Ma’amar Ikvatha DeMeshicha VeMa’amar al Ha’Emunah.

R. Elchanan Wasserman (1874-1941) was one of the most distinguished leaders of Eastern European Orthodoxy. Seen as the spiritual successor of the Chofetz Chaim, he served as the Rosh Yeshivah of Baranovitch for 20 years. A staunch opponent of Zionism, R. Wasserman wrote his essay Ikvatha DeMeshicha as a response to the burgeoning Zionist movement. Dismayed by the blatant disregard many Zionist leaders and followers had for tradition, R. Wasserman here argues that the movement could not possibly have a role in the future Redemption. Furthermore, he states, it would be better for Orthodox Jews to remain in Russia with the Torah than live in the Land of Israel without the attachment to Torah priorities. Nonetheless, despite R. Wasserman’s antagonism to political Zionism, he was deeply connected to the Land of Israel, famously stating: ‘With fire Jerusalem was destroyed, and through the fire of our self-sacrifice it will be rebuilt’. R. Wasserman was murdered by Nazi Lithuanian collaborators.