Mida K’Negged Mida
Prof. Paul Eidelberg
That the nations, democracies included, are bent on delegitimizing Israel should not be construed simply as a manifestation of anti-Semitism. This is the conclusion of pundits having a superficial understanding of Israel or of how Israel affects the behavior of nations. We read in Ezekiel 20:32: “That which comes into your mind shall not be at all; in that you say, ‘We shall be as the nations ...’”
And in the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 139a): “If you see a generation which is constantly on the decline, go and investigate the Judges of Israel.”
I have often pointed out that the first sentence of Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence, which states that “The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people,” is false. This statement implies that the Jews did not become a “people” until the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua, and, therefore, only after the Law-giving at Mount Sinai. Yet the Children of Israel are repeatedly referred to as a people even before their exodus from Egypt, as well as during their wanderings in the Wilderness. In fact, they are also called a “nation.” Thus: “What great nation has laws and social rules so righteous as this Torah?” (See Deut. 4:8; Exod. 1:9; and Num. 23:9).
The signatories of the Declaration had effectively delegitimized the Law-giving at Mount Sinai. Measure for measure—Mida K’Negged Mida—the nations are bent on delegitimizing the secular State of Israel. Mida K’Negged Mida is a most powerful law of history.
The nations, I said, include democracies. These democracies support the despotic Palestinian Authority vis-à-vis Israel. This, too, manifests the law of Mida K’Negged Mida, if only because Israel’s ruling elites—politicians and judges—boast of Israel being a democracy.
Moreover, Israel’s Supreme Court, notably its former president, Aharon Barak, repeatedly insists that there is no conflict between democracy and Judaism. This is a blatant lie. There are numerous cases involving conflicts between democratic and Jewish values; and when they are adjudicated by the Supreme Court, the judges frequently hand down rulings that place democratic values over Jewish values (as was ruefully admitted by former Supreme Court Justice Zvi Tal.) But this means they delegitimize Jewish values, hence the Torah and the heritage of the Jewish people. Quite a democracy.
Turning to my booklet Israel’s Return and Restoration, there I abbreviate (with permission) the first chapter of Torah and Existence, the work of the Gaon Rabbi Dr. Haim, Zimmerman of blessed memory. The Gaon cites a wealth of Torah, Talmudic, and Rabbinic sources showing that the State of Israel, though founded by secular Zionists, represents the beginning of the redemption (atchalta d’geula). Only secularists could have fought and established the present State of Israel. Once established, the state made possible the in-gathering of millions of Jews, from which followed a tremendous growth of yeshivas and Jewish learning. The Gaon quotes Job 27:17, “The impious shall prepare, but the righteous shall wear,” and adds: “This is the wisdom of God, that He can determine causes whose consequences will only be seen in years to come.”
With this in mind, consider Jewish demography in Israel. The high birthrate of religious Jews and the emigration of hundreds of thousands of secular Jews threatened the power of the secular Establishment. To counter the increasing percentage and voting power of religious Jews, Israel’s secular elites emasculated the Jewish content of public education, imported gentiles via the “grandfather clause” of the Law of Return,” and pursued a policy of “land for peace” that would abandon Judea and Samaria and thereby erase the historical memory of the Jewish people.
Thus, while the State was necessary for the beginning of Israel’s redemption, it has become the enemy of Israel’s further and complete redemption—which requires, in addition to returning to Torah Judaism (teshuva), but also reconstruction of the State’s political and judicial institutions. (I deal with the latter in books and articles that assimilate the forgotten wisdom of America’s Founding Fathers, which, by the way, has not endeared me to the Establishment.)
To sum up: the attempt to delegitimize Israel should not be attributed simply to anti-Semitism, or to the envy of nations astonished by Israel’s incredible accomplishments—which puts to shame not only Arab states, but also Europe or Eurabia. Israel’s achievements in agriculture, medical science, computer technology, avionics, etc.—have occurred despite a dysfunctional government and despite wars and incessant terrorist attacks. It thus appears—and perhaps what unconsciously rankles Israel enemies—the God of Israel is fulfilling even now His promise to the Jewish people, which further suggests that their current tribulations will purge them of the dross that accompanied their return to the land of their fathers.
Jews must therefore recognize that their unsound secular state was established by short-sighted and impious Zionists who sought to delegitimize the Torah, which is the arcane reason why Israel’s enemies are now trying to delegitimize this unsound secular state. The lesson of Mida K’Negged Mida is clear: Jews must make every effort to reconstruct their political society on Jewish foundations, which may well prompt Americans to make every effort to restore their own political society on Judeo-Christian foundations. This is the primary aim of my forthcoming book, Toward a Renaissance of Israel and America.
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