''Vayoel Moshe'' ( he, ויואל משה) is a Hebrew book written by Rabbi
Joel Teitelbaum
Joel Teitelbaum ( yi, יואל טייטלבוים, translit=Yoyl Teytlboym, ; 13 January 1887 – 19 August 1979) was the founder and first Grand Rebbe of the Satmar dynasty.
A major figure in the post-war renaissance of Hasidism, he espoused a ...
, founder of the
Satmar
Satmar (Yiddish: סאַטמאַר, Hebrew: סאטמר) is a Hasidic group founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, in the city of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is an offshoot of the Sighet Hasidic dynasty ...
Hasidic movement, in 1961. In it, Teitelbaum argues that
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 ...
is incompatible with
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 ...
.
As Teitelbaum explains in the introduction, the book's title is taken from the biblical verse of Exodus 2:21, and hints to Teitelbaum's first name (Yoel), and to his grandfather, Moshe Teitelbaum. The verse, which states, "And Moses agreed to stay ... an alien in a foreign land", hints to Teitelbaum's conclusion that the Jewish people should remain in exile.
The book is considered to be Teitelbaum's ''magnum opus'', and is of the utmost importance to Satmar Hasidim, as well as to other Haredim who follow the Satmar doctrine regarding Zionism. Satmar Hasidism has many institutions, buildings, and neighborhoods named after the book.
''Vayoel Moshe'' is primarily a book of
Halacha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...
, Jewish law. However, it draws on Rabbinic Jewish philosophy as well.
Structure
The book consists of three parts:
1. ''Maamar Shalosh Shevuos'' (Treatise regarding the Three Oaths), is an in-depth analysis of the ''Three Oaths'' and their practical halachic implications.
The "Three Oaths" are originally detailed by the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
in tractate ''Ketubot''. The Talmud discusses a passage from the Song of Songs in the ''
Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' King Solomon in Song of Songs thrice adjured the daughters of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
not to arouse or bestir the love until it is ready". The Talmud explains that the Jewish people are bound by three oaths:
* Not to ascend to ''
Eretz Yisrael
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 Israe ...
'' "like a wall" (i. e., in a strong manner).
* Not to rebel against the nations of the world.
* Not to delay the coming of the Messiah.
The Talmud follows the discussion of the oaths with a strong warning:
... Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Jewish people: If you fulfill the oath, it is good, and if not, I will abandon your flesh, and all will devour you like the gazelles and like the hinds of the field.
Teitelbaum discusses the legal status of the oaths, and what they imply. He argues that while the oaths are clearly metaphorical, and do not have the legal status of actual oaths, they are to be understood as guidelines for what is considered to be an attempt to leave exile before divine redemption, which he posits is severely forbidden and is tantamount to heresy.
2. ''Maamar Yishuv Eretz Yisroel'' (Treatise about settling the Land of Israel), which seeks to clarify if there is a halachic obligation to dwell in the land of Israel, as well as general halachic concerns regarding Jews emigrating to Israel, known as Aliyah.
3. ''Maamar Leshon HaKodesh'' (Treatise about the holy tongue), in which Teitelbaum writes that not only is there no reason to choose to speak
Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the H ...
– it is actually forbidden. This was written as a personal answer to the chief rabbi of Montreal at the time, Rabbi Pinchas Hirschsprung, and it was later added into this book.
Other arguments
# Rabbi Teitelbaum refers to
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religiou ...
as a "major desecration of God's name".
# Blames Zionism for worsening, and the aveirah of Zionism for being a cause of, the Holocaust, both in direct ways, as well as on a spiritual level, by causing the fulfillment of the slaughter the Talmud says will happen if the oaths are violated.
# Refers to Zionist leaders such as
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern po ...
as "heretics".
# Argues that any participation in the Israeli elections is one of the worst sins, and halachically, a Jew must rather be killed than vote.
# Blames some of the bloodshed in the Middle East on the Zionists.
# Rules that it is forbidden to accept any money from Israeli government programs.
# Asserts that the way of the Baal Shem Tov is forgotten today, and that Hasidus is no longer properly understood.
# Argues against the practice of making decisions on the basis of folk tales about Hasidic rabbis, especially in matters of
Halacha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...
.
# Stresses that blind faith in the righteous is foolish, as even genuinely learned and pious scholars can be misled, make errors, or abandon their righteous ways; rather, a person must conduct his own examination of the original sources.''Vayoel Moshe, Maamar Shalosh Shevuos, siman'' 142-175
Shaul Magid
Shaul Magid (born June 16, 1958) is the Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. From 2004-2018 he was a professor of religious studies and the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Chair of Jewish Studies in Modern Judaism at Indiana U ...
: The Satmar Are Anti-Zionist. Should We Care?: In