Yom Ha'atzmaut, Tradition and Divine Intervention

Of all the practices that characterize Orthodox Judaism, perhaps the most enthusiastically performed is the celebration of various religious festivals throughout the year. The weekly Shabbos, the monthly Rosh Chodesh, and the three annual Pilgrimage Festivals are several highlights of a Jewish calendar punctuated with days of special significance. Though each one has its own specific identity and message, all of the holidays share the common purpose of enhancing our appreciation for G-d's sovereignty and strengthening our dedication towards fulfilling His will. Given these goals and the historical precedents we have for what is considered a spiritual holiday, it is difficult to understand how the fifth of Iyar, the date that marks the anniversary of Israel's declaration of its independence, would qualify as a member of this category.

A close inspection of all the joyous festivals, Torah-mandated and rabbinic, that mark specific historical events reveals that each is observed on a date that saw a display of divine intervention or a measure of deliverance for which the Jewish people owed a debt of gratitude to G-d. The fifteenth of Nissan, which starts the Passover holiday, is the date that G-d took the Jews out of Egypt. Shavuot, on the sixth of Sivan, commemorates G-d's revelation to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai. The Purim holiday, which takes place on the fourteenth of Adar, is observed on the date that the Jews triumphed over their Persian enemies in battle; as a remembrance for the fact that the Jews of Shushan fought and prevailed one day later, nowadays, walled cities observe Purim on the fifteenth of Adar. Chanukah, too, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, celebrates Jewish victory in battle, with the additional aspect of recognizing the date on which the Jews were able to rededicate the Second Temple.

It is not my concern whether or not today's rabbinate has sufficient authority to establish a new festival. However, even if we assume that it does possess such power, it seems fundamental that, in forming a new holiday, the rabbis should conform to established precedents as to what is appropriate grounds for celebration. The Jewish holidays mentioned above - Pesach, Purim, Shavuot, and Chanukah - are all, to my knowledge, indisputably accepted by Orthodox Jews. Integral to each of these days is a religious theme of either G-d's physical or spiritual salvation of Am Yisrael, which is inherent to the event being commemorated. In contrast, the fifth of Iyar is the anniversary of the declaration of the independent State of Israel, a thoroughly human deed that reflects none of the divine element evident in all other Jewish holidays.

Of course, I do not mean to intimate that the formation of the State of Israel was not an momentous event in Jewish history, nor am I contending that G-d played no role in its conception. On the contrary - the State's emergence, allowing Jews access to their religious homeland following World War II, and its continued survival during fifty turbulent years have been nothing short of miraculous. But it is this acknowledgment of the supernatural - the plain realization that Israel could not thrive without G-d's guidance - that is undermined by the aggrandizement of our own contributions to world events. We are not Americans marking the colonial revolutionary spirit by celebrating the Fourth of July; we are not Frenchmen celebrating the atmosphere of enlightenment that led to the storming of the Bastille; we are Jews, G-d's Chosen People, who have an obligation to glorify and ascribe credit to Him for the worldly events that affect our people.

There is no question that the existence of an autonomous Jewish presence in Israel and the opportunities for religious service it provides demand an declaration of gratitude to G-d; the problem, it seems to me, is the manner of expression that was chosen. Would any rational person argue that a thanksgiving festival celebrating the Jewish military victory over the Arabs in early 1949 is unfounded? Could anyone deny the validity of a holiday marking the dates in mid-1949 when Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon signed armistice agreements with Israel? I think not. Even if there were a convincing argument demonstrating that the declaration of Israel's independence could be interpreted as containing a divine aspect, it would still seem to be a shame that we have not adopted one of the aforementioned suggestions or some other proposal whose appropriateness could be appreciated by everyone. Instead, we are left with Yom Ha'atzmaut, a holiday plagued by an unclear identity, questionable religious significance, and supporters who are forced to spend as much time justifying their celebration as they do reflecting upon any meaning the day contains for them.