Lee Diamond – Hear O Israel: Zionism and Judaism are One
The last three words of the
Passover Hagada are
“Next Year in Jerusalem׳״
The last three words of the Yom Kippur liturgy are
“Next Year in Jerusalem”
Before smashing the glass under the Chuppa
We declare:
“If I forget you
O Jerusalem
May I lose my strength
May my tongue cleave
To the roof of my mouth
If I do not place Jerusalem
Above my highest joy.”
On Tisha BAv
We mourn the destruction
Of Temple and
Of Jewish autonomy
In Israel
Every day in Jewish prayer the words
Jerusalem, Zion or Israel
Are mentioned 21 times
Asking that we return
A sign with the word מזרח
East
Hangs on the eastern wall
Of Jewish homes
Synagogues face toward Israel
The Prophets never cease
To speak of or to pray for
Or to warn about the centrality
Of Jerusalem.
There are three pillars of Judaism
Am, Torah and Eretz
People, Torah and Land.
Don’t be fooled O Israel
Some will try to detach or to hide from this
—-Like Marranos of Spain
but
Zionism is an essential and
ultimate value of Judaism
There are three legs upon which
Judaism stands.
If one is denied
Judaism can not stand
Never!
When Israel was a distant dream
For The Jewish people
When it appeared that God was hiding
His Face from us
Zionism and the Torah kept the dream alive.
Zionism is not up for grabs
Torah is not up for grabs
God may be sometimes hard to find
But never up for grabs
Because this is our fabric
Our Essence
Just as one needs
A Jewish mother
Or father
To be a Jew
So too do we need
The search for God
The belonging to the Jewish people
The Torah
And Zionism
To be Jews
