SIDDUR
THE KRENGEL FAMILY,
WORLD-MIZRACHI KOREN
MACHZOR
A MACHZOR DEDICATED TO YOM HA’ATZMAUT AND YOM
YERUSHALAYIM, CELEBRATES NOT ONLY THE GREATEST
MIRACLE OF OUR GENERATION, BUT THE PIONEERS WHO ARE
MAKING SURE IT IS NEVER FORGOTTEN AS WELL.
Come on in and get
your slice
TRACY ESSERS
THE LEADERS
“It takes forward thinkers to label events not just as
occurrences, but as miracles that change the course of
history,” says vice chairman of Mizrachi and President of
the South African Board of Jewish Deputies, Zev
Krengel. “The fact that we are so close to the time in
which the miracle of Israeli independence happened –
less than 100 years ago – means that we may not always
appreciate the gift which we have been given. So, when
Rabbi Lawrence Perez told me that Koren publishers
were interested in publishing a special Machzor
particularly for Yom Ha’atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim, I
knew it was a project that was both necessary and right.”
“Being part of the production of this Machzor presented
a chance to give a voice to the redemptive Zionist
discourse that has remained dormant or perhaps only
embedded in our formal prayers and literature,” says
Rabbi Moshe Taragin, who was responsible for writing
the commentary to the Machzor. “It was an
opportunity to create a text accessible to the broad
ideological spectrum of Jews who identify with the
establishment of Israel.” And with a Masters degree in
English literature and 30 years experience as a teacher
at Yeshivat Gush Etzion, Rabbi Taragin was the right
person to turn an opportunity into a reality.
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TAKING THE LEAD
For Zev Krengel, who’s always been passionate about
both the State of Israel and his Jewish identity, the
Machzor represented not only a manifestation of the
honour that the establishment of the State of Israel
deserves, but the ultimate expression of the convergence
of religion and Zionism - a characteristic Krengel saw
in one of this generation’s greatest teachers - Rabbi
Aharon Lichtenstein. “There is a fundamental flaw in a
religion that cannot manage the realms of reality; that is
incongruous with modern times, says Krengel. “Torah is
eternal, limitless and therefore applicable in the modern
world – a defining characteristic that Rabbi Lichtenstein
not only taught, but lived.” Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein,
who passed away recently at the age of 81, was a staunch
religious Zionist who made Aliyah in 1971, where he
took up the position as the head of the then
newly-formed Yeshivat Har Etzion. Rabbi Lichtenstein
was also the son-in-law of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik,
one of the greatest Torah scholars of the 20th Century
and an ardent supporter of the State of Israel. For Rabbi
Taragin, it was not only Rabbi Lichtenstein’s ability to
merge religion and Zionism that defined him as a Rabbi,
but also his ability to give the voices of our ancient
Rabbis and prophets a modern application, that made
him truly remarkable. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin
Netanyahu referred to Rabbi Lichtenstein as, “a Zionist
leader and Torah scholar of unparalleled stature.”
The Machzor also contains essays by other iconic
religious Zionists and leaders, including Rabbi Tzvi
Yehuda Kook zt”l, Rabbi Yehuda Amital zt”l, Rabbi Berel
Wein, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Dr. Erica Brown, which
further expand on the significance of the establishment
of the State of Israel and give even more words of
connection to the great spectrum of people that makes
up the Jewish nation today. “For the events of 1948
and 1967 are no less miraculous than those witnessed
by Esther and Mordechai,” Matthew Miller, publisher at
Koren Publishers, writes. But it takes forward
thinkers to make sure it never goes unappreciated. This was the
impetus behind the development of the Koren Yom Ha’atzmaut
and Yom Yerushalyim Machzor - a first of its kind. ■
Mizrachi South Africa is a Torah fuelled, leadership-development and educational organisation.
We are non-profit, committed to a Torah, Zionist and centrist philosophy; with a broad view of our
role as engaged South African citizens.
We aim to inspire people throughout South Africa through the synthesis of our core values: the
Torah, Land and the People of