Redemption Can Be Attained through the merits of the non-observant

Rabbi Chaim Drukman (1932-2022)

We discuss the question of how redemption and the rebuilding of Israel can take place through actions of non mitzva-observant Jews. Based on Rabbi Teichtal, Rav Kook, and the Rambam, we see that that God’s providence transcends human judgment. Even non-observant pioneers may serve as divine messengers, with their sacrifice for Israel holding profound spiritual significance.

This article is an extract from Rabbi Chaim Drukman’s book, “Step by Step,” an enlightening discussion of the process of redemption that is taking place in our generation. (Adapted and translated by Moshe Goldberg)

“We Sinned Against You with a Questioning Heart”

One of the main objections that some people have against the State of Israel is that from the very beginning the country’s main leadership were not part of the “faithful” community, but were what is termed “irreligious” or “non-observant.”

During the Holocaust, Rabbi Yissachar Teichtal changed his mind about God’s attitude towards the people living in Eretz Yisrael and while he was hiding from the Nazis he wrote his conclusions in the book Eim HaBanim Semeichah. Rabbi Teichtal writes:

I know, my son, I know, that you will challenge my position with a strong argument. If it is true that the rebuilding of our Holy Land is a sign of the imminent end of days and the beginning of the Redemption, how could most of the builders, unfortunately, desecrate Shabbat and commit other sins? They are almost like gentiles, due to our numerous sins. How could the Creator of the Universe bring the beginning of Redemption through them? Do we not maintain that "good things are brought about by good people (Shabbat 32a)"? Eim HaBanim Semeichah, pp. 183-184.

Indeed, how can it be that the Redemption we anticipated for 2,000 years; which past generations dreamed and prayed for - an expression of the hopes of Yisrael for the fulfillment of the prophecy, For the Torah will emanate from Zion and the word of God from Jerusalem (Yishayahu 2:3) - how can it be that this will be fulfilled by people who live in a way that contradicts the prophesy? These people are far removed from sanctity and purity, and some of them explicitly fight against the Torah and its mitzvot!

Here is Rabbi Teichtal’s answer:

My beloved son, although your refutation seems formidable, take heed and hear my words (see Devarim 27:9). Know, my son, that no one can fathom the deeds of He Who is Perfect in Knowledge (see Iyov 37:16). He is the God of the Universe, the Creator of All. Everything that happens in the world comes from Him. His thoughts are profound and He generates causes and effects, tying one strand to another until His decrees are fulfilled down on earth. He knows why he specifically chose these people to bring about the beginning of Redemption. (Ibid., p. 184)

Rav Kook and the Rambam

We have been taught the same principle by my mentor, Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook:

We cannot come with questions and complaints against the Master of the World. On Yom Kippur we confess with the prayer “Al Chet,” in which our sins are listed in alphabetical order. It includes sins against God and sins between one man and another. The last sin is, “For sins we sinned against You with a questioning heart.” Maharil Diskin asks: What kind of sin is this, a questioning heart? He explains that it refers to the most common sin, the one most prominent of all - astonishment at the actions of the Holy One, Blessed be He.

There are times in our lives when we do not understand Divine Providence, and we bring questions and complaints against the Master of the Universe. Such criticism of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is the worst possible sin, stemming from a lack of faith in Divine guidance...(Sichot HaRetziah, Holidays 1, ch. 1)

We do not know and we cannot fathom considerations and plans of the Creator of the World. Let us not commit the sin of a “questioning heart”! Man will eventually see with his own eyes that the Divine reckoning is wide-ranging and comprehensive. Truth is at a Divine level, compared to mankind’s limited understanding. “Why do you involve yourself in the reckonings of the Holy One, Blessed be He?” (Berachot 10a).

The Rambam also teaches us this principle:

If a person’s sins are more than his merits, he will immediately die... And the same is true for a country that has msny sins. It will be destroyed immediately... And the same is true for the entire world: If its sins are more than its merits, it will be destroyed immediately (Hilchot Teshuvah 3:12)

If we were in charge of judging the world, we would sentence it to destruction, Heaven forbid, because in our eyes it seems to be full of sin - or at the very least the number of sins outweighs the good deeds! However, fortunately, it is not our task to judge the world. God has different criteria than we do, based on absolute truth.

The Rambam continues:

However, this is not based on counting the merits and the sins, but on their significance. One merit might outweigh a number of sins... And there are sins which outweigh a number of merits... These can only be decided by the judgment of the God of knowledge, and He is the only one who knows how to weigh the merits against the sins. (Ibid.)

We do not know the proper criteria with which to measure sins and merits. Such considerations can only be in the hands of the “God of knowledge.”

The late Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria described an emotional encounter with Rabbi Aryeh Levine near the Western Wall soon after the Six-Day War:

I [Rabbi Neria] pointed at the Wall and said, “If the Holy One, Blessed be He, was so kind as to give us such a great gift, despite our not being worthy of it - couldn’t he also give us more and more?”

Rabbi Aryeh replied in his modest way, “We should never say such things. An individual only has the right to say about himself that he is not worthy, but when we speak of the whole community, we must understand that we do not know how to measure the merits of the Jewish People at all.” (Tznif Meluchah, p. 257, note 1)

The Significance for Our Generation

We must understand that we cannot calculate God’s reckonings. We do not fully understand reality; we are not aware of all the information the Creator has; we do not know which merits are the most important in the judgement of the Heavenly court. We must have faith that the Holy One, Blessed be He, “knows what He is doing.” Divine reckoning is much more profound than the limited thoughts of mankind.

We also learned from these sources about the tremendous value of the willingness to sacrifice one’s life for the good of the Jewish People.

In considering what all this means for us, we must certainly consider the tremendous level of sacrifice that has been and is continuously revealed for the sake of the Jewish People and Eretz Yisrael during Israel’s wars and in settling the Land. This is true even though the people are often far removed from Torah and mitzvot. Anyone who is not in denial about the reality of our era will see this. It continues to this very day.

At the beginning of this article, we quoted from Eim HaBanim Semeichah about the problem of the Redemption being handled by Jews who do not observe the mitzvot. To summarize, here is what Rabbi Teichtal wrote next:

Know that I referred to the builders of the Land as “wicked” (God forbid) only because of the position of the zealots. The zealots consider them wicked because they do not consider them as God’s messengers, at the apex of sanctity. But I disagree. In my opinion, these builders are not wicked. They are genuine descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, who went through many trials. They are like infants kidnapped by gentiles. It is a mitzvah to love them and bring them close...(Eim HaBanim Semeichah, p. 193)

Although some of those who have built up the Land are “non-observant,” we must see them as divine messengers. The Holy One, Blessed be He, sent them to us, at the highest possible level of sanctity. We must never have any doubts about the guidance of the Holy One, Blessed be He, in the world. Only He knows who really has merit and who is worthy of acting as His messenger.

Rabbi Chaim Drukman (1932-2022) was known as the elder rabbi of Religious Zionism and its senior spiritual leader.