Israel @ 75 – Forging the Path Together
Friday April 14, 2023 – כ״ג נִיסָן תשפ”ג
“וְהָיָה֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא שֹׁ֣רֶשׁ יִשַׁ֗י אֲשֶׁ֤ר עֹמֵד֙ לְנֵ֣ס עַמִּ֔ים אֵלָ֖יו גּוֹיִ֣ם יִדְרֹ֑שׁוּ וְהָיְתָ֥ה מְנֻחָת֖וֹ כָּבֽוֹד׃”
(ישעיהו יא:י)
“On that day, the stock of Jesse that has remained standing
Shall become a miracle to peoples—And his abode shall be honored.” (Isaiah 11:10)
In November 2006, I set out with a pack on my back to walk the Land. I knew that before I took up arms as my contribution to defending the Jewish State (which, in my case, came more in the form of office work, giving lectures and education, and guard duty), I wanted a more intimate relationship with the Land and with this country that I had made my home. I wanted to feel the topographical diversity, the geological variety, and encounter the bucolic and biblical terrain of this Old-New Land. Following the biblical mandate to “Rise, walk about the Land through its length and its breadth, for to you I will give it,” (Genesis 13:17[1]) I began my journey.
Shvil Yisrael (The Israel Trail) is a 1,025-kilometer (636.9 mi) concatenation of hiking trails, going from the North of the country in Tel Dan to the shores of the Red Sea south of Eilat. Fashioned in 1995 after the Appalachian trail, “the Shvil,” as it is popularly known, has significantly gained in popularity over the years, where some see it as a rite of passage to walk the whole thing. Many more take it in strides and break it into 2–3-day segments or weekly trips.
I embarked on this adventure with the hopes of discovering a Land, a people, and a bit more of myself. In my too-full pack, I (probably foolishly) stuffed 4 books: a TaNaKh and siddur (of course), the Israel Trail guidebook (this was pre-smartphone and tablet), and Meir Shalev’s 1988 debut historical novel “רומן רוסי” / “Blue Mountain,” (gifted to me for the occasion) about the pioneering tradition that led to the birth of the State of Israel. More than the guidebook, and even more than the TaNaKh, Shalev’s masterpiece told the stories and hardships of those who came to fulfill their dreams and provided poetic captioning for the serene sce
nery that came before my eyes and under my feet and held true to the nourishing rootholds of the Land. This lyrical novel transcends time and place, touching on issues of universal relevance, showcasing the skill of Shalev as a master storyteller who never failed to leave us with his social commentary.
And leave us, he did, this week a few months shy of this 75th birthday. Meir Shalev was not only a great novelist, bible junkie, masterful Hebraist, and author of dozens of children’s books, he was a symbol of the State of Israel. Born in the first Moshav Nahalal, Shalev was a combat soldier in the War of Attrition and the Six-Day War and a stalwart of modern Hebrew literature. President Yitzhak Herzog eulogized him:
“He was a man with a spirit, whose homeland and our history as a society, as a people, and as a nation, pulsated in each of his words.”
Shalev never held back his political commentary and criticism. In 2019, commenting on the Likud-led government of PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the time, Shalev said:
“Forty years after Likud came to power, they’re still whining about the left-wing elites. Who’s getting in their way from carrying out their political ideas? Likud always said that Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] was the legacy of our forefathers. Why doesn’t Netanyahu annex it? He’s concerned, he’s afraid. This man isn’t capable of making a major decision – toward the right or toward the left. He’s simply not constituted for major decisions.”
Is Shalev’s passing symbolic of something more than him as an icon? Does Shalev’s passing highlight the passing of his generation and in service of a new and different Israeli ethos?
In his 75 years, Meir Shalev represents one prototype of the Israeli ethos. He was the quintessential farmer-warrior-poet whose life spanned the State’s first 75 years. He was a secular Jew who knew the Bible inside and out but abhorred religious coercion and zealousness.
He had no problem taking up arms to defend the country but acknowledged that today he would not want his service to contribute to the defense of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian people.
Is the Israel represented by Meir Shalev slowly fading into oblivion? As Israel laid Shalev to rest, is there hope that those who could be defined as liberal Zionists have a future?
Some would say that Shalev represented the Ashkenazi secular elite, those descended from the establishment personas and known as people of “culture” and letters. They have a platform and are respected, and theirs are by and large the values and principles that determined the rules of governance for the State.
The hundreds of thousands of people coming out to protest the coalition government’s radical legislative proposals over the past 3 months, who are unequivocally advocating and fighting for the liberal democratic Israel they believe in, preserving the state’s Jewish character, safeguarding basic human rights and dignity, and not coerced by zealous ultra-Orthodox and ultra-Nationalist leaders, would hint that their liberal Zionist ethos is alive and well despite it being threatened.
Yet, it is important to understand that the symbol of Shalev was only part of the fabric of Israeli society. Israeli society is a complex composite of ethnic diversity, (Mizrachim, Russian speakers, Ethiopian Israelis, Druze, Bedouin, Palestinians, just to name a few), religious and ideological diversity, each advocating for its own vision of what a Jewish State should look like and what should be the rules under which it is governed. Social anthropologist David Graeber[2] offered a keen example of what comprises the state — children playing. There are no rules to how children play. In fact, as Graeber observes, a good portion of play between children involves negotiating the rules often with a differing understanding about what is fair and what isn’t.
As Israel turns 75 it is turning towards a new chapter in its history, and without an agreed-upon constitution, it is still negotiating the rules. There is no precedent or guidebook telling us which way to turn or on what path to walk, and the current crisis has revealed the deep-seated divisions and contradictory visions of what the Jewish State should be.
75 years ago we witnessed the transition of Israel’s leaders from being revolutionaries to bureaucrats. Those who stood up against the British and fought the wars against its Arab neighbors calling for its destruction now had to set up government ministries and worry about health care, welfare, education, urban planning, all while navigating the competition for its rightful place in the Jewish public square.
Today’s crisis reveals a transition for those who were on society’s margins. For example, the ultra-Nationalist Religious Zionism party and the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party are edging closer to majority status and are taking positions of responsibility for the whole of Israeli society rather than being narrowly focused on their own sectoral advocacy. This change could end tragically – as the myriads of protesters legitimately fear – if those in power fail to realize that being firebrand and uncompromising advocates from the sidelines is what put them in positions of power. However, being even-keeled, moderate, and responsible for the well-being of all Israelis is what will sustain them and the future of the Jewish State beyond this 75-year milestone.
This is no doubt a moment for celebration of all that Israel is. It is a celebration of the contributions of those laureates, poets, songwriters, researchers, scientists, inventors, journalists, artists, and teachers who made their mark on the re-invention of the Jewish people as a Free People in Our Land. It is also an invitation to those Jews living outside the State to invest in the Jewish State. I’m not talking about buying Israel bonds, but investing your time, energy, intellectual capacity, curiosity, and financial resources to internalize the richness that has been created and has enhanced the Jewish identity of Jewish communities around the world.
In a 2019 admonitory speech at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, Meir Shalev concluded by calling on the public to make a choice:
“These are days of decision, days of choice. Whom to vote for? The answer is in the Book of Deuteronomy: ‘Choose life. … Choose the Judaism of Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai, of the Prophet Amos, of [Israel’s] Declaration of Independence, and of the Book of Ruth.”
As we celebrate the miracle that is Israel’s 75th year of Independence, may we make the choice to invest our time, energy, and attention to the critical choices that need to be made and to the more mundane and fundamental challenges of Jewish identity. Maybe this year read an Israeli novel or study TaNaKh as the foundational corpus of Judaism. And make sure that this is the year that you travel to Israel and send your kids/students/family and friends. On this Yom Haatzmaut let us all put one foot in front of the other to discover the Land, People, and State of Israel in new and creative ways. The path is there for you to discover, now just go!
Shabbat Shalom!
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[1]Translation from: “The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary” by Robert Alter, 2019
[2] David Graeber, The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy, 2015