Zionism and Jewish Tradition: A Theological Examination

Introduction: Defining Zionism and Its Origins

The concept of Zionism is one with a rich history and far-reaching ramifications in social, political, and theological realms. Rooted in the Jewish tradition, it is a controversial position that some hail as gospel to the Torah, while others claim is completely against the beliefs of the Jewish faith. This paper examines the concept of Zionism from a purely theological perspective to show that, while some claim it is against the Jewish faith, Zionism is truly embedded in the Jewish tradition.

First, it is important to understand what is meant by the term Zionism. Zionism is a secular nationalist movement dating back over two millennia, rooted in the desire to restore the Jewish people to their rightful homeland (Sicker, x). The term itself was coined in 1891 by an Austrian publicist named Nathan Birnbaum, but the ideology has been in existence since the Babylonian exile of the 6th century B.C. (Edelheit, 579). Zionism is derived from the word "Zion," which in a biblical sense is both the City of David (2 Samuel 5:7) and the City of God (Psalms 87:2–3). It is therefore the name of the ancient fortress in the city of Jerusalem. It was only after David captured "the stronghold of Zion" that it was called "the City of David." In Psalms, Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem, and the word Zion is used to include the temple and the area adjacent to it (Psalms 2:6, 132:13). By Isaiah (40:9), Jeremiah (31:12), and Zechariah (9:13), the term Zion had come to encompass the city of Jerusalem, the land of Judah, and the Israelite people as a whole.

The Torah, the Talmud, and the Abrahamic Covenant

The first place to examine when discussing the concept of Zionism in the Jewish tradition is the most sacred of Jewish writings: the Torah and the Talmud (Coggins, 1). The Torah is composed of five books — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy — which also appear as the first five books of the Bible and are believed to have been handed down from God to Moses at Mount Sinai (Torah, 1). In addition, God gave Moses verbal instruction for each mitzvah, or commandment, which became the oral Torah (Finkel, xiv). The oral Torah consisted of verbally transmitted explanations of the laws in the written Torah (Finkel, xiii). This oral transmission continued through the Roman expulsion of the Jews from Jerusalem in AD 135, but after that event, the survival of the oral tradition became uncertain. R. Yehudah Hanasi, in an effort to preserve the tradition, compiled the oral Torah and recorded it in the Mishnah, which became the framework for the Talmud (Finkel, xv).

The core belief of religious Zionism stems from the Torah itself and from God's promise of the land of Israel to the Jewish people. In Genesis 12:1–3, God tells Abram to leave Ur and travel to the land God will show him. God promises to make of him a "great nation," that he and those who bless him will also be blessed, and that all people on Earth will be blessed through Abram (Torah, 29). In Genesis 15:18–21, God makes a covenant with Abram, stating: "To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Torah, 36).

When examined more closely, there are three main aspects to this covenant, and several are expanded later in the Torah, providing further support for Zionist claims. First, God promises land to Abram in Genesis 12:1, a promise reiterated in Genesis 13:14–18, with the dimensions of the land specified in Genesis 15:18–21. Second, Abram was promised descendants in Genesis 12:2, a promise strengthened in Genesis 17:6, where God declares that nations and kings will descend from him. Third, Abram was promised blessing and redemption in Genesis 12:3. These three aspects were promised unconditionally, as confirmed by God's affirmation to Isaac in Genesis 26:3–4:

"Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, and assign to your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your heirs" (Torah, 52).

Note that in this affirmation, as in the original covenant, God specifies no conditions on which the agreement depends. When God again confirms the covenant to Jacob in Genesis 28:14–15, he states: "Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Torah, 77).

The repeated use of "I will" signals a divine promise free of conditions. In this way, God not only made promises of land to Abram but also extended those promises and blessings to all of Abram's descendants.

It is this covenant between Abram and God that Zionists cite as the foundation of their argument that the Jewish people have a right to their homeland in Jerusalem. The argument continues with the belief that only the descendants of Abram are covered by the covenant, since in Genesis 17:7–10, God specifies that the covenant is established between "me and thee and thy seed after thee." Under this portion of the Torah, a Jew must be a descendant of Isaac, Jacob, or Ishmael in order to benefit from the covenant (Abushaqra, 1).

Some Zionists exclude Ishmael and his descendants from the covenant because the Torah later reiterates the promise to Isaac and Jacob but not to Ishmael, and because Ishmael was the son of Hagar, a concubine, rather than of Sarah. However, critics argue that this does not mean God's promise explicitly excluded Ishmael — only that it was not reiterated to him. Ishmael is never expressly excluded, and neither are his descendants (Abushaqra, 1).

Another significant aspect of the covenant is its eternal nature. Genesis 17:7–8 states: "I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God" (Torah, 39). In this passage, God twice characterizes the covenant as eternal and everlasting, making clear that the descendants of Abram were intended to inherit the lands of Jerusalem in perpetuity. This is the promise to which Zionists refer.

The Palestinian Covenant and the History of Jewish Exile

The second major expression of Zionism in the Torah, following the Abrahamic covenant, is the Palestinian Covenant of Deuteronomy 30:1–10, specifically verses 3–5, which reads: "He will bring you together again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the LORD your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the LORD your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers." Here, God promises to gather Israelites from across the world and return them to the land promised to them (Edelheit, 4).

The historical record of Jewish exile is well documented both within the Bible and in secular history. In approximately 721 B.C., Israel was defeated by the Assyrians, and the Jews were exiled to Halah (Kings 17:6). In approximately 586 B.C., the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the remaining kingdom of Jerusalem (Kings 25:1–22), completing the exile of the Jews.

The Jews were partly restored to their lands under the Persian king Cyrus in 539 B.C. Cyrus decreed that all captured and displaced people were free to return to their homes and reestablish their previous religions and ways of life. However, Judaea was incorporated into the Empire rather than made autonomous (Harding, 56), and as a result the Jews could not retain a distinct political identity and were gradually assimilated into the prevailing culture. Jewish communities also remained in Iraq and other regions (Isseroff, 1).

In 300 B.C., Jews were again exiled to Egypt by Ptolemy. His capture of Jerusalem led to the deportation of thousands of individuals, while others departed of their own accord. Those who remained were often assigned to Ptolemy's garrison because of their renowned loyalty. These exiled Jews formed the Jewish colony in Alexandria, but the Diaspora continued to grow as the Jewish population scattered further (Harding, 58).

In AD 70, Judea was yet again devastated when Titus, son of the Roman emperor Vespasian, destroyed the Temple. Jewish captives were executed or taken to Rome (Harding, 92). Following the revolt of Bar Kochba in AD 136, still more Jews were exiled. Economic hardship drove yet others to scatter across Cyprus, Syria, Alexandria, and beyond (Isseroff, 1).

The resulting Diaspora produced a profound longing for the Jewish homeland and a widespread rejection of passive acceptance of exile — which brings us to the central idea in Zionism. There is no question that Jewish identity is strongly linked to Zionism. In every generation since the original exile, a great number of Jews — including prominent spiritual leaders — have rejected the concept of passively waiting for God to fulfill the promise of the Palestinian Covenant. Instead, these leaders and ordinary citizens have taken action to bring about the ingathering of Jews themselves. In Ezra 7:9, the scribe Ezra laid the foundation for aliya — the leading of large numbers of Jews from Babylonian exile back to Jerusalem — and for centuries this has been the path chosen by Zionists. Despite the dangers involved, including financial hardship, arduous travel, passage through war zones, and illness, Jews from around the world annually attempt to travel to Palestine to restore the sovereignty of the Jewish people in Israel (Morgenstern, 1).

Conclusion

There can be no question that Zionism is rooted in Jewish tradition. The Torah speaks clearly and repeatedly of the return of the people of Israel to their lands, the promises of God to Abram and his descendants, the assurance that the chosen people will be restored to their rightful homes, and the right of those individuals to emerge from exile. Many prayers of Judaism speak of a return to Jerusalem and express hope for a united people of Israel. The Hebrew Bible addresses these same themes at length. On the other hand, there is no single, unified Jewish position on Zionism. Many Jews oppose the movement — whether on religious, political, or social grounds — and many claim that Zionist belief stands against the Torah and therefore against the theology of Judaism.

The Torah, the Bible, and many other historical documents demonstrate that the people of Israel have been exiled repeatedly, by many different peoples. Their exile frequently gave rise to attempts at assimilation, which often ended in alienation rather than integration. Whatever one's position on Zionism, the thousands of individuals who travel to Palestine each year in pilgrimage testify that Zionism is a movement unlikely to disappear until the people of Israel are restored to their rightful homeland.

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