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The Flag Of Israel - The Symbol of Sacrifice and Hope | Rabbi Shai Finkelstein | April 14th 2026
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‏So what I would like to talk about
is about the flag of Israel
not from only
perspective but also from a religious
perspective what do I mean by that
in 1960s
is ag is h their great gathering inal
and found it very difficult to raise the
israel fl over the hotel they assembled
‏in tradition
in theat
of the state of isel where in
you have
ישראל
now
‏Try to ask by Google and you will find
try with chat GPT and you will find
so where is thatovic found regarding
ישראל the flag of is so
אם מצאו ישראל הרוג
כמו שמצאו
means
on him
with the murdered with
you don't put shouds on them replace the
cl that they had with shrouds
ולא יחלצו בו אפילו מןיו
‏minut one reason because murdered you
are afraid if you will take the may
the blood that comes from the will be
gone you will lose it
second the second explanation is because
you want to
‏basically remindem
see what happen to jew I want you to be
angry with the people who murdered him
and therefore I him with this bloody
clothing that he has
in the
terminology is the נרצח
הרב פרץ who is now the head of the
son they basically buried the shirt
with his blood
‏So,
so the translation is if Israel were
killed that should be they should be
buried as they were found without
shrouds and should not take off his
shoes either. ‏The reason for that
really the reasons that tradition is
that will see how his how his burial has
changed from the rest of the dead and it
will inspire mercy. And so continued at
the end of the war of independence the
United Nations set a specific time for
the possession of the territories and
any territory that would wave the flag
of the state of Israel will remain in
the hands of Israel. ‏and many warriors
giving their life solely for the purpose
of raising a Jewish flagov
therefore said that he feels that the
flag of Israel symboliz the cloth of the
Jew who was murdered and therefore
waving Israel flag evokes heavenly mercy
on the Jewish people
this is a salovic
poetic
interpretation and expending
‏basically jews gave their lives for
that flag and that flag represented what
ownership on the land what we remember
I'm sure everyone here learned about it
you know they had to build like a little
fence and a little tower and that's was
called the city and Jews gave their
lives for the flag so the flag becomes
what
therefore
‏Je
רבי על אהבת תורה וגאולת הנפש והדור one
of essays
he says the following
הפעולה הדתית בעיקרה
חווית
‏This is obviously part of theological
theme which some people agree some
people agree I don't think anyone
disagree with the component of of
sacrifice I'm not sure that this is the
basis for our theology but he says that
the religious action
is basically characterized mostly by
seel
svel which is
כשאדם מזדמן עם האל לפונדק אחד when God
and men meet each other הוא נטבע על ידי
הקל להקרבה עצמית
המתבט במאבק עם יצריו הפרימיטיבים
בשבירת הרצון בקבלת מסע טרנסטנדנטלי
בוויטור על חמדת בשר מוגזמת בהסתייגויות
לפרקים מן הנעים והערב ובהתמקרות אל המר
המוזר.
He says, "When השם me
a Jew, he basically asks him or her to
submit themselves to him. And by doing
that, they need to do what? To overcome
their desires, to overcome their
physical needs, to take upon themselves
some kind of a burden and also to
restrict themselves for many things that
are desirable, enjoyable, fun.
בהתנגשותו עם משטר חילוני ובקמיותיו אל
עולם פרדוקסלי
שאינו מובן לאחרים. Basically השם demands
the Jew to face a complicated world when
everything that is also what holy and
even things that you are allowed to do
you need to what to restrict yourself
from doing so. ‏So this is a complicated
world challenging
הקרב אתקורבנך
bring your sacrifice not just animal but
a personal one
העיקרי הניתן לאיש הדת a religious person
needs to know that the main commandment
towards him or her is what you need to
bring a sacrifice.
‏Meaning the people who were chosen from
our nation which are what
יצחק יעקב as the beginners and then us
מאותה שעה שגילו את האל from the moment
that they
reveal god or that god reveal them
himself to them התעסקו בפעולת הקרבה
מתמידה there was a continued action of
what of sacrifice.
הקדוש ברוך הוא אומר לאברהם קחנה את בנך
את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק
theate sacrific כלומר
אני טובע ממך את הקורבן הגדול ביותר I
demand off you the most the ultimate
sacrific
רוצה את בנך I want your son שהוא יחידך
that is your only son שהוא וגם אהובך
that he is your beloved one אל תשלה את
עצמך do not what
>> fool
‏illusion
כי לאחר שתשמע בקולי after you will
listen to my voice
ך לעולם you will bring your son as a
sacrifice אתן לך בן אחר במקום יצחק don't
think that give you another child
כשיצחק ישחט על גבי המזבח וניצחק will be
brought to the מזבח תישאר גלמוד וערירי
will be alone and sunless you will have
no childr you will you will be childless
שום בן לא יוולד לך another הווייתך תתקפל
בבדידות
שאין כמותה being will be reduced to
loneliness that there is no loneliness
like that
יחידך שאין לו תמורה want your only son
with no exchange
כמו כן אל תחשוב כי יעלה בידך לשכוח את
יצחק ולהסיח את דעתך ממנו כל ימיך תהרר בו
and don't think for a second that you
will ‏be able to someh forget you going
to have a dailyinder of your son that I
demanded to bring a sacrifice. You can
see the
poetic language
extreme expression of
of a description of the loneliness and
the demand of sacrifice thatam
was demanded from God.
אני מעוניין בבנך שרה ותאהב לעולם. ‏I'm
interested in the sun that you love and
you would love forever.
ט בפצעיך הנפש. Sleepless nights you
going to have after what you will do.
And you will basically will search
inside your soul. מתוך שנתך תקרא ליצחק.
While you are asleep, you will call out
to יצחק. וכשתיקץ
תמצא אוהלך שומם ועזוב. ‏And when you
will wake up, you will find your tent
empty. יצחק is gone. חייך יהפכו לשרשרת
ארוכה של ייסורי נפש
ובכל זאת אני טובע את הקורבן הזה.
It's terrible. I mean and I'm so sorry
that I need to translate it because the
Hebrew I mean I know it was translated
from English, but the Hebrew is
incredible. Whoever did this translation
is incredible.
מובן שסופה של החוויה ששורשה סבל וחרדה
obviously the end result of this
experience that begins with tremendous
suffering and and sadness and affli and
trambling הוא גיל עולמים an eternal
happiness at the end בשעה שהסיר אברהם את
בנו מעל המזבח when אברהם removed יצחק
from the מזבח על פי פקודתו של המלאך
based on the commandment of the angel
נהפך הסבל לשמחת עולם so the suffering
transformed
‏etal joy והחרדה the trembling toחי to
eternal eternal internal happiness
תחילתה של פעולת הדעת but the beginning
the opening statement of any religious
action is what הקרבת העצמות
to sacrifice your being who you areופה
מציעת העצמות and the end of it is ‏What
is finding yourself?
Bram, however, איך לאדם למצוא את עצמו
מבלי שיקריב את עצמו עובר למציאה. You
will never be able to find yourself
unless you sacrifice yourself.
Incredible.
אין האדם מוצא אלא מה שעבד לו. You can
only find things that you lost.
ואין מי שזוכה בדבר משלו אם אותו דבר
לאופקה מבעלותו ורשותו קודם לשחיה. And
there is nothing in the world that you
can possess unless you worked really
hard what? To possess it and to find it.
הבךה גם אושר זמנים ממשי למקיימי מצוותיה.
שכר
אבל אין הבטחת תועלת זו אלא תופעת לו
only secondary
למהותה הנשגבה של האמונה באלוקי עולם
החודרת הכל ומקיפה הכל but all this
rewards and all this good things that
you can get only secondary to the main
requirement which
הקרבה.
תוכנית מהות זו היא למעלה מכל הצלחה
הסופית. כשאני מפקיע את הגישה התועלתית אל
הדת, אני מתכוון לא רק ליחיד וצרכיו
הפוטים, כי אם גם אל הציבור וענייניו
הגדולים. When I talk about sacrifice,
don't talk only about individuals. I
also talk about what?
‏Nation
אין הדת מותנת בהליכותיו השימושיות של
היחיד או הציבור ואינה כפופה לצרכיו אפילו
היותר חיונים לכך אין אני סובר שהדת צריכה
לשמש כלי שרט למדינת ישראל על אף חשיבותה
ההיסטורית המרובה
here goes into another issue that we
might discuss today it's about the
relationships between religion and
state.
‏Israel is
a bit different
from all different reasons some of
unavoilable and unavoidable
give me
two examples that religion and state
must be integrated
‏marriage
okay mostly army
cer in the army if you don't have in the
army I will not be able to serve right
hospitals also all need to be what coach
food I'm talking about just food okay I
mean some hospitals are more friendly
shabbat friendly some of them are little
less shabbat friendly whatever it is but
there is a common denominator that in a
way you force the nonreligious to do
‏disput transportation and about can you
force
people not bring to the hospital all
those things that we can maybe talk
about them once
not today so is talking about it a
little bit later but is not my point my
point is the
idea of what ofה
said
‏You know I think
I think there is tremendous truth in
what he said but I think still hard to
convey such a message. Basically to tell
Jew your entire being and your entire
idea of your religious experience is
what?
‏sacrifice.
I think that we need to know that there
is a sacrifice being required from us
and yes are simple ones are more
complicated ones are harsh ones. ‏How
many people we know and nextek we going
to commemorate them that did more than
more than
and this is a bit of a problem to me
that's why I said I can understand a
component of it to say that this is the
entire experience religious experience I
have a little bit of a problem that's
why I brought it here and it's true. ‏I
do believe that God in a way with the
akid and I think of salv said it somewh
else he says when kirkegor you know
kegor so he says that I cannot believe
in a god that will have a commandment
about an ak I can't believe that a god
can ask a person to bring his own child
to a sacrifice especially not the Jewish
god andov in in essay responding to it
basically says god in a way if I
remember it correctly god in a way
wanted to prove Abraham
‏need
to
show whatever you have really
not yours it can be taken in a second
now it's comp it's a complicated
theological
ide yes yes
evening there
‏agree i can also see that that maybe
submission and sacrifice are different
I think overlap I can hear that there is
still atin yes
‏sacrifice
mean priority by the way I just want
toarify
that we all need to
‏daily
ability to overcome desires and other
things
but includes
פזית
for the I think very appropriate you הוא
יום השואה יום הזיכרון אוקיי so that
>> so the idea of the flag is the idea of
הקרבה the flag basically shows the idea
of the entire religious experience which
is a physical and let's call it a
spiritual okay so that's what that's how
of salvic look at the flag which
obviously gives the flag what
it's
‏I don't know if Salov if he would see
the Israeli flag will pick it up you
know on the floor will pick it up and
give it a kiss but it's definitely what
it's something with holiness by the way
I just totally totally a side note in
one of my funerals in Memphis it was for
a veteran from the World War I so the
American army I know sent like two three
soldiers and that was the first thing I
saw it like not in a movie but like in
‏life I will tell you I was moved
זה מרשים it's impressive the way they do
it the way they fold it and the way but
it's
m it's impressive and
I don't know if you attention but sure
you did but in all the funerals for the
soldiers the AON was covered with what
is flag so you have this idea
‏suggestion now
David Wolfson anyone knows who he was if
not here he was the second president of
the
world Zist
organation
so in this
הספר היובלות 520 שנה לקונגרס הציוני
הראשון.
So it says the following. He says the
following Wolfson. That's a
documentation.
Herz so based on her command.
באתי לב. I came to buzzle.
In order to prepare and organiz that we
need to do for the conress.
בין השאלות הרבות שסיכון היא הייתה באיזה
דגל נקשט את עולם הקונגרס what kind of
are we going to what to pick to decorate
the ball
עם what are colors אין לנו for us it
looks like what no there was no a
decision on the flag by the way
tremendous amount of dispute about how
the flag should look
‏here
for few weeks there is the
many
suggestions of what kind of should we
have so then he says רון במוח
הרי יש לנו דגל לבן כחול a
>> הטלית אשר בא נתעטף בתפילתנו we have a
that we will put on
טלית זוים לנו thisית is our symbol נוציא
את הטלית מנרתיקה take the out of the
נגולל אותה לעיני ישראל ולעיני כל עמים
and will spread it open in front of
ישראל and the nation הזמנתי אז דגל כחול
ולבן ומגן דוד מצויר עליו
want to see if anyone
‏First don't call it star
when you what is David
of David
archichield
with symbol
‏What do we find in archologicals? What
kind of symbols? מנורה, לולב, שופר,
לוחות, מקדש
no one found. מגן דוד.
מה? מאיפה זה הגיע?
‏I'm not answer but let's go blue and
white you know where we find
su there is a star with
‏for
you
point on one of the triangles
is supposed to be physical
and the other triangle on top is
supposed to be spiritual
‏Your is as good as mine. No, no. I
agree. There are so many interpretation.
It can be ובסף.
It can be
values, justice, freedom,
sacrifice, a dedication and a faith. I
can come up with
six at least. ‏Yes.
Did
as you can see
not that I have the answer to exit but
we definitely need to ask where come
from became really
national symbol anymore.
‏theורה was our symbol
and it's gone and somehוד comes along
and
>> מנורה כן כן נכון בכנסיה
בכנסת
דוד there is דוקא the מנורה interesting
אוקיי אוקיי so now let's see first let's
talk little bit about the blue and the
white דבר על בני ישראל ואמרת להם ועשו
להם ציצית
פרשת שלח השם ציצית ונתנו על ציצית הכנף
פטילתכלת ססור החיים
עוד ירצה בעיר למה כתב לדורותם באמצע פרטי
המצווה so he ask the question in the
middle of the verse לדורותם
comes out which means if you look at the
דבר על בני ישראל ואמרת עליהם ועשו להם
ציצית על כנפי גדיהם this is the details
of the
ועשו להם ציצית בגדיהם ונתנו על צית הכנף
פטיל תכלת לדורותם
generations generations
of the how do we never thought about
at least twice a day
especially the men in the crowd right
how many of you asked that question that
he asked okay i will not embarass you
אוקיי, עוד ירצה בעיר. למה כתב לדור אותם
באמצע פרטי המצווה? אכן לצד שיש במצווה
ציצית שני דברים, הלבן והתכלת. The are
two components of the white, theן and
the תכלת the blue. הלבן אשתו בכל זמן the
white threads you can always find. התכלת
יש זמן שאינו מצוי. ‏However, the blue
sometimes you can find only now by the
way it was renewed you know the ro
herzog
his PhD
was on the
and there was an interesting exhibit
maybe it's still there I don't know it's
still there I don't know about the and
it's fascinating because you know now
they have more and more people are
wearing and it's an interesting thing
‏If you have it, you must wear it but if
you are not sure that it is or not. So
he says like that. So the sometimes it's
not you cannot find it.
זכרו התכלת. כלומר שהלבן לדורותם אבלתכלת
כשאינו בנמצא
אין חיוב בו. ‏So he says it says
exactly for generations to come you will
always find what the white the blue
sometimes you will not be able to find
איכב את הלבן ולא הלבן את התכלת על פי כן
הלבן הוא בנמצא לדורות ולא יפסק מה שאין
כן בתכלת so sometimes the תל notצא now
the problem with the and this is not the
problem but idea of the is why do you
think we have so why do we have lavan in
בציצית
>> טרה יפה מאוד how do we know that בגדי
כהן גדול ביום הכיפורים right what the
תכלת
>> שמיים what else
>> ים what else
>> חסד
>> חסד למה חסד
>> פשוט פשוט פשוט פשוט don't get
complicated
‏But why blue?
Why blue? What else do we know about
blue? Simple.
How do you call people from that comes
from dynasty?
Blue blood.
Why called blue blood? Royalty. But
royalty called blue blood. Why blue
blood?
‏Because this color was very expensive
only a royalty could create blue
and purple.
Blue and purple.
יפה מאוד.
פורים תכלת וארגמן
why do you think they will mention itמן
because it was so expensive and everyone
had it so wealthy
the idea of is
the children of god I would like to
suest
for generations who will have
royalty
‏PR
incover
‏BL
revealing our royalty.
I don't know if you know I noticed it
for sure.
Many many of the young people
are wearing blue.
Some of them have no idea even why. But
they are wearing it.
‏more mature crowd
we don't
in the younger generation
you can see it much more
is that a sign is that something that we
can take into consideration is that
a a divine remes for us to start moving
i don't know but it is interesting to
‏noting but the younger people
the younger people are buying it doing
it is very interesting
‏upigion
push in generation in our generation for
exle what is the in the last 15 years
when i grew up
>> הפרשת חלה if you learn
‏Today לא עשית הפרשת חלה. Before you
wedding, you didn't do הפרשת חלה. חס
ושלום לא עברת על איסור דאורייתא.
I'm not talking about eating not without
but הפרשת חלה became משהו אדיר. Now you
ask yourself why? לא יודע. I don't know.
I really don't know. So if I want to be
a I will tell you ראשיתכם בשביל ישראל
שנקראו ראשית and I will make you asistic
dr. But I'm not.
שם מצוות איזה זכות
נכון מאוד
יפה מאוד
התחנה
divine interpretation that not that
things
‏not necessarily going to understand
exactly what it means
with life that
agree
בכלל
כן
אוקיי
‏So basically we can maybe we can
dedicate to some of the trends that we
see in Israel society and it's not more
sociologia but it's something
interesting.
‏strugle
strugle with god and able to overcome
היפין של לבן לא יהיה של תכלת basically
wן is the blue והינו מאמר זל בפרק התכלת
ופתול מתוכו ובא בזה ללמדנו דתכלת דומה
לכיסא הכבודת תכלת holy thone ובא להזכיר
דכל השתלשלות חיי האדם שנגד זה באו חוטי
לבן מן כנף באו ממקור העליון סיבת כל
הסיבות יתברך על כן חוש של תכלת פטל חוטי
לבן whenפ the ‏BL basically is
surrounder the white so it come to teach
you everything comes from the blue so
everything that comes down comes from
Rולעקשתי
והפצרתי פצירות ונפטולים הרבה למקום להיות
שווה לאחותי which means רחל did
everything that she could in order to
what to be equal to her sister so that's
the idea נפטולים נפטולים מלשון struggles
was able to overcome the idea of the
תכלת לא פטיל לבן פטיל תכלת
about the struggles
now part of what you said here about the
triangles and everything so maybe you
heard it from frosik
so he was a philosopher a jewish german
philosopher
מגן דוד
פ
יש משולש
בסיסי שמאפיין את מוקדי המחשבה הפילוסופית
בעולם so there is a basic triangle that
basically represents the philosophical
idea of the world which זה מורת אלוקים
אדם עולם godד men world אוקיי המשולש
השני the second triangle מסמל בהגותו את
עמדת היהדות בנושאים הללו second triangle
basically represents the jewish
perspective on these three values god
world and menמה הבסיסית היהדות עוסקת
ביחסים שבין הגורמים הללו
in the basicide
judaism is basically deals with this
three values ‏God world and men. וכך
מגיעים לשלושת עקרונות היסוד של היהדות
לפי רוזנסיג בריאה התגלות וגאולה בריאה
creation this is between god and the
univers התגלות revelation is between god
and אדם מן וגאולה redemption is between
האדם והעולם
so basically we have god man world and
how we perceive it which means whatה
התגלות
וגאולה creation revelation
‏one little story
close to my heart because my
grandparents went on that boat על סיפונה
של הספינה exusוס
they came from the dpy camp on exodus
שהתקרבה למים by the way we found the
רשימות the list of the people were on
exodus and we got their names
‏My m
go on you can go on ask for the list of
exodus and I can tell you their names
שהתקרבה למים הטריטורים של ארץ ישראל so
the ספינה approached the boat approach
the land of isel לילה חשוך ומתוח שצפן
בתוכו את שמד התרחש לאחר המספר שעות after
a very tense night
דגל תכלת לבן בגלל של המדינה היהודית
שהמנו כי אכן תקום what the flag the
הרמדה של הציר הבריטי עקב אחרינו so
briti navy was following them מקיפה
אותנו מכל העברים they surrounded us הם
קיבו את אורותיהם they extingish the
light וק רכש הגלים באפלה דלק קרבתן של
ספינות הקרב אל ספינתנו מנסה לחמוק מהן
שעליה תחוקים ותחוסים 4500 איש ואישה זקן
ותף on that exodus they had 400 4500
people on a boat that obviously cannot
hold 4500 people
דגלומיה
the colombian flag אשר לנו עד לרגעים אלה
כמסווה או כמצאית היה הורד מהתורן לעיני
הבריטים when the briti navy came and
approach the boat they took the colbian
flag that they tried ‏to obviously
use in order to
deceive thank you deceive them they took
it down and in front of their eyes
הלילה הדגל הכחול לבן they raise what the
is flag על סיפור נערך מפקד של כל התנועות
ביחד חיל גדול מאוד מאוד שירה הדירה של
התקווה פרצה בעמידת דום וכבשה את הדממה
דסתקד בט מישהו חנק בתוכו דמעות היה זה
הרגע הגדול של זקיפות הקומה הכרת ערך עצמי
וגאו לאומית נוכח העדר בית ועולם מתנקרing
is taking down the col putting the is
flag knowing exactly
all 4500 knew that what they are not
making it de that night to isel they
going to what to be sent back
they care they put the israel fl here
the israeli fl does not represent jewish
sacrifice
represented
‏last
about
happy in your salvation
in the name of god willנה
בשוע ובשם אלוקינו נדגול. לפי שבעולם הזה
כל אדם מכיר דגלו מתוך סגנון שלו.
Everyone can recogniz his own flag, his
own family tribal flag. דגל מחנה ראובנו.
מתוך דגלו הוא מכיר בית אב שלו. מתוך בית
אב שלו מכיר את משפחתו. So from the flag
of the tribe, you know your family. From
your family, you know your parents.
Okay. So you so go from what? From the
from the tribe to the individual.
לעתיד לבוא but in the future it's not
going to be like that
בשם אלוקינו
נתגול we all going to raise what gods
flag השם משה המלך יננו ביום קורנו המזמור
הזה ראשו בעניה וסופו בעניה
ראשו בעניה יענחה השם ביום צרה it begins
with what השם will answer you ביום צרה
וסופו בעניה the end of it is what המלך
יעננו
קורע
ישראל
בנימין זה יהודה אריה
‏at the end of will
again
maybe it will not be the Israel that we
have I think it will but my speculation
is like your speculation
but there is something really
interesting bu even in the army each
unit has their own flag you know each
unit
‏department you know hasנים
you know everyone has but at the end of
the day even I know if I'm sure you went
your children grandchildren when you
went to when you go to a הצבא when you
go to after a course or whatever someone
children grandch became a commander
whatever so you see the unit flags
however what do you see up
the Israel flag at the end of the day we
are able to accomplish
‏I don't think any other story in
that they all basically gathered under
one flag. I know it sounds like a very
American thing, one god, one flag, one
nation but there is something really to
it that we are able. ‏And by the way you
don't hear anyone says let change the
flag with all the
we have a lot of
maybe a new will be a new but I hear yet
anyone says we need to change the flag
it's not jewish enough not jewish to
Jewish this is still something that
we can all gather
‏Maybe maybe he has a little bit of in
it. So my hope is that now when you see
Israel flag
it will have a little bit of a different
approach to it. So should be
next week to have a class and we will
meet I think the following week. Да.