"FREEDOM CAME WITH A FLAG”- The First Flag of Israel

Beit Midrash

Torah Portion and Tanach
Shmot
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The parsha teaches "and Bnei Yisrael left with a RAISED HAND" (14, 8). The Ramban (ibid, 5) explains that "they made and held up a national FLAG, leaving Egypt with joy and song, like those redeemed from slavery to freedom, and not as slaves who will return to slavery". Similar to modern national flags, this original flag of Israel is a legitimate and religious sign of national pride and INDEPENDENCE, with the blessings of the Torah!
Afterwards, the Israeli flag serves like the US placing its flag on the moon in 1969/תשכ"ט; as a symbolic, even legal gesture of ownership. Similarly, the Israeli flag is a symbol of the Jews returning to our ancient homeland - and settling there in OWNERSHIP of our land, thus fulfilling the mitzvah of "and you shall CONQUER the Land and settle in her" (Bamidbar 33, 35).
In a 7 page sermon written and read by Rav Kook at the Flag Ceremony inducting the (what was thought was identical to the Israeli flag!) flag of the Jewish Brigade into the Hurvat R. Yehuda HaChasid synagogue (Jerusalem, 1925/תרכ"ו), Rav Kook expresses several additional points of importance of our national flag (I found and published it in Otzrot HaReiya vi, pp. 262-270, found also on the website of Asif, just Google: אסיף קוק דגל ארי שבט ).
Rav Kook cites there an important midrash that it was Israel who initiated the flags in the desert, and G-d out of love, accommodated that wish (Tanchuma Bamidbar 14), just like in modern times. G-d even goes so far as to say there that the nations have flags, but He only loves the flags of Israel (where nationalism davka brings universal benefit, not the opposite, Bamidbar Rabba 2, 3). In addition, G-d loves our flag which DIFFERENTIATES Israel from the nations (ibid), precisely another role of the Israeli flag. Another midrash claims that we actually invented the concept of national flags, afterwards COPIED by gentile nations (ibid, 2, 7). If flags bring out national pride for other nations, how much more so G-d's Chosen Nation should be proud of our flag, Holy Land, Holy Language and role as the "Light for the Nations" (e.g. just this week, Israel made the Guiness Book of World Records, by having the most altruistic kidney donors- although ironically, at first they didn't want to accept it because it's Israel, who they thought was "immoral"!).
How can many not notice that we actually pray 3 times a day that G-d should please "raise the flag to gather our exiles" (""ושא נס לקבץ גלויותנו), which is precisely the expression of our flag of the Jewish State, dedicated from the outset to gather the exiles.
It's interesting to note, the predecessor of the modern Israeli flag was given as a gift from the King to the Prague Jewish community over 650 years ago, in recognition of the Jews who helped fight off a Dutch invasion. The flag features a Jewish star surrounding the Dutch hat, as a symbol of military victory. All of the great rabbis of Prague, including the Maharal, the Shela, R. Yonatan Eibshitz and the Noda B'Yehuda, prayed under that flag in that synagogue, and how much more so they would be proud of a Jewish flag, based on the blue-and white TALLIT, representing the Jewish State fighting off, with the help of the G-d of Israel, an Arab invasion in the Holy Land.
Rav Kook actually mentions there an idea later publicized by Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Nefesh HaRav, p. 99 ), deeming the Israeli flag as a symbol of Kiddush Hashem, which adorns military caskets, Yom HaZikaron & military ceremonies, the sanctifying G-d's name, which the IDF does on a daily basis.
De-facto, over the past century, respecting the Israeli flag has become a custom of Am Yisrael and a universal symbol of the Jews, and like all minhagim & symbols, should be respected. That Star of David which was once a badge of shame in the Holocaust, has turned into a badge of pride as a symbol of Judaism, and that G-d has redeemed His nation. We are proud as Jews to stand out with our Magen David Adom, as unique and different from the Red Cross and Red Crescent. How much more so when the Israeli flag adorns our victorious fighter planes, reminding our Jihad-minded enemies that despite their battle-cries, the G-d of Israel is the One and Only.
All this and much more (found in my Hebrew sefer, "להרים את הדגל") serve as an important alternative view to that raised by R. Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe Or.Ch. 46) in the 1950's who saw the Israeli flag as secular and preferred not to bring it into a shul. One can only guess whether R. Moshe Feinstein would have changed his opinion, were he to have known the Israeli flag is precisely designed to be like the tallit (which surely has a place in shul), and seen the aforementioned ideas (especially the Ramban, the Maharal's precedent, and the previously unpublished Rav Kook extensive article on the flag), just as he changed his opinion over time, to be much more pro-Israel over the years (especially after meeting Menachem Begin, as seen in my sefer, most of which can be found in 4 articles by Googling: אסיף דגל ישראל ארי שבט). In fact, I heard from his son R. Dovid Feinstein, that eventually the Israeli flag WAS featured IN THE BEIT MIDRASH at ceremonies at R. Moshe's own yeshiva high school MTJ.
Shabbat Shalom, Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)

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