Judaism and the New Judea I
The return to Zion must be preceded by our return to Judaism.
THEODOR HERZL, 1897.
Israel is a nation by reason only of his religion, by his possession of the Torah.
SAADYAH GAON, 933.
Israel, to the Rabbis at least, is not a nation by virtue of race or of certain peculiar political combinations. The brutal Torah-less nationalism promulgated in certain quarters would have been to them just as hateful as the suicidal Torah-less universalism preached in other quarters. And if we could imagine for a moment Israel giving up its allegiance to God, its Torah, and its divine institution, the Rabbis would be the first to sign its death warrant as a nation.
S. SCHECHTER, 1909.
We will return to Zion as we went forth, bringing back the faith we carried away with us.
MORDECAI M. NOAH, 1824.