Three Oaths
Encyclopedia
The Three Oaths is the popular name for a Midrash
found in the Talmud, which relates that God adjured three oaths upon the world. Two of the oaths pertain to the Jewish people, and one of the oaths pertains to the other nations of the world. The Jews for their part were sworn not to go up from Exile
to the Land of Israel
en masse and not to rebel against the other nations, and the other nations in their turn were sworn not to subjugate the Jews excessively.
Amongst Orthodox Jews today there are primarily two different ways of viewing this Midrash. Of the Haredim
, those who are strongly anti-Zionist often view this Midrash as not being fulfilled, whereas Religious Zionists
view it as an being fulfilled, maintained, and now obsolete. Both buttress their positions by citing historic rabbinic sources in favor of their view.
's desire to leave Babylon and go to the Land of Israel. It begins on Ketubot
110b and continues on 111a (where the Three Oaths are plainly conveyed). The Gemara quotes R. Yossi ben R. Chanina
:
The Midrash is in large part an exegetical analysis of three separate verses in the Song of Songs
, and naturally reflects the traditional interpretation, which sees the entire book as an allegory
for the relationship between God
and the Jewish people. The three verses are:
which is also known as Midrash Hazita:
were then going through. A decree of forced conversion to Islam which had thrown the Jews into panic. Coupled with this crisis was the rise of a Messianic movement started by a native of Yemen who claimed he was the Messiah
which served to further increase the confusion within the Jewish community. In the course of Maimonides attempt to strengthen the morale of the Yemenite Jews. In the Epistle he states:
, was one of the first to formulate a comprehensive Torah commentary based on the four principles denoted by the word "PaRDeS
." In his commentary on he wrote:
. In his glosses (Hashmatot) to Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot
on Positive Commandment #4 he wrote:
Nachmanides' position here is untenable if he maintains that the Three Oaths are Halachically binding. Accordingly it would appear that Nachmanides implicitly rejects the Three Oaths as Halachically binding, and that to treat it as such would be to effectively nullify a biblical commandment.
The anti-Zionist response to this is that Nachmanides' words "we are commanded with the conquest of the land in every generation" mean every generation until the era of exile. One of the established rules for counting the 613 commandments in the Torah is that we do not count one-time-only commandments, such as God's command to count the Jews in Numbers 1:2. Nachmanides' intent here is to prove that conquering the land was not a one-time-only commandment that applied to Joshua's battles; rather it applied to King David and, by extension, in every generation. This justifies counting it among the 613, even if it does not apply during exile, just as numerous commandments associated with the Temple are counted despite the fact that they cannot be kept during exile. Nachmanides does say explicitly later in the piece that the commandment to live in the Land applies even during exile, but this means strictly living there as an individual - not conquering, since that would conflict with the Three Oaths.
It has also been proposed that Nachmanides' intent was that even the commandment that a Jew should live in the land as an individual during exile applies only when living in the land is consistent with exile, that is, when a non-Jewish government rules the land. But living under a Jewish government such as the State of Israel might itself constitute a violation of the oath. Nachmanides felt no need to mention this exception to the commandment because he did not foresee the rise of a Jewish government in the Holy Land before the messiah.
Of note is that Rashbash
who was himself a descendant of Nachmanides, understood this particular biblical obligation to be binding on the individual level but not on the collective:
Rabbi Chaim Zimmerman
in his book, Torah and Existence explains his solution to the contradiction between Nachmanides's position and the Three Oaths. First, he makes a distinction between settling the land and conquering the land. The commandment is realized by settling the land, and conquering is merely a preparation for the core obligation of settlement. The obligation to settle the land does not necessarily violate the Three Oaths. Rabbi Zimmerman adds that the Three Oaths only apply to invading the land by force. He writes:
A member of the Haredi community, Rabbi Chaim Walkin
points out in his book, Da'at Chaim, that Maimonides discussed the Three Oaths only in the Epistle to Yemen, but not in his Halachic work, the Mishne Torah. R. Walkin postulates that this is due to the fact that while Maimonides saw these oaths as important, he did not consider them to be legally binding as Halacha, only that they serve as “warnings that these actions would be unsuccessful.”
Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum
(the Satmar Rebbe
) however, in his book Vayoel Moshe
noted that the Rambam cites the Three Oaths in Iggeret Teiman, in a way that makes it appear that he is discussing binding Halachah. In using the description “metaphorical,” Maimonides is referring to the nature of the text of the Song of Songs, and not to the Three Oaths themselves. The Satmar Rebbe however did not consider the breaking of the oaths a halachic issue, but rather a form of heresy. He stated that “the oath was not given to heretics but to all Jewry; and even if the whole Government were pious like men of old, any attempt to take their freedom prematurely would be to deny the Holy Law and our faith.”
However Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum’s (the Satmar Rebbe) position in respect to whether Maharal understood the Oaths as prohibitively binding upon Jews is based primarily upon what was written in Netzach Yisrael. It is uncertain whether he considered and factored in Maharal’s position in his commentary on Ketubot. (Whether this is due to his not having had access to it, not having been aware of it, or having viewed the text as a forgery is unknown.) However, according to his understanding of the Maharal any violation of the Oaths is absolutely prohibited, even on pain of death.
In response to Zionists who quote the Maharal's commentary on Ketubot, anti-Zionist writers have said that even if the oaths are to be seen as decrees, it was obviously not God's intent that the Jewish people should keep trying to return to the Land of Israel and build a state until they hit the right moment. In view of the harsh consequences of failure ("I will declare your flesh ownerless like the gazelles and hinds of the field"), this would be as foolish as playing Russian roulette. Furthermore, the success of the State of Israel so far is not proof that the decree has been annulled, since the future of the state is still uncertain.
Many Haredim who subscribe to the anti-Zionist view still immigrate to the Land of Israel. Their rationalization is that they do so only as individuals and families, but not as members of the organized mass-immigration, and that they come to the Land solely to live there, not in order to conquer it or rule over it. Such Haredim accordingly do not believe themselves to be in violation of the Three Oaths.
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
found in the Talmud, which relates that God adjured three oaths upon the world. Two of the oaths pertain to the Jewish people, and one of the oaths pertains to the other nations of the world. The Jews for their part were sworn not to go up from Exile
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
to the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
en masse and not to rebel against the other nations, and the other nations in their turn were sworn not to subjugate the Jews excessively.
Amongst Orthodox Jews today there are primarily two different ways of viewing this Midrash. Of the Haredim
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
, those who are strongly anti-Zionist often view this Midrash as not being fulfilled, whereas Religious Zionists
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
view it as an being fulfilled, maintained, and now obsolete. Both buttress their positions by citing historic rabbinic sources in favor of their view.
The Midrash and the text upon which it expounds
The context of the Talmudic dialogue containing the Three Oaths is a discussion in which attempts are made to defend Rav ZeiraRav Zeira
Ze'era or Zeira was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the 3rd generation. He was born in Babylonia, where he spent his early youth. He was a pupil of Ḥisda , of Huna , and of Judah b. Ezekiel in Pumbedita.He associated also with other prominent teachers of...
's desire to leave Babylon and go to the Land of Israel. It begins on Ketubot
Nashim
Nashim is the third order of the Mishnah , containing the laws related to women and family life...
110b and continues on 111a (where the Three Oaths are plainly conveyed). The Gemara quotes R. Yossi ben R. Chanina
Jose b. Hanina
Jose b. Hanina was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, from the second generation of the Amoraim. He was a discipline of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha, and served as a 'Dayan' religious Judge.-Biography:...
:
ג' שבועות הללו למה אחת שלא יעלו ישראל בחומה ואחת שהשביע הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל שלא ימרדו באומות העולם ואחת שהשביע הקדוש ברוך הוא את אומות העולם שלא ישתעבדו בהן בישראל יותר מדאי.
"Why/What are these Three Oaths? One, that Israel should not storm the wall {RaShIRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
interprets: forcefully}. Two, the Holy One adjured Israel not to rebel against the nations of the world. Three, the Holy One adjured the nations that they would not oppress Israel too much"."
The Midrash is in large part an exegetical analysis of three separate verses in the Song of Songs
Song of songs
Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
, and naturally reflects the traditional interpretation, which sees the entire book as an allegory
Mashal
A Mashal is a short parable with a moral lesson or religious allegory, called a nimshal. "Mashal" is used also to designate other forms in rhetoric, such as the fable and apothegm.-Biblical Parables:...
for the relationship between God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and the Jewish people. The three verses are:
: I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, that ye awaken not, nor stir up love, until it please
- I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, that ye awaken not, nor stir up love, until it please
- I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem: Why should ye awaken, or stir up love, until it please?
Other midrashim concerning the Three Oaths
There are several other Midrashim that pertain to the Three Oaths and they are primarily recorded in Shir ha-Shirim RabbahShir ha-Shirim Rabbah
Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah is a Haggadic midrash on Canticles, quoted by Rashi under the title "Midrash Shir ha-Shirim" . It is called also "Agadat Ḥazita", from its initial word "Ḥazita" , or "Midrash Ḥazita" Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah (Hebrew: שיר השירים רבה) is a Haggadic midrash on Canticles, quoted by...
which is also known as Midrash Hazita:
- "If it is a wall", if Israel would have ascended
The Return to ZionThe Return to Zion is a term that refers to the event written in the biblical books of Ezra-Nehemiah in which the Jews returned to the Land of Israel from the Babylonian exile following the decree by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great, the conqueror of the Babylonian empire in 538 BC, also known...
like a wall from Babylon, the Temple would not have been destroyed during that period for a second time. Rabbi Zeira went to the marketplace to buy something. He said to the one who was weighing: that was weighed very fairly. He responded: Do not depart from here Babylonian because your ancestors destroyed the Temple. At that moment Rabbi Zeira said, are not my ancestors the same as the ancestors of this one?! Rabbi Zeira entered the house of study and heard the voice of Rabbi SheilaRav ShelaShela was a Babylonian teacher of the latter part of the tannaitic and the beginning of the amoraic period, and head of the school at Nehardea . When Abba Arika visited Babylon, he once officiated as an expounder for R. Shela at his public lectures...
who was sitting and teaching: 'If it is a wall', if Israel would have ascended like a wall from the ExileGalutGalut or Golus , means literally exile. Galut or Golus classically refers to the exile of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel . There were altogether four such exiles...
, the Temple would not have been destroyed a second time. He said: the unlearned person taught me well.
- R. Yossi bar Chanina
Jose b. HaninaJose b. Hanina was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, from the second generation of the Amoraim. He was a discipline of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha, and served as a 'Dayan' religious Judge.-Biography:...
said, “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 cause the end of days to come prematurely.
- Rabbi Chelbo says...And do not ascend like a wall from the Exile. If so, why is the King Messiah coming? To gather the exiles of Israel
Jewish diasporaThe Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
.
- When Reish Lakish would see Jews from the Exile gathering in the marketplace in the Land of Israel
Land of IsraelThe Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
he would say to them, 'Scatter yourselves.' He said to them: 'When you ascended you did not do so as a wall, and here you have come to make a wall.
Maimonides
Rambam cited the Three Oaths in his famous Epistle to the Jews of Yemen (Iggeret Teiman). It was written around 1172 in reply to an inquiry concerning the crisis the Yemenite JewsYemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
were then going through. A decree of forced conversion to Islam which had thrown the Jews into panic. Coupled with this crisis was the rise of a Messianic movement started by a native of Yemen who claimed he was the Messiah
False messiah
-Judaism:Armilus is an anti-Messiah figure in late-period Jewish eschatology, comparable to the Christian Antichrist and Muslim Dajjal, who will conquer Jerusalem and persecute the Jews until his final defeat at the hands of God or the true Messiah...
which served to further increase the confusion within the Jewish community. In the course of Maimonides attempt to strengthen the morale of the Yemenite Jews. In the Epistle he states:
ולפי שידע שלמה ע"ה ברוח הקדש שהאומה הזו כאשר תלכד בגלות תיזום להתעורר שלא
בזמן הראוי ויאבדו בכך וישיגום הצרות הזהיר מכך והשביע עליו על דרך המשל ואמר
השבעתי אתכם בנות ירושלים וכו
SolomonSolomonSolomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
, of blessed memory, foresaw with Divine inspiration, that the prolonged duration of the exile would incite some of our people to seek to terminate it before the proper time, and as a consequence they would perish or meet with disaster. Therefore he warned them (to desist) from it and adjured them in metaphorical languageMashalA Mashal is a short parable with a moral lesson or religious allegory, called a nimshal. "Mashal" is used also to designate other forms in rhetoric, such as the fable and apothegm.-Biblical Parables:...
, as we read, "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the hinds of the field, that ye awaken not, nor stir up love, until it please." (Song of Songs 2:7, 8:4). Now, brethren and friends, abide by the oath, and stir not up love until it please (Ketubot 111a).
Bahya ben Asher
The Mid Thirteenth Century commentator Rabbeinu BachyaBahya ben Asher
Bahye ben Asher ibn Halawa also known as Rabbeinu Behaye was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism. He was a commentator on the Hebrew Bible and is noted for introducing Kabbalah into study of the Torah.He is considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the Biblical exegetes of...
, was one of the first to formulate a comprehensive Torah commentary based on the four principles denoted by the word "PaRDeS
Pardes (Jewish exegesis)
Pardes refers to approaches to biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism . The term, sometimes also spelled PaRDeS, is an acronym formed from the name initials of the following four approaches:...
." In his commentary on he wrote:
…and it is written “And HezekiahHezekiahHezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
prayed before God” . So too we are required to follow in the way of the Patriarchs and to restore ourselves so that we may be graciously accepted and with our fine language and prayer before God, may He be exalted. However, to wage war is not possible (Song of Songs 2), “you have been adjured daughters of Jerusalem, etc.” You have been adjured not to engage in war with the nations.”
Nachmanides
Ramban did not explicitly discuss the Three Oaths, however he did maintain that it is incumbent upon Jews in every generation as a positive commandment to attempt to conquer the Land of IsraelLand of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. In his glosses (Hashmatot) to Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot
Sefer Hamitzvot
Sefer Hamitzvot is a work by the 12th century rabbi, philosopher and physician Maimonides. While there are various other works titled similarly, the title "Sefer Hamitzvot" without a modifier refers to Maimonides' work...
on Positive Commandment #4 he wrote:
That we are commanded to take possession of the Land which the Almighty, Blessed Be He, gave to our forefathersPromised landThe Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
, 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, (Numbers, 33:53) 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.
Nachmanides' position here is untenable if he maintains that the Three Oaths are Halachically binding. Accordingly it would appear that Nachmanides implicitly rejects the Three Oaths as Halachically binding, and that to treat it as such would be to effectively nullify a biblical commandment.
The anti-Zionist response to this is that Nachmanides' words "we are commanded with the conquest of the land in every generation" mean every generation until the era of exile. One of the established rules for counting the 613 commandments in the Torah is that we do not count one-time-only commandments, such as God's command to count the Jews in Numbers 1:2. Nachmanides' intent here is to prove that conquering the land was not a one-time-only commandment that applied to Joshua's battles; rather it applied to King David and, by extension, in every generation. This justifies counting it among the 613, even if it does not apply during exile, just as numerous commandments associated with the Temple are counted despite the fact that they cannot be kept during exile. Nachmanides does say explicitly later in the piece that the commandment to live in the Land applies even during exile, but this means strictly living there as an individual - not conquering, since that would conflict with the Three Oaths.
It has also been proposed that Nachmanides' intent was that even the commandment that a Jew should live in the land as an individual during exile applies only when living in the land is consistent with exile, that is, when a non-Jewish government rules the land. But living under a Jewish government such as the State of Israel might itself constitute a violation of the oath. Nachmanides felt no need to mention this exception to the commandment because he did not foresee the rise of a Jewish government in the Holy Land before the messiah.
Of note is that Rashbash
Solomon ben Simon Duran
Solomon ben Simon Duran , known as Rashbash, was a medieval rabbi with antagonistic views towards the Kabbalah, and the son and successor of Simon ben Zemah Duran....
who was himself a descendant of Nachmanides, understood this particular biblical obligation to be binding on the individual level but not on the collective:
In truth, this commandment is not a commandment which includes the entirety of Israel in the Exile which now exists, but it is a general principle as our Sages stated in the Talmud in Ketubot, that it stems from the Oaths which The Holy One, Blessed be He, made Israel swear not to rush the End, and not to ascend like a wall.
Rabbi Chaim Zimmerman
Chaim Zimmerman
Rabbi Dr. Aharon Chaim Zimmerman was one of the leading rabbis of the Post-War generation. He was the son of Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Zimmerman and nephew of Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz.-Education and work:...
in his book, Torah and Existence explains his solution to the contradiction between Nachmanides's position and the Three Oaths. First, he makes a distinction between settling the land and conquering the land. The commandment is realized by settling the land, and conquering is merely a preparation for the core obligation of settlement. The obligation to settle the land does not necessarily violate the Three Oaths. Rabbi Zimmerman adds that the Three Oaths only apply to invading the land by force. He writes:
...the difficulty in the Ramban which says that the mitzva of kibush prevails in our time against the oath, dissolves. The oath, shelo yaalu bechoma means explicitly that we cannot storm eretz-Yisrael from chutz-laaretz. But when the Jews are in eretz-Yisrael, there is surely a hechsher mitzva of kibbush-haaretz.. How can the Jews be in eretz-Yisrael without the aliyah "bechoma?" The answer is very simple. If many Jews came to eretz-Yisrael individually, or by permission of the nations, then once they are there, there is a command of kibbush... There was never an oath upon the people who were in eretz-Yisrael.
Maharal
Maharal discussed the Three Oaths in two different locations, in his work Netzach Yisrael and in his commentary to Tractate Ketubot. In his work Netzach Yisrael he wrote:
כי פירוש 'בדורו של שמד' היינו במדה שהיה לדורו של שמד, שהיו דביקים בה דורו של שמד, ובאותה מדה השביע אותם שלא ישנו בענין הגלות. כי דורו של שמד, אף על גב שהגיע להם המיתה בגלות, לא היו משנים. ועוד פירוש 'בדורו של שמד', רוצה לומר אף אם יהיו רוצים להמית אותם בעינוי קשה, לא יהיו יוצאים ולא יהיו משנים בזה. וכן הפירוש אצל כל אחד ואחד, ויש להבין זה
Another explanation of the Midrash’s statement (he is speaking of Shir Ha-Shirim Rabba 2:20 that begins “ורבנן אמרי השביען בדורו של שמד”) that God adjured the Jewish people in a generation of Shmad (religious persecution Jews, or decrees against Jews): that even if they will threaten to kill them with difficult torture, they will not leave [the Exile] nor will they change their behavior in this manner
Rabbi Chaim Vital
The 16th Century Kabbalist, Rabbi Chaim Vital has expressed the view that the Three Oaths were only binding for the first thousand years of Exile. He wrote:‘I made you swear, daughters of Jerusalem...’ this great oath to God was that they should not arouse the Redemption until that love will be desired and with good will, as it is written ‘until I desire,’ and our Sages already said that the time of this oath is a thousand years, as it is written in the Baraita of Rabbi YishmaelBaraita of Rabbi IshmaelThe Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael is a baraita which explains the 13 rules of R. Ishmael, and their application, by means of illustrations from the Bible. The name is inaccurately given also to the first part of the Baraita, which only enumerates the thirteen rules...
in Pirkei HeichalotHeichalotHeichalot or "Heikhalot" refers to a collection of Jewish literature which dates from Talmudic times and earlier. Many motifs of later Kabbalah are based on the Heichalot texts, and the Heichalot literature itself is based upon earlier sources, including traditions about Enoch.Some of the...
(in a comment on DanielDanielDaniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
7:25)..., and similarly in the ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
II:17a...that it is one day of the Exile of the Community of Israel...
Debate on the appropriate understanding of Maimonides
Religious Zionists suggest that in Maimonides’ Epistle to Yemen, he explicitly interprets the oaths metaphorically, and not literally. As it states there “Therefore he admonished and adjured them in metaphorical language (דרך המשל, lit. by way of metaphor) to desist.” Therefore, they maintain, that Maimonides did not consider them to be Halachically binding.A member of the Haredi community, Rabbi Chaim Walkin
Chaim Walkin
Chaim Walkin is an Orthodox rabbi, dean and lecturer.-Lineage:Chaim Walkin is the scion of a rabbinical family. His grandfather, Rabbi Aron Walkin, was the Chief Rabbi of Pinsk, Belarus, and a Torah giant of his day...
points out in his book, Da'at Chaim, that Maimonides discussed the Three Oaths only in the Epistle to Yemen, but not in his Halachic work, the Mishne Torah. R. Walkin postulates that this is due to the fact that while Maimonides saw these oaths as important, he did not consider them to be legally binding as Halacha, only that they serve as “warnings that these actions would be unsuccessful.”
Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum
Joel Teitelbaum
Joel Teitelbaum, known as Reb Yoelish or the Satmar Rav , was a prominent Hungarian Hasidic rebbe and Talmudic scholar. He was probably the best known Haredi opponent of all forms of modern political Zionism...
(the Satmar Rebbe
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
) however, in his book Vayoel Moshe
Vayoel Moshe
Vayoel Moshe is a Hebrew book written by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, leader of the Satmar Hasidic movement, in the year 1961. It made his case that Judaism is against Zionism....
noted that the Rambam cites the Three Oaths in Iggeret Teiman, in a way that makes it appear that he is discussing binding Halachah. In using the description “metaphorical,” Maimonides is referring to the nature of the text of the Song of Songs, and not to the Three Oaths themselves. The Satmar Rebbe however did not consider the breaking of the oaths a halachic issue, but rather a form of heresy. He stated that “the oath was not given to heretics but to all Jewry; and even if the whole Government were pious like men of old, any attempt to take their freedom prematurely would be to deny the Holy Law and our faith.”
Debate on the appropriate understanding of Maharal
Religious Zionists argue that Maharal considered the oaths to be a Divine decree (which has thus subsequently expired). They rely upon his commentary to Ketubot which more explicitly indicates that he understood the Oaths to be binding insofar as it is up to God to permit the circumstances wherein Jews can engage in said activities, but it is not binding insofar as Jews are not actually prohibited from engaging in the acts the Oaths are concerned with. They maintain that there is a certain degree of ambiguity in what he has written in Netzach Yisrael and therefore his position must be seen in such a manner, for “anything to the contrary yields a contradiction within the Maharal’s own writings,” which would clearly be undesirable.However Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum’s (the Satmar Rebbe) position in respect to whether Maharal understood the Oaths as prohibitively binding upon Jews is based primarily upon what was written in Netzach Yisrael. It is uncertain whether he considered and factored in Maharal’s position in his commentary on Ketubot. (Whether this is due to his not having had access to it, not having been aware of it, or having viewed the text as a forgery is unknown.) However, according to his understanding of the Maharal any violation of the Oaths is absolutely prohibited, even on pain of death.
In response to Zionists who quote the Maharal's commentary on Ketubot, anti-Zionist writers have said that even if the oaths are to be seen as decrees, it was obviously not God's intent that the Jewish people should keep trying to return to the Land of Israel and build a state until they hit the right moment. In view of the harsh consequences of failure ("I will declare your flesh ownerless like the gazelles and hinds of the field"), this would be as foolish as playing Russian roulette. Furthermore, the success of the State of Israel so far is not proof that the decree has been annulled, since the future of the state is still uncertain.
Zionist arguments that consider the Three Oaths
An overview of some of the primary claims made by Religious Zionists concerning the Three Oaths:- The Three Oaths are an Aggadic Midrash, and therefore they are not Halakhically obligatory (Aggadic Midrashim, as opposed to Halachic Midrashim are not traditionally understood as a valid source for Halacha). Accordingly, Maimonides' Mishne Torah, the Arba'ah TurimArba'ah TurimArba'ah Turim , often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher...
, the Shulchan AruchShulchan AruchThe Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
, and other halachic sources do not cite the Three Oaths or rule accordingly. They are not found there at all.
- The League Of Nations' vote to declare the State of Israel fulfills the first condition of the oath to not rebel against the nations. Thus, when the League of Nations told the Jews to go home, it was mandatory that they do so. Just as Cyrus instructed the Jews of Babylonia to construct the Second Temple.
- The Three Oaths simply meant that God had decreed an exile for the Jewish people. The fact that the Jewish people have successfully returned to the Land of Israel, and that the State of Israel has survived, is evidence that the oath is void and the decree has ended.
- The wording of Maimonides in his Epistle to Yemen specifically states that the Oaths are “metaphorical” (see Maimonides above), furthermore in his Halachic work he places great value upon living in the Land of Israel, and forbids leaving it.
- Although the Three Oaths were obligatory in the past, the gentiles violated their vow by excessively persecuting the Jewish people. Therefore the validity of the two other vows has been nullified. Religious Zionists point to a specific Midrash warning that if gentile nations violated this oath, then "they cause the End of Days to come prematurely".. This has been interpreted to mean that Israel's re-establishment would be implemented sooner than originally intended. With atrocities against Jews throughout history, and especially after The HolocaustThe HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, the Jewish people were absolved of their part of the Oaths. Those who hold this position often rely on the Shulchan AruchShulchan AruchThe Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
which states: "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." As a result, the ban on mass-immigration to the Land of Israel became void, and Zionism and the State of Israel arose as a direct result of the breach by gentile nations of the Oaths.
- Religious Zionists often point to Israel's seemingly miraculous survival in the numerous Arab-Israeli wars, especially the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 Arab-Israeli WarThe 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, and interpret this as the State of Israel being preserved directly by God's hand.
- The Jewish people did not return en masse to the Land of Israel, but rather through individual immigration as well as a series of five AliyahAliyahAliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
s. Jews continue to individually immigrate to Israel today. There was never a point in history where a majority of world Jewry collectively migrated to the Land of Israel.
- It is not clearly established in either the GemaraGemaraThe Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
or the Halacha what precisely would constitute permission from the nations. As such, the Balfour Declaration, San Remo conferenceSan Remo conferenceThe San Remo Conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council, held in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. It was attended by the four Principal Allied Powers of World War I who were represented by the prime ministers of Britain , France and Italy and...
, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, and the League of NationsLeague of NationsThe League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
-issued Mandate for Palestine plan of July 24, 1922 is understood as representing permission and approval from the nations of the world. Accordingly, the Jewish people cannot be considered to have rebelled against the nations. This was the opinion of RabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Meir Simcha of DvinskMeir Simcha of DvinskMeir Simcha of Dvinsk was a rabbi and prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. He was a kohen, and is therefore often referred to as Meir Simcha ha-Kohen...
regarding the Balfour Declaration.
- Jewish religious texts warned that during the apocalyptic War of Gog and MagogGog and MagogGog and Magog are names that appear primarily in various Jewish, Christian and Muslim scriptures, as well as numerous subsequent references in other works. Their context can be either genealogical or eschatological and apocalyptic, as in Ezekiel and Revelation...
, the gentile nations will conspire with their Jewish allies to destroy Israel. The Jewish allies are considered by some to be current Anti-Zionist Jewry.
- Rabbi Meir Blumenfeld (in a position shared by various other Rabbis) maintains that the Oaths are in fact binding upon the Jewish people despite the nations of the world having violated it. The Zionists however have not violated the Oaths in his opinion, because firstly there was no rebellion against the nations of the world (as they have consented to it), and furthermore “ascending as a wall” refers to the immigration of the majority of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel at once (which has not occurred). Rabbi Blumenfeld bolsters his position by pointing towards a comment made by RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
(on BT Yoma 9b) that defines the differentiation between the phrase “like a door” and “like a wall.” The former refers to part, or half of the population and the latter to the majority of it. (The Satmar Rebbe himself suggests that Maimonides understands “ascending as a wall” to refer to a majority rather than any large gathering)
Anti-Zionist arguments that consider the Three Oaths
An overview of some of the primary claims made by anti-Zionists concerning the Three Oaths:- Although the Three Oaths are Aggadic in style, precedent shows when Aggadic material in the Talmud presents novel legal material (as opposed to punishments and rewards relating to legal material expounded elsewhere in the Talmud), that material is codified as halacha, unless there is a specific reason not to.
- Even if the oaths are to be seen as decrees, the existence of the modern State of Israel does not constitute proof that the decree has ended, because the state's future is still uncertain.
- The Satmar Rebbe, in his book Vayoel Moshe maintains that Maimonides spoke of the Three Oaths as binding. (See Modern Debate on the Appropriate Understanding of Maimonides above)
- The oaths are between the Jewish people and God, and the gentiles and God respectively. The fact that the gentiles violated their oath does not tacitly mean that the Jewish people are free to do so as well. Historically, atrocities prior to the Holocaust have generally not prompted rabbinic encouragement of mass immigration to Israel, though there have been some notable exceptions.
- Living in Eretz Yisroel is not a general mitzvah for the Jews collectively, only individuals (see discussion of Rashbash (Solomon ben Simon Duran) in Nachmanides section above).
- The Balfour Declaration never covered the Oaths.
- The State of Israel has expanded its borders beyond the areas mandated by the UN and have thus expanded the borders without the permission of the nations.
- The United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
approval of the establishment of the State of Israel does not constitute permission from the nations of the world. The Halacha attaches no significant value to the United Nations. The relevant approval should be that of some of the other people who live in the land (in this instance, the PalestinianPalestinian peopleThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
Arabs).
- In response to the Zionists' use of Rabbi Chaim Vital (see above), the Satmar Rebbe argued that Vital's remarks refer not to the Three Oaths incumbent on the Jewish people, but to God's oath not to redeem the Jewish people unless they repent out of love. This oath lasts a thousand years; after that point even repentance out of fear can bring the redemption.
Many Haredim who subscribe to the anti-Zionist view still immigrate to the Land of Israel. Their rationalization is that they do so only as individuals and families, but not as members of the organized mass-immigration, and that they come to the Land solely to live there, not in order to conquer it or rule over it. Such Haredim accordingly do not believe themselves to be in violation of the Three Oaths.
See also
- Haredim and ZionismHaredim and ZionismThe relationship between Haredim and Zionism has always been a difficult one. Before the establishment of the State of Israel, the majority of Haredi Jewry was opposed to Zionism. However, after the de facto creation of the state, each individual movement within Orthodox Judaism charted its own...
- Anti-ZionismAnti-ZionismAnti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
- Religious ZionismReligious ZionismReligious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
- Vayoel MosheVayoel MosheVayoel Moshe is a Hebrew book written by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, leader of the Satmar Hasidic movement, in the year 1961. It made his case that Judaism is against Zionism....
- AliyahAliyahAliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
External links
- The Three Oaths Of Jewish History by Mois Navon
- The Religious Zionism Debate: Essay #4 The Three Oaths
- A Three-part Response to Rabbi Gil Student's Religious Zionism Debate
- Jews Against Zionism: Three Strong Oaths
- Do Not Ascend Like a Wall by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner
- Rabbinic Sources on the Three Oaths (Hebrew)