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A Messianic Vision:
An Interview with MK Moshe Feiglin in the Jewish Press
By: Elliot Resnick
The Jewish Press
Published: February 20th, 2013
For over a decade, Moshe Feiglin, a Jewish Press weekly columnist, has
been working toward becoming prime minister of Israel with the aim of
“turning the state of the Jews into the Jewish state.” He still has ways to
go, but on February 5, he advanced one step closer when he was sworn in as a
Knesset member for the first time. Ahead of a dinner celebrating his victory
in the Chateau Steakhouse in Queens, NY on February 25, MK Feiglin spoke to
The Jewish Press.
The Jewish Press: You’ve been trying to get into the Knesset for a long
time. Now that you’re in, what do you hope to accomplish?
Feiglin: I hope to advance the concept of Jewish leadership to the state of
Israel – a state that is based on its Jewish identity and not just the
concept of survival.
What does that mean?
One example is the two-state solution. If you understand that we came back
to Israel after 2,000 years of exile to achieve a goal and not just to
survive, then you understand we need the whole country. We long for
Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, Schechem, Chevron – all these places that
connect us to our identity.
When the goal is survival, Tel Aviv is enough. When the goal is to create a
special society that carries a message to the entire universe, then
questions like [surrendering land to the Arabs] are not even considered.
You often write that you want to create a Jewish state. For some people,
this means a halachic state.
No, I’m talking about something much, much wider. I’m talking about making
the Torah part of our culture.
Some people argue that a Jewish state means a state where Torah law
reigns supreme – with police enforcing the laws of tzniyut, for example, as
they do in Iran.
No, nothing can be forced. The whole concept of force is against Judaism
because Hashem tells us, “U’bacharta ba’chaim” – you should choose, and if
you’re being forced, you cannot choose. The difference between Judaism and
Islam is exactly that. God wants us to choose between life and death.
Therefore, the whole concept of force is totally irrelevant.
Are you saying there was no force in the times of the Bayit Rishon or
Bayit Sheini?
I’m saying that this is what we need today – a state that carries a message
of freedom.
A number of years ago, you wrote that Israel should make Sunday a day off
like it is in America. You argued that Israelis who love soccer, for
example, would gladly move all professional soccer games from Saturday to
Sunday and possibly observe Shabbat if Sunday wasn’t a workday.
That is a good example of how to build a modern Jewish state that gives its
citizens the capability to have a real Shabbat even though they’re not
religious right now. What we need to do is to be more open and give Israelis
the ability to be who they [truly] are. If you give them the opportunity to
choose, most of them will choose the right thing.
Some people would claim this argument is silly since Israelis are, by and
large, secular.
I think they’re totally wrong. When you ask Israelis what they are first –
Jewish or Israeli – more than 80 percent say first of all, and above all,
they’re Jewish. When you ask Israelis to describe themselves, only 19
percent say they’re secular, 50 percent say they’re traditional and the rest
say they’re dati or haredi.So those who say that [Israelis are secular]
don’t really understand where Israeli society is holding.
In your articles, you often write about the importance of building the
Beit HaMikdash, calling it “the direct link between the Almighty and His
world” – a place that allows us “to synthesize between the physical and
spiritual - to create a life of harmony between the two.” Your average
Orthodox Jew, though, believes we must wait for Mashiach to build the Beit HaMikdash. You evidently don’t agree.
We just read in last week’s parshah, “V’asu li mikdash” [“You should make a
Sanctuary for Me”]. It doesn’t say “V’asu li haMashiach mikdash”[“Mashiach
should make a Sanctuary for Me”]. “V’asu” means the people of Israel. So
what can I tell you? It’s written clear and simple right there.
Why do so many Jews believe otherwise?
You should ask them.
You descend from a Chabad family and went to religious Zionist schools
growing up. How would you describe yourself today?
I’m Moshe Zalman Feiglin. There’s no [label] that describes me specifically.
Sometimes you can call me Chabad, sometimes you can call me dati le’umi
[religious Zionist], and sometimes you can even call me not religious at all
since I don’t identify with the concept of “religion.” Religion, to my
understanding, is not a Jewish concept. The first person who uses the word
“dati” [religious] in the Bible is Haman Harasha.
Judaism is not a religion; we should remember that. Religion is just part of
Judaism that served us in the Diaspora, but when we come back to our land we
should open that to a full culture because otherwise Judaism cannot fulfill
its message.
There’s a reason why the punishment of not willing to go from the Sinai
desert to Eretz Yisrael was much bigger than the punishment the Jews got for
cheit ha’eigel [the sin of the Golden Calf]. For cheit ha’eigel – which is,
so to speak, a religious sin – we can do teshuvah and start from the
beginning. But when you’re not willing to go to Eretz Yisrael, you’re
basically saying, “I give up on the Jewish mission” – which can only be
fulfilled from the land of Israel.
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch also disliked the word “religion” to describe
Judaism since it implies that Judaism concerns only one aspect of life – the
religious as opposed to the secular – when, in fact, Judaism encompasses and
is supposed to permeate and inform every aspect of life. Is this what you’re
saying?
We took the concept of religion from Christianity, and we should understand
that this is not what Judaism is all about. It’s not just about religion.
It’s much wider than that. Of course I’m not talking about giving upTorah
u’mitzvot. Nahafoch hu. I’m talking about Torah u’mitzvot with a national
purpose. Not just a private purpose or a family purpose, not even a
community purpose – but a national purpose.
On that level it can be done only in the land of Israel with Jerusalem, the
Temple Mount, and, b’ezrat Hashem, as soon as can be, the Beit HaMikdash.
Who are your heroes?
David Hamelech.
Anyone else?
Herzl is also definitely a hero. Not that I agree with everything he said,
but definitely a person with a vision who changed history. If you want to
talk about non-Jews, we can talk about Churchill who saved his people from
Germany.
Both your friends and enemies sometimes compare you to Meir Kahane. Do
you embrace this comparison? Reject it?
You can find places where we say the same things. You can also find places
where we are different. I was in the army when Meir, Hashem yikom damo, was
[most] active, so I didn’t get to know him so well. But I can definitely say
that the slogan “Kahane tzadak – Kahane was right” has proven itself many
times.
When you first started your campaign to become Israel’s prime minister,
terrorism was rampant and Israel’s leaders were constantly negotiating to
surrender land to the Arabs. Matters seem to have improved somewhat since
then. For people who only care about land and security – rather than the
ideological vision you outlined earlier – why is it important that you
become prime minister?
Well, I don’t agree with the way you describe the situation. Just a few
months ago, we had missiles being shot from Gaza at Tel Aviv. It reminds me
of the joke of a person falling from the roof of a skyscraper and somebody
in the middle of the building is looking from the window and asks him, “How
is it going?” and he says, “So far so good.”
Israel is being targeted by terrorists and losing its credibility all over
the world. We have the strongest economy; we have accomplished miracles. But
we have also lost our roots and our ability to justify our existence. We
definitely need Jewish leadership.
Do you genuinely believe you will become prime minister one day?
I have no doubt that sooner or later Israel will have Jewish leadership.
But not necessarily you?
Of course not necessarily me. I am not the message; the message is the
message. I’m looking right and left and don’t see anybody else, but it’s not
about me.
President Obama is visiting Israel in March. What would you advise Prime
Minister Netanyahu to say to him during his visit?
Netanyahu should demand that Obama come with Jonathan Pollard before
anything else. That should become the number one issue when it comes to the
relationship with America. If, God forbid, Jonathan Pollard dies in jail,
this black moral cloud above Israeli and American society will not be able
to be erased.
Why is securing Pollard’s release more important than anything else?
Because I see [neglecting Pollard] as betrayal of our fellow brother who
gave his life for us, and I believe that morality changes history. The
bottom line is that when something immoral happens for such a long time in
such a terrible way, it has an impact on the moral foundation of the Jewish
state. It also has an impact on the moral foundation of the United States,
but that’s a different story. I care about the Jewish state first of all.
Moshe Feiglin's Debut
Speech in the Knesset Now with English Subtitles
Click here to watch the Hebrew video of Moshe Feiglin's speech
with English subtitles
(If you do not see the subtitles, click on the cc on the bar below the
picture)
Moshe Feiglin to MKs:
Boycott Obama's Knesset Speech if he does not Free Pollard
11 Adar, 5773 / Feb. 21, '13
The President of the United State, Barack Hussein Obama, is scheduled to
visit Israel and to speak in the Knesset on Erev Pesach. You are welcome,
Mr. President - with our brother, Jonathan. With G-d's help, when Obama
releases our brother, Jonathan, I will be pleased to honor him and to listen
to his speech in the Knesset. If G-d forbid, he will not release our
brother, I call upon all my colleagues, the Knesset Members, to join me and
to leave the Knesset plenum empty during the speech of the head of state
that
has been holding our brother Jonathan captive for 28 years.
