The Rock of Israel ( he, צור ישראל, ''Tzur Yisrael'') is a concept in

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

that alludes to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, and in

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

and politics, to the cultural and historical heritage of the

Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

and the foundation of the State of Israel. The term was used in the Israeli Declaration of Independence as a compromise between religious Jews and secular Jews.

Definition

In Psalm 19:15 of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' The Hebrew Name for God
/ref> In religious terms, the "Rock" means God, who protects the Jewish people and is the center of their faith, which defines their identity and consciousness. The term indicates the trust and faith of people in God, who is immutable. However, secular Zionists have interpreted this term in a non-religious way to mean the cultural and historical heritage that has preserved Jewish community and identity over centuries. Both meanings have influenced the movement for the return of Jews to the

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

and the creation of the Jewish state of Israel. A phrase beginning "Rock of Israel" is part of the morning prayers in some versions of the prayerbook, where it is recited immediately before the Shemonah Esrei prayer.

Controversy

The term "Rock of Israel" was subject of controversy just before the promulgation of the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. The leaders present at the ceremony and who were to be signatories of the declaration believed that the declaration should express the fundamental values and principles that would define the new state, which would give the Jewish people a homeland in Palestine after 2,000 years of exile. The Jewish religious leaders, led by Rabbi Fishman-Maimon wanted a clear reference to God by the usage of the words "The Rock of Israel and its Redeemer." However, a large segment of the Jewish leadership included those with secular and socialist convictions who sought a clear

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

. Aharon Zisling, the left-wing leader of Mapam refused to sign the declaration of independence if it contained references to "a God in whom he did not believe."The State of Israel Declares Independence
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs The disagreement threatened to derail the actual and ceremonial proclamation of the establishment of a Jewish state in the former

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

. Israeli leader

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...

, who would become the country's first

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, spent the morning of 14 May mediating the dispute between Rabbi Maimon and Zisling. After hours of talks, Rabbi Maimon agreed to leave out the term "Redeemer" from the text of the declaration. The compromise was included without a final vote. Later in his life Ben-Gurion is said to have explained that to him, "Rock of Israel" meant "the Old Testament with its history and traditions" or "

Tzahal The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

" (the Israeli army).

English translation

Significantly, the whole passage containing the words "Rock of Israel" was not included in the English-language translation that was released for publication, owing to the military censorship imposed to keep the time and place of the ceremony secret in the wake of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

that was about to begin. Despite Ben-Gurion's conviction that "Rock of Israel" was not necessarily a religious term, the official English translation composed by

Moshe Sharet Moshe Sharett ( he, משה שרת, born Moshe Chertok (Hebrew: )‎ 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was a Russian-born Israeli politician who served as Israel's second prime minister from 1954 to 1955. A member of Mapai, Sharett's term was b ...

, and cited in official documents, rendered it as "Almighty God." It was not until 1962 that the Israeli government changed it to the more literal "Rock of Israel".

References

{{Reflist Israeli Declaration of Independence Hebrew Bible words and phrases Names of God in Judaism

Definition

Controversy

English translation

See also

References