Religious Zionism
Its adherents are also referred to as Dati Leumi (דָּתִי לְאֻמִּי, 'National Religious'), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the first part of that term: Datiim (דתיים, 'Religious').
[2] In 1862, German Orthodox Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer published his tractate Derishat Zion, positing that the salvation of the Jews, promised by the Prophets, can come about only by self-help.
The main ideologue of modern Religious Zionism was Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who justified Zionism according to Jewish law, and urged young religious Jews to support efforts to settle the land, and the secular Labour Zionists to give more consideration to Judaism.
Furthermore, modern Jews have the obligation to possess and defend the land in ways that comport with the Torah's high standards of justice.
[4] To generations of diaspora Jews, Jerusalem has been a symbol of the Holy Land and of their return to it, as promised by God in numerous Biblical prophecies.
It was actually a tool of God to promote His divine scheme, and to initiate the return of the Jews to their homeland – the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The early kibbutz was a communal settlement that focused on national goals, unencumbered by religion and precepts of Jewish law such as kashrut.
(page 2221) Some Haredi Jews view establishing Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land before the coming of the Messiah as forbidden, as a violation of the Three Oaths.
Zionism's goal was first and foremost a transformation of the Jewish People from a religious society – whose sole shared characteristic was the Torah – into a political nationality, with a common land, language, and culture.
And its younger sister, "religious nationalism (l'umis datis)", is idol worship that combines Hashem's name and heresy together (avodah zarah b'shituf).
[10] Rav Elyashiv also denounced the actions of religious Jews joining Zionist organizations as separating from authentic Judaism.
In 2010, Rav Elyashiv published a letter criticizing the Shas Party for joining the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
He compared this move to the decision of the Mizrachi movement to join the WZO [over one hundred years ago], which was the deciding factor in their separation from authentic Torah Judaism.
They argued that the change in the status of Western Europe's Jews following emancipation was the first step toward redemption (גאולה), and that, therefore, one must hasten the messianic salvation by a natural salvation – whose main pillars are the Kibbutz Galuyot ("Gathering of the Exiles"), the return to Eretz Israel, agricultural work (עבודת אדמה), and the revival of the everyday use of the Hebrew language.
Students generally prepare for the Semikha test of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel (the "Rabbanut"); until his passing in 2020, often for that of the posek R. Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.
The Midrashot focus on Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and Machshavah (Jewish thought); some offer specialized training in Halakha: Nishmat certifies women as Yoatzot Halacha, Midreshet Lindenbaum as to'anot; Lindenbaum, Matan, and Ein HaNetziv offer Talmud-intensive programs in rabbinic-level halakha.
Certain segments of Orthodoxy defer their service, in order to engage in full-time Torah study for purpose of spiritual development in unison with warfare.
For this reason, many Religious Zionist men take part in the Hesder program, a concept conceived by Rabbi Yehuda Amital which allows military service to be combined with yeshiva studies.
While some Religious Zionist women serve in the army, most choose national service, known as Sherut Leumi, instead (working at hospitals, schools, and day-care centers).
The IDF undertook that all modesty and kosher issues will be handled, in order to make female Religious Zionists comfortable.
Women invariably cover their hair – usually with a snood, or a mitpachat (Hebrew for "kerchief") – and often wear sandals; their skirts are longer and looser fitting.
On Shabbat, men often wear a (blue) suit – atypical in Israel outside the Haredi world – and a large white crocheted kippah.
Homes often have on their bookshelves a set of the Steinsaltz Talmud (much as the Artscroll is to be found in American Haredi homes), Mishnah with Kehati, Rambam La'Am, Peninei Halakha, and/or Tzurba M'Rabanan; as well as a selection of the numerous popular books by leading Dati Leumi figures on the weekly parsha, the festivals, and hashkafa (discussions on Jewish thought).
