How does the Dati Leumi (Religious Zionist) world view nationalism?
To understand the difference, we must first define what nationalism is:
What Is Nationalism?
Nationalism is the belief that a nation’s identity and sovereignty are of supreme value — often above religion, ethics, or universal truth. It emphasizes loyalty to the state, national pride, and independence as an end in itself. In its secular form, it is a gentile idea, born in the Enlightenment and foreign to the Torah.
Klal Yisrael is not a nation like other nations. We are not a people bound by land, flag, or politics — we are a nation born at Har Sinai, defined only by Torah and mitzvos.
What Some in the Dati Leumi World Believe
Within parts of the Dati Leumi community, especially its ideological leadership, nationalism has been embraced — often wrapped in religious language. They believe the rebirth of Jewish sovereignty through the State of Israel is a spiritual milestone, even a fulfillment of prophecy. Some speak of "Reishit Tzemichat Ge’ulatenu" — the beginning of redemption.
To many, military service, farming the land, speaking Hebrew, and building the state are not just pragmatic acts — they are acts of kedushah. This ideology was shaped in part by misinterpretations of the writings of Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook zt”l, though his words have been selectively quoted and misunderstood.
What Did Rav Kook Really Believe?
Rav Kook never saw nationalism as an independent value.
He believed deeply in Torah as the only source of holiness. While he tried to see potential in secular Jews returning to Torah through their work in building the land, he never promoted the idea that a secular Jewish state, or nationalism itself, was inherently holy.
He wrote:
“There is no holiness except through Torah.” — Orot HaTorah 2:1
Unfortunately, later students and movements twisted Rav Kook’s ideas to build a theology of religious nationalism — which he never endorsed.
The Torah-True View
Gedolei Yisrael across generations — from Rav Elchanan Wasserman to the Chazon Ish, from Rav Shach to Rav Elyashiv, from the Satmar Rebbe to Chacham Ovadia Yosef — were unified and unwavering: Nationalism is not a Torah value.
“The entire concept of nationalism was imported from gentile nations. It is not ours. It has no place in Torah thought.” — Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l, Michtavim u’Maamarim
“Ein umah Yisrael umah ela b'Toratah — the Jewish People are only a nation through the Torah.” — Ramban, Vayikra 26:11
When nationalism becomes the goal — when a Jewish flag, army, or anthem is treated as sacred — it replaces Torah with something else. That is not love for Eretz Yisrael — that is a distortion of it.
Empathy for the Individual, Not for the Ideology
Many Dati Leumi Jews are sincere. They keep mitzvos, love Klal Yisrael, and are ready to sacrifice for what they believe in. We do not hate them. We do not look down on them. We are all one nation.
But we must say clearly: The ideology that elevates nationalism into a religious value is mistaken. It is not a variant of Torah — it is a divergence from Torah.
To turn a secular government into a redemptive symbol, to glorify military force, or to claim that Jewish statehood equals Geulah — these ideas have no source in Chazal and no support from our mesorah.
In Summary
- Nationalism is a secular idea.
- Rav Kook never sanctified nationalism — he only sought the sparks of teshuvah within secular builders.
- Charedi Gedolim have completely rejected nationalism as a Torah value.
- A Torah Jew is loyal only to Hashem’s kingship and laws — not to statehood or national symbols.
We love every Jew — but we do not accept foreign ideologies wrapped in blue and white.
Sources and Footnotes
- Rav Shach, Michtavim u’Maamarim, Vol. 1 – Nationalism as a gentile concept incompatible with Torah.
- Ramban, Vayikra 26:11 – “The Jewish nation is only a nation through Torah.”
- Rav Kook, Orot HaTorah 2:1 – “There is no holiness except through Torah.”
- Chazon Ish, Emunah u’Bitachon – Holiness is not found in nationalism, only in Torah and avodah.
- Rav Elchanan Wasserman, Ikvasa d’Meshicha – Warning against Zionist ideology as spiritual confusion.
- Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, public lectures – Loyalty to Hashem is not expressed through nationalism.
- Satmar Rebbe, Vayoel Moshe – A full sefer dedicated to proving the error of Zionist nationalism from Torah sources.