Question
How should I differentiate between the Modern State of Israel, Eretz Israel and it’s Halachot, and Am Israel (the nation of Israel)? Is it a prohibition to differentiate because of the three entities (Torah, Land of Israel, Nation of Israel) all being considered one? Why or why not?
Answer
The manifestation and expression of Am Yisrael in the time of the Bible (Tanach), and once again in the past century, and from now on and forever more, is clearly the State of Israel in the Land of Israel. The Jewish State has not only shown God to the modern world (through the fulfilled prophecies of ingathering the exiles, reviving the desert, the miraculous wars, etc.), has saved the Jewish people physically and from assimilation, but also has enabled the largest renaissance of Torah in history. Qualitatively, the Torah center of the world is here, and quantitatively, more than 2/3rds of the orthodox are already here, not to mention that statistically, soon most of all Jews will be here. Yes, there are haredim who differentiate and say they believe one should live in the Land of Israel, but not support the State of Israel. Yet such an approach is just a naïve anachronistic carry-over from the 2,000-year exile, and doesn't take into account the facts: that the welfare and future of the Jewish people and our Torah, is clearly intertwined with the Jewish State. In short, we have returned to the Biblical norm, where the Torah is a "package deal" ("Torat Hashem Temima"), addressing the Jewish Nation, in the Jewish State, in the Jewish Land.
