The Flag Of Israel - The Symbol of Sacrifice and Hope | Rabbi Shai Finkelstein | April 14th 2026

‏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.