoninus received the letter and responded, “If only I would be your servant in the World to Come!” (Cf. Avodah Zarah 10b.) But Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi says again, “I am no greater than my grandfather who humbled himself before your grandfather.”</p><p>Ibn Shu’ib stresses that we, the Jewish people in exile, must follow in the footsteps of Yaakov Avinu, bearing our trials and responding to danger by humbling ourselves before the gentiles. We must call them our masters and ourselves their servants. Furthermore, when speaking to them we must minimize our own greatness, just as Yaakov Avinu said, “I have sojourned with Lavan” – I have not become a powerful or wealthy figure. “I have acquired an ox and a donkey” – the blessings of my father, that I would get the dew of heaven and the fats of the earth, were not fulfilled, for oxen and donkeys are neither from heaven nor from earth. And the singular “ox” and “donkey” also minimized Yaakov’s wealth (Rashi). This is the humble way we must speak to the gentiles. (Drashos)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Yehuda Halevi describes a dialogue between the king of the Khazars and a rabbi. The rabbi states that the Jewish people is closer to G-d today, in their humble state of exile, than if they were a mighty nation. The king asks: "That might be so if your humility were voluntary; but it is involuntary, and if you had power you would slay." The rabbi replies: "You have touched our weak spot, O King of the Khazars. If the majority of us had accepted our humble status for the sake of G-d and His Torah, G-d would not have forced us to bear it for such a long period. But only the smallest portion of our people thinks thus. Still, the majority can expect some reward as well, because they bear their degradation partly from necessity, partly of their own free will. For whoever wishes to do so can become the friend and equal of his oppressor by uttering one word, and without any difficulty. Such conduct does not escape the just Judge. If we bore our exile and degradation for G-d's sake, as we should, we would be outstanding even by the standards of the generation of the messianic era, for which we hope, and we would accelerate the day of our long-awaited deliverance." (Kuzari Maamar 1, 113-115)</p><p>Today Rabbi Yehuda Halevi is portrayed by some as a Zionist, because he wrote beautiful poems of longing for Zion, and made "aliyah" himself at the end of his life. But the above passage from the Kuzari shows us that this is a great error. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi considered it a great merit to accept exile for G-d's sake; his longing was not to break out of exile by force, only to experience the long-awaited redemption and, in the meantime, to see the beloved Holy Land.</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Yehuda ben Maharam Chalava comments on Yaakov Avinu’s three preparations for meeting Esav: “What happened to Yaakov with Esav will happen to us in all generations, and we must prepare ourselves with prayer and gifts, but not with war. Scripture has prohibited this under oath, as it says, ‘I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and deer of the field.’” (Imrei Shefer on Vayishlach)</p>

<p>The Shelah Hakadosh says: Just as Yaakov used prayer, gifts and war, so do we approach Esav's descendants in our times. Our power is only through our mouth, to pray to Hashem in difficult times. But war – to fight with the nations – does not apply to us. Our "war" with them means activism – that Jewish activists must boldly face kings and leaders and work for the good of the Jewish people. Even if the leaders throw them out angrily, they must keep coming back; this is our pillar of existence in exile, until moshiach comes. (Vayishlach, Amud Hagolah)</p><p>In another place (Torah Shebichsav, Parshas Shemos) the Shelah says that in the era of exile we must bear our fate, as the Midrash says on the words “I adjure you,” that we should not rebel; and on the contrary, we must accept it submissively and do as Yaakov Avinu did, presenting gifts.”</p><p>The Shelah also says (Torah Shebichsav, Vayakhel Pekudei) that even when it comes to mitzvah observance, where we must resist anti-Torah government decrees, we must take care to speak submissively: “All the seventy nations do not have the power to make one Shabbos-observer violate Shabbos. Still, in order not to start a fight with the nations, Hashem commanded us to hide this fact from them.”</p>

<p>A copy of the testament of Rabbi Yisroel of Stolin, passed away on second day of Rosh Hashanah, 5682 (1921), buried in Frankfurt, Germany.</p><p>I hope to live long, but everyone dies eventually, so I am warning my followers that after 100 years there should not be among them any of the group of flatterers and hypocrites, for no flatterer can come before G-d. Let all of them be in one group, and this will be the sign by which you will choose a leader: whichever of my children will have all of these qualities and will not be from the group of flatterers, and hypocrites, and distance himself from lies and not be mixed in with the group of sorcerers, and certainly keep far from the Zionists and Mizrachists, but will only be a friend to those who fear Hashem, and will not send his children to secular schools, even those run by Jews, and will not make any effort to achieve leadership – he will be your Rebbe. (Printed in Beis Aharon)</p><p>Harboring heretical opinions is also idolatry, for example, Zionism. (Yalkut Divrei Aharon, Divrei Yisroel, p. 119; Mishkenos Haro’im p. 358)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>Rabbi Yaakov Teitelbaum related that his grandfather heard Rabbi Yisroel of Ryzhin say over 150 years ago: "Jews, you must know that before the coming of moshiach, a fire will come down from heaven like the fire that came down for Eliyahu Hanavi on Mount Carmel (I Kings 18:38). But there will be a big difference: then the fire came down for Eliyahu Hanavi, but in the future before the coming of moshiach, it will come down for the prophets of the Baal. And Jews will have to climb up sheer walls to remain with their faith."</p><p>Rabbi Yisroel of Ryzhin continued: The only solution for a Jew to stay safe from heresy at that time will be to stick together with other believing Jews. This is what Yaakov Avinu told his children, “Gather together and I will tell you what will happen to you in the end of days.” The word “happen” could also be translated as “cold”, just as we find in the words “asher karcha baderech” (Devarim 25:18) which Rashi translates as “he [Amalek] made it cold for you on the way.” In the end of days, when Amalek tries with all his might to “cool off” the Jewish people and lead them astray from their faith, the only road to safety is to gather together and discuss the true emunah. (Kol Yaakov pp. 81-82)</p>

<p>"Let my master pass before his servant, and I will continue slowly, according to the work that is before me and according to the children, until I come to my master, to Seir" (Bereishis 33:14).</p><p>The Midrash, cited by Rashi, points out that Yaakov never fulfilled his promise to come to Seir in his lifetime, and that it will be fulfilled only in the messianic era, regarding which the prophet Ovadiah writes: "And the saviors will go up Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esav" (Ovadiah 1:21).</p><p>Accordingly, the Akeidas Yitzchak interprets the entire verse as a metaphoric description of Jewish history. Yaakov said, "I have much work to do! My children cannot reach their full potential unless they go through the refinery of trials, suffering and exile three times (i.e. Egypt, Babylonia and Rome). Only then will their souls be purified and ready to absorb spiritual good, to be the chosen people and to live peacefully forever. This refining process will take a long time, and will end with the coming of moshiach, when I will come to you at Seir." (Akeidas Yitzchak Shaar 26)</p>

<p>In the course of a discussion about undertaking a journey to Eretz Yisroel that will involve violating Shabbos, the Rivash writes: "We have established that for a mitzvah one is permitted to depart even on a Friday, and there is no doubt that traveling to Eretz Yisroel is a mitzvah. Our Sages have said, "Whoever lives outside the Holy Land is like one who has no G-d" (Kesubos 110b). And they said further, "Whoever walks four cubits in Eretz Yisroel is guaranteed a share in the World to Come" (Kesubos 111a). Although the prophet said to the exiled Jews, "Build houses and live in them" (Yirmiyah 29:5), that was only because exile was decreed upon them, and the One who exiled them did not permit them to return, until they returned with the permission of Cyrus. And now as well, one of the Three Oaths G-d made the Jewish people swear is not to go up as a wall." (Shailos Uteshuvos Rivash, siman 101)</p>

<p>Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Reines (1839-1915) was a leader of Chovevei Tzion and the founder of the Mizrachi movement. In 1902 he published a book called Ohr Chadash Al Tzion calling for settlement in Eretz Yisroel, but cautioning (p. 240) that it must not violate the oaths:</p><p>What is the point of Chanukah? Seemingly, there is no lesson for us to learn from it for our generations, for then all the miracles took place only after they arose on their own and fought the war of Hashem, but if we try to imitate the actions of our forefathers of that time, coming out with a battle cry and defeating out enemies, these actions would obviously be forbidden to us, since the Holy One, blessed is He, severely foreswore us not to push for the end of exile by force. But we can learn from the story to work to better the situation of the Jewish people and settle it on its land, for this is its honor and the honor of its Torah. And this can take place even now, in acceptable and permissible ways.</p><p>In his Sefer Haarachim (pp. 298-299), Rabbi Reines explains that the Ramban in Sefer Hamitzvos advocates “conquering” Eretz Yisroel only in a peaceful way:</p><p>We must ask on the Ramban: How is it possible to say that there is a mitzvah on us to expel the Ishmaelite kingdom? Are we not foresworn not to go up as a wall (Kesubos 111a)? Yet the Ramban holds that the mitzvah of conquest applies even during exile, when the land is not under Jewish rule. The answer is that the Ramban means conquest by purchase, that it is a mitzvah to buy land in Eretz Yisroel and to settle there, for conquest does not have to mean through war.</p><p>‍</p>

<p>When Pharaoh feared that the Jews would join his enemies (Shemos 1:10), why was his strategy to make them slaves? Wouldn't that make them even more likely to hate the Egyptians and fight against them? He answers that Pharaoh knew that Hashem had commanded the Jews not to rebel against their king, and that He had implanted into their nature the inclination to accept subjugation. This is the meaning of the oath (Kesubos 111a) not to rebel against the nations – that He adjured them and made acceptance of the exile a part of their nature. Therefore, as long as the Jews were free and independent, Pharaoh feared them, but with the hard hand of taskmasters over them, they would realize that this was a decree of exile, and they would wait patiently for Hashem to redeem them.</p><p>This also explains the cryptic verses, "And it came to pass, during that long period, that the king of Egypt died, and the Children of Israel groaned from the labor, and they cried out... And G-d saw the Children of Israel, and G-d knew" (Shemos 2:23-25). What did G-d see? He saw that the Israelites were numerous and powerful, they were being killed and they would have nothing to lose if they rebelled and fought back. The king's death provided the perfect opportunity to launch such a rebellion. Yet they did not rebel. They remembered Yosef's prophecy that G-d would redeem them, and therefore they did not attempt to redeem themselves. They relied solely on their prayer.</p><p>He goes on to say that this character trait - submissiveness and unwillingness to fight - is so deeply implanted in the Jewish nature that even when Hashem commands a Jew to fight, it is hard for him. Thus when Hashem first told Moshe to go to Pharaoh, Moshe responded, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take out the Children of Israel from Egypt?" How could it be that Moshe refused to obey Hashem? The answer is that Moshe understood from Hashem's initial command, "Take out the Children of Israel from Egypt" that he and the other Jews were to escape from Egypt using their own practical means. Moshe knew that the Jews by nature would not want to take any action; he would have to do it all on his own. Therefore he said, "Who am I that I should undertake this alone?" Hashem then clarified, "I will be with you" - I will perform the redemption, and it will not be necessary for you or anyone else to take any independent action. Even when the time came to leave Egypt, the Jews did not leave until Pharaoh commanded them to do so (Shemos 12:31): "Get up and go out from amidst my people!" And at the shores of the sea, Moshe assured them (Shemos 14:14), "Hashem will fight for you and you will be silent!" (Divrei Shaul on Shemos, p. 48)</p><p>‍</p>

<p>The Be’er Hagolah is a sefer written by an anonymous author in Amsterdam during the period of the Sabbatean movement (late 1600s). In Chapter 25, Section 2, after describing the wars fought by the Jewish people in times of old, he writes: But now the mighty men of Israel have fallen and their weapons have perished. Since the enemy overcame us and the anointed kohein and the general failed and were smitten in battle, Israel has known that the Holy One, blessed is He, no longer desires their wars; Hashem has departed from them until the time of the coming of moshiach. And regarding this matter, and regarding the exile of Israel, David prayed and said, “You, O G-d, have thrown us away, and You do not go forth, O G-d, with our army” (Tehillim 60:13). And now, if Israel will arise and wage wars against the desire of the Holy One, blessed is He, they will fall by the sword, as it is written, “Do not go up, for Hashem is not in your midst, and then you will not be defeated by your enemies!” (Bamidbar 14:42). For just as the Holy One, blessed is He, used to fight their wars when the those wars were in accordance with His will, so too He will become their enemy when the war is against His will, as it is written, “And He became their enemy; he fought against them” (Yishaya 63:10).</p><p>The Be’er Hagolah continues in Section 5: And when Israel saw this, they chose to scatter themselves in all four corners of the earth, so that the nations might see that they had no thought of waging any more wars with them, and that they would not emerge from the exile until moshiach comes. And even if during that time they have some mighty men, still they will not wage war against the nations, for this is what Shlomo, the king and prophet, made them swear by the name of Hashem when he said, “I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, not to arouse or awaken the love before it is desired” (Shir Hashirim 2:7). Behold, he said to the daughters of Jerusalem: If you be in exile among the nations, do not arouse or awaken with them any war because of the love of Eretz Yisroel, until it is desired – until it is the will and desire of Hashem Yisborach to do so, and He sends you the moshiach, just as He sent Moshe to Egypt to say, “So said Hashem: I have surely remembered you” (Shemos 3:16). Then they will know that it is the will of the Holy One, blessed is He, that they should gather themselves from all the four corners of the world and become a great and powerful nation, to take their land away from the Ishmaelites. The prophet Yishaya expressed amazement at them and said, “Who are these who fly like clouds?” (60:8) “Who bore me these?” (49:21) “Can a land have birthpangs in one day…for Zion has had birthpangs and born her children” (66:8). And since it is so, all of Israel has decided not to study warfare anymore, even to assist one nation against another, unless it is the will of their kings under whom they live. And each one prays in the land where he lives that Hashem grant peace and success to the king who rules over that land… And since Israel saw this, they did not seek, nor did their soul desire, to go out of exile until the time when Hashem desires it.</p><p>‍</p>