All summaries below are done to the best of my abilities and are for the purpose of informing and not paskening. In all cases, a posek should be consulted.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Celebrating Yom HaAtzmaut - Rav Uziel

In a teshuva written to the community in Tunis in 1952, Rav Ben-Zion Chai Uziel, the Rishon L'Tzion, was asked whether it was permissible to suspend learning Torah in school in order to celebrate the new holiday. Rav Uziel replied that the day marked a true turning point in the history of the Jewish people, as had the infant state been defeated, it would have been catastrophic for both the Jews in Israel as well as those still living in the Arab nations. As such, Rav Uziel feels that it a mitzva (his word) to celebrate this salvation in schools and shuls, and for parents to ensure that their children are involved in these ceremonies as well so that they will appreciate all that Hashem has done in His great kindness for the Jewish people.

May Hashem continue to shower his kindness on His land and His people, and may we merit seeing the complete redemption.

(this teshuva is found in Techumin volume 13)

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