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October 2017 Cheshvan 5778 AMERICAN ZIONIST SHABBAT The American Zionist Movement has launched a series of programs in 2017 2018 which we have described as the AZM Year of Zionist Anniversaries As we mark 120 years since Theodor Herzl launched the modern Zionist movement when he convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel we will also celebrate major milestones this Fall during this Jewish year 5778 Therefore AZM is launching a new American Zionist Shabbat initiative over the period of each Shabbat from Parshiot Lech Lecha to Vayishlach October 28 2017 through December 2 2017 These weeks coincide with the Shabbat before the Centennial of the Balfour Declaration until the Shabbat after we commemorate 70 years since the United Nations Partition Resolution adoption 8 Cheshvan14 Kislev 5778 AZM has begun this initiative a resumption of the Zionist Shabbat Shabbat Tzion program that AZM and the World Zionist Organization conducted in the past in order to have greater dialogue within American Jewry on the significance of Zionism and its continuing relevance to our people and community We hope that during these weeks and commencing with the Shabbat of Parsha Lech Lecha the journey of the Jewish People Rabbis will speak about Zionism in their sermons drashot and writings day schools yeshivot and Hebrew schools will connect their students to Zionism as related to the weekly Torah readings and that congregations community organizations and Jewish institutions will share materials and encourage programs and discussions on Zionism AZM has compiled this initial Source Book drawn from materials developed and shared by our AZM organizations and others to each of whom we express our thanks and appreciation for their leadership and dedication in order to provide a resource for conversations on Zionism during this period of American Zionist Shabbat We will continue to grow and expand this guide and program through these weeks and in coming months and years and encourage others to share sources with us at azm azm org As we have seen Zionism attacked from various groups and people in America it is important that Zionists of all backgrounds come together in our united support for the State of Israel as she enters her 70th year That is what happened when Herzl first brought together a broad coalition of Zionists 120 years ago to build the movement which would lead to the establishment of a Jewish state in our ancestral land Today Zionism is very much alive as we connect Jews worldwide with our homeland and as we continue to support the vibrant democracy culture and contributions of Israel and the Jewish people 2017 All Rights Reserved The American Zionist Movement azm org

This 2017 18 5777 78 Year of Zionist Anniversaries includes recognizing 50 years since the reunification of Jerusalem following the Six Day War in June 1967 120 years since Theodor Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basel Switzerland in August 1897 100 years since the Balfour Declaration was issued in November 1917 by the British Foreign Secretary 70 years since adoption of the United Nations Partition Resolution in November 1947 and culminates with celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel in May 1948 Please share forward and implement your own thoughts in celebration of Zionism and the America Zionist Shabbat The American Zionist Movement wishes to thank the leaders of each of the AZM organizations who have contributed materials ideas and thoughts in developing the American Zionist Shabbat Sourcebook For Further Information to make contributions of materials or resources please contact Herbert Block AZM Executive Director hblock azm org 212 318 6100 ext 6946 Alicia Post AZM Program Director apost azm org 212 318 6100 ext 6947 Please note materials have been presented to AZM by our member organizations and others as resources and food for thought on Zionism Inclusion of these resources here does not imply any official or full endorsement by AZM of all of the content The American Zionist Movement AZM including 25 national Jewish organizations represents American Zionists in the World Zionist Organization and works across a broad ideological political and religious spectrum linking the American Jewish community together in support of Israel Zionism and the Jewish People Also available at www ZionistShabbat org and at https www azm org zionist shabbat 2017 All Rights Reserved The American Zionist Movement azm org

Notes for a Zionist Shabbat Rabbi Paul Golomb AZM Vice President for Programming What does it mean to speak of Zionism in a Shabbat d rash or d var Torah I am referring specifically to an attempt to infuse a Zionist message into talk about the parashah rather than departing from the text We should note first that drawing a Zionist theme from a parashah any Torah portion is not obvious The Book of Genesis focuses primarily on those personalities that become the People Israel It is a family drama and the principal motifs that are drawn from its chapters often center on interpersonal dynamics The balance of the Books of Humash Exodus through Deuteronomy focus on Torah as instruction and the revelation that occurred at Sinai Sinai most significantly is located in the wilderness Midbar a place that is nowhere and therefore can be anywhere And the revelation itself is inscribed on tablets of stone that Moses can carry down from the mountain An extended stretch of the Book of Exodus is given over to a detail description of a mishkan where the tablets will be housed in an Ark and the priestly administrations performed on behalf of the people will take place The principal feature of the mishkan is its portability It can go anywhere In the balance of Scripture Sinai or Horeb is mentioned a mere nine times After the first few verses of Joshua Moses is not mentioned at all As Sinai disappears it is replaced by Zion a fixed place where God and Israel may meet The word Zion is not found at all in Torah Tanakh is rooted in the Land but Torah is not Even the haftarot drawn as they are from the balance of Scripture only rarely refer to Zion The reading of Torah and haftarah in the Synagogue is designed for a people scattered around the world The foundation for the Jews is the portable scroll Zion is an abstraction a place set aside for a messianic time Even though many synagogues have added the language that it is beginning of the flowering of the days of the Messiah in order to acknowledge the restoration of the Jewish State Zion from the Scriptural point of view remains stubbornly in the future What can we glean from our Torah readings that we may apply to today When reading Torah in the synagogue the Land is rarely in the foreground but it is always in the background Consider the lives of Abraham Isaac and Jacob as narrated in Genesis In the parashiot Lekh L kha and VaYishlah Abraham and Jacob have travelled outside of the Land to 2017 All Rights Reserved The American Zionist Movement azm org

Egypt and Aram respectively They both have been impelled to do so because remaining is inhospitable In Abraham s case it is famine for Jacob it is the enmity of Esau While away they both enrich themselves Egypt and Aram have been very good for them materially Yet both return to the Land What compels this return Isaac on the other hand never leaves Poignantly parashat Hayei Sara suggests that he nonetheless moved away from his parent s home and dwelt in Beer Lahai Ro I the spring associated with Hagar and Ishmael Ishmael Isaac s half brother we are told is both one who is free to roam far and wide and also the prince of twelve nations Isaac feels the urge to roam as well and yet he does not He steadfastly remains rooted to the Land In the characterizations of the three Avot the Land is not a source of material wealth nor is it the basis of emotional security and yet it is an irresistible draw From the tales of Genesis we may conclude that the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel cannot be expressed in either a material or emotional bonding It is deeper and more ineffable Zionism is predicated on the notion that Jewish identity cannot be reduced to devotion to Torah or personal sense of relatedness to other Jews Both are indeed essential and are the principal qualities that draw one to the synagogue Inexorably however Jewish identity is also tied to a powerful if occasionally elusive tie to a particular Land The tie is not the proverbial milk and honey nor the innumerable songs of Zion intoned by the waters of Babylon nor even the command and promise of the Eternal It is found in the meaning of being a Jew A final thought Each morning in traditional liturgy this verse from Leviticus Chap 26 is recited I will remember My covenant with Jacob I will remember my covenant also with Isaac and also My covenant with Abraham and I will remember the Land The order I believe is important It is chronologically reversed and thus reminds us that before there is Israel there is the Land itself 2017 All Rights Reserved The American Zionist Movement azm org

RESOURCE MATERIALS Sermons of Rabbi Vernon Kurtz Past President of AZM Past President Mercaz USA the Zionist Organization of Conservative Judaism Lech Lecha https www azm org wp content uploads 2017 10 Lekh Lekha Rabbi VernonKurtz pdf Toldot https www azm org wp content uploads 2017 10 Toldot Rabbi Vernon Kurtz pdf ______________________________________________________________________________ World Zionist Organization WZO Links to selected parshiot Shabbat Lech Lecha http www wzo org il Shabbat Lech Lecha Zion in the Sources Yearning for Zion http www wzo org il index php dir site page articles op item cs 3318 langpage heb ______________________________________________________________________________ Association of Reform Zionists in America ARZA Israel in the Parasha http us8 campaignarchive2 com home u f7d47da986d48ddb1933530b5 id 16d74d637d I m A Zionist Because by Rabbi Josh Weinberg http arza org blog post i m a zionistbecause ______________________________________________________________________________ Bnei Akiva Cheshvan Choveret Chinuch http www bneiakiva org uploads _pdf ChoveretCheshvan5774BWsmall pdf ______________________________________________________________________________ Hadassah The Women s Zionist Organization of America 2017 All Rights Reserved The American Zionist Movement azm org

Defining Zionism in the 21st Century Link to various resources and video presentations http www hadassah org connecting to israel defining zionism ______________________________________________________________________________ Israel Forever Foundation Links to each Parsha Parashat Lech Lecha https israelforever org programs shabbat_tzion lekh_lekha Parashat Vayera https israelforever org programs shabbat_tzion vayera Parashat Chayyei Sarah https israelforever org programs shabbat_tzion chayei_sarah Parashat Toledot https israelforever org programs shabbat_tzion toldot Parashat Vayetzei https israelforever org programs shabbat_tzion vayetzei Parashat Vayishlach https israelforever org programs shabbat_tzion vayishlach Religious Zionists of America RZA Parshat HaShavua featuring a different Religious Zionist rabbi each week from around the country to share a Dvar Torah https rza org american rabbis https rza org category american https rza org hesder yeshiva rabbis Zionism Reclaiming an Inspiring Word Rabbi Alan Silverstein President Mercaz Olami the Masorti Zionist Organization http blogs timesofisrael com zionism reclaiming an inspiring word New Light on Zion A Sermon by Rabbi Elliot J Cosgrove Park Avenue Synagogue https pasyn org print resources sermons new light zion 2017 All Rights Reserved The American Zionist Movement azm org

MATERIALS ON THE YEAR OF ZIONIST ANNIVERSARIES 2017 Israel s Triple Anniversary Year published by the American Jewish Committee https www azm org wp content uploads 2017 10 ISRAELS_TRIPLE_ANNIVERSARY_2017 pdf 2017 A Year of Anniversaries by Martin J Raffel http jewishweek timesofisrael com 2017 a year of anniversaries The strength of modern Zionism 120 years after first World Zionist Congress by Martin J Raffel August 2017 http njjewishnews com article 35064 the strength of modern zionism 120 years after firstwjc WepGjRNSxTY November 2 Balfour Declaration 1917 Centennial Date www balfourinitiative org November 29 Seventy Years Since UN Partition Resolution Vote 1947 https israelforever org interact blog november_29_every_jew_should_know_about_this_day 2017 All Rights Reserved The American Zionist Movement azm org