A New King Arose

Why is Zionism so important? Before answering, we should define the term. For me, Zionism means the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in our ancient homeland, the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, between the cedars of Lebanon and the Red Sea. For two thousand years after the expulsion from Judea in 70 C.E., we prayed for a return to the land of our ancestors. The Zionist movement of the late nineteenth century dreamed of that return and ultimately helped bring it to fruition.

Why is it so essential for us to have our own land, governed by the Jewish people? We can look to this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Shemot, for guidance. It begins a new book of the Torah and the next chapter in our national story. We concluded Genesis with the end of Jacob and his sons’ story. We read how they settled in Goshen, an isolated region of Egypt, and benefited from Pharaoh’s goodwill because of Joseph’s prominence in the Egyptian court. Just as things were going well for the Israelites, we turn the page and learn that a new king arose in Egypt, a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph. By the whim of this new Pharaoh, the Jews were no longer favored.

As quickly as Joseph rose to power, his descendants became strangers, the other feared and reviled. This pattern repeats in every generation. Jews settle in a land and find favor with rulers, only later to become scapegoats and outsiders, never truly secure or assimilated.

That pattern persists into the twenty-first century. It is only because we now have the modern State of Israel that persecuted Jews have a sanctuary, wherever they come from. We no longer live entirely at the mercy of a new king, governor, prime minister, or president who might abruptly turn against us. Because of Israel, the Jewish people can continue to strive and thrive.

We in the United States are privileged to live under a government that honors and respects the Jewish people, but make no mistake, history shows that such support and kindness are never guaranteed.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel