Chofetz Chaim on Zionism

Woe unto me if I do not speak although I am not a man of words. If it were not a matter of life and death, I would not be willing to write. Your honour has done well to turn to the great ones of our people and enlarge on the extent of the danger involved in it. It is not a time to keep silent.

If the thoughts of these Zionists were really for the good of Israel as they claim, they would withhold themselves from the matter, and there would be an end to all the calamities, that spring from it. At first sight there seems no reason why I should expand on this theme, seeing that it is clearly forbidden in the tractate of Kesubos to go up to the Land in a column, meaning with a multitude. I in my innocence venture to fear, that one sin brings on another, and that if they transgress the prohibition to go up in a column, they will later transgress the prohibition against rebelling against the nations of the world.

I have pain in expanding on this theme. I spoke seriously to one of the most famous Mizrachists in our country, and I told him that all their activity was opposed to the Torah. He regarded me as if I were deluded. and told me that there was no other way to rid ourselves of the Exile, and asked how long we should have to wait for redemption through miraculous means.

I became convinced that there was no hope of these people listening to the voice of the mighty men of the Torah. We are able to know at a glance that our healing will not spring from them, and that their glory shall not be forever, especially seeing that it is publicly known that a certain one of them has denied the G"d of Israel and that another like Sennacherib has reviled the Hosts of the Living G"d. What have they to do with Israel and with the Holy Land?

The Holy One, blessed be His Name, knows the thoughts of human hearts. He knows that I have written all these words from concern for our brethren, the children of Israel, lest He withdraw His care for us -- Heaven forbid -- for whoever reads the words of the Zionists will know, that even the best among Gentiles will be turned into our enemies.

Let our brethren know that until the time of the Messiah, we are destined to be in Exile and to be subordinated to the nations until the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself will deliver those whom He collects and, eye to eye, will Israel see G''d return to Zion.

Yisroel Meir HaKohen from Radin

Debussy plays Debussy: Golliwogg's Cakewalk (1913)

Debussy plays Debussy: Golliwogg's Cakewalk (1913)

What is the cause of sin

"Man is surely aware of many needs, but the needs he is aware of are not always his own. At the very root of this failure to recognize one's truly worthwhile needs lies man's ability to misunderstand and misidentify himself, i.e., to lose himself. Quite often man loses himself by identifying himself with the wrong image. Because of this misidentification, man adopts the wrong table of needs which he feels he must gratify. Man responds quickly to the pressure of certain needs, not knowing whose needs he is out to gratify. At this juncture, sin is born. What is the cause of sin, if not the diabolical habit of man to be mistaken about his own self?"

R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, "Redemption, Prayer, Talmud Torah"

Rabbi Leo Jung

"Rabbi Leo Jung (June 20, 1892 in Uherský Brod, Moravia – December 19, 1987 in New York City, United States) was one of the major architects of American Orthodox Judaism.

"His father, Rabbi Dr. Meir Tzvi Jung held rabbinic post in Mannheim then was elected Rabbi of Uherský Brod in 1890. Rabbi Meir Tzvi Jung believed in the Torah im Derekh Eretz (Torah combined with worldly activity) philosophy of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. Later he moved to London. Rabbi Leo Jung's father founded schools in Uherský Brod, Cracow and London, where both religious and secular learning took place. In London, Rabbi Meir Tzvi Jung was a leader in Agudat Yisrael, and the Sinai Movement. The Sinai Movement was a movement in which young men would meet for the purpose of studying Talmud and socializing. At his death in June 1921, Rabbi Jung was the Chief Minister of the Federation of Synagogues in England, an appointment he had held since 1912."

Wikipedia

Audio of Rabbi Jung

"...he was on the Executive Committee of the Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Society, whose goal was to translate works by German Orthodox thinkers into English. These works became the core of the Feldheim publishing house."

Video at 3:50

equally worthy

"The foremost distinguishing characteristic bestowed upon
man is his Divine image, his tzelem Elohim, which denotes
particular qualitative endowments, such as a moral sense, free
will, and intellect. Man partakes of these attributes within
human limitations, while God's representation of these qualities
is absolute. Maimonides embodied man's likeness to God pri-
marily in terms of his intellect (Guide 1: 1). This Divine gift was
given to both men and women. "And God created man with His
image. In the image of God, He created him; male and female
He created them" (Gen. 1:27).7 In their spiritual natures, they
were equally worthy."

R. Joseph Soloveitchik
(Man of Faith in the Modern World, p. 84).

“The Chumash in Bereishis says that when God created man בצלם אלקים ברא אתם . Man and woman were created in the Image of God. Equality was taken for granted. If two personae were created in the image of God, you cannot say one is superior to the other.” (The Rav Thinking Aloud on the Parsha, Sefer Bamidbar, pp. 142-3)