YOM HAATZMAUT (by Yehuda HaKohen) In order to appreciate the full significance of Israel’s Independence Day, one must clarify what the day is meant to commemorate and what this connotes according to Torah Law. One of the major reasons for the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut is to celebrate the establishment of renewed Hebrew sovereignty in the Land of Israel following a long and bitter exile of most Jews from our soil. Yom HaAtzmaut celebrates the liberation of Eretz Yisrael from British occupation and the reestablishment of a Jewish political entity over our country.
In his supplement to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot, the Ramban teaches that it is a Torah commandment for every generation that the Nation of Israel take control of and inhabit the entire Land of Israel.
“This is what our Sages call Milchemet Mitzvah… And do not err and say that this precept is the commandment to vanquish the seven nations… this is not so… this land is not to be left in their hands or in the hands of any nation, in any generation whatsoever… behold we are commanded with conquest in every generation… if so this is a positive commandment, which applies in every time… and the proof that this is a commandment is this: `They were told to go up in the matter of the Spies: Go up and conquer as HaShem has said to you. Do not fear and do not be discouraged.’ And it further says: `And when HaShem sent you from Kadesh Barnea saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you.’ And when they did not go up, the Torah says: `And you rebelled against the Word of G-D, and you did not listen to this command.'” (Positive Commandment 4 of the Ramban’s supplement to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot)
The Ramban states irrefutably that the conquest and settlement of Eretz Yisrael is a mitzvah for Israel in every generation and that we are forbidden from allowing any part of our country to fall into – or remain under – gentile control. It is found in the Shulchan Aruch that all of the arbitrators of Torah Law (Rishonim and Achronim) agree with the Ramban concerning this issue.
“All of the Poskim, both Rishonim and Achronim, decide the Law in this fashion on the basis of the Ramban.” (Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer section 75, Pitchei Tshuva 6)
The Nation of Israel is eternally commanded by G-D to conquer and implement Jewish sovereignty over our homeland. Yom HaAtzmaut commemorates the fifth day of Iyar 5708, when Israel fulfilled this mitzvah for the first time in nearly two thousand years by establishing Hebrew rule over Eretz Yisrael. Just as a young man celebrates becoming a Bar Mitzvah because it is his first opportunity to really fulfill Torah commandments, we celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut as our first opportunity to carry out the Divine directive of Jewish sovereignty over our country. It is our collective Bar Mitzvah signifying the Jewish people’s national renaissance.
Aside from renewing the mitzvah of sovereignty, there is another essential reason to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut – the mitzvah to thank HaShem for the miracles He performs. This was the basis for sanctifying Chanukah and Purim. After the British were driven from our homeland and the State of Israel was declared, seven Arab states immediately waged war in an attempt to annihilate the Jewish people. Armed and trained by British officers, the Arabs attacked with tremendous force. Israel, on the other hand, had a small and unskilled army with virtually no ammunition or supplies. The entire world expected Israel’s imminent destruction and there were no attempts by any nation or human rights organization to intervene in any way on our behalf. The Hebrew Nation was in great peril but refused to surrender. As Israel demonstrated tenacious heroism in the face of impossible odds, HaShem marched out to war with us as we warded off the surrounding armies invading our country.
Throughout the exile, scattered Jewish communities have had the authority to establish what is called a “Purim Katan” – a sacred day of thanksgiving meant to express gratitude to G-D for saving a community from danger. Since Yom HaAtzmaut is a day on which a miracle occurred for the entire Jewish Nation, it is a Torah precept to ordain a public festival for commemoration of HaShem’s kindness towards His chosen people. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate ruled that it is an obligation to say Hallel on this day in order to remember the miracles that G-D performed for Israel during our War of Independence.
But if the Law is so obvious, why would so many great Torah scholars appear to be so unsure about – or often even vehemently opposed to – the State of Israel and the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut? The Gaon of Vilna answers this question in Kol HaTor (the Gaon’s teachings regarding the Redemption process).
“The Sin of the Spies… hovers over the Nation of Israel in every generation… How strong is the power of the Sitra Achra that it succeeds in hiding from the eyes of our holy fathers the dangers of the klipot; from the eyes of Avraham our father, the klipah of exile… and in the time of the Mashiach, the Sitra Achra attacks the guardians of Torah with blinders… Many of the sinners in this great sin of, `They despised the cherished land,’ and also many of the guardians of Torah, will not know or understand that they are caught in the Sin of the Spies, that they have been sucked into the Sin of the Spies in many false ideas and empty claims, and they cover their ideas with the already proven fallacy that the mitzvah of the settlement of Israel no longer applies in our day, an opinion which has already been disproven by the giants of the world, the Rishonim and Achronim.” (Kol HaTor chapter 5)
The most amazing miracle of Yom HaAtzmaut is perhaps the foundation for all of the others. After so many centuries of persecution in the exile, HaShem placed a new spirit of valor within Israel. For the first time in modern history, a courageous generation of heroes arose to raise high the banners of liberty and Hebrew independence. More astonishing is that G-D strengthened the hearts of Israel’s political leaders so that they were able to declare the establishment of a sovereign state despite being faced with so much aggression from the Arabs and pressure from the West.
Yom HaAtzmaut is the most important event to take place for mankind in nearly two thousand years. It was on this day that HaShem returned the Israeli Nation to sovereignty over our country and it is this sovereignty that will lead the world to unparalleled goodness and universal blessing. It is the goal of Creation that G-D’s great Name be sanctified through Israel. The Maharal of Prague teaches in Netzach Yisrael that in order for Am Yisrael to bring history’s goal to fruition, we must first be united and independent on our soil. Only then, as a major world power that lives a life of national kedusha, can Israel reveal the greatness and unity of HaShem in every sphere of life. Only by establishing the Kingdom of Israel in the whole of our borders, can we bring mankind towards universal blessing through illuminating the world with the light of Torah.
The modern State of Israel – G-D’s Throne in this world – must be understood not only to be the handiwork of HaShem but also as an early stage in the development of universal Redemption – a process that unfolds through a series of natural historic events. While the current Jewish state has not yet reached the greatness for which it is destined, it must be recognized that the physical vessel is once again in our world and will eventually grow to reveal its exalted inner spirit. After so many centuries as a ghost walking through history, Israel again exists within a healthy national framework. The Redemption has begun with the Jewish people taking an enormous step forward by establishing Hebrew rule in portions of Eretz Yisrael. While the mere existence of a secular Jewish state was never the final goal of the Redemption process, it is certainly a powerful vehicle with which to achieve the Hebrew Nation’s greater aspirations. The Zionist revolution will continue as all the Jewish people return to the entire Land of Israel with G-D’s Temple in Jerusalem shining Divine blessing to Creation. Moadim L’Simcha L’Geula Sheima.
With Love of Israel,
-Yehuda HaKohen
Am Segula
