“The Beginning of Hope” vs. “The Beginning of Redemption”
An interesting dialogue of sorts has developed between two well-known figures in the religious-zionist camp, Rabbis Hayyim Navon and Yisrael Rosen. The catalyst for this most recent dustup was a booklet which Rabbi Navon wrote for the liberal religious group Ne’emanei Torah ve-Avodah called אתחלתא דתקווה, “The Beginning of Hope.” This is a modification of the term אתחלתא דגאולה, “The Beginning of Redemption,” which is used to describe the redemptive process which the State of Israel represents. I haven’t read Rabbi Navon’s piece, but from various reports about the disagreement, it seems as if he is trying to moderate the somewhat deterministic and, at times, extremist views about the redemptive process represented by the State of Israel. A simplistic explanation of their disagreement is a juxtaposition of the different views of Zionism and redemption represented by Rav Kook and Rav Soloveitchik. See here for some reviews of the booklet.