Giving a needed pick-up to religious-Zionism and Torah/Nation/Land integration, leading rabbis will hold a special seminar this evening in Jerusalem.
The theme will be, “Raising the Banner and Honor of the Torah of the Land of Israel.” A rabbinical call has been issued to gather “to reinforce the honor of Torah and the mitzvah [commandment] of settling the Land that has been frozen.”
The event takes place at 7:30 PM at the Tamir Hall in Jerusalem, opposite Har Hotzvim.
The promotional literature states: “Let us say with a clear voice, to those within and those without, that we will not stray from G-d’s word neither right nor left. We refuse to accept any outside intervention in our education path in any of our schools or yeshivot.” This was a reference to Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s decision to eject Yeshivat Har Bracha from the Hesder yeshiva/army arrangement because of statements made by Dean Rabbi Eliezer Melamed.
“Only true loyalty to Torah and to our national traditions will strengthen our nation against its enemies, and will enable Israel to develop and meet its goals,” the statement added.
Organizers of the gathering explain that Barak has brought the relationship between Torah Zionism and the army to a boiling point: “Ever since the establishment of the state in 1948, our movement has always worked within the State of Israel and its organs. Fulfilling the Torah and the partnership with the State went hand-in-hand; we viewed the existence of the State as part of the fulfillment of Torah. We never had to emphasize that G-d’s word comes first, and the army and government made sure not to bring the public to a situation in which they would have to choose whether to adhere to the Torah or to their army commander. Of late, however, the question has arisen” – sharply and with rancor, it might be added. The participants at the convention will hope to seek solutions.
Among the participating rabbis will be Rabbis Zalman Melamed, Yaakov Shapira, Dov Lior, Yaakov Yosef, Nachum Rabinovitch, Shmuel Eliyahu, Chaim Shteiner, Elyakim Levanon, Eliezer Valdman, and David Chai HaCohen.