In 1944, David Ben Gurion, then the Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, spoke to a group of 15 and 16 year olds in what was then Palestine. He entitled his talk “The Imperatives of the Jewish Revolution.” He described what he saw. As Europe was burning and the war was beginning to come to an end, there were Mitzvot, imperatives, for those he hoped would build the country and a new society in the ancient homeland. He termed it a Jewish revolution because he wanted to turn away from the past of diaspora Jewry and its dependence upon living in host countries through the beneficence of local and national rulers. He hoped that these young Jewish people would be the cadre of a new society modeled upon biblical precedents and modern imperatives.

 

            He suggested that the first responsibility of the Jewish revolution was contained in one word – independence.   Ben Gurion talked about the importance of the independence of the Jewish people in its homeland. He wanted not merely independence in a political sense, but also “independence in the heart, in sentiment and in will.”

 

            Ben Gurion himself was a devout socialist and believed that independence for the people necessitated the creation of a socialist society.  Thus, the second indispensable imperative of the revolution he stated is “the unity of its protagonists.” He suggested this was “sharing together in a fate, a creative process, and a struggle in what unites this vanguard - the pioneers, the builders of the homeland, the workers of the land of Israel, who are inspired by a vision of a Jewish renaissance on humanistic, Zionist and socialist foundations.”

 

            The third imperative was “halutziut,” by which he meant the need for a strong and devoted pioneering force which would make the desert bloom, create agriculture and economic strength, and would reclaim the land by working the soil and creating a model society as its fruits. He recognized that not everyone would live to see the day, for he knew there would be a great battle for the land. But, he ended his talk with these words:

“If such be our program, there is hope that many of us will live to see the consummation of the Jewish revolution – the concentration of the majority of our people in a homeland transformed into a socialist Jewish state.”

 

            This week we will celebrate the 60^th Anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel. No one was more important than David Ben Gurion in creating it on May 14, 1948. On a Friday afternoon in Tel Aviv he declared the independent State of Israel. People may have danced in the streets, but Ben Gurion knew that war was imminent and a great battle lay ahead. One percent of the population of the nascent independent State of Israel was killed in fighting the War of Independence. It was on their blood that the State was created. Thus, the day before the celebration of Israel Independence Day is commemorated throughout Israel and the Jewish world as Yom HaZikaron, Remembrance Day for all those who have fallen in defense of the State. It is impossible to realize the dream of 60 years of the State of Israel without understanding the personal and national sacrifices that have been part of that saga.

 

            Many of us from this community will be traveling to the State of Israel this week to participate in a JUF Mission in honor of Israel’s 60^th year. An entire planeload of Chicagoans will be in Israel for a week to commemorate and celebrate, to be with our people at this significant moment in their lives. North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, which is also celebrating its 60^th year, will have more than 40 people as part of that delegation. We will travel the country from the north to Jerusalem and spend time in the south, in Kiryat Gat, our Partnership 2000 region. We will meet Israelis on the streets and in special programs and we will all recognize this significant miracle of our age. Yet, it is important that as we go that we reflect on Ben Gurion’s speech 64 years after he first delivered it. 

 

            Today the State of Israel is independent, but it has not known a day of peace. The northern border is still not secure.  From Gaza, daily rounds of Kassam rockets fall on Sderot and as far away as Ashkelon. The West Bank, or Judea and Samaria, is not secure for Jews and the specter of a nuclear Iran makes every Israeli nervous. We may be independent, but we are still fighting the battle.

 

            As for the socialist dream for the Jewish State, I think Ben Gurion would be very disappointed. There are still some kibbutzim which are successful, but many of them have changed totally or are no longer part of the kibbutz movement. The socialized economy has been taken over by high tech and western capitalism. The pioneering spirit that Ben Gurion envisioned throughout the land, while still alive, has been replaced by a society which has “have and have nots” and attempts to be part of the new world economy.

 

            As Israel celebrates this anniversary it is important to stand back and both appreciate its significance and look at its challenges. Yes, security and military issues will remain. I’m not sure during our lifetime peace will come to the region. At the same time, we should examine Israeli society, appreciate its accomplishments and successes while also be critical of its inequities as we outline the challenges for the future.

 

            We all know that we must be very careful in our criticism of the State.   If we do not show support, then how can we expect anyone else to do so? However, our Torah portion of this morning reminds us that a critical evaluation of anybody and of any situation is also appropriate. The Torah reading tells us:

 

            “You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countryman. Love your fellow as yourself; I am the Lord.”

 

            This concept of reproving your kinsman was just as important to the Rabbis as loving your neighbor. To lovingly criticize another for their benefit is something that the Torah and later rabbinic tradition felt was extremely important. While, there are proper ways for criticism, the acceptance of improper conduct without a loving reproach is not considered to be helpful and beneficial.

 

            The Talmud, in the tractate Arakhin, tells us that the rabbis understood the Biblical verses to mean that if you don’t reproach your kinsman when he has done something wrong, you are also responsible. You must be careful in the manner in which you speak to him, but reproach is necessary.

 

            Thus, as we analyze what is happening in the State of Israel on its 60^th Anniversary we should look carefully at the type of society that is being established. As individuals who care about the religious nature of the State we are extremely concerned about the lack of recognition for all forms of Judaism besides Orthodoxy. As individuals who care about every Jew, we remain concerned that not all the members of society have received and are receiving the benefits of that society. As individuals who care about the treatment of all human beings we remain concerned that the Arabs who live in the State of Israel and are its citizens have not been granted some of the benefits that other citizens of the State have received. And as individuals who understand what it means to live on the outskirts of society, we are concerned about the many foreign workers and their plight in Israel. Together we offer those criticisms with the knowledge that the problems are not easily surmountable. Yet, if we are unwilling to express these views directly to our brothers and sisters in Israel with love and understanding, we do not fulfill the Torah’s admonition and we are as responsible as the Israelis.

 

            In honor of the celebration of the 60^th year of the State of Israel, MERCAZ Olami, the worldwide Zionist arm of the Conservative Movement, of which I am President, issued a special booklet to commemorate the event. As part of the readings that were recorded, the former Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary Ismar Schorsch wrote that: “Zionism did not triumph by betraying the noble legacy. The restoration of Zion should create a model of a totally moral Jewish existence in a model human society. Our exercise of power must continue to accord with the lofty moral standards we espoused when powerless. The ultimate biblical sanction of the Jewish state is to validate our vision in the crucible of reality.” 

 

            I think that David Ben Gurion would have stood behind that statement. He and Schorsch may not have agreed on exactly what is to be played out in the State, as Ben Gurion is the one who acceded power to the Orthodox even though he was not religious himself. However, the purpose of creating an independent Jewish State is not simply to be a political reality, but to establish a model society which should serve as a light to the nations as told to us by the prophet Isaiah. 

 

            In the latest Hadassah magazine celebrating Israel’s 60 years, Chaim Yavin, the longtime anchor of Israel’s leading television news program, is interviewed. He was asked what has been the single most profound change in Israeli society since the independence.  He responded in this manner: “Certainly the biggest change is that today at 60, we are 7 million Jews here. I remember in 1948, as a teenager, we had less than 500,000.  My aunt visited from the States and wanted to issue an affidavit for me offering to protect me in case of disaster so I could flee to America. This was a common perception by many people. I was full of chutzpah. I told her to go home, she was wrong, we were going to beat the Arabs.”

 

            Yavin was, of course, right. The small fledgling Jewish State did defeat the Arabs and established the new Jewish state, the miracle of our times. Yavin also states that we’re not quite there in terms of creating the type of state that was envisioned by its founders. It is essential that even as we celebrate this date in Jewish history, we recognize the challenges that are ahead of us. 

 

            Together we pray that Israeli and Diaspora Jews will work together towards a time when there will be ultimate peace and security for the State of Israel and its citizens; when we will see a society based on principles of democracy and justice for all; where religion will be a force for morality and spirituality in the State; and where Israel will truly be a light to the nations.

 

             For those of us going to visit Israel, and those of you who remain here to celebrate the day, let us hope and pray that the day may soon come that the dreams of Ben Gurion and the founders of the State and the present realities of today will come together to produce an independent, democratic State which will live in peace and security and be a beacon of light to all for centuries to come.