By Rabbi Lee Diamond Tel Chai “It is worthwhile to die for our country”: Yosef Trumpledor
Tel Chai is located in the “finger of the Galilee” at Israel’s very northern tip, between Kiryat Shmona and Metulla, (Israel’s northern most town) overlooking the Hula Valley. If the chalutzim at the beginning of the last century had not had the fortitude to withstand the battles and hardships of the day, the Galilee as we know it today, would never have become part of modern day Israel. This is unfortunately an ongoing story in our day.
Tel Chai’s history is deeply entwined with the subject of Jewish self defense. Throughout many years, the Jewish people had depended upon others to defend them or had simply not taken on responsibility in this sphere. The famous poem of Bialik entitled City of Slaughter refers to the fact the Jews had ceased to be the “children of the Macabees” allowing themselves to be attacked and not defending themselves. Part of the Jewish transformation that took place in the early aliyot to Israel had to do with:
Jews taking responsibility for themselves.
Yosef Trumpeldor
Tel Chai represents the beginning of Jewish self defense in Israel. Yosef Trumpledor represents this in human form.
The values discussion here has everything to do with self defense, self responsibility as it applies to the emergence of the new Jew and what will ultimately become the State of Israel and the I.D.F. This discussion should be the first of many such discussions which deal with defense, war, military, armies, morality and war, power and limits of power and land and peace.
This values discussion should deal with Jewish responsibility, self pride as well as Jewish morality, all of which values are most relevant to the contemporary Jew and the contemporary Israeli.
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