On Jul. 6, 1882, 14 young Russian Jews got off a boat in Jaffa. They were part of Bilu, one of the first groups to advocate a return to Zion.
Bilu had been founded a few months earlier, in January. Amidst an environment of persecution and hate, they planned to return to the Jewish homeland in order to build farming communities. The term “Bilu” is an acronym of the Hebrew phrase from Isaiah, “House of Jacob, let us walk and go forward.” And that is what these 14 young Jews did.
Almost all of Bilu’s members were young, college-educated idealists. In a dramatic manifesto published the prior January, the leaders of Bilu made the following call: “Are you asleep, O our nation? What have you been doing until 1882? … Where is your ancient pride, your old spirit?”
In a rush of enthusiasm, over 500 people joined Bilu. Six months later, these 14 pioneers made their way to Israel.
And then reality paid them a visit.
It turns out that the Ottoman Empire was a tough place to live, and farming anywhere is a tough profession for beginners. One of the new immigrants, Chaim Chissin, described the poverty and desperation in his diary:
“It’s been ten days since I last wrote. There is no physical possibility: my hands are covered in blisters and blood clots. I cannot straighten my fingers. In Russia, I dreamed that I would be able to work eight hours a day and devote the remaining time to spiritual matters. But how can the mind here grasp such spiritual things when the back aches so terribly, the exhaustion is unbearable … and when you come back from work, all you want is to quickly eat your dinner and throw yourself into bed.”
In the end, 59 Bilu members made the journey to the land of Israel; and of those who came, 32 would leave. However, Bilu members did help to establish two settlements, in Gedera and Rishon Lezion.
It is challenging to characterize the story of these quixotic Biluim. They were absurd idealists who arrived with big dreams and big plans, and then met big disappointments.
On the other hand, at least they pursued their dreams. Their accomplishments were small; yet they were a small step forward for the Zionist cause.
How does one tell the story of Bilu?
Parshat Chayei Sarah offers a similar challenge.
The exceptional detail devoted to the burial of Sarah baffles the commentaries. An entire chapter of 20 verses describes the negotiations Abraham undertook to obtain a burial plot for his late wife. Clearly, the Torah wants to impart an important lesson, but it is unclear what it is.
As a result, there are multiple explanations. In search of a meaningful insight, some commentaries grasp at minor details. Ibn Ezra theorizes it highlights the importance of burial in the land of Israel. Ralbag says that Abraham’s attentive listening to Efron, and the careful counting of the payment, teaches a lesson about integrity. One must negotiate respectfully, even if the other party is too bashful to speak up for themselves. The Ramban focuses on the honor the Hittites gave Abraham. He explains that we now can see how God’s promise to make Abraham’s “name great” came true in his own lifetime. The Ramban adds a second explanation, that the Torah wants to inform us of the location of our ancestor’s graves, because we are “obligated to honor the burial grounds of our holy ancestors.”
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch offers a fascinating interpretation; he sees this passage as an ode to Abraham’s love for Sarah. Abraham is so devoted to Sarah that he does everything he can to give her a proper funeral. And the burial spot Abraham buys is in a Machpelah, a double cave, “a most fitting burial place for married couples, who were loving and pleasant to each other in their lives and not separated in death.”
Hirsch explains that Abraham’s actions gave the city of Hebron its name: “Perhaps the name Hebron is derived from this as well … For Hebron (from the Hebrew root ‘chaver’) means ‘intimate joining,’ the most fitting name for the deep closeness that allows the Jewish man and woman, as husband and wife, as father and mother, to grow together into one in life and through life.”
The final two explanations need to be read side by side. The first, which is mentioned in the Talmud, is that this chapter is about a test of Abraham’s faith. Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann explains that: “It seems more likely that this story comes to reflect the greatness of the Patriarchs’ faith and their trust in God, in that they did not despair of the fulfillment of the divine promise, even though, in their lifetimes, reality stood in complete contradiction to that promise.
“Abraham, the future owner of all this land, he who had already liberated it through an act of heroism from the invasion of foreign conquerors, cannot call even a small and limited plot of land his own, a place in which to bury his beloved wife. He is forced to purchase such a parcel for a great sum of money.”
This chapter represents a difficult test for Abraham. Will he have faith in God when he must grovel for a burial plot?
A very different view sees the acquisition of a burial plot as the beginnings of Jewish sovereignty. Ibn Ezra, in a second interpretation, explains that “this [story] comes to … show that God’s word to Abraham that this land would be his inheritance was fulfilled.”
In other words, once Abraham has a small field in Israel, he can proudly say, “Mission accomplished.”
Ramban responds that this explanation is ridiculous. After all, God promised Abraham a country, not a field!
These two commentaries seem to be worlds apart; one sees this narrative as a painful trial of faith, and the other sees it as a triumph.
But perhaps it is both at the same time.
The Jerusalem Talmud states that redemption “comes little by little.” Unquestionably, the journey of “little by little” is frustrating and slow. Failures pile up one after another; the promises of a bright future feel like a cruel joke.
After the Akeidah, God tells Abraham, “I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes.” This blessing seems to close Abraham’s story; he has come full circle from when he left Haran. Abraham has come to land, demonstrated his faith, and once again receives an extraordinary blessing.
Now it’s time for the hero to live happily ever after. But what actually happens? Sarah dies.
Yet afterward, Abraham acquires a small piece of property in the country he was promised, and finds an appropriate wife for his son. The pace of the text is plodding. The text records the burial plot negotiations in full, and repeats the servant’s encounter with Rebecca twice.
Everything feels dragged out.
And that’s the point. Abraham’s destiny is going to arrive very slowly. To hold on through all the twists and turns is a triumph and a trial all at once.
To hold on through all the twists and turns is a triumph and a trial all at once.
One of the great lessons of resilience is the ability to take the next step. The funeral of Rabbi Mayer Moskowitz, a distinguished educator at Ramaz and Camp Massad, took place on Wednesday. Rabbi Moskowitz was a Holocaust survivor who had witnessed his own father being murdered by the Nazis, and had overcome multiple other challenges throughout his life. Yet he never lost his determination and optimism.
His grandson once asked him what the secret to his resilience was. Rabbi Moskowitz replied: “There is no secret. Just put one foot in front of the other.”
That is what Jews have always done in the past. Abraham kept going, even though his heart was breaking. The members of Bilu kept going, even though their efforts seemed absurd. That in itself was a triumph.
They understood that on the slow road to redemption, the first rule is to just keep going.
At a time of increasing challenges and rising pessimism in the Jewish community, we must remember this lesson. We can’t allow disappointment to drag us down.
Right now, our community just needs to put one foot in front of the other.
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York.
