Seeds of Zionism in the Torah
Written by High School Intern Eden Kraft, from Tiferes Bais Yaakov in Toronto
The very first seeds of Zionism come straight from the Torah, from the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs. Although evidence from the Torah does not prove that the Jewish people have legal rights to the land of Israel, it is still important to note because it shows us where our connection to the land originally comes from and provides us with a history in the land that goes back thousands of years.
The first time that a connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel can be found is when God tells Avraham (Abraham) and Sarah to go down to Israel, in 1740 BCE. God tells Avraham and Sarah to leave the place where they are from and go to the place that God will tell them (Genesis 12:1). It does not say where this place is in the text, however commentators teach that the land that they are going to is the Land of Israel. The fact that God is telling them to leave everything that they have ever known to go to this land shows how important this land is to God and to the Jewish people, and shows that the Jewish people clearly have a strong connection to the land.
The second connection that can be seen between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel is the Exodus to Egypt, which takes place a few hundred years after the first instance, in 1522 BCE. From Avraham and Sarah until this time, the Jewish people had been living in Israel. Now, because of a famine, they have to leave. Yaakov (Jacob), Avraham’s grandson, does not want to leave Israel because he loves it so much and knows that this is the land in which he and his family belong. He is hesitant to leave until God Himself tells Yaakov that he can leave, and that God will bring him and his descendants back to the Land (Genesis 46:1-1). This not only shows the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel in how much Yaakov loves the Land and doesn’t want to leave, but also in the fact that God promises to bring Yaakov and his offspring back to the land.
Finally, a few hundred years later, the Jewish people return to Israel after being enslaved in Egypt for over 200 years. This takes place at the end of the Torah, when Moshe (Moses) has died and Yehoshua (Joshua) takes over leading the Jewish people. In this text, we see the Jewish people finally returning to the Land of Israel after years of wandering in the desert. Yehoshua prepares to cross over the Jordan River and take over the Land that Hashem promised to give the Jewish people.
You may be wondering why all of these biblical characters felt such a strong connection to the land of Israel specifically and why so many people still feel this connection today…
When God created the world, He first created one rock. That rock was in the place that the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, once stood. After that rock was created, land came spiralling out from that spot further and further until the whole universe was created. Because this place was the beginning of creation, it is the holiest place in the world. This is where God’s presence can be felt most in the world because it is the place where Heaven and Earth met. The Jewish people are God’s special nation who have been given the mission to bring God into the world. Therefore there is a natural connection between the Jewish people and true land of Israel due to this common purpose. This inherent connection can be seen through the way that the land responds to the Jewish people. Throughout history, historical accounts have told us that when the Jewish people are living in the land of Israel it blooms and flourishes, but when the land is under foreign power it becomes barren and desolate.
