Rabbi Moshe Leib Diskin once said:
"The
rabbis of the generation should gather together and issue a writ of excommunication against the Zionists and eject them from
the Jewish People, and make decrees against their bread and wine, and to forbid marrying with them, JUST LIKE OUR SAGES DID WITH THE SAMARITANS."
The purpose of our exile, in addition to that of punishment, is to test us. Nachmanides (1194-1278)
writes that the ultimate redemption depends on the Jewish people remaining faithful and preserving their identity in all the
lands of their exile. This is a difficult task. The forces of persecution and the enticements of assimilation have often proved
all too powerful. Yet, despite all, a remnant of Jews has always remained faithful and continues so, praise be to God, until
this very day.
Thus, Jews are enjoined to perform a most precarious balancing act. On the one hand there is
the obligation to act in an honest, empathetic, loyal and patriotic manner towards the nation in which they dwell. This obligation
extends to Jewish relations with all peoples living within the nation. On the other hand, there is a need for spiritual and
to some extent social isolation in order to practice the Torah and preserve Jewish survival. Inclining too far to either side
of this dichotomy can result in much evil and confusion. In the proper balance, though, lies the fulfillment of Jewish destiny.
And, combined with the yearning for the Messiah, it is the only recipe for the world's salvation.
And, again, in his commentary on the prayer book, Rabbi Hirsch writes:
"During the reign of Hadrian when the uprising led by Bar Kochba proved a disastrous error,
it became essential that the Jewish people be reminded for all times of an important, essential fact, namely that (the people
of) Israel must never again attempt to restore its national independence by its own power; it was to entrust its future as
a nation solely to Divine Providence."
The contradiction between loyalty to the lands in which the Jewish people dwell in their exile
and Zionism, was also explained by Rabbi Hirsch:
"This close connection with states everywhere is not at all in contradiction to the spirit
of Judaism, for the independent national life of Israel was never the essence or purpose of our existence as
a nation but a means of fulfilling our spiritual mission."
"Land and soil were never Israel's bond of union..."
"For this
(Messianic -- author) future which is promised to us in the glorious predictions of the inspired prophets as a goal of the
Galus (exile -- author), we hope and pray, but actively to accelerate its coming is prohibited to us."
Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld
Leader of the Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem and a staunch anti Zionist. Around 75 years ago he participated
together with the martyr Professor Yaakov Yisroel DeHaan (later murdered by the Zionists for his participation) in a delegation
which visited King Hussein, his sons Faisal the King of Iraq and the Amir Abdullah, in order to
lucidly present to them the position of the God-fearing Jewish community. The Jewish delegation clarified unequivocally that
Torah Jews is totally opposed to the Zionist sovereignty over the Holy Land. Rabbi Sonnenfeld later established the anti-Zionist Rabbinical court
of the Eidah Hacharedis and was appointed as its head and Chief Rabbi by the Orthodox community in Jerusalem, this court standing
in opposition to the Zionist puppet "Rabbinical court" and its "Chief Rabbis".
After the disorders in Eretz Yisroel in 1929, the Chief Rabbi of the Orthodox Jewish Community,
Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt"l, issued a touching appeal to the Arab population to live in peace with the Jewish community,
and assuring them that the Jewish people have no designs on the Temple Mount nor Arab properties.
This appeal, presented in English translation, as printed in Arabic in the leading Arab
newspaper as well as in Loshon Kodesh in the Agudah weekly, Kol Yisroel on November 22,
1929.
Rabbi Sonnenfeld stated in his public declaration "Words of Truth and Peace" printed in issue
number 6 of the Jewish Guardian, volume number I. as follows:
"The
Jews do not want, in any way, to take that which isn't theirs. And they certainly do not want to contest the rights of the
other inhabitants to the places held by them which they regard with honor and consider holy. And in particular there is no
foundation to the rumor that the Jews
want to acquire the Temple Mount. On the contrary, from the time that, because of our sins, we have been lacking the purity
required by the Torah, it is forbidden for any Jew to set foot upon the grounds of the Temple Mount, until the coming of the
righteous Messiah, who with the spirit of the Lord which will hover over him, will rule righteously, for the good of all creation,
and will return to us the purity required by the Torah".(Ibid, p.3).
Rabbi
Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin
The following is a letter written by the famous Rabbi Tzadok Hakohen
of Lublin, Poland, before World War II:
Concerning the Zionists can be applied the verse: He who observes the wind will
not sow, and he who beholds clouds will not reap.
The Zionists sow wheat and reap thorns, and EVEN SHOULD THE WORK OF SATAN PROSPER, eventually there could
be a horrible end, God forbid.
The Jewish People appear to be in this hour like a ship sailing in the heart of the sea
without oars in a tempest. The helmsmen have been struck by blindness.
Do we not know that the whole purpose of the eventual
Redemption is to improve ours ways and observe the Torah with all the protections our sages ordained for us? WHAT HOPE IS
THERE FOR US IF THOSE WHO BLASPHEME THE TORAH SHOULD, HEAVEN FORBID, BECOME MEN OF POWER AND INFLUENCE?
BUT THE CONCLUSION IS
TO BE DRAWN THAT IF THE ZIONISTS GAIN DOMINION THEY WILL SEEK TO REMOVE FROM THE HEARTS OF ISRAEL BELIEF IN GOD AND IN THE TRUTH OF THE TORAH. ALL THE INTENT OF THESE INCITERS AND SEDUCERS IS TO CAST ISRAEL INTO INFIDELITY, WHICH IS DESTRUCTION.
Tzadok
Hakohen
SOURCE: "The Transformation" The Voice of Torah, pp 193-196
Rabbi
Yeoshea Dzikover
The Dzikover Rebbe, zt”l, is widely known as Reb Yehoishea Dzikover. This is what he wrote:
(English Translation):
“For our many sins, strangers have risen to pasture the holy flock, men who say that the
people of Israel should be clothed in secular nationalism, a nation like all other nations, that Judaism rests on three things,
national feeling, the land and the language, and that national feeling is the most praiseworthy element in the brew and the
most effective in preserving Judaism while the observance of the Torah and the commandments is a private matter dependent
on the inclination of each individual. May the Lord rebuke these evil men and may He who chooseth Jerusalem seal their mouths.
To our distress, some rabbis from Russia have joined these evil men and distribute
letters and pamphlets in persuasive words describing Dr. Herzl as one who desires to lead us into the palace of the King.
And I have seen that one of this variety of rabbis who entertain empty ideas and speak pretentiously, has been writing against
the great and righteous men of the age who are opposed to Zionism.
He alleges that they reject—Heaven forbid—the Land of Delight and do not yearn to settle there so
that they may fulfill the commandments connected with the land. All this is falsehood and hypocrisy. The Zionists seek to
transform settlement into redemption and the gathering of the exile, and to fulfill there the desires of their evil hearts
and their abominable wishes.
These rabbis who deny that there is a God above, disguise themselves in a cloak of piety in order
to deny. They write even that some of them, found it difficult to believe that Shem Yisborach had raised up a redeemer who
is not an observer of the Torah but, they add, the Lord desires this and His will is inscrutable—exactly as in the days
of Sabbetai Tsvi.
They too base their views on a falsification of a saying in the Holy Zohar by substituting ‘the
land’ for ‘the Torah’ in Israel, the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one.’ May the falsifiers
be confounded.
In this connection, it is fitting to quote the saying of our sages that the sin of Nodov and
Avihu consisted in their saying that although fire descends from Heaven, it was a duty to bring ordinary material fire. Rashi
commenting on the verse ‘And the land will not vomit you forth’ states that the land of Israel was not able to contain sinners. According
to what has been reported, the Zionists are sunk in the extremes of defilement and abomination as in Egypt and like drunkards do they bring a strange
fire which the Lord has not commanded. If only the masses of Israel are not caught in this iniquity—Heaven
forbid. Whoever has a grasp of all the incidents occurring throughout the generations of Israel’s course, will be aware that from
matters like these many calamities surround Israel.
As to the claim of these hypocritical rabbis that it is our duty to love even heretics and the
sayings of the Sages which they cite in support of it, it should be pointed out that they have distorted their holy words
into the opposite of what they meant. In the Oir Hachayim, Parshas Kedoishim, it is pointed out that the verse ‘And
thou shalt love thy neighbor like thyself’ means that it is only a duty to love those who behave in a manner suitable
for your people to behave but apostates and heretics, the enemies of the Lord, one is forbidden to love. King David said ‘I
have seen renegades and I was grieved because they did not observe Thy word.’ On the contrary, those who profess to
be lovers of Israel constitute a danger to our religion to a greater extent than the apostates. In my opinion,
the benediction Velemalshinim applies to the Zionists who defame us by alleging that Israel is treacherous to kingdoms, Heaven forbid,
and in revolt against governments. There are no slanderers as dangerous as the Zionists. Concerning the like of them, King
Solomon said ‘Thorns and traps on a crooked path, he who would preserve his life will keep away from them.’
In the days of my sainted grandfather, Rabbi Eliezer of Dzikov, zt”l there was the famous
storm aroused by Rabbi Tsvi Hirsch Kalisher who troubled the great Torah personalities of his day with his proclamation calling
on Jews to go up to Jerusalem, built an altar, offer sacrifices and hasten the Redemption. His words reached the ears of the
masses of the people and they believed that the beginning of the Redemption was at hand.
At that time, my grandfather ascended the Bimah before Kol Nidrei in the company of seven leading
men of the town with scrolls of the Torah in their hands and he proclaimed: “If the Lord desires to redeem us, He will
send us Melech Hamoshiach without first informing Rabbi Tsvi Hirsh in the land of Germany. Nor do we find a hint in the Holy Books
that the announcer of salvation will appear in the city of Thorn . . . Far be it from us to cast our burden upon him for we
have not heard the command from Heaven that permission has been granted to Tsvi Hirsh, the son of Malkah, to engage in hidden
things. What he is doing is not ordained from on High but emerges from his own heart.’ When Rabbi Tsvi’s book
came into the hands of my father zt”l, the author of the Imrei Noiam, he was so shocked that he immediately condemned
it to be burnt.
Yet Rabbi Tsvi was most learned in Torah and conducted himself according to the Torah but a fierce
hunger had seized him to become a leader in Israel and an announcer of the Redemption. He was led into making
the boldest interpretations. He even ventured to treat the sayings of our Sages speaking of the future of Israel and the land
of Israel after the coming of the Righteous Redeemer as if they applied to redemption at the hand of man, forgetting that
only Shem Yisborach can bring about eternal justice.
That was why the Gedoilei Yisroel unanimously proclaimed that if we come to the land of Israel as guests uninvited by the Melech Hamoshiach,
there is a great danger that we will be driven out. Nevertheless, the fact is that Rabbi Tsvi did not slander Israel. But today, we are seized with horror
when we hear that the Zionists write that the peoples among whom we are scattered by the decree of the exile, are like thorns
in the eyes of Jews and that the dispersion of Israel is a curse to the peoples. There has therefore been an
increase among us of letters from the great men among our brethren to the effect that the sole delight of Zionists is to fill
their bellies to the extent of their appetites, that all who oppress Israel become leaders, and that through the great extent
of their desire to rise to greatness, their brains have become confused so that they no longer have the common sense to appreciate
the evil which they are bringing upon us.
We are also told that the rabbis in alliance with the Zionists are grinding ground corn, that
their words have already been said by the sect of Sabbetai Tsvi and later by Rabbi Tsvi to whom we have just referred, and
that these writings have become the corner-stone of Zionism in our day and of Zionist distortion of the words of the Ramban
zt”l.
I am therefore joining those who aim at setting up a fence to exclude the Zionist transgressors.
Far be it from any man in Israel to enter their company. I find it fitting to conclude with the words
of my grandfather, the holy Rabbi Naftoli Hirsh of Ropshits zt”l, in his book Zera Koidesh (Parshas ki Sisso) to the
effect that the root of failings is attributable to what the mixed multitude is doing to us. According to the Holy Zohar,
they oppress Israel more than the peoples of the world. It is important, therefore, to strengthen ourselves
with faith exceedingly, for Israel was redeemed from Egypt through the merit of faith and for that
merit will again be redeemed in a future Redemption. The reinforcement of faith is particularly necessary when one sees the
way of the wicked prosper.
One must then fix in one’s heart the conviction that Shem Yisborach will certainly and
speedily reveal His Royal Glory to us and all the evil will vanish like smoke.”
Thus spoke the true Gedoilei Yisroel at a time when Zionism first appeared with its confusion.
Each of them is at a loss for words with which to clothe his feeling of hostility to the confusion of the mind created by
it. It is a remarkable fact that at the present day, sixty years later, the Zionist still use the same language and especially
can this be observed in the case of their religious camp followers with their talk of the love of Israel and the beginning
of the Redemption, etc. The strong words of Gedoilei Yisroel of that time are still vital today for those who wish to see
the truth.
SOURCE: "The Transformation" The Voice of Torah, pp 210-217
Rabbi David Friedman of Karlin
Rabbi David Friedman of Karlin wrote many years
ago:
"My opinion about this is known, that Zionism is worse than the rest, because it claims that a person can be a Jew
without the Torah, and many fell away because of this."
Rabbi
Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, known as the Ohr Somayach
The following is a letter written by Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, known as the Ohr Somayach:
May God cry out from from His holy habitation and give forth his voice for there have arisen
NEW REBELS AND TRAITORS, thinking to establish a State...
and have promised to deliver Israel from all its troubles in the Exile.
I cannot utter with my lips nor write down what is in my heart concerning these unstable people....
We should pay no attention to Herzl, because this Zionist vision is driving - God forbid - Israel to destruction.
It is our duty to preserve ourselves from being captured and mingled with the empty utterances
of Herzl and Nordau and their cabal. I am astonished that the Mizrachi rabbis...will not unite with all those who have taken
on themeselves the task of weakening the Zionist traitors. They actually uphold the Zionists and themselves will come to revile
all those opposed ot this abominable Zionist movement, who teach that the only hope to Israel springs from the ZIONISTS WHO REJECT
OUR HOLY TORAH.
Meir Simcha Hakohen
Rabbi Meir Simche, zt”l the Rabbi of Dvinsk, generally known by the title of his
work, Oir Someach. He stated that words would not suffice to express his horror of the Zionist menace. Here are some
extracts from the proclamation which he issued on the subject:
English Translation:
“The Lord doth roar from on high and from His holy habitation gives forth His voice, for
there have arisen new rebels and traitors, thinking to lay the foundation of Zion and to establish a kingdom; and they have
raised the standard, to gather our Exile, in the promise that in the near future, they will put an end to all trouble and
calamity and that they, the Zionists, will deliver Israel from all its troubles.
I cannot utter with my lips nor put down in writing that which is in my heart concerning these
unstable men. We ask ourselves what have these unbelievers heard that they have come forth? Who called them and
what do they want with us? They talk of redeeming us from exile while we do not desire redemption at the hands of man,
seeing that we know that its end is—Heaven forbid—destruction and vanity, and all this comes upon them through
the desire for greatness and power that burns and consumes their hearts like fire.
Heaven forbid that we should hasten the hour. Even were the foundation of a kingdom a basic commandment
and even were we to hear a Voice from Heaven telling us that it is our duty to hearken to Dr. Herzl, then we should say that
no attention is to be paid to a Voice from Heaven because this Zionist vision is driving--Heaven forbid--Israel to destruction.
It is our duty to preserve ourselves from being captured and mingled with the unstable utterances
of Herzl and Nordau and with their conspiracy, and I am astonished that the Mizrachi rabbis, venture to dispute the words
of our teachers and, instead of doing their duty, by uniting with all those who have taken upon themselves, the task of weakening
the traitorous Zionists, they uphold them and will finally pursue and revile all those opposed to this abominable movement
as if in truth—Heaven forbid—the only hope remaining to Israel springs from the Zionists who reject our Holy Torah.
King David cried out “I have seen renegades and I was grieved for they did not observe
Thy word. Let dust seal their mouths for they are no better than the renegades who apostatized.”
SOURCE: "The Transformation" The Voice of Torah, pp 183-186
Rabbi Avraham Yoshe Freund of Nasoder Rebbe
Once before the Neila prayer on Yom Kippur Rabbi Avraham Yoshe Freund of Nasod said:
"It is not because they are Zionists that they are evildoers. It is because they are evildoers
that they are Zionists."
Reb
Elchonon Wasserman, zt'l
Reb Elchonon Wasserman, zt'l, was born in 1874 in Birz, Lithuania. He studied in Telzer yeshiva under
Reb Eliezer Gordon and Reb Shimon Shkop, zt'l. Thereafter he went to Velozin to learn under Reb Chaim Brisker, the Rosh Yeshiva
of Yolozin at the time. In 1906 he went to Radin to study in the Kokkel Kodshim, founded by the Chofetz Chaim. In 1910 Reb
Chaim Brisker called Reb Elchonon to accept being Rosh Yeshiva in Brisk. It was first in 1921 that Reb Elchonon returned to
Poland, to Baranovitch, where he was asked to head the local yeshiva, Ohel Torah. He was to head the
yeshiva till the war years when he, together with hundreds of his students sanctified the Almighty's name. Witnesses have
recounted that dreadful day--eleventh day in Tamuz, 5701 when the murderers came in. He was in the midst of learning Tractate
Nidoh. Reb Elchonon spoke quietly and calmly, as was his practice. Not even the sound of his voice was changed. On his face,
his customary earnestness. His tone betrayed no feeling for self, and he did not attempt to say good-bye to his son, Reb Naftali.
He spoke to everyone, to the whole House of Israel.
"In Heaven it appears that they deem us to be righteous because our bodies have been chosen
to stone for the Jewish people. Therefore, we must repent now, immediately. There is not much time. We must keep in mind that
we will be better offerings if we repent. In this way we will save the lives of our brethren overseas.
"Let no thought
enter our minds, God forbid, which is abominable and which renders an offering unfit. We are now fulfilling the greatest mizvah.
With fire she was destroyed and with fire she will be rebuilt. The very fire which consumes our bodies will one day rebuild
the Jewish people."
On Sunday on the evening of 16th of the Hebrew month of Elul [August 23,
1937],
the rabbinical leaders met to discuss the issue of a “Jewish State.” The meeting was stormy, and it dealt with
the issue of the Three Oaths. A great dispute broke out in the session, and Rabbi Wasserman expressed pungent words that shocked
his listeners. The following is what he said:
“We must emphasize and declare the position of our holy Torah in order to banish any confusion
of ideas. Inasmuch as there are Jews who are Torah-observant who say that a Jewish State would be the “beginning of
the Redemption,” we must inform them of the position of our Torah that this is nothing less than the beginning of a
new Exile! What do I mean? After all, Jews have been living in Exile for some two thousand years, so how can this be a “beginning”
of a new Exile? My intention is to expose the so-called Jewish Communists. An Exile such as this has never existed until today.
None of us can even describe such an exile, an Exile under Jews! Only Jews from Russia have a slight sense of this situation,
even though the regime there is not a “Jewish” one. One of the great rabbis of this generation recently told me
that the term “beginning of the Redemption” in reference to the Zionist movement makes his hair stand on
end!
“However, it could be said that it does bring the Redemption closer. The great Rabbi Eliyahu
of Vilna (who lived in the 18th century) stated (see Kol Yerushalayim, 22 Elul 1937) that effect of Jewish suffering
is that it brings the Redemption closer, and because the misfortune of a “Jewish State” would bring greater suffering
upon us, it could be said that this brings the Redemption closer, as was the case in Egypt, that the oppression of bondage
hastened the Redemption.”
In Hapardes (Year 11, Issue 7) Rabbi Pardes describes what he saw at the Convention: “Rabbi
Wasserman, Rabbi Kotler, Rabbi Rottenberg from Antwerp, rabbis from Czechoslovakia and Hungary were unanimous in rejecting
any proposal for a “Jewish State” on either side of the Jordan River, even if it were established as a religious
state because such a regime would be a form of heresy in our faith in the belief in the coming of the Messiah, and especially
since this little “Jewish” state would be built on heresy and desecration of the Name of God.
The late Rabbi Shlomo Rottenberg (a historian and author of Toldos Am Olam and other works),
who also attended the Convention in 1937 used to say that he could still remember what was discussed there, and the harsh
opposition of these rabbinical leaders to a “Jewish State” that is a violation of the Three Oaths mentioned in the Talmud. (Rabbi A.L. Spitzer)
[1] Hapardes, Chicago Year 11, Issue 6 (August 1937)
In vol. 231 of Das Yidishe Tagblat from 9 Tamuz 1939, R. Elchonon Wasserman said the following
when asked about the terror methods of the Zionists:
"They (the Zionists) should be considered as persecutors (rodfim)
against the Jewish People. It is forbidden to use such methods".
He once said regarding the Zionists in his novella on
the Talmud:
"It is known that the Jewish People always suffer from two things:
1) Outsiders, and 2) Insiders with their
false messiahs, with whom they promise to return to the Holy Land. Their ultimate end is the giving up of Judaism by thousands of
Jews."
"And in the Holy Land it is beyond any doubt, that the land will vomit them from its midst, for
it is the "palace of the King" and does not hold evildoers...I do not come to curse... but because, this is exactly what is
stated in the Torah, against our will it will come to pass..."
Rabbi
Chaim Soloveichik of Brisk
Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik of Brisk (1853-1918), the founder of the "yeshiva approach to Talmudic
study," was frequently quoted by his disciples as saying:
"The Zionists do not make Jews heretics in order to have
a state, they want a state in order to make Jews into heretics!"
Or, as he once wrote:
"The Jewish people have
suffered many (spiritual) plagues -- the Sadducees, Karaites, Hellenisers, Shabbatai Zvi, Enlightenment, Reform and many others.
But the strongest of them all is Zionism."
This hideous strength was later explained by his son, the Brisker Rav, Rabbi
Velvel Soloveichik (1886-1960) as being due to the Zionists having "attacked the center point of Judaism.
The following is a letter written by Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, one of the
greatest rabbis in Lithuania in the early part of the century:
Dear Rabbi Moshe Carpas:
I have also read your words in connection with the sect
of the Zionists who are now powerfully banded together. I do not blush to admit that I do not know how to find paths to oppose
them.
Seeing that these men are known as evil in their localities, and have already proclaimed their purpose, which
is to uproot the fundamentals of our faith, and to take over all Jewish communities to aid them in their plan.
It
is hardly credible that after the revelations of their arrogant hearts there should still be found right-minded men willing
to ally themselves with them. It is greatly astonishing throughout the whole Jewish People that they should be given a place
and a voice in public affairs, since it is known they are causing others to sin.
Let the people guard their souls lest
they join them in the destruction of our religion and become an obstacle to the House of Israel.
Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk said:
"If you intend to give a coin to the Jewish National Fund, give it to another idolatry, but not
to the Zionists, since this idolatry is worse then any other."
Rabbi
Yisrael Meir Hakohen, the Chofetz Chaim
"I am sure, that the zionists are descendents of Amalek."
[Editor Note: For more information on this statement, read the website article: Clarification of Statements by the Chofetz Chaim]
The great Rabbi Yisrael Meir Hakohen, known as Chafetz Chaim wrote the following words decades ago:
If the thoughts of these Zionists were really for the good of Israel as they claim, they would refrain from
this effort, and THERE WOULD BE AN END TO ALL THE CALAMITIES THAT SPRING FORTH FROM IT. At first sight there seems no reason why I should
expand on this theme, seeing as it is clearly forbidden in the Talmudic tractate Ketuboth to go up to the Holy Land en masse.
I fear that as one sin brings on another, that if they succeed, they will later transgress the prohibition against rebelling
against other nations.
(God) knows that I have written these words from concern for our brethren, the Children
of Israel, lest He withdraw his care for us - Heaven forbid - SINCE WHOEVER READS THE WORDS OF THE ZIONISTS WILL KNOW
THAT EVEN THE BEST OF THE OTHER PEOPLES WILL BE TURNED INTO OUR ENEMIES.
Yisrael Meir Hakohen
In the 1930s, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, reported in the name of his teacher, Rabbi Yisrael
Meir the Chafetz Chaim, that the Talmudic statement that God has sworn that His Name is incomplete, and his Seat is incomplete,
until "they" are erased from the world refers to the Zionists. (There were elders in the city of Bnai Brak who heard these words from the Chafetz Chaim)
(Source: Chapter 3 of Rabbi Wasserman's booklet, "Proper Prayer")
A Letter from
the Chofetz Chayim zt”l:
English Translation:
“Woe unto me if I do not speak although I am not a man of words. If it were not a
matter of life and death, I would not be willing to write. Your honour has done well to turn to the great ones of our
people and enlarge on the extent of danger involved in it. It is not a time to keep silent.
If the thoughts of these Zionists were really for the good of Israel as they claim they would
withhold themselves from the matter, and there would be an end to all the calamities, that spring from it. At first
sight there seems no reason why I should expand on this theme, seeing that it is clearly forbidden in the tractate of Kesubos
to go up to the Land in a column, meaning with a multitude. I in my innocence venture to fear, that one sin brings on
another, and that if they transgress the prohibition against, rebelling against the nations of the world.
I have pain in expanding on this theme. I spoke seriously to one of the most famous Mizrachists
in our country, and I told him that all their activity was opposed to the Torah. He regarded as if I were deluded, and
told me that there was no other way to rid ourselves of the Exile, and asked how long we should wait for redemption through
miraculous means.
I became convinced that there was no hope of these people listening to the voice of the mighty
men of the Torah. We are able to know at a glance that our healing will not spring from them, and that their glory shall
not be for ever, especially seeing that it is publicly known that a certain one of them, has denied the God of Israel and
that another like Sennacherib has reviled the Hosts of the Living God. What have they to do with Israel and with the Holy Land?
The Holy One, blessed by His Name, knows the thoughts of human hearts. He knows that I
have written all these words from concern for our brethren, the children of Israel, lest He withdraw His care for us—Heaven
forbid—for whoever reads the words of the Zionists will know, that even the best among Gentiles will be turned into
our enemies.
Let our brethren know that until the time of the Messiah, we are destined to be in Exile and
to be subordinated to the nations until the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself will deliver those whom He collects and, eye
to eye, will Israel see God return to Zion.”
SOURCE: "The Transformation"
The Voice of Torah, pp 188-19
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Grand
Rabbi Sholem Dov Ber Schneersohn ZT"L
(A letter written by the famous Lubavitcher Rebbe, R. Shalom Dov ber Schneerson)
An important contribution to the struggle against Zionism was made by the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Grand Rabbi Sholem Dov Ber Schneersohn ZT"L. His words that are here translated, deal at some length with the character of
Zionism and some of the falsifications and ambiguities connected with it. They were uttered in response to questions raised
by Rabbi Aaronson who sought to justify the Zionists in the eyes of the Rebbe and ventured to raise questions on the subject
of the strong letter written by the Rebbe three years earlier. This account of the dispute with Rabbi Aaronson was written
by the Rebbe himself and here are a few extracts:
Rabbi Aaronson:
The Lubavitcher Rebbe:
From all the writings of the Zionists we can clearly see that their main aim and activity is
to create the impression among the Jewish People that the whole purpose of the Torah and the commandments is merely to strengthen
national feeling. This theory can easily be adopted by the youth who regard themselves as instruments prepared for the fulfillment
of the Zionist ideal. They regard themselves as completely liberated form Torah and the commandments. They think nationalism
has replaced religion... When Herzl was in the Holy Land he was far removed from God. He OPENLY PROFANED THE TORAH BY ENTERING THE HOLY CITY ON THE SABBATH. HE WENT TO THE SITE OF THE SANCTUARY WHICH EVEN FROM A HUMAN
POINT OF VIEW HE SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE, THUS OPENLY PROFANING THE SABBATH IN THE HOLY CITY, AND IN THE PLACE OF HIS TEMPLE, DOING EVIL
IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. In order to influence our brethren in favor of the Zionist aspiration for an independent nation and government,
they have no alternative but to lead the people astray from the path of of Torah and the commandments, or at least, to weaken
their attachment as much as possible SO THAT NATIONALISM SHOULD PREVAIL OVER TORAH, BECAUSE IT IS KNOWN THAT THOSE ATTACHED
TO THE TORAH ARE UNLIKELY TO CHANGE AND ACCEPT SOME OTHER FORM OF FAITH. It is surely clear that the Zionists not only are not approaching
Judaism, but that they entirely destroy Jewish souls in intentionally TAKING AWAY FROM THEM EVEN THE HIDDEN AND MYSTICAL FEELING IN THEIR SOULS FOR
THE TORAH AND THE COMMANDMENTS.... Sholem Ber Schneersohn
"Regarding your question about the Zionists, allow me to respond briefly. Those who assist the
Zionists will pay at the Day of Judgment, because they are causing the masses to sin. Therefore, whoever is on the side of
God and his Torah shall not join with evildoers and not become attached to them. On the contrary, they should oppose them
as much as possible."
Your friend in truth, Shalom Dov Ber from Lubavitch
He also said:
"The Zionists were more
clever than the others, since they exchanged nationalism for the Torah and commandments, as Mandelstam wrote publicly,
that a Jew doesn't have to be someone who keeps the commandments , but rather is a Zionist, even if he does not wear phylacteries
and does not keep the Sabbath...."
Rabbi
Shaul Brach
The following was written by the eminent late Rabbi Shaul Brach, one of the great anti-Zionist
rabbis in Hungary before World War II, in the introduction to a religious text called Avos Al Banim. His
words, just like the words of Rabbi Teitelbaum ring clearer than ever today.
"Since the dawn of the Zionist movement, suffering has not ceased to exist in the world. All
the warnings of the Torah have been fulfilled in their details among our People all over the world. For a believer it is no
surprise that the Zionists are the same as the heretics at the time of the Destruction of the Temple. Thus, divine judgment has been unleashed
on the entire world.
It is, however, surprising how they can continue in their ways unless they have rejected the
entire Torah and the Prophets, inasmuch as they support Zionism, they must surely hope they are successful. But the Torah
states, "..lest the Land vomit you out because of how you defiled it."
It is amazing that the leaders of the Agudah movement want many Jews to live in the Holy Land. Don't they fear for the lives of their
children given the fact that there is nowhere else on earth where there is so much heresy and sectarianism as in the Holy Land today?
As far as our brethren in America who support the Zionist heresy in the Holy Land are concerned,
if they don't face up to the truth, in liberal AMERICA they will quickly feel the effects of the verse, "With anger poured
out will I rule over you." May God have mercy.”
Rabbi
Yissachar Dov Belze Rabbe
Rabbi Yissachar
Dov Belze Rabbe
Rabbi Yissachar Dov of Belz once said:
" There could be, before
the arrival of Mashiach, that the Satan should succeed, and the evildoers should get a State in the Land of Israel. Their state would be a big danger for
every Jew in material and spiritual matters."
Rabbi
Chaim Oizer Grodzinski
Letter written by the renowned Rabbi Chayim Oizer Grodzinski, zt”l of Vilna to Chief
Rabbi Dr. Guedemann of Vienna:
English Translation:
Your honour knows that in the matter of the Zionists and the Mizrachi, I am in correspondence
with the Gaonim of this generation, and all of them, have decided that Zionism is the work of the Sitro Achro with all its
seductions and incitements, for the purpose of turning Israel from the good path and, that a great danger arises from it for
all the Congregation of the Exile—Heaven forbid—and that all those who venture to defend the Zionists, are no
better than they.
To our shame, some rabbis in our country have joined the Zionists and have founded an organization
under the name of Mizrachi, and they have rejected all the rebukes of the Gedoilei Hatorah, and they pretend to be men with
respect for the Word of the Lord.
They have founded committees and it is likely that they will turn to your honour. I am therefore
informing your honor that all the Gedoilim in our land are perplexed at the matter. In the books of the Poskim there is no
suggestion that it is our duty to found a kingdom. On the contrary, our sages, the Tenoim and the Amoiroim, have expressly
forbidden this. These rabbis of the Mizrachi have no faith, and do not trust in the salvation of the Lord and their minds
have become deranged into believing that in a state founded by the hands of man there will be peace for us.”
SOURCE: "The Transformation"
The Voice of Torah, pp 186-187
Chaim Elazar Shapiro -
The Rabbi of Munkatch
Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapiro (1871-1936), was the rabbi of the Munkatch chassidim in the city called
Munkatchev, now located in south-western Ukraine.
He was an outstanding scholar and a commentator on all areas of Torah scholarship. He was known
for his vociferous opposition to the Zionist heresy in all its forms, and was a major rabbinical authority paving the way
for the succeeding generations of anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews. In the period after World War I he worked tirelessly to stem
the winds of Zionist heresy from blowing through the loyal Orthodox communities in Eastern Europe, and never refrained from confronting other rabbis who
he thought were yielding to the pressures of Zionist influence in the Orthodox communities.
The great scholar, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapiro, the head of the rabbinical court of the city of
Munkatch during the riots in the city of Hebron and Jerusalem in 1929, said that the non-Jews should be made aware that loyal
Jews declined the offers contained in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.
“While I was in the city of Marinbad during the violence that took place in Hebron and
Jerusalem, I prepared a proposal to calm the situation, including that I should travel that very day to Prague and Vienna
to visit the representatives of the British government to promote an opportunity to change the situation whereby the ultra-Orthodox
parties who were sympathetic to the idea of the Declaration would retract their support of it in a radio broadcast (since
in any case there was no positive purpose to the Balfour Declaration, but rather it served only to incite anger and hatred
on the part of the Arabs). However, not a single leader of any of those political parties in Marinbad wanted to do so. They
even attempted to suggest that the Balfour Declaration was an awesome concept (I do not want to go into details about these
political issues) in order to save Jewish souls facing oppression. But the truth of the matter is that this was all merely
posturing, and their true interest was in following along after their Zionist heretic masters for purposes of power, money
and honor. Woes to us that such things have arisen in our generation.”
(From his Jewish legal responsa entitled
Minchas Elazar, Part V, Section 36)
Tikkun Olam
The
Hebrew book Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) is a collection of correspondence and rabbinical rulings published by two members
of the Orthodox Jewish community of the city of Munkatchevo, Ukraine in 1936. The collection represents the views of many important scholars and rabbis of Eastern Europe , especially the former Austro-Hungarian Empire against the various permutations
of secular and religious Zionism in the period between the two World Wars. Among the many dozens of rabbis whose views are
included in the book are Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar (1890-1979) and Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapiro of Munkatchevo (1870-1936),
both whom were known as vociferous and uncompromising opponents of the Zionist heretical movement.
Words
of Zionists, proves that their loyalty, is to Satan, not to God, not even to the Jews!
Words
of the Zionists - Today's Quote
