The prayer was instituted in 1948 by the Sephardic and Ashkenazic Chief Rabbis of the newly formed State of Israel, respectively Rabbis Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel and Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog [with assist from Nobel Laureate S.Y. Agnon]. The prayer was originally published in the newspaper HaTzofe (The Observer) on September 20, 1948, and in Haaretz on the following day. ...
The prayer was written as a replacement for the Prayer for the Welfare of the Government, which was commonly said in Diaspora communities. That prayer included requests for the welfare of the government of the country of residence, the King, Caesar, or Tzar and/or heir to the throne and their immediate family. The recommendation to say such a prayer is found in Pirkei Avot 3:2.
(ב) רַבִּי חֲנִינָא סְגַן הַכֹּהֲנִים אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתְפַּלֵּל בִּשְׁלוֹמָהּ שֶׁל מַלְכוּת, שֶׁאִלְמָלֵא מוֹרָאָהּ, אִישׁ אֶת רֵעֵהוּ חַיִּים בְּלָעוֹ.
(2) Rabbi Chanina, the Deputy High Priest, says: Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, man would swallow his fellow alive.
אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּמַיִם,
צוּר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹאֲלוֹ, בָּרֵךְ אֶת מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל,
[שֶתְּהֵא] רֵאשִׁית צְמִיחַת גְּאֻלָּתֵנוּ.
Siddur Lev Shalem, The Rabbinical Assembly, 2016, p. 178
Avinu she-ba-shamayim, stronghold and redeemer of the people Israel: Bless the State of Israel, [that it may be] the beginning of our redemption...
From SLS commentary:
That it may be שֶתְּהֵא
This Hebrew word was added by the Chief Rabbi of England, Immanuel Jakobovits, turning the phrase "the beginning of the redemption" into an expression of hope, rather than a statement of fact.
What Kind of Redemption Does Israel Represent?
By Harav Yehuda Amital (2005)
A. JOY AND TREPIDATION
...This year we are hearing, for the first time, some voices from within the Religious Zionist camp calling on us not to celebrate Yom Ha-atzma'ut and not to recite Hallel. ...What is the origin of this confusion, which has completely reversed the attitude of many people towards the State?
It seems to me that the main problem stems from the fact that among various groups, doubts have begun to arise concerning the expression, "reishit tzemichat ge'ulateinu, the beginning of the flowering of our redemption." What is the source of these doubts? They arise from the philosophy of a great man, Rav Zvi Yehuda ha-Kohen Kook zt"l, and principally from the philosophy of his students. ...
B. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STATE
In fact, the concept of the "beginning of the redemption" (atchalta de-geula) was spoken about long before the establishment of the State. The students of the Vilna Gaon and the students of the Ba'al Shem Tov who made aliya to Eretz Yisrael decided that they were living at the time of the "beginning of the redemption." The son-in-law of R. Yehoshua Kutner brought a letter from Rav Eliyahu Guttmacher, one of the leading disciples of R. Akiva Eiger, written in the year 5634 (1874), in which he asserts that if there would be 130 families working the land in Eretz Yisrael, this would be considered the "beginning of the redemption."
Before the founding of the State, Rav Avraham Yitzchak ha-Kohen Kook zt"l decided that we are living in the time of the "beginning of the redemption" on the basis of the well-known Gemara (Sanhedrin 98a):
"Rabbi Abba said: There is no more revealed sign of the redemption than that which is written: 'And you, O mountains of Israel – you shall give forth your branches and bear fruit for My nation, Israel' (Yechezkel 36:8)."
...When Rav Herzog spoke of "the beginning of the flowering of our redemption," he did not mean the messianic redemption...
Indeed, in 1948 we did not speak of the Mashiach. We prayed for malkhut Yisrael, and sufficed with sovereignty comparable to that of the Second Temple period. There is no doubt that we attained at least that much.
...
§ Rav says: All the ends of days that were calculated passed, and the matter depends only upon repentance and good deeds. When the Jewish people repent, they will be redeemed. And Shmuel says: It is sufficient for the mourner to endure in his mourning to bring about the coming of the Messiah. Even without repentance, they will be worthy of redemption due to the suffering they endured during the exile. The Gemara notes: This dispute is parallel to a dispute between tanna’im: Rabbi Eliezer says: If the Jewish people repent they are redeemed, and if not they are not redeemed. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: If they do not repent, will they not be redeemed at all? Rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will establish a king for them whose decrees are as harsh as those issued by Haman, and the Jewish people will have no choice but to repent, and this will restore them to the right path.
ואמר רבי יוחנן אין בן דוד בא אלא בדור שכולו זכאי או כולו חייב בדור שכולו זכאי דכתיב (ישעיהו ס, כא) ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ בדור שכולו חייב דכתיב (ישעיהו נט, טז) וירא כי אין איש וישתומם כי אין מפגיע וכתיב (ישעיהו מח, יא) למעני אעשה אמר רבי אלכסנדרי רבי יהושע בן לוי רמי כתיב (ישעיהו ס, כב) בעתה וכתיב אחישנה זכו אחישנה לא זכו בעתה אמר רבי אלכסנדרי רבי יהושע בן לוי רמי כתיב (דניאל ז, יג) וארו עם ענני שמיא כבר אינש אתה וכתיב (זכריה ט, ט) עני ורוכב על חמור זכו עם ענני שמיא לא זכו עני רוכב על חמור
And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The son of David will come only in a generation that is entirely innocent, in which case they will be deserving of redemption, or in a generation that is entirely guilty, in which case there will be no alternative to redemption. He may come in a generation that is entirely innocent, as it is written: “And your people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever” (Isaiah 60:21). He may come in a generation that is entirely guilty, as it is written: “And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no intercessor; therefore His arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness, it sustained Him” (Isaiah 59:16). And it is written: “For My own sake, for My own sake will I do it; for how should it be profaned? And My glory I will not give it to another” (Isaiah 48:11). § Rabbi Alexandri says: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi raises a contradiction in a verse addressing God’s commitment to redeem the Jewish people. In the verse: “I the Lord in its time I will hasten it” (Isaiah 60:22), it is written: “In its time,” indicating that there is a designated time for the redemption, and it is written: “I will hasten it,” indicating that there is no set time for the redemption. Rabbi Alexandri explains: If they merit redemption through repentance and good deeds I will hasten the coming of the Messiah. If they do not merit redemption, the coming of the Messiah will be in its designated time. Rabbi Alexandri says: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi raises a contradiction between two depictions of the coming of the Messiah. It is written: “There came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto a son of man…and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom…his dominion is an everlasting dominion” (Daniel 7:13–14). And it is written: “Behold, your king will come to you; he is just and victorious; lowly and riding upon a donkey and upon a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). Rabbi Alexandri explains: If the Jewish people merit redemption, the Messiah will come in a miraculous manner with the clouds of heaven. If they do not merit redemption, the Messiah will come lowly and riding upon a donkey.
(כא) וְעַמֵּךְ֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם צַדִּיקִ֔ים לְעוֹלָ֖ם יִ֣ירְשׁוּ אָ֑רֶץ נֵ֧צֶר (מטעו) [מַטָּעַ֛י] מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָדַ֖י לְהִתְפָּאֵֽר׃ (כב) הַקָּטֹן֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָאֶ֔לֶף וְהַצָּעִ֖יר לְג֣וֹי עָצ֑וּם אֲנִ֥י ה' בְּעִתָּ֥הּ אֲחִישֶֽׁנָּה׃ {ס}
(21) And your people, all of them righteous,
Shall possess the land for all time;
They are the shoot that I planted,
My handiwork in which I glory. (22) The smallest shall become a clan;
The least, a mighty nation.
I GOD will speed it in due time.
הִנֵּ֨ה יָמִ֤ים בָּאִים֙ נְאֻם־ה' וַהֲקִמֹתִ֥י לְדָוִ֖ד צֶ֣מַח צַדִּ֑יק וּמָ֤לַךְ מֶ֙לֶךְ֙ וְהִשְׂכִּ֔יל וְעָשָׂ֛ה מִשְׁפָּ֥ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה בָּאָֽרֶץ׃
See, a time is coming—declares GOD —when I will raise up a true branch [shoot, bud/budding] of David’s line. He shall reign as king and shall prosper, and he shall do what is just and right in the land.
ג) עפ״י רבנו הגר״א, אם לא זכו, תתחיל האתחלתא דגאולה באתערותא דלתתא כמו שהיה בימי כורש, בימי בית שני, מסטרא דשמאלא היינו במדת הדין. שמאלו תחת לראשי שנאמר על מב״י ותהיה ברשיון מלכי האומות ואחר כך תבוא שלמות הגאולה מסטרא דימינא, היינו במדת החסד. וע״י קו הרחמים על פי הכתוב ברחמים גדולים אקבצך. עפ״י רבנו הגר״א קבוץ גלויות שבאתחלתא דגאולה באה בדרך של פדות ופדיון עפ״י הכתוב ופדויי ה׳ ישובון ובאו ציון ברנה, והוא כולו ע״י משיח בן יוסף, פדיון משעבוד הגוף ושעבוד הנפש, ישובון תרתי משמע, ישובו לציון כפי שכתוב שם, ובאו לציון, ישובון ישובו בתשובה, בסוד ששון ושמחה ישיגו.
According to the Vilna Gaon, if Israel does not have the merit, then the beginning of the Redemption will occur with an awakening from below, as occurred during the time of Cyrus, during the Second Temple, as an act from the left side, that is, from the quality of Din. That is what is meant by “his left hand is under my head,” which refers to Mashiach ben Yosef. This will occur with the permission of the kings of the nations. Later on, the complete Redemption will come from the right side, that is, with the quality of Lovingkindness, and by the line of Mercy according to what is written, [Isa. 43:5] “and with abundant mercy, I will gather you.” According to the Gaon, the ingathering of exiles at the beginning of the Redemption will proceed by means of deliverance and ransom, as is written, “then the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come to Zion with glad song” [Isa. 35:10]. All this will be accomplished by Mashiach ben Yosef: The deliverance will be from enslavement of the body and enslavement of the soul. The word has two meanings: it refers to the fact that they will return to Zion as is written: “they will come to Zion.” It also refers to the fact that they will repent [ comes from the same root as repentance] as revealed by the words, “they will achieve joy and gladness.”
וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ׃ וְלָקַחְתָּ֞ מֵרֵאשִׁ֣ית ׀ כׇּל־פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר תָּבִ֧יא מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֛ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָ֖ךְ וְשַׂמְתָּ֣ בַטֶּ֑נֶא וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֙ אֶל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִבְחַר֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ לְשַׁכֵּ֥ן שְׁמ֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃ וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע ה' לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃ ... וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ ... אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י...
When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name. You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” ... You shall then recite as follows ... “My father was a fugitive Aramean...
The brightness that it sowed for its honor is similar to the purple seed of the silkworm, for the worm encases itself within its own silk. And from that seed, is prepares for itself a chamber for its own glory and for the benefit of all. With this Beginning, the concealed unknown One created the chamber, and this chamber is called by the name 'Elohim.' This is the secret of the words: "In the beginning Elohim created".
Bob Dylan, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), 1964