zionism- Greenberg :: essays research papers

Response to Myth and MetaphorIt is not orthogonal nor is it fair to respond to the mirage of childish bickering that just frustrated the net half hour of my day without mentioning the more than obvious biases of the writers involved in their respective fields. Harold Fisch, a professor of English Literature at Leeds University and soon after at Bar-Ilan University, writes a detailed analysis of what he refers to as the Myth and Metaphor of the various approaches to Zionism in his book titled The Zionist Revolution. In this analysis Fisch attempts to break down several approaches to the myth and fable of Zionism to give the reader a sense of broader knowledge and a smelling that the field is generally covered in this article. He inevitably presents onward the opinion that he holds of highest regard last and most obviously, due to his literary nature, third in line after those of Aaron David Gordon and HaRav Avraham Yizchak Hakohen Kook respectively.The problem with Fischs analy sis of Gordon and his metaphor of Zionism is that the passing plays that he selected to quote do not at all confine themselves to the commentary he addressed to them. In this selected passage Gordon speaks ofa living organism which performs its various functions naturally..our natural spot from which we have been uprooted..The heart of our people is herefor here is the mainspring of our life..Here something is source to flowerHere is the force attracting all the scattered cells of the people to amalgamate into one living national organism(pg. 56).Fischs misplaced pack comes directly following this quote when he claims that Gordon desires a kind of current religion to replace the old religion of Judaism. Fisch continues on the following rogue and claims that the religion he speaks of is one distinct from that of the Law and the prophets. From the biblical guide on of view we may say that we have here a revitalization of something like the worship of the Bealim, the gods of t he earth. From the passage presented by Fisch we dont see any such existence. Gordon, like Rav Kook, and many other contemporaries in this field, is devoted to the ideals of restoration to our roots and the mystical future that the consecrate Land holds for its people when they will choke to her. This c erstwhilept is very untold a part of the Jewish religion and can be seen in the well know verse Return to me and I will return to you, referring to G-ds promise to his people that he will return to them once they take the initiative to return to him.