There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 14. 7 million Jews in the world, and that means at least that many different ways of being Jewish, and we have to recognize that even those whose Judaism looks different to ours are still heirs to their own legal and spiritual tradition. How do you Jew? As usual, you can find this week's drasha, along with my other weekly divrei Torah here at D'var Torah in a Minute
(Genesis 19:26) That is the headline but the headline is not the story. What happened to Lot's wife became a warning a parent might use against disobedient children, "Remember Lot's wife. " The phrase became part of common communication for anyone who was making a decision that did not include obeying God. It is a fitting phrase for such a warning. "Remember Lot's wife" is the headline! Lot is the Story Lot's wife is unnamed by scripture, but Jewish Rabbis referred to her as "Idit. " (Tanhuma [ed. Buber], Vayera 8) If you use only scripture, you can't think of Lot's wife, without including Lot. The name "Lot" is always used in describing her. It is how the woman is perpetually named. Whatever else we learn about Lot, the man can never distance himself from the woman known as "Lot's wife. " Jesus never told his disciples to "Remember Lot. " Jesus never said it, but if we think about the wife and her tragic end, we also need to think about Lot. Lot set a course and made decisions that resulted in multiple layers of tragedy for his family and the descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.
Religious Zionism is a stream of Zionism that says that the Jewish people have more then just an indigenous connection to the land of Israel. They have a spiritual connection to the Land of Israel. The Children of Israel and the Land of Israel constitute one system which is incomplete without the other. Furthermore, the State of Israel is a holy nation and protected by God, and that Israel will have overwhelming significance to the world and future historiography. Religious Zionism is actually way older then secular Zionism. Here is strong religious Zionist argument from the Ramban: That we are commanded to take possession of the Land which the Almighty, Blessed Be He, gave to our forefathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov; and not to abandon it to other nations, or to leave it desolate, as He said to them, "You shall dispossess the inhabitants of the Land and dwell in it, for I have given the Land to you to possess it, " and he said, further, "To Inherit the Land which I swore to your forefathers (to give them)"; behold, we are commanded with the conquest of the land in every generation.
As Jesus talked of the importance of there being no hesitation, He said, "Remember Lot's wife. " (Luke 17:32) Those words put emphasis on a needed warning: Don't turn back – not for anything. Like, Waterproof Man Drowns in Dry Creek, Remember Lot's Wife is a memorable headline. The headline is not the story! "Remember Lot's wife" is the headline; "Remember Lot's wife" is not the story. The headline declaims a moment; the story conveys the journey to that moment. "Remember Lot's wife, " is attention-getting. Hopefully, it gets enough attention that we are drawn to understand the story. Lot's wife becoming a pillar of salt is a signature moment in early history. The events, or the story, that led to the unfortunate woman becoming a pillar of salt are a series of events in which Lot's wife had little role. Lot's spouse is first mentioned in Genesis 19:15-16. Her inclusion in those verses comes, as God's messengers hurry Lot's family out of Sodom and Gomorrah. Ten verses later the text is: But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Two, the Holy One adjured Israel {the Jewish people} not to rebel against the nations of the world. Three, the Holy One adjured the nations that they would not oppress Israel too much. Yoreh De'ah 236:6 If two [persons] who have taken an oath to do a thing, and one of them violates the oath, the other is exempt [from it] and does not require permission. Midrash Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah 2:7; Rabbi Yossi bar Chanina There are two oaths here, one for Israel and one for the nations. Israel swore not to rebel against the nations [R. Yossi bar Chanina views Israel's two oaths in Ketuvot as just one], and the nations swore that they would not overly burden Israel, for by doing so they would cause the end of days to come prematurely. Religious Zionists believe the gentiles violated their vow by excessively persecuting the Jewish people, and due to them violating their oath, the Jewish people are no longer required to maintain their vow to the gentile nations (Yoreh De'ah 236:6). Due to Ramban's argument, they are perhaps even Halakhic obligated to conquer the Land of Israel "like a wall".