In class we examined how B'nai Yisrael were unsure whether the building of the Second Beit Hamikdash truly represented the fulfillment of Prophetic promises, given all that seemed still unfulfilled. Today, many Jews have similar concerns and questions about our return to Eretz Yisrael and the status of Medinat Yisrael. Read "The Meaning of Yom Ha'atzmaut" by Rabbi Moshe Ganz (Go to http://www.yutorah.org/togo/haatzmaut/ and find his article under Yom Haatzmaut To-Go 5771) and
"Reishit Tzemichat Ge'ulatenu:What Kind of Redemption Does Israel Represent?" by Rav Yehuda Amital, z"l (http://www.vbm-torah.org/yyerush/yh65-rya.htm).
1) How do Rabbi Ganz and Rav Amital address the issue of partially fulfilled promises? What do they say is the appropriate response?
2) What for them has indeed been fulfilled and what has not been fulfilled?
3) What is your view - How do you understand the State of Israel today vis-a-vis the promises of the Neviim?
4) In general, what is the take-home message for us from Zechariah and from Rabbis Ganz and Amital about our dreams and hopes?
1) Rabbi Ganz and Rav Amital both emphasize the importance of praising G-d for letting us establish Israel as a Jewish state. We should recognize that this is a fulfillment of G-d's promise to us and not just an "ordinary political development." We must rejoice over the promises that have already been fulfilled and continue praying to G-d so He will fulfill the rest of the promises made to us.
ReplyDelete2) Rabbi Ganz says that the promise of the Jews establishing Israel as a Jewish state as well as Jews from the 4 corners of the earth coming together to rebuild the Holy Land have been fulfilled. The promise that the Jews will be a "light unto the nations" has not been fulfilled because many Jews do not value Torah or the significance of being a Jew. Rav Amital also says the promise of us having our own independent and prosperous state has been fulfilled but the Jewish majority in the land is diminishing, the Mashiach has still not arrived, and we are being forced to give away part of our land (Gush Katif).
3) I think that this is the first part of the promises that are being fulfilled. Obviously not every promise made has been fulfilled just yet, but the fact that we have the State of Israel shows that G-d does intend to keep these promises and is still looking out for us. Like Rav Ganz said, we must recognize that we did not just happen to get the land of Israel, it was given to us from G-d. He made it happen and He will continue to fulfill the promises that were made to us by the Neviim.
4) We must be thankful for what we already have (land of Israel) and we must continue to pray to G-d for help in the future and thank Him for what He has already done for us.
1. Rabbi Ganz and Rav Amital both emphasize that G-d is the one who gave us the State of Israel and we must thank him everyday for that. Israel was established on God's kindness, and as Rabbi Ganz describes it, Israel should be God's throne of the world.
ReplyDelete2. Rabbi Ganz says that the prophecy of all the Jews return from Galut to Israel has been fulfilled. Everyone who can has come from all over the world. God promised that the Jews would be "light unto the nations" and that has not been fulfilled because not everyone appreciates Judaism and the religion they are a part of. Rav Amital agrees that the rebuilding of a Jewish homeland has been fulfilled, but there aren't enough Jews in Israel yet for Mashiach to come.
3. I think that the state of Israel today is a promise come true. We were told thousands of years ago that we were going to have our own homeland, and it has finally happened. While not everyone, and every Jew lives there, Israel is still there.
4. We have to have faith that prophecies will someday come true. Even if they are only partially fulfilled.
1. Rabbis Ganz and Amital both address the issue of partially fulfilled promises with respect to Yom Ha'atzmaut. They both agree that, though the promise isn't complete, we should still be thankful for what we have, and celebrate on Yom Ha'atzmaut. Instead of thinking about what we don't have, we should be thankful for what wonderful things God has given us so far. We do have a State, after all, and Israel is a prosperous country with a strong military. Of course we should keep praying and working toward the ultimate redemption, but we should not take for granted what we already have.
ReplyDelete2. Rav Ganz says that the miracle was the establishment of the Jewish state and Jewish people gathering from the four corners of the earth. "Even if your exiles be at the furthest end of Heaven, the Lord your God will gather you from there and from there He will fetch you..." is coming true, according to Ganz. He says that we shouldn't see events as ordinary political developments, but as the works of God. He even says that the founding of Israel is "our amazing encounter with the Master of the World!" He does recognize that we have a long way to go: not all Jews see the same thing, and we all have a lot of fixing to be done. Additionally, Israel is constantly at war. Rabbi Amital says that the harbinger of redemption happened when we established sovereignty. That being said, he believes that we are still awaiting the true redemption: the coming of the messiah.
3. I think that our sovereignty is the first step toward geulah. I also think that there is a lot that we have to work towards. There is a lot of instability in Israel right now- well, actually, there has been instability since its establishment- and it's up to us to take that as a reminder that full redemption hasn't come yet. And it certainly won't come by us standing by waiting for it. We need to remember what the prophets told us- how can we possibly expect Mashiach to come when we are violating simple mitzvoth such as those ben adam lechavero.
4. Our dreams and hopes are going to be fulfilled. Hashem made promises that Hashem is going to stand by. We need to do our part. When we do, we will see the promises coming true. We won't get everything at one time, but we shouldn't give up hope.
1. In their discussions of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Rabbi Ganz and Rav Amital address the fulfilled, partially-fulfilled, and unfulfilled prophecies. They both emphasize that we have not yet reached the final stages of redemption; in fact, the redemption is only just beginning. Yom Ha’atzmaut is the day on which we should be grateful for the past and simultaneously pray for the future. G-d has given us so much already (i.e. allowed us to return to Israel and establish a country), so we should continue to work towards the ultimate redemption.
ReplyDelete2. Both rabbis admit that some prophecies either have been initiated or haven’t been fulfilled. Rav Amital says that the process of redemption began when we re-established Jewish sovereignty in the land, thereby fulfilling that prophecy. However, we have not reached the ultimate redemption and will not reach it until Moshiach comes. Rav Ganz takes a slightly different approach: we should see everything as works of G-d and not as mere political events. Therefore, the establishment of the state of Israel was a true miracle from G-d, and a fulfillment of the prophecy of re-establishment of sovereignty. Additionally, the prophecy of gathering the people from the four corners of the Earth is in the process of being fulfilled. Still, we have a long way to go before we’re ready for the final redemption.
3. I think that the return of Jews to Israel and the establishment of the state of Israel were the first major steps towards redemption. I also believe very strongly in the principle that “G-d only helps those who help themselves.” In Israel's nearly 66 years, all it has done has been help itself. Throughout the war and destruction that has ensued in those years, Israel has remained strong and grown stronger. I feel like the Jewish State is taking strides towards fulfilled prophecies, although we still have a long way to go.
4. We have to be grateful for the promises that have already been fulfilled (the establishment of the state of Israel, return of Jewish sovereignty while continuing to hope and pray that the unfulfilled prophecies be fulfilled soon.
1) Both Rabbis address the issue of partially fulfilled promises. They say that although some promises (like Yom Ha'atzmaut) aren't 100% complete yet, we should be thankful for the parts that have been fulfilled! We should celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut and be happy that we have Israel. However, we shouldn't give up on the parts that are unfulfilled - we should keep davening, hoping, and working towards a time where these promises are fulfilled!
ReplyDelete2) Rabbi Ganz says that the promises of Jews establishing Israel as a Jewish state and people gathering from the four corners of the earth have been fulfilled. Rav Amital adds that the promise of us having an independent, prosperous state has been fulfilled. However, we still need to work on ourselves as Jews, Jews are no longer the majority in Israel, we're constantly at war, there's no Meshiach, and we're often forced to give up pieces of Israel.
3) I think that the State of Israel is to show us that we're on our way to the real redemption -- Mashiach. Although having Israel is such a gift from G-d, we still have problems - people are trying to take our land, terrorist attacks, and the ongoing conflict between secular and religious Jews. I think it's our incentive to constantly better ourselves and reconnect ourselves to G-d and unify our nation.
4) There are promises that Hashem made to us and these promises will be fulfilled eventually. But we can't just sit around and wait for them to happen - we have to take initiative! We have to do the things we're supposed to do and then Hashem will fulfill the promises he made to us.
1. Both rabbi's had the same thoughts about the current situation that we having Israel puts us in. They agree that it is a great thing to have. That we should be thankful that we have the ability to live there and the ability to run a country. We should take note of that and thank God for all of that. However they do not feel a sense of total accomplishment or of ease. They do feel that there is a lot missing. We are not safe in Israel and we don't have total control over the land. They feel sad about that.
ReplyDelete2. Rabbi Ganz says that the prophecies about people returning are true but only to an extent. People are coming into Israel from everywhere and the fact that we can live there is a miracle. Yet we need more jews to come to Israel and have more religious jews for the true geula to come. Rav Amital said that the prophecies of jews returning to the land came true. There are jews from all over the world that are constantly making aliyah to Israel. However the prophecies about us be a light for the other nation did not come true yet. There are many jews that aren't religious as well as we don't actually do much for people of the other nations, they don't look up to us.
3. I think that the promises will happen. We can not expect it all to happen at once. It is a gradual process that can take many many years. But now its the beginning and we can start to see a few of the promises come true already.
4. Look what we have now and appreciate it. But know that more is coming. The better and more worthy we are the faster it will come. Take note of what we have today and look forward to even more in the future.
1) How do Rabbi Ganz and Rav Amital address the issue of partially fulfilled promises? What do they say is the appropriate response?
ReplyDeleteRabbi Ganz - It was not fulfilled, but on Yom Haatzmaut we should still celebrate and be filled with joy. We should say Shema extra that day and call out to G-d for what we do have. Don't let what we don't have blind you from what we do have. Recite hallel on this day.
Rav Amital - It is important to celebrate even though it may be emotionally difficult for some people. We should celebrate for all that which was given to us already. We should rejoice just as we did in 1948. Despite the pain, we should rejoice whole heartedly.
2) What for them has indeed been fulfilled and what has not been fulfilled?
Rabbi Ganz - we have come from the four corners to build and live in Israel.There is a true resurrection. We are far from the ideal of what should be of the Jewish people or what the land should be like. Israel is constantly at war
Rav Amital - The land was returned to us was fulfilled. The Jewish people returned and received sovereignty over the land and independence. Without Mashiach, people have no hope for an incomplete redemption. Enemies are still attacking us. We don't have all of Israel.
3) What is your view - How do you understand the State of Israel today vis-a-vis the promises of the Neviim?
I agree that they are related to where we do have some of the promise fulfilled, but not all of it. But we do have the state of Israel that we have today, and if you look at it from a distance it's a miracle that we still have it today with what's going on around the country, so we should rejoice that we have the land that we do, even if it's not the whole promise.
4) In general, what is the take-home message for us from Zechariah and from Rabbis Ganz and Amital about our dreams and hopes?
That sometimes not everything that we want to happen does, but most times we get a little bit of what we want to happen, and we should be thankful and rejoice in that. We can't have everything fulfilled right now, but we should be happy with what we are given. It's like Eize hu Ashir, Hasameach Bichelko.
1. Regarding the issue of partially fulfilled promises, Rabbi Ganz and Rav Amital agree that our redemption from Galut is not complete. We still have a ways to go, and we should no forget about that. At the same time, however, we do need to recognize how much Hashem HAS given us and done for us in this respect, and we need to continue to hope and pray that Hashem fulfills the rest of His promise soon.
ReplyDelete2. According to Rabbi Ganz, the promise of the בנ"י returning to the land from the 4 corners of the earth and the promise that they would regain sovereignty did come true. He says that the promise of the Jews being an "אור לגוים" has not (yet) come true. Rav Amital adds that while we DO have sovereignty, we are losing our status as majority in the land as well as parts of the land itself.
3. I agree with Rav Amital. I believe that it's a great thing that we have the State of Israel, but I think we are sliding a bit downhill, away from our goal, and that we are still waiting for Mashiach to bring the ultimate redemption.
4. We are well on our way to our goal and to receiving what we were promised, and though we cannot forget that we still have a ways to go, we need to be grateful to Hashem for the incredible amount of progress we have made so far. This is true not only of this promise, but of all our hopes and dreams.
1) Both Rabbi Ganz and Rav Amital take the stance that we should rejoice in what G-d has given us: the State of Israel. We should feel blessed and understand that Israel is G-d’s fulfillment to us as a people. Even though there are still many issues that must be worked out, and there have been many trials and tribulations, we should understand that G-d is fulfilling his promise to the Jewish people, and we should pray for full redemption in the near future.
ReplyDelete2) Rabbi Ganz notes that the prophecy of Jews returning from all corners of the world has been fulfilled (“Even if your exiles be at the furthest end of Heaven, the Lord your G-d will gather you from there and from there He will fetch you, and the Lord your G-d will bring you to the land which your forefathers inherited, and you will inherit it”). He notes that Jews from America, Europe, Africa, etc. have picked up and moved to Israel, just as was promised. Yet, Ganz does not seem to think we have become a “light unto the nations,” as promised. The Jewish people in Israel have not reached a level of holiness and devoutness that would allow them to be such a light for the nations of the world.
Rav Amital believes that the redemption was fulfilled when the State of Israel was established as a sovereign home for the Jewish people. He notes, though, that we are still awaiting the arrival of Meshiach to complete the entirety of the prophecy.
3) I personally believe that the redemption of the Jewish people is certainly in motion. The establishment of the State of Israel has been an enormous step in this process. As a people, the most important step is to have a homeland to gather, to pray, and to rejoice. We were able to rise out of the most horrific time in the history of our people and establish our homeland. Such a feat should have been impossible, but I believe G-d is setting us up for the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy.
4) The ultimate message seems to be that we have accomplished great thing and will continue to accomplish even more. There are always going to tough times and great challenges around us, but we must be thankful for what G-d has given us and pray to continue moving forward until will reach the entirety of the fulfillment. We have to have faith that G-d will keep his promise, and we must do everything in our power to help the Jewish people get there.