[Avodah] Leshono Habo beYerushalayim

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 09:53:39PM -0500, Ira Tick wrote:
: Why isn't it obvious that, regardless of the Messianic value of a Jerusalem
: which flies a Jewish flag, [as the song goes] "Yerushalayim HaB'nuyah"
: refers to a Jerusalem with the Beit HaMikdash?

At RET already noted besheim haGri"z miBrisk, "habenuyah" is a later
addition. But one could easily argue it stood implied anyway.

"Od yishamah" is actually more anachronistic. I remember once ascending
the stairs in the rova, running from the sefarim store alongside Aish
toward the serious staircase down to the plaza. It was Friday afternoon,
and little children were running down past me, tinoqos in the preschool
and young grades. And I choked up, wondering what Yirmiyahu was looking
down and saying... Did he turn to our mother Rachel and say, "See, see --
yeish sakhar lefe'ulaseikh"? How do we teitch still asking HQBH in shevah
berakhos that we should hear "bechutzos Y-m qol sason veqol simchah..."?
Y-m even boasts a hachnasas seifer Torah party van!


WRT "messianic value"... (Not capitalized, as messiah is a job, not a
name nor being used here as a title, like "King" in "King David". Notzrim
have their own AZ reason to capitalize the "M".)

Messianic Religious Zionism is not the only way one can be a Zionist based
on Yahadus. Yes, that's RAYKook and RZYK's hashkafah, and R' Herzog's too
-- he commissioned and approved "reshit tzemichat ge'ulatenu". I am given
to understand R' Alkalai and RZHKalischer were also Messianic Zionists,
but I've never seen any of their writings myself.

OTOH, R' Reines, RYBS, and ROYosef, do not tie their dati leumi beliefs
to any predictions about how the ge'ulah would come about. WRT the first
two, R' Yosef Blau has a letter in Tradition 33:2 comparing RYYR's
and RYBS's positions on Zionism. Looking at Qol Dodi Dofeiq, though,
I think that RYBS's beliefs would agree with the sentiment of "shetehe
reshit tzemichat ge'ulatenu" (although not adding prayers altogether),
as long as one expresses a baqashah, not an issue of emunah / bitachon.

See RYAmital's shitah at http://www.haretzion.org/alei/14-01rya-zion.htm
and RALichteinstein's description of RYBS's at
http://www.haretzion.org/alei/14-02ral-zionism.htm

A teaser for RYA's essay:
    Two basic attitudes towards the religious significance of the State
    of Israel are prevalent within the contemporary Orthodox community
    in Israel. The Charedi (Ultra-Orthodox) position contends that we can
    grant no religious significance to the State, and some even view the
    State as a negative phenomenon. The second position is the "messianic"
    approach, which applies to the Jewish State all the epithets with
    which Rav Kook zt"l described the State well before its establishment:
    "The foundation of God's Throne in the world, whose entire desire
    is that God shall be One and His Name shall be One." I would like
    to propose a third position regarding this critical issue.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The thought of happiness that comes from outside
micha at aishdas.org        the person, brings him sadness. But realizing
http://www.aishdas.org   the value of one's will and the freedom brought
Fax: (270) 514-1507      by uplifting its, brings great joy. - R' Kook