|
|
עמוד:7
7 Two Types of Religious Zionism Outlook : Both sensed a need for some human activity beside ) 3 ( Divine Providence to redeem the Jewish people from exile . Eliezer Schweid referred to the human activity emphasized in item ( 3 ) as the “secular element . ” Writing about Mohilever and his colleagues, Schweid notes : The statements of R . Eliashberg and Mohilever suggest acquiescence with existing secular elements as well as limited affirmation of a secular principle compatible with belief in the Torah and its commandments . What is that principle ? How was it formulated and exposed in reality ? The answer is in the issue at the center of the most acute controversy between supporters and opponents of Hibbat Zion in the religious Haredi camp . And in abstract terms — is the Jewish people allowed to adopt an independent initiative at a broad national level to change its condition among the nations of the world ? That is actually the innovation that Zionism brought with it and, on its basis, Zionism is to be defined as a modern movement . 1 The extent to which the principle of human initiative is “secular” is perhaps debatable . In any event, Mohilever and Reines did not internalize this notion in identical terms . Mohilever directed it to action rather than to the definition of identity, whereas Reines viewed it as a component of identity, as shown below . In this article, I will attempt to delve into the distinction between personality patterns and the activity of Mohilever and Reines . I will relate to them as representing two ideal and “pure” types, who convey religious participation in the endeavor to revive Jewish nationalism . I am aware that, in reality, the pure type is versatile . Yet, I will argue Eliezer Schweid, “The Beginnings of a Zionist - National Theology : The . 1 Philosophy of R . Isaac Jacob Reines,” in Studies in Jewish Mysticism, Philosophy and Ethical Literature Presented to Isaiah Tishby on His Seventy - Fifth Birthday , ed . Joseph Dan and Joseph R . Hacker ( Jerusalem : Magnes Press, 1986 ) , 696 [ Heb ] .
|
|