Rav Yehuda Amital was a unique visionary and builder of Torah. After his family was killed in Auschwitz, Rav Amital came to Eretz Yisrael and fought in the Haganah and in the War of Independence, in Latrun and the Galil. After the Six Day War, Rav Amital founded Yeshivat Har Etzion (a.k.a. “the Gush”), where he was respected as a talmid chacham and rosh yeshiva with penetrating genius and fierce independence. Beloved as a humble gadol b’Yisrael and a deeply caring and dedicated rebbe, Rav Amital was also engaged with Israeli life and politics, serving in the Knesset and sharing his unique and often controversial worldview with a broader audience in Israeli society. B’Emunato, By Faith Alone, is his extraordinary biography.
In June 2008, at a celebration marking the 40th anniversary of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Rav Amital addressed the notion shared by many that the State of Israel ought to be considered reishit tzmichat geulaseinu, the “first flowering of our redemption.” He then shared a ma’aseh of the Kedushas Levi, Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev:
One Yom Kippur, while repeating the Amidah of Neilah, the Berditchever Rebbe stopped suddenly just before the recitation of the berachah Melech solei’ach, “O King Who forgives…” His beautiful voice remained silent and with his eyes tightly shut, his brow became furrowed as if with great concern. The congregation became increasingly uneasy, and tension filled the air. Was their forgiveness blocked in Shamayim, G-d forbid? The Rebbe remained there without moving a muscle, until suddenly he smiled, and with a booming voice, the tzaddik shouted, “Melech solei’ach,” completing the berachah. He then continued singing the rest of the davening with joy and awe, as if nothing had happened.
After nightfall, having blessed the new moon and broken their fast, the community sat around the Rebbe, quietly anticipating an explanation. Finally, he looked up, his peyos still damp with sweat: “My friends, as you surely sensed, in the upper worlds there was a terrible accusation against Klal Yisrael, obstructing the full pardoning of their sins, and I was not able to recite the berachah…
“I tried arguing this way and that with the Heavenly court, but I could not overcome the accusation, until I recalled an experience of my childhood and discovered a way out. When we were kids and there was something good to eat in the house that my mother did not want us to have right away, we would walk up to her and loudly recite the berachah over the food—we would grab the apple, smile, and say, “Borei p’rei ha’etz!” This would ‘force’ her to give us what we wanted, for otherwise it would be a berachah l’vatalah, a blessing recited in vain… As the sun was setting at the peak of Yom Kippur, I did the same thing. I loudly recited the berachah, Melech soleach, “…King Who pardons our iniquities and the iniquities of His People, Am Yisrael.” You see, I didn’t give the Ribbono shel Olam a choice; He had to forgive us, His children, because otherwise it would have been a berachah l’vatalah…
“So too,” said Rav Amital, “regarding proclaiming ‘reishis tzimichas ge’ulaseinu,’ the belief and hope that the State of Israel is and will be the first flowering of our redemption… Perhaps if we recite this phrase with special kavanah, and concentrate with all of our heart, our blessings and prayers that redemption is flowering here and now will come true.”
Actually, the idea that we are in the reishis tzemichas ge’ulaseinu did not start with the establishment of the State. More than 150 years before the declaration of the State of Israel, the talmidei haBaal Shem Tov and the talmidei haGr’a, as well, spoke and wrote of the presently unfolding “beginning of the redemption.” Rav Eliyahu Guttmacher, a German tzaddik, kabbalist, and miracle worker, was a talmid of the great Rav Akiva Eiger to whom thousands from all over Europe would turn for blessings and tefillos. A “proto-Zionist” and a supporter of the ideas of his colleague, Rav Tzvi Hirsh Kalisher, Rav Guttmacher also spoke of the “beginning of redemption” that we are witnessing.
Indeed, the long-predicted days are finally arriving; we are witnesses to and participants in a major shift, both in our inner experience and on the global stage. The great changes that are unfolding reveal a budding of Divine consciousness, an alignment with Hashem’s plan for Creation, and an intent for the complete and eternal redemption of Am Yisrael and the world.
This Shabbos ushers in the new month of Iyar. Our sages point out that the Hebrew letters of the name of the month form a roshei teivos, an acronym, for the phrase “Ani Hashem Rofecha”—“I am Hashem, your Healer” (Sh’mos 15:26). Springtime has arrived, the world is in bloom, and a state of renewal and healing is flowering.
Our focus this month is upon counting, day by day, step by deliberate step, from Nissan to Sivan. We are in a state of continuous ascent toward receiving the Torah. As we engage in personal growth and refinement of our middos, we are preparing ourselves as individuals and as a nation to embrace our purpose as Hashem’s chosen people. This ascent expresses our untiring hope for the great healing of the world. With childlike “holy chutzpah,” we are letting go of our galus mindset, with all of its illness, frailty, and imbalance, and “grabbing” a healthy, powerful, spirit-filled rootedness in our Land. We have been planted here, upon this holy soil, in order to sprout, flourish, and embody geulah; we are the reishis tzimichas ge’ulaseinu.
“If you will heed Hashem your G-d diligently, doing what is upright in His Eyes, listen to His commandments and keep all His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases I placed upon Egypt, for I am Hashem your Healer.”
With great hope for the imminent, open revelation of the complete and true redemption, in good health and happiness, here and now… Amein!
Rav Judah Mischel is executive director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. He is the founder of Tzama Nafshi and the author of the “Baderech” series. Rav Judah lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh with his wife Ora and their family.
