Have you ever wondered who the real first Zionist was? Ask different people, and you will get different answers. Leon Pinsker-a, a late 19th century Zionist, Was the founder and leader of Hibbat Zion (Hebrew: חיבת ציון,) the Lovers of Zion movement. Theodor Herzl Created the World Zionist Organization. Ze’ev Jabotinsky-Zionist philosopher and the creator of Revisionist Zionism. You may also hear names like Chaim Weizmann or even David Ben Gurion.
All those names are wrong. The first Zionist was a guy named Abram, who was born in 1948 (coincidence?). Not 1948 in the secular calendar but in the ajeweiwwiCenturies ago, sages figured out Abram (later his name changed to Abraham). Abram was born in the Jewish year 1848, or 3835 years ago. Sadly, even after Abram was born, those sages still wrote 1947 on their checks.
The Abram story is in the Torah, the book of Genesis, which is narrated in chapter 12. If you were wondering, he doesn’t become Abraham until chapter 17. I don’t know why the name was changed. But the rumor was he broke some of his dad’s idols, and the Idol-worshipping zealots were after him in Chapter 17. God tells him to change his name probably so the idol zealots would have a harder time finding him.
Back to Chapter 12 and Zionism. Abram was 75 years old when he first heard from the Big Guy upstairs:
12 1 And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.
What land did God show him? Sorry, those who said Cleveland are wrong. The land Abram was told to go to was then called Canaan. Now, it’s called Israel. With that order from heaven, Abram, the “first Jew,” became the first Zionist. He would create a sovereign homeland for the Hebrews (nascent Jews) in the land God showed him.
You have to feel a little bad for Abe. When the Lord told him to say goodbye to his dad,,. Abram was 75 years old, and the walk was over 600 miles. But the order came from heaven. Who knows? If Abram hadn’t taken the 600-mile stroll and become the first Zionist, he might have ended up in the belly of great fish.
12 2: And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you will and aggrandize your name
Notice it doesn’t say race or religion. From the very beginning, the Jews were a nation. According to Webster, a nation is A large group of people with a common origin, language, and tradition constituting a political entity. It wasn’t written for that purpose, but that’s a great description of the Jewish people.
What does aggrandize your name mean? It doesn’t mean that Sari (Sarah) should put a sign In front of their tent saying, “Get Abe’s autograph, only 50 shekels-Cheap!”
Aggrandize means “make your name great.” That was done by telling his story when the Torah is read AND in prayer. For example, the Amidah, a prayer Jews say thrice daily, begins with “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.”
In Chapter 15, God doubles down on the promise that the land to which he led Abram is the eternal homeland of the Jews, which is an essential part of Zionist thought,
15:7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you forth from Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land to inherit it.” In other words, God made Abram walk 600 miles to give him and his descendants their eternal homeland.
You should know that the Book of Genesis is one of only two parts of the Torah that talks about a sport. ‘The first line of the Torah talks about baseball (In the big inning), is part of the Jewish. Christian and Muslim scripture. So, the next time someone tells you Zionism is evil or Israel is not the eternal homeland of the Jews, just tell them to read Genesis. The other sport mentioned in Shemot (Exodus) is tennis: Moshe (Moses) served in the court of Pharoah.
It’s okay to forget the sports, but not the part of the Torah that explains Zionism. God promises.” I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you will and aggrandize your name.
When the UN passed Resolution 181, which created a state for the people of that “great nation,” they carried out what God promised 3,700+ years ago. An eternal homeland for the nation for the descendants of Abraham, remembering Good’s promise supporting the self-determination and statehood of the ancestral homeland, the land of Israel. It’s called Zionism.
