(כא) וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ (כב) וַיִּתְרֹֽצְצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃ (כג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י (גיים) [גוֹיִם֙] בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ וְרַ֖ב יַעֲבֹ֥ד צָעִֽיר׃ (כד) וַיִּמְלְא֥וּ יָמֶ֖יהָ לָלֶ֑דֶת וְהִנֵּ֥ה תוֹמִ֖ם בְּבִטְנָֽהּ׃ (כה) וַיֵּצֵ֤א הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ אַדְמוֹנִ֔י כֻּלּ֖וֹ כְּאַדֶּ֣רֶת שֵׂעָ֑ר וַיִּקְרְא֥וּ שְׁמ֖וֹ עֵשָֽׂו׃ (כו) וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֞ן יָצָ֣א אָחִ֗יו וְיָד֤וֹ אֹחֶ֙זֶת֙ בַּעֲקֵ֣ב עֵשָׂ֔ו וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְיִצְחָ֛ק בֶּן־שִׁשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בְּלֶ֥דֶת אֹתָֽם׃
(21) Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD responded to his plea, and his wife Rebekah conceived. (22) But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of the LORD, (23) and the LORD answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” (24) When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. (25) The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau. (26) Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
(ו) וַיִּקַּ֣ח עֵשָׂ֡ו אֶת־נָ֠שָׁ֠יו וְאֶת־בָּנָ֣יו וְאֶת־בְּנֹתָיו֮ וְאֶת־כׇּל־נַפְשׁ֣וֹת בֵּיתוֹ֒ וְאֶת־מִקְנֵ֣הוּ וְאֶת־כׇּל־בְּהֶמְתּ֗וֹ וְאֵת֙ כׇּל־קִנְיָנ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר רָכַ֖שׁ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אֶל־אֶ֔רֶץ מִפְּנֵ֖י יַעֲקֹ֥ב אָחִֽיו׃ (ז) כִּֽי־הָיָ֧ה רְכוּשָׁ֛ם רָ֖ב מִשֶּׁ֣בֶת יַחְדָּ֑ו וְלֹ֨א יָֽכְלָ֜ה אֶ֤רֶץ מְגֽוּרֵיהֶם֙ לָשֵׂ֣את אֹתָ֔ם מִפְּנֵ֖י מִקְנֵיהֶֽם׃ (ח) וַיֵּ֤שֶׁב עֵשָׂו֙ בְּהַ֣ר שֵׂעִ֔יר עֵשָׂ֖ו ה֥וּא אֱדֽוֹם׃
(6) Esau took his wives, his sons and daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle and all his livestock, and all the property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land because of his brother Jacob. (7) For their possessions were too many for them to dwell together, and the land where they sojourned could not support them because of their livestock. (8) So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir—Esau being Edom.
אַנְדְרִיָּאנוּס מֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם כֵּיוָן שֶׁכָּבַשׁ אֶת הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ, הָלַךְ לוֹ לְרוֹמִי. אָמַר לִבְנֵי פַלְטְרִין שֶׁלּוֹ, מְבַקֵּשׁ אֲנִי מִכֶּם שֶׁתַּעֲשׂוּ אוֹתִי אֱלוֹהַּ, שֶׁהֲרֵי כָּבַשְׁתִּי אֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָם. אָמְרוּ לוֹ: עֲדַיִן לֹא שָׁלַטְתָּ בְּעִירוֹ וּבְבֵיתוֹ. הָלַךְ וְהִסְפִּיקוּ בְיָדוֹ וְהֶחֱרִיב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהֶגְלָה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְחָזַר לְרוֹמִי. אָמַר לָהֶם: כְּבָר הֶחֱרַבְתִּי בֵּיתוֹ וְשָׂרַפְתִּי הֵיכָלוֹ וְהִגְלֵיתִי עַמּוֹ, עֲשׂוּ אוֹתִי אֱלוֹהַּ.
After Hadrian, the king of Edom, conquered the entire world, he returned to Rome and told his courtiers: “I command you to acclaim me a divine being, for I have subjugated the entire world.” Whereupon they replied: “You do not rule the Holy City and the Temple.” He went there, conquered the Holy City, demolished the Temple, and exiled the Israelites. Upon his return to Rome he said: “Now I have destroyed His house, burned down His holy palace, and exiled His people; worship me as a divine being.”
הַקּוֹל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו הַקּוֹל זֶה אַדְרִיָּינוּס קֵיסָר שֶׁהָרַג בַּאֲלֶכְּסַנְדְּרִיָּא שֶׁל מִצְרַיִם שִׁשִּׁים רִבּוֹא עַל שִׁשִּׁים רִבּוֹא כִּפְלַיִם כְּיוֹצְאֵי מִצְרַיִם קוֹל יַעֲקֹב זֶה אַסְפַּסְיָינוּס קֵיסָר שֶׁהָרַג בִּכְרַךְ בֵּיתֵּר אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת רִבּוֹא וְאָמְרִי לַהּ אַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים רִבּוֹא וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו זוֹ מַלְכוּת הָרְשָׁעָה שֶׁהֶחְרִיבָה אֶת בָּתֵּינוּ וְשָׂרְפָה אֶת הֵיכָלֵנוּ וְהִגְלִיתָנוּ מֵאַרְצֵנוּ
§ Apropos its discussion of the destruction of the Temple and the calamities that befell Israel, the Gemara cites the verse: “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau” (Genesis 27:22), which the Sages expounded as follows: “The voice”; this is the cry stirred up by the emperor Hadrian, who caused the Jewish people to cry out when he killed six hundred thousand on six hundred thousand in Alexandria of Egypt, twice the number of men who left Egypt. “The voice of Jacob”; this is the cry aroused by the emperor Vespasian, who killed four million people in the city of Beitar. And some say: He killed forty million people. “And the hands are the hands of Esau”; this is the wicked kingdom of Rome that destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land.
Returning Home
Moshe Hess (1862)
Jew in the Modern World (JMW) - Moses Hess (1812-1875), German-Jewish socialist and precursor of Zionism. Until the age of fourteen, Hess was raised in the Orthodox Jewish home of his grandfather. During his student days he was fervently committed to socialism and cosmopolitan values. He is said to have won Friedrich Engles to communism and to have exercised a seminal influence on Karl Marx's thought. In his twenties he declared that the Jews have already accomplished their mission in history and should therefore assimilate into more historically relevant nations, such as Germany. In this respect, he claimed himself to be thoroughly German. Although the suffering of his fellow Jews occasionally did affect him, it was not until the publication of Rome and Jerusalem in 1862 that he evinced a genuine identification with Jewry. This volte-face was effected, he claimed, by the Austro-Italian War of 1859, which witnessed the emergence of the movement of Italian national liberation as a vigorous, democratic, progressive force. He now viewed the struggle of oppressed people as of equal significance to the class struggle. In Rome and Jerusalem he developed the thesis that the regeneration of these people would be an essential component of the ultimate liberation of humanity that socialism strives for, and he focused on the exigent need for the national and political rehabilitation of the Jewish people.
After an estrangement of twenty years, I am back with my people. I have come to be one of them again, to participate in the celebration of the holy days, to share the memories and hopes of the nation, to take part in the spiritual and intellectual warfare going on within the House of Israel, on the one hand, and between our people and the surrounding civilized nations, on the other; for though the Jews have lived among the nations for almost two thousand years, they cannot, after all, become a mere part of the organic whole.
A thought which I believed to be forever buried in my heart, has been revived in me anew. It is the thought of my nationality, which is inseparably connected with the ancestral heritage and the memories of the Holy Land, the Eternal City, the birthplace of the belief in the divine unity of life, as well as the hope in the future brotherhood of men.
For a number of years this half-strangled thought stirred within my breast and clamored for expression. I lacked the strength to swerve suddenly from my beaten track, which seemed to be so far from the road of Judaism, to a new path which had unfolded itself before me in the hazy distance, in vague and dim outline...
It was only when I saw you in anguish and sorrow that my heart opened and the cover of my slumbering, national feeling was thrown off. I have discovered the fountain whence flows your belief in the eternity of the spirit.
Your infinite soul-sorrow, expressed on the death of one dear to you, brought about my decision to step forth as a champion of the national renaissance of our people. Such love which, like maternal love, flows out of the very life-blood and yet is as pure as the divine spirit; such infinite love for family can have its seat only in a Jewish heart. And this love is the natural source whence springs the higher, intellectual love of God which, according to Spinoza, is the highest point to which the spirit can rise. Out of this inexhaustible fountain of family love have the redeemers of humanity drawn their inspiration.
"In thee," says the divine genius of the Jewish family, "shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Every Jew has within him the potentiality of a Messiah and every Jewess that of a Mater dolorosa.
Moshe Hess (1862)
Jew in the Modern World (JMW) - Moses Hess (1812-1875), German-Jewish socialist and precursor of Zionism. Until the age of fourteen, Hess was raised in the Orthodox Jewish home of his grandfather. During his student days he was fervently committed to socialism and cosmopolitan values. He is said to have won Friedrich Engles to communism and to have exercised a seminal influence on Karl Marx's thought. In his twenties he declared that the Jews have already accomplished their mission in history and should therefore assimilate into more historically relevant nations, such as Germany. In this respect, he claimed himself to be thoroughly German. Although the suffering of his fellow Jews occasionally did affect him, it was not until the publication of Rome and Jerusalem in 1862 that he evinced a genuine identification with Jewry. This volte-face was effected, he claimed, by the Austro-Italian War of 1859, which witnessed the emergence of the movement of Italian national liberation as a vigorous, democratic, progressive force. He now viewed the struggle of oppressed people as of equal significance to the class struggle. In Rome and Jerusalem he developed the thesis that the regeneration of these people would be an essential component of the ultimate liberation of humanity that socialism strives for, and he focused on the exigent need for the national and political rehabilitation of the Jewish people.
After an estrangement of twenty years, I am back with my people. I have come to be one of them again, to participate in the celebration of the holy days, to share the memories and hopes of the nation, to take part in the spiritual and intellectual warfare going on within the House of Israel, on the one hand, and between our people and the surrounding civilized nations, on the other; for though the Jews have lived among the nations for almost two thousand years, they cannot, after all, become a mere part of the organic whole.
A thought which I believed to be forever buried in my heart, has been revived in me anew. It is the thought of my nationality, which is inseparably connected with the ancestral heritage and the memories of the Holy Land, the Eternal City, the birthplace of the belief in the divine unity of life, as well as the hope in the future brotherhood of men.
For a number of years this half-strangled thought stirred within my breast and clamored for expression. I lacked the strength to swerve suddenly from my beaten track, which seemed to be so far from the road of Judaism, to a new path which had unfolded itself before me in the hazy distance, in vague and dim outline...
It was only when I saw you in anguish and sorrow that my heart opened and the cover of my slumbering, national feeling was thrown off. I have discovered the fountain whence flows your belief in the eternity of the spirit.
Your infinite soul-sorrow, expressed on the death of one dear to you, brought about my decision to step forth as a champion of the national renaissance of our people. Such love which, like maternal love, flows out of the very life-blood and yet is as pure as the divine spirit; such infinite love for family can have its seat only in a Jewish heart. And this love is the natural source whence springs the higher, intellectual love of God which, according to Spinoza, is the highest point to which the spirit can rise. Out of this inexhaustible fountain of family love have the redeemers of humanity drawn their inspiration.
"In thee," says the divine genius of the Jewish family, "shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Every Jew has within him the potentiality of a Messiah and every Jewess that of a Mater dolorosa.
(טו) וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם לַֽמְיַלְּדֹ֖ת הָֽעִבְרִיֹּ֑ת אֲשֶׁ֨ר שֵׁ֤ם הָֽאַחַת֙ שִׁפְרָ֔ה וְשֵׁ֥ם הַשֵּׁנִ֖ית פּוּעָֽה׃ (טז) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר בְּיַלֶּדְכֶן֙ אֶת־הָֽעִבְרִיּ֔וֹת וּרְאִיתֶ֖ן עַל־הָאׇבְנָ֑יִם אִם־בֵּ֥ן הוּא֙ וַהֲמִתֶּ֣ן אֹת֔וֹ וְאִם־בַּ֥ת הִ֖וא וָחָֽיָה׃ (יז) וַתִּירֶ֤אןָ הַֽמְיַלְּדֹת֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְלֹ֣א עָשׂ֔וּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר דִּבֶּ֥ר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ן מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם וַתְּחַיֶּ֖יןָ אֶת־הַיְלָדִֽים׃
(15) The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, (16) saying, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the birthstool: if it is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” (17) The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.
שפרה. יוֹכֶבֶד, עַל שֵׁם שֶׁמְּשַׁפֶּרֶת אֶת הַוָּלָד (שם):
שפרה SHIPHRAH — This was Jochebed; she bore this additional name because she used to put the babe after its birth into good physical condition (משפרת) by the care she bestowed upon it (Sotah 11b).
פועה. זוֹ מִרְיָם, שֶׁפּוֹעָה וּמְדַבֶּרֶת וְהוֹגָה לַוָּלָד (שם), כְּדֶרֶךְ הַנָּשִׁים הַמְפַיְּסוֹת תִּינוֹק הַבּוֹכֶה.
פועה PUAH — This was Miriam, and she bore this additional name because she used to Call aloud and speak and croon to the babe just as women do who soothe a child when it is crying (Sotah 11b).
אָמַר רַבִּי עַמְרָם בְּשֵׁם רַב לְפִי שֶׁהָיְתָה מִרְיָם מִתְנַבֵּאת וְאוֹמֶרֶת עֲתִידָה אִמִּי שֶׁתֵּלֵד בֵּן שֶׁיּוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל
Rabbi Amram said in the name of Rav: Because Miriam prophesied and said "In the future, Mother will give birth to a child that will be the savior of the Jewish people."
Autoemancipation (1882)
Leon Pinsker
From Wikipedia: Leon Pinsker (1821–1891) was a physician, and Zionist activist. Earlier in life he had originally supported the cultural assimilation of Jews in the Russian Empire. He was himself born in the town of Tomaszów Lubelski in the southeastern border region of the Kingdom of Poland, and educated in Odessa, where he studied law but was unable to practice because of restrictions on occupations available to Jews. He was a supporter of equal rights under the law for Jews, but Pinsker's optimism was curtailed after the Odessa Pogroms. It was these events, first in 1871, and then in 1881, with greater intensity and lasting several years, after which Pinsker became active in the Hibbat Zion, a Zionist organization founded in 1881, in response to these pogroms.
That hoary problem, subsumed under the Jewish question, today, as ever in the past, provokes discussion. Like the squaring of the circle it remains unsolved, but unlike it, continues to be the ever-burning question of the day. That is because the problem is not one of mere theoretical interest: it renews and revives in every-day life and presses ever more urgently for solution.
This is the kernel of the problem, as we see it: the Jews comprise a distinctive element among the nations under which they dwell, and as such can neither assimilate nor be readily digested by any nation.
Hence the solution lies in finding a means of so readjusting this exclusive element to the family of nations, that the basis of the Jewish question will be permanently removed...
But it is different with the people of Israel. There is no such equality in the nations' dealings with the Jews. The basis is absent upon which treaties and international law may be applied: mutual respect. Only when this basis is established, when the equality of Jews with other nations becomes a fact, can the Jewish problem be considered solved….
Let "Now or never" be our watchword. Woe to our descendants, woe to the memory of our Jewish contemporaries, if we let this moment pass by!
The Jews are not a living nation; they are everywhere aliens; therefore they are despised.
The civil and political emancipation of the Jews is not sufficient to raise them in the estimation of the peoples.
The proper, the only solution, is in the creation of a Jewish nationality, of a people living upon its own soil, the auto- emancipation of the Jews; their return to the ranks of the nations by the acquisition of a Jewish homeland.
We must not persuade ourselves that humanity and enlightenment alone can cure the malady of our people.
The lack of national self-respect and self-confidence of political initiative and of unity, are the enemies of our national renaissance.
That we may not be compelled to wander from one exile to another, we must have an extensive, productive land of refuge, a center which is our own. The present moment is the most favorable for this plan.
The international Jewish question must have a national solution. Of course, our national regeneration can only proceed slowly. We must take the first step. Our descendants must follow us at a measured and not over-precipitant speed.
The national regeneration of the Jews must be initiated by a congress of Jewish notables. No sacrifice should be too great for this enterprise which will assure our people's future, everywhere endangered.
The financial execution of the undertaking does not present insurmountable difficulties.
Help yourselves, and God will help you!
Leon Pinsker
From Wikipedia: Leon Pinsker (1821–1891) was a physician, and Zionist activist. Earlier in life he had originally supported the cultural assimilation of Jews in the Russian Empire. He was himself born in the town of Tomaszów Lubelski in the southeastern border region of the Kingdom of Poland, and educated in Odessa, where he studied law but was unable to practice because of restrictions on occupations available to Jews. He was a supporter of equal rights under the law for Jews, but Pinsker's optimism was curtailed after the Odessa Pogroms. It was these events, first in 1871, and then in 1881, with greater intensity and lasting several years, after which Pinsker became active in the Hibbat Zion, a Zionist organization founded in 1881, in response to these pogroms.
That hoary problem, subsumed under the Jewish question, today, as ever in the past, provokes discussion. Like the squaring of the circle it remains unsolved, but unlike it, continues to be the ever-burning question of the day. That is because the problem is not one of mere theoretical interest: it renews and revives in every-day life and presses ever more urgently for solution.
This is the kernel of the problem, as we see it: the Jews comprise a distinctive element among the nations under which they dwell, and as such can neither assimilate nor be readily digested by any nation.
Hence the solution lies in finding a means of so readjusting this exclusive element to the family of nations, that the basis of the Jewish question will be permanently removed...
But it is different with the people of Israel. There is no such equality in the nations' dealings with the Jews. The basis is absent upon which treaties and international law may be applied: mutual respect. Only when this basis is established, when the equality of Jews with other nations becomes a fact, can the Jewish problem be considered solved….
Let "Now or never" be our watchword. Woe to our descendants, woe to the memory of our Jewish contemporaries, if we let this moment pass by!
The Jews are not a living nation; they are everywhere aliens; therefore they are despised.
The civil and political emancipation of the Jews is not sufficient to raise them in the estimation of the peoples.
The proper, the only solution, is in the creation of a Jewish nationality, of a people living upon its own soil, the auto- emancipation of the Jews; their return to the ranks of the nations by the acquisition of a Jewish homeland.
We must not persuade ourselves that humanity and enlightenment alone can cure the malady of our people.
The lack of national self-respect and self-confidence of political initiative and of unity, are the enemies of our national renaissance.
That we may not be compelled to wander from one exile to another, we must have an extensive, productive land of refuge, a center which is our own. The present moment is the most favorable for this plan.
The international Jewish question must have a national solution. Of course, our national regeneration can only proceed slowly. We must take the first step. Our descendants must follow us at a measured and not over-precipitant speed.
The national regeneration of the Jews must be initiated by a congress of Jewish notables. No sacrifice should be too great for this enterprise which will assure our people's future, everywhere endangered.
The financial execution of the undertaking does not present insurmountable difficulties.
Help yourselves, and God will help you!
(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי:
(14) He [also] used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?
עָלֵֽינוּ לְשַׁבֵּֽחַ לַאֲדוֹן הַכֹּל לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוֹצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית שֶׁלֺּא עָשָֽׂנוּ כְּגוֹיֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת וְלֺא שָׂמָֽנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאֲדָמָה שֶׁלֺּא שָׂם חֶלְקֵֽנוּ כָּהֶם וְגוֹרָלֵֽנוּ כְּכָל הֲמוֹנָם: ... וַאֲנַֽחְנוּ כּוֹרְ֒עִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמוֹדִים לִפְנֵי מֶֽלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּ֒לָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא,
It is our obligation to praise the Master of all, to ascribe greatness to the Creator of the [world in the] beginning: that He has not made us like the nations of the lands, and has not positioned us like the families of the earth; that He has not assigned our portion like theirs, nor our lot like that of all their multitudes. But we bow, prostrate ourselves, and offer thanks before the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One blessed is He,
Eliezer ben Yehuda
HaTzvi 1886
The Hebrew language will go from the synagogue to the house of study, and from the house of study to the school, and from the school it will come into the home and... become a living language
HaTzvi 1886
The Hebrew language will go from the synagogue to the house of study, and from the house of study to the school, and from the school it will come into the home and... become a living language
Manifesto
The BILU (1882)
JMW - The Bilu was a group of young Russian Jews who pioneered the Zionist program of resettlement of the Jewish people in the land of Israel as a solution to the Jewish question. The group derived its name from the Hebrew initials of Beit Ya'akov lekhu v'nelkha (Isa. 2:5). A reaction to the 1881 pogroms in southern Russia, the Bilu was founded at the beginning of 1882 with Kharkov as headquarters; later the headquarters was moved to Odessa. The first Biluim arrived in Palestine in mid-1882. After working in a number of Jewish villages for several years, they founded the settlement of Gederah. This manifesto was issued by members of the Bilu in Constantinople in 1882 en route to Palestine.
To our brothers and sisters in Exile!
"If I do not help myself, who will help me?" (Hillel)
Nearly two thousand years have passed since, in an evil hour, after an heroic struggle, the glory of our Temple vanished in fire and our kings and chieftains exchanged their crowns and diadems for the chains of exile. We lost our country where our beloved ancestors had lived. Into the Exile we took with us, of all our glories, only a spark of the fire by which our Temple, the abode of the Great One, was engirdled, and this little spark kept us alive while the towers of our enemies crumbled into dust, and this spark leapt into the celestial flame and illuminated the heroes of our race and inspired them to endure the horrors of the dance of death and the tortures of the autos da fe. And this spark is again kindling and will shine for us, a true pillar of fire going before us on the road to Zion, while behind us is a pillar of cloud, the pillar of oppression threatening to destroy us. Are you asleep, O our nation? What have you been doing until 1882? Sleeping and dreaming the false dream of assimilation. Now thank God, you have awaked from your slothful slumber. The pogroms have awakened you from your charmed sleep. Your eyes are open to recognize the obscure and delusive hopes. Can you listen in silence to the taunts and mocking of your enemies?...
Where is your ancient pride, your old spirit? Remember that you were a nation possessing a wise religion, a law, a constitution, a celestial Temple whose wall is still a silent witness to the glories of the past...
Your state in the West is hopeless: the star of your future is gleaming in the East. Deeply conscious of all the foregoing, and inspired by the true teaching of our great master, Hillel, 'If I do not help myself, who will help me?" we propose to form the following society for national ends:
1. The society will be named 'BILU', according to the motto, "House of Jacob, come let us go.' (Isaiah 2:5) It will be divided into local branches according to the numbers of its members.
2. The seat of the Committee will be Jerusalem.
3. Donations and contributions shall be unfixed and unlimited.
WE WANT:
1. A home in our country. It was given to us by the mercy of God; it is ours as registered in the archives of history.
2. To beg it of the Sultan himself, and if it be impossible to obtain this, to beg that we may at least possess it as a state within a larger state; the internal administration to be ours, to have our civil and political rights, and to act with the Turkish Empire only in foreign affairs, so as to help our brother Ishmael in his time of need.
We hope that the interests of our glorious nation will rouse the national spirit in rich and powerful men, and that everyone, rich or poor, will give his best labors to the holy cause.
Greetings dear brothers and sisters!
HEAR O! ISRAEL! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one, and our land Zion is our only hope.
GOD be with us!
The BILU (1882)
JMW - The Bilu was a group of young Russian Jews who pioneered the Zionist program of resettlement of the Jewish people in the land of Israel as a solution to the Jewish question. The group derived its name from the Hebrew initials of Beit Ya'akov lekhu v'nelkha (Isa. 2:5). A reaction to the 1881 pogroms in southern Russia, the Bilu was founded at the beginning of 1882 with Kharkov as headquarters; later the headquarters was moved to Odessa. The first Biluim arrived in Palestine in mid-1882. After working in a number of Jewish villages for several years, they founded the settlement of Gederah. This manifesto was issued by members of the Bilu in Constantinople in 1882 en route to Palestine.
To our brothers and sisters in Exile!
"If I do not help myself, who will help me?" (Hillel)
Nearly two thousand years have passed since, in an evil hour, after an heroic struggle, the glory of our Temple vanished in fire and our kings and chieftains exchanged their crowns and diadems for the chains of exile. We lost our country where our beloved ancestors had lived. Into the Exile we took with us, of all our glories, only a spark of the fire by which our Temple, the abode of the Great One, was engirdled, and this little spark kept us alive while the towers of our enemies crumbled into dust, and this spark leapt into the celestial flame and illuminated the heroes of our race and inspired them to endure the horrors of the dance of death and the tortures of the autos da fe. And this spark is again kindling and will shine for us, a true pillar of fire going before us on the road to Zion, while behind us is a pillar of cloud, the pillar of oppression threatening to destroy us. Are you asleep, O our nation? What have you been doing until 1882? Sleeping and dreaming the false dream of assimilation. Now thank God, you have awaked from your slothful slumber. The pogroms have awakened you from your charmed sleep. Your eyes are open to recognize the obscure and delusive hopes. Can you listen in silence to the taunts and mocking of your enemies?...
Where is your ancient pride, your old spirit? Remember that you were a nation possessing a wise religion, a law, a constitution, a celestial Temple whose wall is still a silent witness to the glories of the past...
Your state in the West is hopeless: the star of your future is gleaming in the East. Deeply conscious of all the foregoing, and inspired by the true teaching of our great master, Hillel, 'If I do not help myself, who will help me?" we propose to form the following society for national ends:
1. The society will be named 'BILU', according to the motto, "House of Jacob, come let us go.' (Isaiah 2:5) It will be divided into local branches according to the numbers of its members.
2. The seat of the Committee will be Jerusalem.
3. Donations and contributions shall be unfixed and unlimited.
WE WANT:
1. A home in our country. It was given to us by the mercy of God; it is ours as registered in the archives of history.
2. To beg it of the Sultan himself, and if it be impossible to obtain this, to beg that we may at least possess it as a state within a larger state; the internal administration to be ours, to have our civil and political rights, and to act with the Turkish Empire only in foreign affairs, so as to help our brother Ishmael in his time of need.
We hope that the interests of our glorious nation will rouse the national spirit in rich and powerful men, and that everyone, rich or poor, will give his best labors to the holy cause.
Greetings dear brothers and sisters!
HEAR O! ISRAEL! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one, and our land Zion is our only hope.
GOD be with us!
(ה) בֵּ֖ית יַעֲקֹ֑ב לְכ֥וּ וְנֵלְכָ֖ה בְּא֥וֹר יְהֹוָֽה׃
(5) O House of Jacob!
Come, let us walk
By the light of the LORD.
Come, let us walk
By the light of the LORD.
(ח) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
(8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
(כא) וַֽיהֹוָ֡ה הֹלֵךְ֩ לִפְנֵיהֶ֨ם יוֹמָ֜ם בְּעַמּ֤וּד עָנָן֙ לַנְחֹתָ֣ם הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וְלַ֛יְלָה בְּעַמּ֥וּד אֵ֖שׁ לְהָאִ֣יר לָהֶ֑ם לָלֶ֖כֶת יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃ (כב) לֹֽא־יָמִ֞ישׁ עַמּ֤וּד הֶֽעָנָן֙ יוֹמָ֔ם וְעַמּ֥וּד הָאֵ֖שׁ לָ֑יְלָה לִפְנֵ֖י הָעָֽם׃ {פ}
(21) The LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud by day, to guide them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, that they might travel day and night. (22) The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla (d. 1305)
When the Jews send their prayers from the Diaspora in the direction of Jerusalem, from there they ascend by way of the Western Wall
When the Jews send their prayers from the Diaspora in the direction of Jerusalem, from there they ascend by way of the Western Wall