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The following is a translation of an excerpt, from the Facebook page of the Israel State Archives. The post was made on December 13, 2017
“In August 1948, during the war, two cooks in the religious company were sentenced to a week in prison after refusing an order to cook on Shabbat in preparation for combat operations. The trial provoked severe outrage in the religious community, with the general feeling being that the army did not respect the lifestyle of religious soldiers and even prevented them from being promoted. The affair also reached the government and sparked a broad discussion about the status of religious soldiers in the IDF”
Fast forward 78 years
From Matzav.com
April 15, 2026“Four Israeli Border Police soldiers stationed at the Beit Horon base have been sentenced to time in a military prison after lighting a barbecue on Shabbos, an act deemed a violation of both orders and religious observance regulations.
Following a disciplinary hearing, the soldiers were originally handed 20-day prison sentences. However, after filing an appeal challenging the severity of the punishment, the sentence was cut in half to 10 days, which they are serving”For most of us 78 years is too long a time for us to recognize, much less appreciate, changes in the State of Israel. Especially for those far removed from it, either physically or spiritually. But we must always remember Hashem operates on a different timetable than we do.
מעשה: רבי חיא רבה ורבי שמעון בן חלפתה הוון מהלכין בהדא בקעת ארבל בקריצתה, וראו אילת השחר שבקע אורה. אמר רבי חיא רבה לרבי שמעון בן חלפתה: בריבי, כך היא גאלתן של ישראל: בתחלה, קמאה, קמאה. כל מה שהיא הולכת, היא רבה והולכת (תלמוד ירושלמי, ברכות א:א)
“Once, Rabbi Chiya the Great and Rabbi Shimon Ben Chalafta were walking in the Arbel Valley in the early morning, and they saw the first light of dawn breaking through the darkness. Rabbi Chiya said to Rabbi Shimon, ‘This is how the redemption of Israel will take place. It will begin slowly, slowly, and gradually grow and strengthen all the time.’” (Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot 1:1)
The State of so-called Israel “is embracing Torah values” as much as North Korea is doing so.
Mathematically if all the Torah Jews in Israel would vote, and all the Torah jews of the world would come to Israel and vote, they would be hands down the largest and ruling party. Hence in this day and age no matter what the original founders of the state had in mind it is the Torah Jews in Israel who refuse to vote and the Torah Jews of the world who refuse to move to Israel and vote who are responsible for the continued secular rule in the state of Israel.
turns out the satmar rav ztl was entirely wrong when he predicted torah would not flourish in EY and that religious people will lose their religion under the zionists. instead, the zionists are the largest contributors in terms of money to the yeshivos and in the most recent years, almost all of the sefaradim have embraced their faith and many ashkenazim, too. everything the satmar rav ztl thought will happen, did not happen. Most halachic jews today live in EY and the most commonly spoken language among halachic and even frum jews is hebrew. Does the state of israel have along long way to go to become a jewish state? yes, of course. but the path it is on is irreversible. In due time, the state of israel will become something every frum jew can be proud to call their own, without reservations.
And R Soloveitchik was right when he spoke to Mizrachi congress in 1950s, or maybe even 40s:
you come to US to only collect money for EY, but only the immigrant generation responds to you, not their children. Jews in EY will not be lost, they will get to Yiddishkeit in some way, while it is critical to build schools and Jewishly educate young secularly-educated American Jews before they get lost.@chaim_baruch:
Hashem certainly has His own time-table, but as all the gedolim wrote, a century of shmad of His children was definitely not in His plans. In fact, both the Brisker and Satmar Rabbanim stated that Moshiach would have – not could have, but would have – come in 1948 had people not instead prayed for that idol “State”.It is also absurd to suggest that they somehow “found religion” when their entire ideology is to replace Judaism with their Nationalism, and that they have made illegitimate every single Torah learner subject to their army draft, and have been taking those boys from their beds in the middle of the night, and on and on and on.
@besalel:
He was entirely right, that the shmad the Zionists unleashed on Klal Yisrael is unimaginable. The Brisker Rav published, and the Gerrer Rebbe and others signed on that the “Religious Zionist” education is “a sea of heresy mixed in with a drop of Torah”. And the “Religious” ones are the most fanatical Zionists. The massive spreading world-wide of Zionist heresy and idolatry – from little bits of it to large oceans of it – has unfortunately indeed happened.“…it is the Torah Jews in Israel who refuse to vote and the Torah Jews of the world who refuse to move to Israel and vote who are responsible for the continued secular rule in the state of Israel. ”
That’s a very interesting “blame the victim” approach you have. Jews are at fault for the hurt against Jews by anti-Jewish heretics claiming to be Jewish because those Jews didn’t move to what is statistically the least safest place on the planet for Jews to attempt to politically influence the policies. Of course, you won’t blame the heretics for hurting Jews even as they claim to represent Jews and won’t acknowledge that there is no way the heretics would allow their ideology to be replaced by Judaism because that is their entire ideology: Zionism is intended to replace Judaism.
This is the idolatry of Zionism. Idolatry is not rational, and this is unfortunately yet another example of how irrational idolatry is.
“Mathematically if all the Torah Jews in Israel would vote, and all the Torah jews of the world would come to Israel and vote, they would be hands down the largest and ruling part”
Old joke,
Alexander the great watches a Russian parade and sees the tanks and said if I would have had chariots like that, I would have ruled the world.
Napoleon reads the Pravda and says if I would have had newspapers like that no one would have heard about the battle of WaterlooJust wondering How does Satmar explain the Chashmonaim? Why weren’t the Chashmonaim concerned with the three oaths? Why did they stand up to fight the greeks instead of running away to America?
If the Chashmonaim were around today which sector would they subscribe to? Would they sit on the side rant and bant spreading fear and despair or would they get up and do something to make a change and actually help the situation?
Perhaps the time has come for the rise of a new sector that are not secular atheists and not anti zionist heretics, Jews who believe all 613 mitzvos are still relevant without exception. Jews who are ready to get up and do something.
So happy to find this thread. Over Pessah I was thinking about the following derasha. We say in tefila:
אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא; תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים מַרְבִּים שָׁלוֹם בָּעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר; וְכׇל בָּנַיִךְ לִמּוּדֵי ה’ וְרַב שְׁלוֹם בָּנָיִךְ, אַל תִּקְרֵי “בָּנָיִךְ” אֶלָּא “בּוֹנָיִךְ”
That Talmide Chachamim are called “bonayich” – your builders – because the build up the nation.
We say in Hallel:
אבן מאסו הבונים, היתה לראש פנה
The stone that was rejected by the builders became the cornerstone.
This passuk is know to be referring to David Hamelech who was a simple shepherd and became a king. As well, the Gemara in Yebamot states that David’s status as a Jew was questioned by Doeg (a talmid Chacham) being that he came from Rut hamoavia. (Also see tehilim 51:7 about how David was conceived).
There are many perushim of this passuk in Hallel, but I want to be doresh that Talmide Chachamim have rejected the State of Israel but yet it will end up as Rosh Pinah- when its leaders all follow Torah and Missvot B’ezrat Hashem.
While typing this up i was searching the internet on this and going that i was mechaven to Rav Kook:
הסבר שלישי אמר הרב צבי יהודה הכהן קוק, ראש ישיבת מרכז הרב, שהאבן היא מדינת ישראל!
הסברו בנוי על דברי המהרש”א שהבונים הם תלמידי החכמים, שמאסו בציונות ובמדינה, וחשבו שהיא אינה ראויה לקום. אבל היא נהיתה לראש פנה, ו”מאת ד’ היתה זאת, היא נפלאת בעינינו”!
ולכן “זה היום עשה ד’ – יום העצמאות – נגילה ונשמחה בו”.
Sadly the Satmar reba zya was wrong during the war too. Many zionists saved jews and had the jews ran or cooprated with them perhaps more would have been saved. I know Satmar spreads this myth that Kastner was shlecht and the frum ones weren’t to blame. Leaving aside how the reba was saved, Katstners goals were always to save all Hungarian jews till they couldn’t. It was the frum rrosh Hkhal of Budapest that lied and fooled his people telling them to cooperate with Nazis.. The reba then went on to bully anyone who was pro zionist. Henceforth, the holy Kluasneberger suffered his whole life from der feter Lavon and forced bobov to remain quiet about zionsim. he was a holy jew but was very strong on others who disputed him. Henceforth, people were afraid to respond to his sefer al hgeulah val atemurah or they’d be ois kaplitch macher. (I know someone who refuted it and had all his sefarim burned)
Don’t forget the many holy jews who celeberated Yom hatzmut. All the Rizyna rebas were open zionsits some even mizrachi. (The shtefenst who was the ribntzer and skulener rebas, rebbe had a picture of Herzel and was an outward Zionist) Punvitch still raises their flags and the first year the Mir had one too. Rabbi Herzel the cheif rabbi, went on dangerous missions to save jewish children in monasteries after the war. he used toc ry for jewish neshomas. He also did so much during the war.
Eevn zionsits in the past weren’t straight bad .Your comment re Israel today is certainly spot on.
Aim HaBanim Semecha doesn’t contain anything new. It’s a collection of all the old Zionist arguments that have long been disproven. The truth is, his position stood no chance to begin with, because even though R. Teichtel was a talmid chacham, he was opposing the collective Torah knowledge of the greatest Torah giants, including but not limited to Rav Chaim Brisker, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsh, The Chofetz Chaim, the Rogachover Gaon, The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Rashab), the Belzer Rebbe (R. Yisachar Dov), the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rav, Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky, all who were opposed to Zionism and the creation of a State. So he was really quite outgunned from the start. The most extensive work on this topic is of course the Satmar Rav’s Vayoel Moshe, which disproves just about every Zionist “proof” ever conceived.
Aim HaBanim Semecha is not even taken seriously outside of Zionist circles, because it is mostly emotional sermons and discourses (droshos), rather than a serious Halachic analysis. Its an emotional outcry in response to the holocaust (he dates the introduction Parshas Tetzaveh 1943) and its clear that he was talking out of desperation for finding a safe haven for Jews, which many felt Eretz Yisroel would be. He confuses his personal feelings with Halachic methodology, Rebbishe vertlach with Halachic rulings, and so is not at all compelling.
Example: On page 147 he addresses a powerful statement in Ahavas Yonason by R. Yonason Eyebuschitz ZT”L that it is absolutely prohibited for Jews to take over Eretz Yisroel before Moshiach, even if all the nations want them to, which is kind of a problem for a religious Zionist like R. Teichtel. This is his response: “You should understand that the words of Rav Yonason only apply when there is no sign from heaven that we should all abandon the lands of Chutz Laaretz, meaning, when Jews can live peacefully outside of Eretz Yisroel … but not nowadays, when the words of the prophet came true, [that Jews will be hunted down by goyim]. So when the nations give us permission to return to our land, can there be any doubt that it is the will of Hashem that we return to Eretz Yisroel? I am certain, that if Rav Yonason Eyebushitz was living with us today and saw the terrible golus that we endure, he himself would say to us: ‘Brother Jews! The time has come for you to go to Eretz Yisroel, for this is the will of Hashem, for it is not coincidence what has happened to us in Golus, but rather it is the finger of G-d pointing to us to rise from golus…”
Ok. Now, of course, even in the days of Rav Yonason (about 250 years ago) Jews were persecuted, and all throughout Golus they were, too. Yet R. Teichtel decided that he knows how to quantify the measure of suffering that Jews are expected to tolerate in Golus, and what on the other hand is a sign from Hashem” for them to return. He decided that he can read Hashems signs and that this, for sure, is what our suffering means. Where did he get this scale? Nowhere. He decided it on his own. He and only he decided that this “sign from Hashem” tells us that the Golus is over.
Well, he can read whatever he wants into “signs from Hashem,” but this “sign from Hashem” has no Rashi or Tosfos to tell us how to interpret it. Nor did Hashem tell him how to read history, nor does he have any sources that his is the proper reading. Since when do we pasken sheailos based on personal feelings? Its a nice sermon, but Halachicly it means nothing. Yet to him, not only is it Halachicly binding on everyone, but it “there is no longer any room for doubt”.
And it gets much, much, worse. This attitude that “everyone has to interpret the world the way I do” often passes the line into the realm of the absurd. On page 98 he deals with the Minchas Elozor, who was a vehement opponent of Zionism. He was vehemently critical in general, actually, when it came to protecting the Torah. And nobody was beyond his scrutiny. Here are some quotes:
Whoever becomes an leader in this world becomes evil in the next world (Rambam, Tur). The world explains this to refer to the lay leaders, like presidents of congregations, which in many congregations this is true. But if were going to talk about our generation and our days, it can be referring to the Rabbonim as well, unfortunately. Divrei Torah III:47
Whevener there are Reshaim in the world, there is suffering in the world. Who are Reshaim? The robbers. (Sanhedrin 113b). This is referring to the fake leaders who rob the truth form the people, because they act like Tzadikim and act for their own benefit. They prevent the redemption. Hashem should save us from them. ibid 58
There are Rebbes (admorim) who are fakers, they make believe they are Tzadikim, are meyached yichudim, and dress like Rebbes or rabbis. This is all the doing of the Satan in order to bring the public (followers) to sin. ibid V:82
The reason why Jews in Germany can learn heresy and still remain religious is because they are like the people who are immune to poison because they are used to drinking it and so have so much of it in their system. So too the German Jews, they are soused to the poison of secularism since they are habituated in it from childhood little by little, that this does not hurt them. That is why they are immune to the bad influence of the Mizrachi and the Agudah as well. ibid IV:93
And you shall love your neighbor like yourself – this means, just like there are different parts of you that you care about more for instance, you care more about heaving your head than your feet so too we love the Tzadikim more than we do others. The lowest level is those who are like our fingernails, also part of us, but we clip them off and discard them. These people too are like fingernails that need to be separated from the rest of us, and this is for the benefit of Klall Yisroel. ibid II:39
(Aim HaBanim Semecha…continued from last comment):
Anyway, the following is R. Teichtels explanation of why The Minchas Elozor was against Yishuv HaAretz. I promise I am not making this up:
First, he tries to establish that whether the redemption will come miraculously or slowly and naturally depends on whether Moshiachs coming will be because we deserve it (zachah) in which case it will be miraculous, or because Hashem sent it to us despite our not deserving it, in which case it will be natural. Then he says, quote:
And with this we have an open response to the entire objection of our master and rebbi, the holy scholar, the Minchas Elozor ZTL of Munkatch, regarding being involved with building the land. For I myself was one of his group, and I knew that his entire objection was base don the fact that the redemption is going to come miraculously, not naturally But his honor remains intact, for he on his high level believed that the entire world is on the high level where they deserve Moshiach, like he was. But the truth is that this last generation, unfortunately, not deserving of Moshiach, and therefore the redemption will come couched in natural methods. Aim Habanim Semechah p.98
I promise I did not make that up. In other words, the Minchas Elozor mistakenly and naively thought the whole world was Tzadikim like he was, but in reality he didnt understand that the world doesn’t really deserve Moshiach.
Now never mind how R. Teichtel decided he can judge the world and decide whether they deserve Moshiach or not; never mind that he has not one Halachic shred of evidence to back up this position of his; but to say that the Minchas Elozor naively looked at the whole world as much more righteous than they actually are, as deserving of redemption when in fact they dont deserve it, is beyond ludicrous. Its downright absurd, and for anyone who knows anything about the Minchas Elozor, totally dishonest. If there was one person in the past hundred years who we would say is not guilty of over rating the world, it could very well be the Minchas Elozor. If hes not first on the list, hes second.
And to attribute such an attitude to him of all people, is nothing less than the stuff of la la land. And thats besides the arrogance of saying that he is more able to discern how deserving Klal Yisroel is of greeting Moshiach than the Minchas Elozor. This is a Halachic treatise? Nope. Sorry. It would have been one thing if they would have left it as a sermon or a drush, but because the Zionists dont really have any serious Halachic backing, they took this sefer and made it something of an icon. Its a big pity.
BTW, R. Teichtels sefer comes without any Haskomos (approbations) form anybody. But he did want Haskomos, so what he did was I am not making this up either, I promise – he took Haskomos out of another sefer, and printed them in his sefer, saying that the Haskomos would certainly apply to his sefer too, since the two seforim generally say the same things. But none of the rabbis of his time not a single one wrote him a haskama.
Another note: Aim HaBanim Semechah speaks basically about building the land. The topic of creating a sovereign state which was the major objection to Zionism is almost completely ignored. Perhaps this is what the Lubavitcher Rebbe meant (told to the author’s son, quoted in the introduction, p. 21 ) when he told the son of author to publicize that your father was a G-d fearing Jew who was far away from Zionism. I would think this is because in his sefer he never argues in favor of a Jewish State, but rather in favor of building up the land.
duvid> How does Satmar explain the Chashmonaim?
A good point, and I think many people make this connection. One of recent chanukkas I heard a dvar Torah from a Rav, who is very charedi/lakewood/moetzes but also not denouncing anything, somehow he integrates his “daas Torah” with his own opinions … so, he was, unusually, talking not about candles but about military victory – not in a secular way, but highlighting how moedh in shmone esre is focused on that.
It all sounded traditional, but a little off. I then needled him in private “you sounded like a hidden zionist”. And he replied “why so hidden”? I think events of last several years made many people confront these contradictions or, maybe, confront that politics matters, not just a distraction from limud Torah as it sounds during better times.
chaim barcuh > Eim HaBanim Semeicha”
a good point – can we confirm from our resident antiZs that they read this sefer or have good reasons to ignore it? [this is inviting loshon hora, but I think it is l’toeles]
chaim> I have no illusions that, those that oppose the State or have a Anti-Zionist hashkafa will somehow “see the light”
front page has an article on yom haatzmaaut at Ponevezh, that is old news (although this should impress people even more), but then shows a couple of Belgian charedi Yidden putting the flag up and discusing whether to sing hatikva. I don’t know who they are – lamedvavniks or hidden mafdal agents planting a (literally) false flag …
users, you can also read “בּוֹנָיִךְ as people who are productive in leading the nation, rather than simply rejecting any suggestions … similarly, T’Ch merabim shalom b’olam – if someone increases (real, not superficial) sholom, he is a T’Ch.
UJM said:
“The State of so-called Israel is embracing Torah values
as much as North Korea is doing so.”__________________________________________
MY RESPONSE:ANOTHER Motzi Shem Ra false-slander attack from UJM.
ANOTHER Motzi Shem Ra false-slander attack from
a man whose mind is blinded by fanatical hate.In addition to the countless Motzi Shem Ra
false-slander attacks he has already made.G*D will surely punish him, and also the moderators
who approved his evil hateful false comments.Besalel said:
“Turns out the Satmar Rav ztl was entirely wrong
when he predicted Torah would not flourish in EY,
and that religious people will lose their religion under the Zionists.Instead, the Zionists are the largest contributors in terms
of money to the yeshivos and in the most recent years,
almost all of the Sefaradim have embraced
their faith and many Ashkenazim, too.Everything the Satmar Rav ztl thought will happen, did not happen.”
__________________________________________
MY RESPONSE:Besalel, I thank you for speaking the truth!!
May G*D help you always!
PS: Sefer VaYoel Moshe was written in the 1950s.
That was around 70 years ago.
Many things have changed since then.just when I wanted to compliment someone who spend his time to discuss the sefer and respond,
internets told me that these exact words were posted by, duh, “Joseph” in 2019 and by “Yeruchem Gold” on December 9, 2013.It is also possible that the quote originated with Yehoshua Pfeffer’s book.
Rav Chaim Brisker noted decades before the Zionists achieved their “State” that the reason the Zionists needed a State is in order to shmad, not that the reason they were shmading pre-“State” was in order to get a “State”.
History has shown how clearly right he (and the Satmar Rav) and all the others were about that.
katan> History has shown how clearly right he
I don’t think so. Compare Jews who moved 80 years ago to EY v. those who stayed in USSR, Poland or moved to South Africa or USA. Those who moved to Israel – most of their grandchildren are alive, Jewish and married Jewish. A number of them know something about Judaism and anyway have Yom Kippur off. Those others did much worse on average.
Always_Ask_Questions said this in
the YWN Coffee Room on 2025 March 25,
in a discussion titled “Three Oaths essay
from Rabbi Avraham Rivlin of Kerem B’Yavneh”:Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky writes in his
Emes Le-Ya’akov Al Ha-Torah (Exodus 12:2 n. 17):“It is incumbent on us to understand that the establishment
of the state of Israel in our day, after the great destruction
and despair that overtook the remnant,
and given the desperate and destroyed status of Russian Jewry,
God caused the establishment of the state of Israel
in order to strengthen the connection to Judaism
and to sustain the link between the Jews in exile and the Jewish nation.”__________________________________________
Always_Ask_Questions said this in
the YWN Coffee Room on 2025 March 25,
in a discussion titled “Three Oaths essay
from Rabbi Avraham Rivlin of Kerem B’Yavneh”:Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler has two relevant letters,
from 1948 [CE] and 1949 [CE], that were published
in Mikhtav Me-Eliyahu, volume 3 pages 349 to 353.He writes that he is hesitant to call the establishment of
the state of Israel and the ensuing military victory
the beginning of the Redemption,
but he considers it a possibility (i.e. a Hopeful Zionist position).He also has harsh words for anyone who refuses to see
God’s miraculous intervention in this,
considering them heretics who reject Divine Providence.
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