In a speech to a gathering of the American branch of the Orthodox Zionist organization Mizrachi, delivered a month after Israel declared its independence, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik explored the religious significance of the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty. The speech, delivered in Yiddish, was translated by Arnold Lustiger, and published last year. It has now been made available online.

Soloveitchik begins with the rabbinic reading of the biblical phrase “I took you out of Egypt”—spoken by God to the Jewish people—as “I was taken with you out of Egypt,” a reinterpretation that can be accomplished in Hebrew by simply rearranging a few dots. It therefore follows that the Divine Presence (Sh’khinah) accompanied the people of Israel into exile, and will return from exile with them. But could the creation of a secular polity in Mandate Palestine really accomplish this metaphysical transformation? And, more importantly, what can be done to ensure that Jewish statehood does return Divine immanence to the Holy Land. These are the questions that Soloveitchik attempts to address:

The progression of Jewish history used to be chaotic, insane, and absurd. It now has a sense of purpose and significance. It has a direction and an objective.

We need to stop and examine this assertion of purpose, of direction, of an ideal. What is it? The answer is simple. The state of Israel will liberate a segment of the Jewish people from exile in the political-social sense. Naturally, not everyone will be redeemed through it. Even the Exodus from Egypt itself did not free all the Jews from Egypt; the sages suggest that not all enslaved Israelites were redeemed, perhaps only one fifth, and some say only one 50th or even one out of every 500 Jews in Egypt were actually liberated (M’khilta, B’shalaḥ 13:18).

Exile is a subjective concept. Through the new Jewish state, we Jews have at least been given the opportunity to liberate ourselves from exile. But will the Ribbono shel Olam [the Master of the Universe] Himself also be freed from exile by the state of Israel, or will He remain in captivity in a Jewish state? This is the main question we religious Jews have been asking ourselves for the past several months.

With regard to redemption of the Sh’khinah from defilement, I am definitely optimistic. Whoever ultimately stands at the helm, life in Israel will to a certain extent be completely Jewish. I read in the press that the kitchens of the Israeli army are strictly kosher. When, on that fateful Friday, the establishment of the state of Israel was proclaimed, the ceremony was held eight hours early so as not to desecrate the Sabbath, despite various logistical difficulties associated with doing this. The act alone sanctified the Sabbath more than 50 rallies dedicated towards Sabbath observance.

Naturally, religious Jewry must stand watch and fight for [Sabbath observance], but I can assure everyone that Shabbat in Eretz Yisrael will be holier than it was in the Jewish neighborhood in Berlin, in the Frankfurt Ghetto, or even on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.