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December 3, 2001

Excerpts from an Address at Mizrachi Dinner (2001)

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Speech

Invocation: J.N.F. Luncheon, Mizrachi Women (1960)

Almighty G‑d: do Thou send Thy blessings upon all those here gathered – them, their families, and all others everywhere associated with us in our sacred work. Give us the inspiration, encouragement, and vision to carry on our mission of rebuilding the Holy Land in the spirit of the Holy Torah. Bless with success, especially, our undertakings on behalf of the Jewish National Fund, whose purpose it is to reclaim the land promised to Abraham as the possession of Israel. For the J.N.F. and its tree-planting program symbolizes the confidence we, Thy children, have in the future of Thy land. Indeed, the tree is the symbol of our people. Our roots lie deep in sacred history: the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of Israel, the prophets and sages and rabbis who discoursed in it and about it. The trunk is our people as constituted at present – strong lines intertwined with weak, hard wood with soft, the enduring with the passing – but they are one, and their roots are holy. The branches of Israel are many. There is the proud branch of Torah, of scholarship and learning. There is the branch of worship – the synagogues where the worship of G‑d is carried on in our great tradition. There is the branch of charity and good deeds – of friendship for the lonely, medicine for the sick, assistance for the needy. And there is the branch of the reclamation of the Holy Land and the upbuilding of Zion and Jerusalem. We who are gathered at this Mizrachi Women J.N.F. luncheon are dedicated to the preservation and growth of that tree – its sacred roots, its vital trunk, and every one of its proud branches and twigs. O Creator of heaven and earth, who creates the fruit of the tree, may the tree of Israel indeed be an etz chayim, a tree of life. May it flourish, grow tall and luxuriant, and bear its precious fruit, speedily in our days, and let us say: Amen.
Mizrachi

Article

Religious Zionism in the Diaspora - Excerpts from an Address in Jerusalem (1998)

It is unfortunate that Minister Yaakov Neeman had to lecture earlier and was not able to appear on this panel. It would have been a pleasure for me to be associated with Dr. Yaakov Neeman. My surname Lamm, which means sheep, requires a shepherd, and I need a faithful shepherd – in Hebrew “faithful” is neeman – and he – Yaakov Neeman – is both a faithful shepherd (ro’eh) and a visionary (ro’eh). The topic assigned to me is “Mizrachi’s Role in the Diaspora.” I am no expert on the Diaspora as such. I am somewhat acquainted with the United States scene, and I therefore will speak on that. I must admit, however, that when I talk about America, it is to an extent as a synonym for the rest of the Diaspora.One more prefatory remark: I would not dare speak about the Israeli situation since you are at the front, in the midst of all that is happening. We Jews of the Diaspora, even though our heart is in the East (i.e., Israel), at the end of the day we stay in the Far West (i.e., overseas, in the United States), in peaceful and prosperous lands.For a number of years in the United States, there is a feeling of frustration and failure regarding Mizrachi. Partly it is the result of organizational and institutional reasons: Israel. In addition, there are also psychological and existential elements: confusion; embarrassment; ambivalence. We are in the midst of a major, disturbing identity crisis. As we go to sleep at night we ask ourselves: Who are the Mizrachi? What is Religious Zionism? Where is it leading? The answers are not easy.Permit me to make three points. First, we must know that we are not alone in our confusion. The political changes, the weak organization, the psychological and existential dilemma, are all illnesses of the developed Western World and maybe, as well, parts of the Third World, in these final years of the 20th century. Such doubts are common to all moderate opinions, to anyone who follows the middle path proposed by Maimonides. All this is not new, espe…
Mizrachi

Speech

Speech at World Conference of Mizrachi (1982)

This is the second 80th birthday party of Mizrachi that I have been invited to attend. The first was in New York a few months ago, and the second is now, here in Jerusalem. Clearly, this is the more festive as well as the more authentic event, and I am honored to have been invited to address you on this occasion in the presence of so many dignitaries from Israel and overseas. Reaching gevurot is worthy of a happy celebration. An idea which was just a glint in the eyes of a few visionaries has become a reality which has had an enormous impact on religious Jewry, on the State of Israel, and on the world Jewish community. It is an occasion of gratitude to the Almighty that we can together commemorate this eightieth anniversary in the Holy City of Jerusalem. I shall not recount the triumphant achievements of Mizrachi in the course of the past eight decades. First, there are those here who can do that much better than I and out of a greater background of personal experience. Second, I do not see myself in the role of a cheerleader, and I do not think you invited me here for that purpose Finally, seif-gratulation is a luxury which we cannot afford when we are confronted with almost unprecedented challenges. Boasting of the past is usually the symptom of advanced age and the onset of senility. If we are vigorous, we must work to secure the future __ which alone can give meaning and continuity to the achievements of the past. -2- The truth is that underneath the thin veneer of festivity lies a reservoir of sadness, tension, worry, and foreboding appre- hension. There is angst and melancholy in the air generally in Israel because of events that do not require repetition by me. For Mizrachi, there is the awareness that it is today at a critical point in its history. Politically it has lost half of its parlia- mentary seats. Organizationally, it is in decline throughout the world. Some of us have begun to feel like vestiges of the past instead of harbingers of the future. Som…
Mizrachi