Hebrew Universalism (philosophy)

Last updated

Hebrew Universalism is a religious, cultural, and political philosophy that synthesizes aspects of secular Jewish nationalism, Haredi non-Zionism, and Jewish humanism. It was initially formulated by the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine, Abraham Isaac Kook, as a means of unifying Jewish civilization. [1]

Contents

Beliefs

The Three Forces

In 1920, Rav Kook published a book, Lights of Rebirth, in which he laid out what he considered to be the "three forces" constantly in conflict throughout human history: The three forces he identified were: HaKodesh (The Holy), HaUmah (The Nation), and HaAnshiyut (The Humanist); with each of these forces representing a different camps of Jews within the Yishuv. "The Holy" - Orthodox Jews, "The Nation" - secular Jewish Zionists, and "The Humanist" - General Humanism found among all peoples. Kook believed these three forces must work together to ensure the prosperity and security of the entire Jewish community. [2] [3]

The uniqueness of Jewish nationalism

Kook laid out his belief in Lights of Rebirth that secular nationalism as defined in the Western world stood at odds with the Jewish concept of nationhood laid out in the Tanakh. He believed that the stated purpose of Jewish civilization was the betterment of humanity, as stated in Genesis 12:3 in which God tells Abraham "through you, I will bless all of the families of the world". Therefore, per Kook, Jewish nationalism and universalism were intrinsically linked together, allowing for the synthesis of these two seemingly conflicting concepts. [4] [5]

Semitic Unity

Rav Yehuda HaKohen, a Hebrew Universalist activist and founder of the revived Semitic Action group, [6] believes Hebrew Universalism to be the key to addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the concept of "Semitic Unity". [7] HaKohen is also a proponent of a one state solution, an end to the occupation of Palestine, resettlement of Gaza, [8] Arab civil rights, and addressing the historical crimes committed by the Zionist movement during the founding of the State of Israel. [9] Despite coming from a religious national Zionist background, being a veteran of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, and a settler in the West Bank, HaKohen has repeatedly called for peace and cooperation between Jews and Palestinians, much like fellow settler activist, Rabbi Menachem Froman. [10]

Groups

Sources

  1. Dosetareh, Eliott (8 August 202). "Hebrew Universalism: The Future Vision of Rav Kook" (PDF). Straus Scholars Program Thesis: Yeshiva University (1): 4–6.
  2. "Orot, Lights from Darkness, Lights of Rebirth 18:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  3. Truboff, Zach (2017-03-16). "Rav Kook on Culture and History - The Lehrhaus" . Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  4. "Orot, Lights from Darkness, Lights of Rebirth 5:8". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  5. "The Teachings of Rav. Kook: Nationalism vs Universalism - Part 1 - L'Emunat Iteinu vol.I (13/07/16)". Machon Meir English Department. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  6. "Yehuda HaKohen, Author at VISION". VISION. 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  7. "For This Israeli Settler, Zionism Isn't Nearly Radical Enough". The Forward. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  8. Riesman, Abraham (2020-12-25). "The Bizarre Rise of the Manhattan Prep School Gangster Turned Enigmatic West Bank Rabbi". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  9. HaKohen, Yehuda (2018-02-25). "A Tale of Two Narratives | VISION Magazine | Yehuda HaKohen". VISION. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  10. HaKohen, Yehuda (2021-09-14). "Am I Proud of My Service in Israel's Army? | VISION | Yehuda HaKohen". VISION. Retrieved 2024-06-01.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Isaac Kook</span> Chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine (1865–1935)

Abraham Isaac Kook, known as HaRav Kook, and also known by the Hebrew-language acronym Hara'ayah, was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one of the fathers of religious Zionism and is known for founding the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious Zionism</span> Ideology that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism

Religious Zionism is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as Dati Leumi, and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the first part of that term: Datiim. The community is sometimes called 'Knitted kippah', the typical head covering worn by male adherents to Religious Zionism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zvi Yehuda Kook</span> Religious zionist leader (1891–1982)

Zvi Yehuda Kook was an ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. Both father and son are credited with developing Kookian Zionism, which became the dominant form of Religious Zionism. He was Rosh Yeshiva (dean) of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avraham Shapira</span> 4th Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel

Avraham Shapira was a prominent rabbi in the Religious Zionist world. He served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993. Shapira was the head of the Rabbinical court of Jerusalem, and both a member and the head of the Supreme Rabbinic Court. He was the rosh yeshiva of Mercaz haRav in Jerusalem, a position he held after Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook died in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercaz HaRav</span> Yeshiva in Jerusalem

Mercaz HaRav is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Located in the city's Kiryat Moshe neighborhood, it has become the most prominent religious-Zionist yeshiva in the world and synonymous with Rabbi Kook's teachings. Many Religious Zionist educators and leaders have studied at Mercaz HaRav.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machon Meir</span>

Machon Meir is a religious Zionist outreach organization and yeshiva located near Givat Shaul in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat Moshe. It is one of the larger Jewish outreach organizations in Israel and strongly associated with nationalist politics and the settler movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yehuda Leib Maimon</span> Israeli politician (1875–1962)

Yehuda Leib Maimon was an Israeli rabbi, politician and leader of the Religious Zionist movement. He was Israel's first Minister of Religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardal</span> Haredi portion of the religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel

Hardal usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Haredi ideology. In their approach to the State of Israel, though, they are very much Zionist, and believe that Israel is Atchalta De'Geula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzchak Yaacov Reines</span> Belarusian rabbi

Yitzchak Yaacov Reines, was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi and the founder of the Mizrachi Religious Zionist Movement, one of the earliest movements of Religious Zionism, as well as a correspondent of Theodor Herzl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlomo Elyashiv</span>

Shlomo Elyashiv (Eliashov) (January 5, 1841 [12 Tevet 5602] - March 13, 1926 [27 Adar, 5676]) (Hebrew: שלמה בן חיים חייקל אלישיב), also known as the Leshem or Ba'al HaLeshem, was a famous kabbalist, who was born in Šiauliai, Lithuania, and later moved to the Land of Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinchas Polonsky</span> Russian-Israeli religious philosopher (born 1958)

Pinchas Polonsky is a rabbi, Russian-Israeli Jewish-religious philosopher, researcher, and educator active among the Russian-speaking Jewish community. He has written original books and a number of translations of works on Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zephaniah Drori</span> Israeli Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva

Rabbi Zephaniah Drori was the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, Israel and the rosh yeshiva of the Kiryat Shmona Hesder Yeshiva. He also heads the Aguda LeHitnadvut, and serves as Av Beit Din of the northern conversion beit din.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Har Hamor</span> Religious Zionist yeshiva in Jerusalem

Yeshivat Har Hamor ; is a Religious Zionist yeshiva in Har Homa, Jerusalem, founded in 1997 as an offshoot of Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav. The president of the yeshiva is Rabbi Zvi Thau, and the Rosh yeshiva - head of the yeshiva - is Rabbi Amiel Sternberg. There are around 850 students. Many of the students are married ("avrechim"), and the average student age is higher than at most Religious Zionist yeshivas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moshe-Zvi Neria</span> Israeli politician (1913–1995)

Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neria was an Israeli educator, writer, and rosh yeshiva who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party between 1969 and 1974. Neria established and headed the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Kfar Haroeh, and was one of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's most influential disciples. Due to his far-reaching influence on Religious Zionism, he is known as "the father of the knit kippah generation."

Post-Zionism is the opinion of some Israelis, diaspora Jews and others, particularly in academia, that Zionism fulfilled its ideological mission with the formation of the modern State of Israel in 1948, and that Zionist ideology should therefore be considered at an end. The Jewish right also use the term to refer to the Israeli Left in light of the Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995. Some critics associate post-Zionism with anti-Zionism; proponents strenuously deny this association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel

The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives has been a traditional Hebrew/Jewish burial location since antiquity, and the main present-day cemetery portion is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf in the sixteenth century. The cemetery contains anywhere between 70,000 and 150,000 tombs, including the tombs of famous figures in early modern Jewish history. It is considered to be the largest and holiest historical Jewish cemetery on earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oury Amos Cherki</span> Israeli rabbi

Oury Amos Cherki is chairman of Brit Olam – Noahide World Center, a senior lecturer at Machon Meir, leader of congregation "Bayt Yehuda" in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, and has published numerous works on Jewish thought and philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinchas HaKohen Lintup</span>

Pinchas HaKohen Lintup or Pinhas HaKohen Lintop was a Religious Zionist Lithuanian rabbi and teacher who served as the spiritual leader of the Hasidic community of Biržai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoel Bin-Nun</span> Israeli religious Zionist rabbi

Yoel Bin-Nun is an Israeli religious Zionist rabbi and one of the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Gush Emunim, Michlelet Herzog and the settlements of Alon Shevut and Ofra. He is a scholar of Jewish thought, and a lecturer and expert on the Tanach.