Zionism

The prophetic project of return — and what it must yet become.

Imagine a Native Nation

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Imagine a timeline where one of the native nations of Turtle Island developed a survival strategy that allowed them to retain their society and identity intact despite destruction, disenfranchisement, and dispersal among the other colonized nations.

Imagine this nation never lost memory of their land and hope of returning to it, and bided their time and amassed their resources until they could begin buying back rights to resettle their homeland from the colonizers, and slowly build a nucleus of native society in their ancient land.

Until – imagine this – one day native diplomacy achieves a major goal and some of the colonizers decide to withdraw from the land and turn it back over to the native nation. At least, that’s what it would say on paper: imagine if the rest of the colonized countries around the land didn’t accept the new decision and decided to attack the returning native nation on its land?

And imagine what would happen if there were many descendants of families of the native nation who had never left the land in the first place? Natives who endured century after century of colonization, being forced to adopt the colonizers’ language and religion – what would they do? I’d imagine that some of them would join with their returning brethren, but whose side do you imagine the rest of these colonized natives would take?

Now imagine that the returnees of the native nation, reestablishing themselves in the land, did not recognize their colonized brethren – mistook the contemporary trappings of colonized culture for identity and history – and viewed them with suspicion of loyalty to the colonizing countries who attacked them; only slowly and partially integrating them into the renewed native society, even placing some of them under military administration.

And imagine that some of the colonized natives – some identifying so strongly with the colonizer that they adopted their values and agenda, some so broken by the war and its after-effects that they were consumed with vengeance – did in fact resort to acts of violence against their returning brethren, feeding the fears and suspicions of those who could not recognize their kinship.

In such an imaginative scenario, what would be your hope?

What is your dream for the descendants of the native nation?

For the world?

[If any of the above resonates with you, or maybe introduces a little cognitive dissonance into your psychic space, explore those thoughts. History is complicated and the struggle is real. The stories we tell ourselves can change the world. Stay Frosty Friends]

Patriotism Is the Love of the Best

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Since I’ve seen two posts on this already:

Forget being better than. Forget being the best.

PATRIOTISM,

to me,

is THE LOVE OF THE BEST of what you see in your country and in what it can become, with the blessing of God Almighty.

Yes, that is a big tent.

That’s because it IS a big tent.

But beware of confusing loving your best for thinking you are the best.

May we all merit to be true patriots.

I Want Everyone Free

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Whether Conservative 😬, Libertarian 🧐, or Anarchist 😇, I have always wanted as many people as possible to be free – and I have never wanted my freedom to come at the expense of anyone else’s.

Those are the unifying themes.

To my life, to my politics, to my Zionism.

كلنا في الهوا سوا

The Only Horizontal Society

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In a world obsessed with hierarchies and the supremacy of some people over other people, one small nation stands alone as a horizontal society. Flawed, imperfect, very much a divine work in progress over thousands of years – with a tumultuous human history of being seduced by the allure of power over others – but the only horizontal society on the planet nevertheless.

Dispersed across all borders and including citizens of every ethnicity – all equally bound and freed by the law of a covenant that no king, emperor, or dictator can break. A nation of just laws, not powerful men – a brilliant rose among the thorns of tribalism and myth.

מי כעמך ישראל

Israel and the Industrial Revolution

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Would the establishment of this state have been possible without the industrial revolution?

The more I think about it, the more the watershed events of recent history that seem most impactful on the application of Talmudic law – including the rise of mass production, electricity usage, and women’s liberation (note the connection there by the way) – seem to trace their origins back to the industrial revolution.

And so the rise of the state itself – could the required resources have been marshalled and coordinated without the modern supporting infrastructure born in the wake of the industrial revolution?

Be Complex

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Coda:

And if you think that I – a pro-annexation, settlement-loving, (formerly) Gaza war-supporting, religious Zionist advocate for a halakhic state and critic of Islamic imperialism in Israel – am a Leftist, then you clearly don’t understand the concept of complexity.

In a world of dichotomous fundamentalism, be complex.

Radak, Ibn Ezra, and Abrabanel on the Daughter of Zion

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#biblicalZionism

“The views of Radak, Ibn Ezra, and Abrabanel on the idiom בת/בנות ציון (bat/banot Tziyyon, “daughter/daughters of Zion”) reveal their distinct interpretive approaches to the significance of the phrase in the Sifré Nevi’im, particularly in Yeshayahu. Below is a more detailed exploration of their perspectives:

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Radak (Rabbi David Kimhi)

Radak’s Interpretation:
Radak often interprets “daughter(s) of Zion” as a poetic reference to the people of Jerusalem or Zion, with the feminine form emphasizing tenderness, vulnerability, and God’s affectionate relationship with Israel. Radak highlights the use of this idiom to reflect different emotional states—joy, sorrow, or repentance—depending on the prophetic context.

Significance in Radak’s View:

1. Moral and Spiritual Call:
Radak sees the phrase as a vehicle for calling the people of Zion to moral and spiritual accountability. For example, when Yeshayahu rebukes the “daughter of Zion” for her waywardness, Radak interprets it as a collective critique of the people for abandoning God’s ways.

2. Divine Affection and Vulnerability:
The “daughter” metaphor, according to Radak, captures Israel’s vulnerability in exile and divine judgment, but also God’s enduring affection and the promise of redemption. Zion is depicted as a dependent child, beloved yet in need of correction.

3. Symbol of National Unity:
Radak emphasizes that “daughter of Zion” symbolizes the collective identity of Israel centered on Jerusalem as the heart of the nation. This identity is intertwined with both the spiritual covenant and political destiny of the Jewish people.

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Ibn Ezra (Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra)

Ibn Ezra’s Interpretation:
Ibn Ezra often focuses on the literal and grammatical dimensions of biblical text, and he interprets “daughter of Zion” primarily as a poetic personification of Jerusalem itself. He sees the phrase as a reflection of the city’s physical state, moral character, or eschatological future, depending on the context.

Significance in Ibn Ezra’s View:

1. Jerusalem as a Central Symbol:
Ibn Ezra views the city of Jerusalem, referred to as the “daughter of Zion,” as a microcosm of Israel’s spiritual and physical state. For example, in times of desolation, the phrase captures Jerusalem’s ruin; in prophecies of redemption, it reflects the city’s anticipated renewal.

2. Humanizing the City:
By personifying Jerusalem as a “daughter,” Ibn Ezra highlights the city’s intimate connection with its inhabitants. The metaphor serves to evoke an emotional response, making the city’s desolation or glory relatable to the audience.

3. Eschatological Significance:
For Ibn Ezra, the idiom often points forward to messianic redemption, where the “daughter of Zion” is restored to her former glory as the center of divine worship and national identity.

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Abrabanel (Don Isaac Abrabanel)

Abrabanel’s Interpretation:
Abrabanel takes a broader, more philosophical and eschatological approach, interpreting “daughter of Zion” as both a symbol of Jerusalem and an allegory for the Jewish people’s covenantal relationship with God. He places particular emphasis on the prophetic and messianic dimensions of the phrase.

Significance in Abrabanel’s View:

1. Spiritual Restoration:
Abrabanel sees the “daughter of Zion” as representing the Jewish people’s spiritual state. He ties the idiom to the hope of redemption, where Zion will rise from desolation to become the epicenter of divine presence and global recognition of God.

2. Covenantal Love and Reproof:
Like Radak, Abrabanel acknowledges the element of divine love in the idiom. However, he adds that the rebuke often addressed to the “daughter of Zion” reflects not just sinfulness, but the failure to live up to Israel’s covenantal role as a light to the nations.

3. Messianic Imagery:
Abrabanel interprets the “daughter of Zion” as a central character in messianic prophecy. The metaphor underscores both the fragility of the Jewish people in exile and their destined transformation into a symbol of divine glory and universal peace.

4. Philosophical Reflection on Exile and Redemption:
For Abrabanel, the idiom encapsulates the duality of exile and redemption, reflecting the philosophical tension between human agency and divine providence in history. The “daughter of Zion” is both a witness to divine punishment and a vessel for divine promise.

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Comparison of Their Views on the Significance

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Summary

Radak highlights the covenantal love and moral accountability of Israel, seeing the phrase as an invitation for repentance and transformation.

Ibn Ezra focuses on the poetic personification of Jerusalem, emphasizing its centrality as the heart of Israel’s national and eschatological identity.

Abrabanel weaves together the spiritual, historical, and messianic dimensions, interpreting “daughter of Zion” as a profound symbol of divine promise and human destiny.

The idiom thus operates on multiple levels—historical, spiritual, and eschatological—offering a rich and nuanced metaphor for Israel’s relationship with God.”

Zion in Year 6000

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The city-state of Zion, in the year of our world 6000.

A space and a time.

The transformation of our space and our time.

A rendezvous, if you will.

A meeting at the end of history and the beginning of something bigger.

We can choose it at any moment. But there’s a terrible, wonderful purpose to human history.

Some things are inevitable.

Zionism Started with Herzl?

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Today’s reading from Yirmiyahu… Zion.

Today’s recital from the psalms of Dawid…. Zion.

Today’s selection from the Pele Yoéts… Resettling the Land.

Is it just me or did none of these authors get the memo that Zionism started with Herzl in the 19th century?

Explaining Zionism to a Friend in Bethlehem

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A late night conversation with a FB friend from Bethlehem turned to Zionism. “I don’t know much about Zionism,” he said. “Could you explain it to me? I hear some people say it’s bad, some people say it’s good.”

😬

So at a quarter to one in the morning, I gave it a shot:

“Zionism started with the prophets preaching to the priests and princes of the kingdoms of yehuda and yisrael, before the destruction of both kingdoms by foreign colonizers. The prophets protested the inhumanity of human beings and the alienation of God and the needs of justice and sanctity. Zion, which started out as the neighborhood of Silwan, became a synonym for the ideal society in line with Allah’s will.

When the grandchildren of the exilees from Yehuda returned to the land, the prophets spoke again of a future reconciliation between men and between humanity and the Creator – along with the rebuilding of the destroyed sanctuary. This was the next phase of Zionism, the rebuilding of material and spiritual society after reckoning with its prior loss.

After Yehuda and Shomeron were destroyed again by foreign colonizers, Zionism became a dream in exile. It meant both the return to the land and the building of a new society. After the expulsion of the Jewish people from Spain in the 1492, Jewish people began organizing to buy back property in the land from the colonizers at the time, to rebuild the cities that had been neglected and to make new cities for the diaspora Jewish people to join the people of the land. This popular Zionist movement continued for centuries until a big wave was started by Herzl, who translated Zionism into the language of a state; inspired by him, people left the antisemitic messes of Europe, North Africa, and the Levant, and began moving to the land in masses to become simple farmers and tradesmen. One great rabbi in particular, Avraham Yitshak Kook, tried to unite all the people, from the communities that had always been here and the newcomers, around the great dream of Zion, the reality of a heavenly society on earth. He passed on to his world before the founding of the state though.

Then came 1948, and a war started by neighboring states that uprooted many Palestinians, and left half of Jerusalem under Israeli control while putting the West Bank under Jordanian control.

Then came 1967, and a war that brought the West Bank and its Palestinians – and the rest of Jerusalem – under Israeli control. Rabbi Kook’s son and his students saw this as a sign for a new phase of Zionism, based on state control of land conquered in war.

Now it is decades later and it is clear to all that the successful reclamation of east Jerusalem and the west bank from the Jordanian army was not a sign from God to keep using the powers of the state to control civilian populations but a reminder that even when our vision is clouded and our faith is narrowed, by the stresses of the furnace of history, the Creator is still with us, protecting us, and calling us to build a better society – together. Calling us all to remember our ancestors and their ways, to let go of foreign shackles, and come together again in a covenant of peace. It is up to us to answer that call.

That is Zionism. Whether it is good or bad is up to you to decide.”

His verdict:

“I see it has a good vision.”