Judaism 3.0 : Judaism’s Transformation To Zionism

by Gol Kalev

the evolving form of European opposition to Judaism helps define Judaism from outside.

And yet, two events serve as disrupters to those endless cycles of European animosity towards the Jews: – The American Revolution (establishment of new Zion) and – The founding of the Jewish state (re-establishment of old Zion).

Europe’s trench war against Islamic terrorism,

specifically pointed at the Jewish state (Judaism 3.0). There is a mainstream European view that the Israeli-Arab conflict is a cause of terrorism around the world.

Recognizing that Judaism has transformed would dispel Jewish fears that Christians are trying to convert them, and would draw clear lines: Christians are getting close to the Jewish nation, not to the Jewish religion, and moreover, they are doing so without intentions to become part of it.

Judaism is transforming. Rabbinic Judaism (Judaism 2.0) was effective as Judaism’s organizing principle during centuries of exile, when Jews were religious and when there was an outer wall to Judaism. Circumstances have now changed.

Living in insular communities, it was obvious to the Jews, as it was to others, that the Jews are a distinct nation, composed of individuals who are connected to one another, and not to the people amongst whom they reside.

While not labeled as such, Jewish nationalism was always organic and obvious to what being Jewish meant. Core to that Jewish identity was an eternal yearning to go back to where they came from – to Judea, the Land of Israel.

Not only was the prayer to return recited three times a day, but also much of the infrastructure and theology of Rabbinic Judaism was built around this yearning.

the lack of return was not primarily due to external reasons, but due to internal Jewish inaction – the lack of political leadership. Yet, some Jews did return.

denationalization and secularization – posed a threat to Jewish sustainability, but the threat was confined to the small Jewish communities of Western Europe.

But then came a massive wave of migration that changed this reality – first to Western Europe, and by the end of the 19th century, to the new world – to America. The exposure of the Jewish masses to the secular, emancipated West posed a new challenge to Judaism.

Judaism has been a nation-religion since its inception. But once the Jews began moving to America, they began a process to shed their Jewish national identity and diminish Judaism to a religion.

the 20th century was the first time in 3,000 years of Jewish history, when a large group of Jews no longer perceived themselves as a nation.

The emancipation of Jews in Western Europe led not only to a process of denationalization of the Jewish nation-religion, but it also triggered a European counter-reaction.

This led to the rise of a new popular counter-movement in Europe.

anti-Semitism. Suddenly, the centuries-old hatred towards the Jew was not directed towards the Jewish religion, but towards the Jewish nation.

This caught Jews and non-Jews alike by surprise. The 19th century mass secularization in Europe led many to believe t...

Jews in Europe were also under pressure to suppress their Jewish national identity for another reason. This happened as increased sentiment of nationalism rose in the European nations in which the Jews lived.

Still, the rise of nationalism in Europe trickled into Jewish circles.

Chovevei Zion

Theodor Herzl.

Herzl’s Zionism was not designed merely as a process to re-institute the Jewish state. Herzl’s Zionism was designed as a Jewish philosophy, an ideal.

With Zionism as its anchor, Jews would once again fulfill their latent potentials, and nations would benefit once more from the ingenuity of the Jews.

Herzl stated: “Zionism is the return to Judaism, even before it is the return to the Land of the Jews.”

connect the Eastern-European Jews and the Western-European Jews, the rich and the poor, the religious and the seculars?

Herzl quickly realized that the anti-Semitic movement was pivoting away from “reforming” the Jews and urging them to integrate, to outright opposition to the Jews and denying them a place amongst the nations – both as a collective and as individuals.

Debates immediately ensued in the Zionist movement between political Zionists, who sought to fulfill the Basel program through diplomatic means and practical Zionists, who sought to fulfill it through land purchase and settlement.

Herzl was skeptical about the benefit of building Jewish settlements in Palestine until such diplomatic inroads were completed.

When political Zionism came to the attention of world Jewry towards the end of the 19th century, Jews utterly rejected it.

the Jewish establishment – champions of assimilation within the Jewish world – rapidly became the primary adversary of Zionism.

Reform movement

Pittsburgh Platform:

“We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community,

When Herzl passed away in 1904, Zionism was a defeated movement.

While a minority of them lived there for generations, most came in two waves: in the early 19th century (“The Old Yishuv”), and in the 1880s and 1890s (First Aliya). Those Jews in Palestine, with small exceptions, were religious Orthodox Jews.

Herzl strenuously objected to the “infiltration” of Jews to Palestine and to the creation of new Jewish settlements. He thought it would interfere with his efforts to obtain a Jewish state through political and diplomatic means,

Given the lack of political progress and Herzl no longer being there to object, groups of immigrants from Russia and Poland, who admired Herzl, immigrated to Palestine starting in 1905, shortly after Herzl’s death (the Second Aliya). These were different Jews than the ones who came before them:

many were not religious

the ones who took prominent leadership positions and were the most organized were the socialist factions.

Amongst their leaders was David Ben-Gurion,

The farmers of the First Aliya who inspired Herzl were religious, somewhat older, and strong. Those of the Second Aliya, who were inspired by Herzl, were young, secular and initially perceived as substandard workers.

Unlike the two waves of immigration that proceeded them, they came with the help of the Zionist institutions that assisted in the purchase of land and facilitated the process of immigration.

By 1914,

In Eastern Europe, one could not ignore the rising populism of the Zionist movement amongst the Jews, despite its lack of political progress.

the British awakened the Zionist movement and injected life to Zionism.

Balfour Declaration,

Paris Peace Conference

recognized Zionism as a party of interest in the conference. Perhaps there lies early evidence of the transformation of Judaism 2.0 to Judaism 3.0.

Following the near universal global acceptance of Zionism in 1919-1920, European Jewish leaders finally accepted Zionism themselves. This was no doubt aided by the recognition that their rights as British, French and Germans were not infringed in the aftermath of the Balfour Declaration and enactment of the British Mandate.