''Eim HaBanim Semeicha'' was written by Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal, and published in 1943 in

Budapest, Hungary Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. The title is taken from

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

and means “A Joyous Mother of Children”.

The Book

Teichtal grew up as a staunch

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

Chasid of the Munkatsher Rebbe. However, during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, Rabbi Teichtal changed his position from the one he espoused in his youth. The physical product of that introspection is the book, Eim HaBanim Semeicha, in which he specifically retracts his previous viewpoints, and argues that the true redemption can only come if the Jewish people unite and rebuild the land of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Many of his coreligionists viewed the book with skepticism, some going so far as to ban Rabbi Teichtal from their

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s. In the book, Rabbi Teichtal strongly criticizes the

Haredim Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

for not supporting the settlement of the Land of Israel. When it was written, it was a scathing criticism of the

Jewish Orthodox Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

establishment, and Agudat Israel in particular. He writes:

It is clear that he who prepares prior to the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
will eat on the Sabbath (Avodah Zarah, 3a), and since the Haredim did not toil, they have absolutely no influence in the Land (of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
). Those who toil and build have the influence, and they are the masters of the Land. It is, therefore, no wonder that they are in control... Now, what will the
Haredim Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...
say? I do not know if they will ever be able to vindicate themselves before the heavenly court for not participating in the movement to rebuild the Land. (p. 23)

References

External links

*
Eim Habanim Semeichah
' on HebrewBooks.org

Torah database A Torah database (מאגר תורני or מאגר יהדות) is a collection of classic Jewish texts in electronic form, the kinds of texts which, especially in Israel, are often called "The Traditional Jewish Bookshelf" (ארון הספרים ה ...

Chaburat Eim Habanim Semeichah—On-line study of Eim Habanim Semeichah and related topics
on

Yahoo! Groups Yahoo! Groups was a free-to-use system of Electronic mailing list, electronic mailing lists offered by Yahoo!. Prior to February 2020, Yahoo! Groups was one of the world's largest collections of online discussion boards. It allowed members to s ...

. * Daniel Reiser
''Aspects in the Thought of Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal and a Study of New Documents,'' Yad Vashem Studies, vol. 43:2 (2015), pp. 143–190
on

Academia.edu Academia.edu is a commercial platform for sharing academic research that is uploaded and distributed by researchers from around the world. All academic articles are free to read by visitors, however uploading and downloading articles is restrict ...

.
''The Vision of Redemption in Rabbi Yissakhar Shlomo Teichtal's Writings: Changes in his Messianic Approach During the Holocaust''
by Isaac Hershkowitz; Ph.D. dissertation, Bar-Ilan University (2009). {{Authority control Religious Zionism Books about Zionism 1943 non-fiction books

The Book

References

Further reading

External links