What We Need Is A King

Dr. Israel Eldad

Principles for a Hebrew Liberation Movement
by Dr. Eldad

Transcripts of Dr. Israel Eldad on IDF Radio

Excerpts from Dr. Israel Eldad's Op-Ed Column

Collection from Zote Ha'aretz
by Dr. Eldad

Memorial for Fighters for the Freedom of Israel
by Dr. Eldad

What We Need Is A King
by Dr. Eldad

You Should Be Ashamed!
by Dr. Eldad

Jabotinsky Distorted
by Dr. Eldad

The Fifth of Iyar
by Dr. Eldad

Temple Mount in Ruins
by Dr. Eldad

Jerusalem: The City of Faith
by Dr. Eldad

The Challenge of Jerusalem
by Dr. Eldad

Between Giving the Torah and Receiving It
by Dr. Eldad

The Jewish Defense League of Shushan Habira
by Dr. Eldad

An Open and Distressed Letter to Menachem Begin
by Dr. Eldad

Elnakam: Story of a Fighter for the Freedom of Israel
by Dr. Eldad

The Israel Restraint Forces
by Dr. Eldad

The Real-Politik of Our Sages
by Dr. Eldad

Jerusalem: A Burning Issue Trial of Faith
by Dr. Eldad

A New Type of Jew
by Dr. Eldad

Foundation Stones
by Dr. Eldad

Dr. Eldad & the Supreme Court of Israel
Selected Judgments

Biography: Dr. Israel Eldad
by Chaim Yerushalmi

BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES

What We Need Is A King
by Dr. Israel Eldad

For many years now we, a group of ideological Zionists, have been struggling to have Zionism defined as a Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Israel. It is hard to believe just how much ridicule and enmity this term has been received!

"That's all we need -- a king!?"

It was once said that all Judaism needed was a "spiritual center". The great and culturally profound English people and the small but creative Norwegian people feel comfortable with their king or queen, symbolically, but tangibly representing their unique being. Only the Jewish People, the truly great Nation of Israel, needs no more than professors or -- lehavdil [no comparision should be made]-- Chief Rabbis.

One of the greatest hours of our history was the hour when King David was chosen, even against the express wishes of the prophet, Samuel. The situation that prevailed at the time was one of absolute anarchy, of a type we seem not to have experienced again, except for the present day. With all our senses we feel the pain we suffer from having lost the ideological element in Zionism. There is no need to explain the insult and self-degradation we feel in the way we choose our rulers. It is certainly not by chance that we have gazed in admiration at the figure of the Jordanian king who was loved by his people in the simplest, most straightforward way.

Among the waves of yearning we feel, despite it all, for a beautiful life of modesty and love, from time to time we experience yearning for . . . yearning. Vulgarity is not freedom, pornography is hardly aesthetics, and aristocracy is not dignity -- and it is a certainty that we do not have to learn the regal qualities of love and modesty from the King of Rabbat Ammon.

In one of the Jewish Nation's more extraordinary poems we read: "Lord of the Universe who reigned before any being was created... and after it is all over, He alone will reign Supreme." In the past, I was deeply shaken by these words: He alone will reign Supreme? Who reigned before any being was created? Over whom will He reign, if that is so? Today I understand. A King is a Force that creates His kingdom independently, even before any being has been created -- and this is the kind of King for whom we yearn.

Where today are waves of such faithful longing created, yearning for true beauty? This Zionism, of yearning for redemption, for brotherly love, for love of Israel, for love of the Land of Israel -- this Zionism is gradually disappearing. But the potential still survives. "David, the King of Israel, is still alive" -- potentially, He still reigns over us and in our midst.

For many years now we, a group of ideological Zionists, have been struggling to have Zionism defined as a Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Israel. It is hard to believe just how much ridicule and enmity this term has been received!

"That's all we need -- a king!?"

It was once said that all Judaism needed was a "spiritual center". The great and culturally profound English people and the small but creative Norwegian people feel comfortable with their king or queen, symbolically, but tangibly representing their unique being. Only the Jewish People, the truly great Nation of Israel, needs no more than professors or -- lehavdil [no comparision should be made]-- Chief Rabbis.

One of the greatest hours of our history was the hour when King David was chosen, even against the express wishes of the prophet, Samuel. The situation that prevailed at the time was one of absolute anarchy, of a type we seem not to have experienced again, except for the present day. With all our senses we feel the pain we suffer from having lost the ideological element in Zionism. There is no need to explain the insult and self-degradation we feel in the way we choose our rulers. It is certainly not by chance that we have gazed in admiration at the figure of the Jordanian king who was loved by his people in the simplest, most straightforward way.

Among the waves of yearning we feel, despite it all, for a beautiful life of modesty and love, from time to time we experience yearning for . . . yearning. Vulgarity is not freedom, pornography is hardly aesthetics, and aristocracy is not dignity -- and it is a certainty that we do not have to learn the regal qualities of love and modesty from the King of Rabbat Ammon.

In one of the Jewish Nation's more extraordinary poems we read: "Lord of the Universe who reigned before any being was created... and after it is all over, He alone will reign Supreme." In the past, I was deeply shaken by these words: He alone will reign Supreme? Who reigned before any being was created? Over whom will He reign, if that is so? Today I understand. A King is a Force that creates His kingdom independently, even before any being has been created -- and this is the kind of King for whom we yearn.

Where today are waves of such faithful longing created, yearning for true beauty? This Zionism, of yearning for redemption, for brotherly love, for love of Israel, for love of the Land of Israel -- this Zionism is gradually disappearing. But the potential still survives. "David, the King of Israel, is still alive" -- potentially, He still reigns over us and in our midst.


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