In honor of the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Meir Simche Ha'cohen zi"a

Lema'an achi vere'i! In honor of the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Meir Simche Ha'cohen zi"a, the Rabbi of Dvinsk, generally known by the title of his work Oir Someach. He stated that words would not suffice to express his horror of the Zionist menace.

Here are some extracts from the proclamation which he issued on the subject, in the following letter

“The L-rd doth roar from on high and from His holy habitation gives forth His voice, for there have arisen new rebels and traitors, thinking to lay the foundation of Zion and to establish a kingdom; and they have raised the standard, to gather our Exile, in the promise that in the near future, they will put an end to all trouble and calamity and that they, the Zionists, will deliver Israel from all its troubles.

I cannot utter with my lips nor put down in writing that which is in my heart concerning these unstable men. We ask ourselves what have these unbelievers heard that they have come forth? Who called them and what do they want with us? They talk of redeeming us from exile while we do not desire redemption at the hands of man, seeing that we know that its end is—Heaven forbid—destruction and vanity, and all this comes upon them through the desire for greatness and power that burns and consumes their hearts like fire.

Heaven forbid that we should hasten the hour. Even were the foundation of a kingdom a basic commandment and even were we to hear a Voice from Heaven telling us that it is our duty to hearken to Dr. Herzl, then we should say that no attention is to be paid to a Voice from Heaven because this Zionist vision is driving--Heaven forbid--Israel to destruction.

It is our duty to preserve ourselves from being captured and mingled with the unstable utterances of Herzl and Nordau and with their conspiracy, and I am astonished that the Mizrachi rabbis, venture to dispute the words of our teachers and, instead of doing their duty, by uniting with all those who have taken upon themselves, the task of weakening the traitorous Zionists, they uphold them and will finally pursue and revile all those opposed to this abominable movement as if in truth—Heaven forbid—the only hope remaining to Israel springs from the Zionists who reject our Holy Torah.

King David cried out “I have seen renegades and I was grieved for they did not observe Thy word. Let dust seal their mouths for they are no better than the renegades who apostatized.”

Rabbi Meir Simche Ha'cohen zi"a, the Rabbi of Dvinsk