Is Zionism A Jewish Concept?

Rabbi Shay Tahan
in english

Is Zionism Compatible with the Torah View?
Contrary to the popular belief that Zionism was purely a secular movement, some of its earliest founders were devout rabbis:

Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795–1874), a student of Rabbi Akiva Eiger, was one of the earliest and most influential rabbinic voices to articulate a religious framework for Jewish return to Eretz Yisrael in the modern era.
At the core of his ideology was the belief that redemption does not come through miraculous intervention, but unfolds through natural historical processes initiated by human action. He strongly rejected the idea that Jews must remain passive in exile while waiting for divine redemption. Instead, he argued that the nation has a responsibility to actively pursue settlement in the Land of Israel, agricultural development, and communal rebuilding, even before the arrival of Mashiach.
In his seminal work Derishat Tzion (“Seeking Zion”), which received many warm rabbinic approbations (haskamot), including from the Malbim and Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, Rabbi Kalischer outlines a vision in which the ingathering of the exiles and the rebuilding of the Land are not contradictions to faith, but rather expressions of it.
A key element of his thought is the idea of “natural redemption” (geulah tiv’it), meaning that historical processes themselves can serve as instruments of divine providence. In this framework, political sovereignty, economic development, and settlement activity are not merely secular developments, but potential stages in a larger redemptive unfolding.
Rabbi Kalischer also emphasized practical steps: encouraging agricultural training, supporting Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael, and establishing institutions that would enable a self-sustaining Jewish presence in the land. He saw these efforts as not only permissible but spiritually significant, potentially hastening the final redemption.
Although controversial in his time, his ideas later became foundational for various religious Zionist approaches, which saw in his writings an early articulation of the concept that redemption can develop gradually through historical and national revival rather than occurring solely through sudden supernatural transformation.
In this sense, Rabbi Kalischer’s ideology represents a shift in emphasis: from waiting for redemption to participating in its unfolding.


Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai
Another rabbi was Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai, a student of Rabbi Eliezer Papo- the Pele Yoets, who was among the early rabbinic figures to advocate for active Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael. He developed a religious framework that emphasized human initiative in the process of redemption, arguing that the return to the Land of Israel should be advanced through practical steps such as organized settlement, communal cooperation, and the establishment of Jewish agricultural life in the land.
Rabbi Alkalai viewed these efforts not as a replacement for divine redemption, but as part of the unfolding process thro

Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal (1885–1945), author of Eim HaBanim Semeichah, was one of the most striking rabbinic figures of the 20th century to radically reassess his earlier views on Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael in light of the Holocaust.
Originally a member of the Hungarian Orthodox establishment, Rabbi Teichtal initially opposed active Zionist initiatives and held the prevailing view in his environment that redemption would come only through divine intervention, not human-driven national rebuilding. However, during the horrors of World War II, as he witnessed the destruction of European Jewry firsthand, he underwent a profound intellectual and spiritual transformation.

Summery
When we think about Zionism, it is important to distinguish between different meanings of the term. Secular Zionism is a national-political ideology that is independent of Torah values which is negative. However, Zionism as an idea of return to Eretz Yisrael has deep roots within Torah sources and rabbinic thought long before its modern political expression.
Of course, there are many different approaches within this discussion—from rejectionist views such as those associated with Satmar, to various intermediate positions—but I felt it important to highlight voices that are often overlooked. These rabbinic figures are frequently not given a platform in popular discourse, despite the fact that their vision, in many respects, has unfolded before our own eyes in remarkable ways.