The Ashkenazi Revolution

89movement that sought to strengthen the foundations of Jewish life in theDiaspora through the tangible and concrete commandment of the buildingup of the Land of Israel. The state of mind of the rationalists left someimpression also upon the Jewish religion and took away a little from themystical element. As for the place of the retreating mystical element,progressive and foresighted rabbis wished to fulfill, in a tangible way, theimage of a connection to the Land of Israel and efforts to build it up.Moreover: The strengthening of the Jewish settlement of Eastern Europe,and the expansion of its rights, increased even within religious Jewry, thewill to leave the ghetto and to accomplish Jewish religious deedsappropriate to the period and the possibilities it held. Intellectual circles, ofthe disciples of Ahad ha’Am and members of the fellowship “The Sons ofMoses”, were active in the Lovers of Zion movement and they were amongits important leaders. But the common thread between the movement andits main power were rabbis who connected it with the Jewish masses andgave it its deep influence. From a historical perspective, this movementwas a continuation of the migration, to the Land of Israel, of the righteousones and of the disciples of the Vilna Gaon, who left their element for theold Ashkenazi settlement in the Land of Israel and founded Pethah Tiqwa.The center of gravity of the Lovers of Zion movement was not in the Landof Israel but in the Diaspora, for its aim was to strengthen Judaism amongthe millions of Jews of Eastern Europe, and the means to advance thiscause was physical Labor in the Land of Israel. The Lovers of Zionmovement gave no answer for the Jewish Question. It’s intention was notto ensure a large territory for Jewish settlement, but to strengthen thenational spirit of the Jewish community in the Diaspora, at a time when themain danger to it was not internal, but rather the danger of murder at thehands of enemies.The great unrest that rose against Russian Jewry brought about thefounding of a series of settlements in the Land of Israel, whose inhabitantswere influenced by, and later aided by, the Lovers of Zion movement.These founders wrote a shining chapter in history and merit eternal praise.But we should distinguish between the pioneering activities of theseexceptional people, and the ideological essence of the Lovers of Zion