The
progression of Zionism and the founding of the State of Israel are “complicated”—a
favorite descriptor of the many factors that weave the present reality. In a sense, our cohort has been invited into
an internal family dialogue about continuing issues of Jewish peoplehood. It speaks to the openness of the American
Jewish Committee and the Shalom Hartman Institute that they would trust
American Christians to be good stewards of their insight.
Today we
explored the tension between two perspectives on “home.” Some do not believe that one can achieve the
full Jewish identity without undergoing the challenge and complexity of
actually living in the modern state of Israel, while others believe that the
experience of diaspora—being away from the land either voluntarily or
involuntarily—is the essence of Jewish life.
The first perspective, which can be
voiced by either religious or secular Zionists, ties Jewish distinctiveness to
this historic land. Longing for home is
inscribed in the Haggadah of the Seder: “Next year in Jerusalem.” Having arrived in Eretz-Israel (the biblical delineation
of the geography) and founding the nation in 1948 portend the beginning of the
flowering of redemption, as many put it.
This project of crafting a Jewish
homeland is barely 65 years old—very young as nations go. Further, as in biblical times, the land was
not uninhabited as the Zionists began to arrive. An Israeli Arab lecturer reminded us that his
family had been here for 750 years (28 generations.) These people were at home, yet lost 72% of
their property in the map-making of new neighbors, according to this version of
recent decades.
The second draws from the prophetic
tradition, enjoining the people of God to settle down and plant vineyards and
seek the welfare of the city (Jeremiah 29:7) wherever the people have been
scattered. And there are multiple
examples of Jewish contributions to culture in the great cities opened up by
the Roman Empire. This perspective (albeit disputed) contends that there are
lessons learned as a persecuted religious minority that shape the Jewish
character.
The role of Torah differs in these
competing visions. The first assumes
that Torah commands that identity and the land are forever intertwined. The second argues that the Torah, the word of
God, is the true dwelling of the people, their true home.
All humans bear this longing for
home, and it is an elusive quest. The
human spirit transcends both geography and temporal spiritual pursuits. We were made for God and for community, and
our restless hearts often miss the mediations of holy presence. As a Christian theologian, I believe we also
long for the “city not made with human hands.”
Molly T. Marshall
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