Zvi Hirsch Kalischer - Views On The Re-settlement of The Land of Israel

Views On The Re-settlement of The Land of Israel

Inclined to philosophical speculation, Kalischer studied the systems of medieval and modern Jewish and Christian philosophers, one result being his Sefer Emunah Yesharah an inquiry into Jewish philosophy and theology (2 vols., Krotoschin, 1843, 1871); an appendix to volume 1 contains a commentary (incomplete) on Job and Ecclesiastes. In the midst of his many activities, however, his thoughts centered on one idea: the settlement of the Land of Israel by Jews, in order to provide a home for the homeless Eastern European Jews and transform the many Jewish beggars in the Holy Land into a population able to support itself by agriculture.

He began writing in the Ha-Levanon Hebrew (at that period, a renovated language) monthly magazine. In 1862 he published his book Drishat Tzion on this subject, including many quotes from his commentaries in the Ha-Levanon magazine..

He proposed:

1. To collect money for this purpose from Jews in all countries;
2. To buy and cultivate land in Palestine;
3. To found an agricultural school, either in Palestine itself or in France; and
4. To form a Jewish military guard for the security of the colonies.

He thought the time especially favorable for the carrying out of this idea, as the sympathy of men like Isaac Moïse Crémieux, Moses Montefiore, Edmond James de Rothschild, and Albert Cohn rendered the Jews politically influential. To these and similar Zionist ideals he gave expression in his Derishat Zion (Lyck, 1862), containing three theses:

1. The salvation of the Jews, promised by the Prophets, can come about only in a natural way — by self-help;
2. Colonization in Palestine;
3. Admissibility of the observance of sacrifices in Palestine at the present day.

The appendix contains an invitation to the reader to become a member of the colonization societies of Palestine.

The second part of the book is devoted to speaking to "the nations" who believe in the bible and the prophets, and persuading them, that this new course in history is a logical one, and that they too can hope for the salvation of the Jewish nation as part of the salvation of the entire world.

This book made a very great impression, especially in the Eastern Europe. It was translated into German by Poper (Toruń, 1865), and a second Hebrew edition was issued by N. Friedland (ib. 1866). Kalischer himself traveled with indefatigable zeal to various German cities for the purpose of establishing colonization societies. It was his influence that caused Chayyim Lurie, in Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1861, to form the first society of this kind, and this was followed by others.

Owing to Kalischer's agitation, the Alliance Israélite Universelle founded the Mikveh Israel agricultural school, the rabbinate of which was offered to him, but he was too old to accept it. Although all these endeavors were not attended with immediate success, Kalischer never lost hope. By exerting a strong influence upon his contemporaries, including such prominent men as Heinrich Grätz, Moses Hess (see Rome and Jerusalem, pp. 117 et seq.), and others, he is considered to have been one of the most important of those who prepared the way for the foundation of modern Zionism.