Yair Stern

While a number of theories have been presented to explain the root cause of anti-Semitism in civilizations, Professor Israel Eldad dismisses them as excuses. He asserts that the root reason for anti-Semitism in its essence is that Avraham smashed the idols in his father’s store. By smashing these idols, our patriarch Avraham made an eternal declaration of war on the dominant pagan culture of his time. This war has continued in various forms down through the ages and continues to rage even in our day. The cultural war initiated by Avraham has become an essential part of Israel’s mission in history. As the nation entrusted to bring the Word and Blessing of G-D to mankind, Israel is to smash the idols of falsehood in civilization and bring humanity towards the recognition of HaShem.

When Avraham the Hebrew was arrested for his revolutionary activities, he was taken before King Nimrod for judgment.

Nimrod said to him, “Let us worship fire,” and Avraham replied, “Let us worship water which douses fire.” Nimrod said, “Then let us worship water,” and Avraham replied “If so, then let us worship the clouds which hold the water.” Nimrod said, “Let us worship the clouds.” Avraham replied, “Let us worship the wind, which disperses the clouds.” Nimrod said, “Let us worship the wind.” Avraham replied, “Let us worship man, who is not moved by the wind.” Nimrod then said, “This is all just talk. I only bow down to fire. Now I shall throw you into it, and let the G-D that you bow down to come and save you.” (BEREISHIT RABBAH)

After growing frustrated with Avraham’s superior logic and intolerance towards paganism, Nimrod ordered him thrown into a furnace. At this point Avraham could have saved himself by agreeing to deny HaShem’s Oneness over all. But he feared G-D over the mortal king and his fire. Avraham had no guarantee that he would be miraculously saved but was ready to sacrifice his life for the Truth. His fear of G-D gave him the courage to stand up to a mighty king and display valor in the face of what looked like certain death. For this, Avraham was miraculously saved. Then G-D spoke to him, saying “Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.”

To emerge undamaged from danger, a person must destroy the idols in his heart. When one succeeds in destroying his idols, he can begin to hear a voice. Avraham smashed idols and was willing to sacrifice himself for G-D’s Truth. Then he suddenly heard a voice and the Hebrew nation was born. Generations later, as Avraham’s children were slaves of Egypt, a similar narrative unfolded.

The King of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the first was Shifrah and the name of the second was Puah – and he said, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, and you see them on the birth stool; if it is a son, you are to kill him, and if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared G-D and they did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live. (SHEMOT 1:15-17)

When the Torah states that Shifrah and Puah (alternate names for Yoheved and Miriam) feared G-D, it is expressing that they were loyal to an objective truth (G-D) and not to a relative authority (the king of Egypt). Their adherence to a supreme morality gave them the courage to stand up to Pharaoh and be willing to risk death for what they knew to be correct. Like Avraham, they had no guarantees of survival. They conducted themselves as they did with the knowledge that they would most probably be killed. But the Torah attests that they survived and were even later rewarded with “houses in Israel” for their valor. According to the events concerning these heroic midwives and the adamant valor of Avraham versus Nimrod, one can understand that fear of G-D is the embodiment of absolute courage. To fear G-D is to fear nothing else as there is nothing outside of Him. It is to be completely intrepid in the face of Nimrod, Pharaoh, slavery, imprisonment or even death. To fear G-D is the willingness to fight for His Truth without compromise, even if it necessitates suffering or certain death.

So Eldad argues that the root reason for anti-Semitism is that Avraham smashed the idols. But smashing idols is essential to Israel’s function in the world. When the Hebrews destroy idols, it may incur the loathing of gentiles but that is nothing compared to the wrath that is aroused when Israel, instead of destroying idols, embraces them as legitimate. Post-Holocaust scholars have questioned how such a powerful hate force as Nazism could have arisen out of Germany, the bastion of enlightened Europe. It would be more natural to expect such a movement to sprout from Poland or Russia where the masses were uneducated and Jew-hatred was commonplace. It was precisely in Germany, however, that the Jews attempted to embrace idols rather than destroy them so it was precisely in Germany that this hate force erupted.

The first anti-Semitic laws that Adolph Hitler put forth upon his accession to power were the Nuremberg laws, also known as the “laws to defend the purity of the Aryan blood”. These included a prohibition against Jews flying German flags or blessing Germany in their places of worship, so that Jews should comprehend that they are in fact not Germans. While destroying idols and challenging debauchery may often invite confrontation, attempting to appease immorality by sacrificing Israel’s essence only magnetizes hate and invites catastrophe. So the decision between smashing idols or not is never the choice between war and peace, but rather the choice between war and Holocaust. Israel’s mission is to elevate mankind and lead Creation towards truth, peace and the blessing of HaShem. But in order to reach that definitive stage, there are idols in this world that must be destroyed, no matter how unpleasant the task. If Israel shrinks away from accepting its role, the consequences become far worse and the lofty mission becomes that much more difficult.

Avraham Stern was born in Suvalki, Poland in 5667 (1907) to Mordecai and Leah Stern. As a young boy, he developed an affinity for languages, literature and history. When, during World War I, Suvalki was occupied by the Germans, Avraham’s mother was concerned for her son’s safety and brought him to stay with relatives in Russia. Then only 14, Stern longed to return home and, risking his life at the time of Communist military rule, wandered the Russian countryside without money or documents until he reached Suvalki. He entered the Hebrew high school there and joined the Scouts movement, quickly ascending to the position of local leader.

At 18, Avraham left Poland and came to learn in Jerusalem at the Gymnasia school. He became quickly absorbed into Jerusalem culture but, like many young Jews who come home to Eretz Yisrael, he felt heavy remorse for leaving his family behind. The separation was difficult but he understood at a young age that only in Israel could the Hebrew Nation live securely in freedom.

When a Jew chooses to make the Land of Israel his home, he is in effect shattering a number of idols. On the one hand, he destroys an age-old Christian idol of “Replacement Theory”, which has claimed for centuries that because the Israelis were no longer G-D’s chosen nation, they were exiled from their soil never to return. When Israel begins to return to its borders, this idol becomes negated and exposed as erroneous. Another idol smashes in this generation by a Jew making aliya from a Western country is that personal comforts and success are more important than connecting to the future of the ancient Hebrew nation. Precisely in these times of distress and uncertainty does a person make a piercing statement through his rejection of Western values in favor of Israeli destiny. When a Jew from America, for example, comes to live in Eretz Yisrael, he is smashing the egocentric idol of the “American Dream” and is instead choosing to participate in the “Israeli Struggle” for Redemption.

After the Gymnasia school, Stern enrolled at the Hebrew University and befriended David Raziel, a student of Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook. There Stern joined Hulda, a student organization generating nationalist political activism. At the Hebrew University, Stern excelled at classical languages and literature. His infatuation with romance and beauty in prose led his professors (among them university president Judah Leon Magnes) to describe him as a “unique soul” that they were honored to instruct. While learning in Jerusalem, Stern went on a hike to the northern town of Gamla, a central arena in the Great Revolt against Rome. On his trip, he sought to learn more about Yosef of Gamla, who had initiated an insurgency in the north during that war. Stern believed that there was a historical thread linking Yosef of Gamla to Yosef Trumpeldor, the modern hero of Tel Chai.

During the 5689 (1929) Arab riots, Stern took part in the defense of Jerusalem as a member of the Haganah under the command of Ze’ev Jabotinsky. He then went on to help establish the Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization), largely comprised from students of Jabotinsky who believed in taking stronger measures when defending Hebrew lives. At this point, Avraham Stern took for himself the underground name “Yair” after Elazar ben Yair, the Zealot commander at Masada.

Like the thread connecting Yosef of Gamla to Yosef Trumpeldor, Stern felt a spiritual connection to Elazar ben Yair, who had led the final chapter in that Great Revolt against Rome. Just before the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem, Elazar led a small force of Sicarii warriors to the mountain stronghold of Masada. There they carried on their struggle for Israeli freedom and held back the Romans for an additional three years. When the Roman Tenth Legion finally constructed a means to assault the mountain fortress, Elazar ben Yair gathered the fighters together in the Synagogue and addressed them there for the last time.

We all decided long ago never to bow before man but to serve only one G-D. We were the very first to rise up against Rome and we are now the very last to stand against them. When we saw the Temple go up in flames, we came here to Masada as the last bastion of Hebrew independence. Let every father know that he should not see his children enslaved. Let every husband decide never to see his wife violated. Rather, G-D has granted us the opportunity to snatch victory from the hands of the enemy. It is still in our power to die bravely as free men. (The Jewish War)

Rather than become slaves to Rome, the zealots on Masada took their own lives. Some rabbis have expressed criticism for this act as the Torah forbids suicide as an unforgivable transgression. But there are three sins – murder, idolatry and sexual immorality – that an Israeli must die rather than transgress. Judean rebels captured by Rome in that war were forced to become gladiators, killing one another for the amusement of a gentile audience. Women would be made prostitutes and children would grow up in idolatrous slave markets with no Torah education to protect them from their surroundings. Therefore, Elazar ben Yair taught his followers that there is a life worse than death and a death greater than life. One cannot continue to live with the shame of these three sins and by taking their own lives, the fighters caused the spirit of their revolt to echo throughout history.

The inner voice of freedom that echoed softly through time eventually reached the heart of Yair Stern. And Yair understood Yair. Avraham Stern internalized the message of Elazar ben Yair and was inspired to continue the Sicarii revolt in his generation. While David Raziel, ever loyal to Jabotinsky, would eventually become the commander of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, Yair was the organization’s theoretician and ideologue. He wrote numerous poems and articles on ideological topics. In one such poem, Chayalim Almonim (Unknown Soldiers), he included a revolutionary verse that would characterize his fate. Chalomenu lamut b’ad Artzenu – “our dream is to die for our country”. Before dying of his battle wounds in Tel Chai, Yosef Trumpeldor uttered en davar, tov lamut b’ad Artzenu – “no matter, it is good to die for our country!”. But Yair Stern wrote that it is our dream to die for our country, attributing a positive connotation to death. Yair understood that by giving death meaning, one could ascribe it great power and utilize it towards a cause. Someone not afraid to die could accomplish incredible things – either for good or for evil (as many Islamic movements clearly demonstrate today). The curse of the exile is that the Jews were characterized by fear. Yair realized the power of death and he was no longer afraid. But despite his great courage and dreams of Hebrew independence, there was still an idol holding Yair back.

Yair’s professors at Hebrew University saw that he was deeply infatuated with the literature of romance languages. Despite its meager funds at the time, the university awarded him a grant to study in Florence. In fact, Yair’s passion for these subjects was so intense that when he composed Chayalim Almonim, he refused to publicize the work (it later became the anthem of both the Irgun and Lehi). This refusal was based on a self awareness that his infatuation with literary art had blocked him from giving all of his love for his nation. Deep in his soul raged a struggle between his attachment to literature and his commitment to Israel’s destiny.

After his marriage to Roni, Yair took his new bride to Italy where he would study at the Florence University. There he studied Greek literature and began to write a thesis for his doctorate. In 5693 (1933), after six months in Italy, the Sterns were visited by then Irgun commander Avraham Tehomi, who urged Yair to return home and informed him of the awful predicament facing the community in Palestine. The British had murdered Chaim Arlozorof and framed Jabotinsky’s followers for the assassination. A blood libel had been perpetrated against the Revisionist stream of Zionism in order to spark a civil war between the Jews. When Yair heard the possibility of civil war, something inside him broke. His love for foreign literature vanished and, like his ancestor Avraham, he began to destroy idols. By honestly experiencing his own inner conflict, he smashing the idols within himself, allowing the voice of freedom from Masada to grow louder. Shattering the illusions that stood in his way, Yair became completely one with his nation, returned home to Jerusalem and from then on dedicated his entire existence to liberating Israel from British occupation.

Yair began working to acquire arms for the Irgun in their struggle against both the Arab gangs and British regime. At this time, a series of British White Papers were in effect, severely limiting Jewish immigration and reneging on England’s mandate to establish an Israeli homeland in Palestine. Although Arab gangs engaged in anti-Jewish terror and anti-Semitism in Europe was growing ever worse, Yair saw Great Britain as Israel’s main enemy. It was the British who incited the Arabs against Zionism and it was the British who slammed the gates of Palestine to Jewish refugees, resulting in them being sent back to Hitler’s Europe. Furthermore, England was a foreign power occupying the Hebrew ancestral homeland and in order for Israel to achieve self determination, the British would have to be expelled from the country. While on missions in Europe to secure arms for the Irgun, Yair began to dream of ways to liberate the Land of Israel.

At a Betar conference in Poland, Yair influenced Menachem Begin and Israel Shiev (later Eldad) to challenge Jabotinsky by proposing the need to conquer the Land of Israel by force. Jabotinsky, who believed that Great Britain would eventually honor their promises to Zionism, rejected the notion that Betar could defeat a world empire through the force of arms. But both Begin and Shiev would later become instrumental in liberating Palestine from British occupation. Yair began to secretly organize, with the assistance of Polish military officers, a force of 40,000 European Jews to invade Palestine by sea while the Irgun would simultaneously initiate an uprising from within the country. This scheme was thwarted, however, with the outbreak of World War II.

As the war began to engulf the globe, Jabotinsky instructed the Irgun to suspend all military action against Great Britain. Although in the past, the Irgun high command had disregarded Jabotinsky’s pro-British directives, they now reasoned that since the British army was engaged in fighting the Nazis it would be wrong to continue an armed struggle against England. Many in the Irgun, including Raziel, enlisted in the British army in order to assist them in their war against Hitler. Yair, by contrast, recognized that the British constituted the enemy of Israel no less than the Germans, as they were actively preventing Hebrew lives from being saved. He saw that the Allies were fighting a war for their own interests against the Axis, but not battling against the Nazi ideology of hate. The rescue of European Jewry was not part of the Allied war effort. Nor was the establishment of a sovereign Hebrew state. Yair declared that in order for Israel to support either side, there must be a Jewish interest in the war. He claimed that to put on British uniforms and fight without Israeli aspirations being fulfilled was idolatry. At the very least, Jewish enlistment to the British army should require the opening of Palestine’s shores to immigration. Yair further argued that the fate of European Jewry would be determined by an independent Jewish state, and the greatest obstacle to that freedom was England. If Israel wished to save its people from Hitler in time, the British occupier would have to be driven out.

In 5700 (1940), Yair broke away from the Irgun Zvai Leumi and founded what would later become known as the Lohamei Herut Yisrael (Lehi – “Fighters for the Freedom of Israel”). Lehi declared an all out war against the British Empire in hopes of ejecting them from the Land of Israel and establishing a Hebrew state. While this later became a common line of thought among Revisionist Zionists, the idea was exceptionally radical when first proposed.

            Due to their small numbers and limited resources, Yair’s followers engaged in personal acts of terror against key British colonial leaders and policemen. They operated as a revolutionary underground, blazing a trail to freedom for the nation to follow. But the nation did not follow. Hounded by the British regime and cast out from the Jewish community, Yair’s men committed a series of bank robberies in order to finance their urban guerrilla activities. These robberies further alienated the public from Yair’s cause. Instead of viewing his group as Zionist freedom fighters, the media portrayed them as a gang of criminal adventurers. The British administration referred to them as the “Stern Gang” and promised a high reward to anyone assisting in their capture.

Undeterred by his negative persona, Yair plowed ahead with his radical struggle for liberty. Although the community did not understand or support him, he was determined to fight to the end on their behalf. Following the example of Herzl’s meeting with Plevye (the Russian Minister of Interior responsible for the Kishinev pogrom), Yair attempted to contact German agents in Syria in order to see if an agreement could be forged. In those years, before the notorious Wannsee Conference, the Nazis were engaged in attempts to transfer the Jews from Europe. In fact, Adolph Eichmann’s task at that time was to find a country willing to accept Europe’s Jews. Only later, when it was clear that no nation would accept them, did Hitler realize he had silent approval to annihilate the Jews. Yair believed that if the Nazis wanted the Jews out of Europe and he wanted them all home in Palestine, a mutually beneficial arrangement could be reached. After all, both Yair and the Nazis were at war against Great Britain. By working together, the British could be expelled from the Land of Israel and Europe would be rid of its Jews, who instead of going to Auschwitz would set sail for their homeland.

In the winter of 5701 (late 1940), Yair sent Naftali Lubenchik to Beirut where he met with Otto Warren von Hentig of the German Foreign Office. In Beirut, Lubenchik attempted to convince the Nazis to transfer Europe’s Jews to Eretz Yisrael in exchange for assistance in the fight against Great Britain. The Battle of Britain was then at its height and Hitler himself had publicly stated that he was willing to “exploit any combination and coalition to isolate England and destroy her”. An alliance with the Jews, however, was not what he had in mind. Following his unsuccessful meeting in Beirut, Lubenchik reported that there was a debate being waged among the Nazi leadership. Those who advocated practicality wished to rid Europe of Jews through mass emigration while Nazi idealists sought a mass annihilation. News that the pragmatic Nazi elements were prevailing in this conflict encouraged Yair to attempt a second meeting. A year later, he dispatched Natan Friedman-Yellin to again propose an alliance with the Germans, but Friedman-Yellin was arrested by the British near Aleppo. The mission was aborted and news of the attempts to forge an alliance with the Nazis further alienated Yair from the Jewish community. Unlike Herzl’s meeting with Plevye, where the Jewish public realizes that he was working on their behalf, Yair was viewed as a traitor as if he were contacting Germany in order to harm the Jewish people. There were no more attempts to contact the Nazis. In the following months Yair would be neutralized and the Wannsee Conference would seal the fate of Europe’s Jews.

On the 25th of Shevat, 5702 (1942), Yair was arrested by the British in a Tel Aviv apartment. The woman hiding him, Tova Svorai, was ordered down to the street as Yair was handcuffed by detectives and then shot in the back. His body was rolled in a carpet and brought downstairs. The British media reported he had been shot trying to escape. Other Lehi fighters were hunted down, arrested or killed. The British brutally crushed what was left of the movement without any protest from the Jewish community. But history would later reveal Yair to be a tremendous visionary, whose love for Israel and unbreakable courage allowed him to see what no one else could. His disciples Natan Friedman-Yellin, Israel Eldad and Yitzhak Shamir eventually rebuilt Lehi and shared command of the organization. Even in death, Yair continued to march at the head of the struggle for Israel’s liberation. Like a torch in the night illuminating the way, his dream of Hebrew sovereignty inspired a new breed of freedom fighter. By the end of World War II, many more Israelis had seen the truth of Yair’s vision. The Irgun, under Menachem Begin’s command, joined in the struggle against England and by 5708 (1948), Israel tasted victory. The British Empire was expelled and Yair’s aspiration of Hebrew independence was realized on a small fragment of Israel’s homeland.

In many ways, Yair was a man who never had the chance to realize what he believed. Yaakov Orenstein, a Lehi comrade who spent time with Yair during his final months, once related an interesting story.

“With all that has been written about him, both for and against, Yair remains a mysterious figure to this day. And the truth is there really was something mysterious about him, even to those who were close to him. He was not aware of it, obviously – I never met anyone so pure and unpretentious in my life. But when talking to him, I would sometimes see a slight change in his facial expression, a kind of cloud over his eyes, as if he were somewhere else. The huge burden of being the leader of the underground took its toll on him. He was not afraid, but his heart was constantly filled with concern about the fate of the underground.

“I remember one incident, when he spoke very sharply. At the time I did not attach it much importance. I was working on the underground newsletter. It was Chanukah and I decided to put on the front page of the newsletter the song, Maoz Tzur (O Mighty Rock). This song has six stanzas. The sixth stanza begins with the verse, ‘Reveal Your Holy Arm’ but it is practically unknown, and not customary to sing during the candle lighting. I decided to omit the sixth stanza from the newsletter.

“Yair came that evening to check the contents of the newsletter. He immediately noticed that the sixth stanza was missing and asked why it was not included in the text. I figured he didn’t know I was aware that a sixth stanza exists so I stated that I decided to publicize the song, not for religious reasons, but for nationalist ones. I told him that in my opinion, Maoz Tzur could serve as a hymn for the national underground movement, excluding the last stanza, which attributes the Redemption to G-D, an exile approach. For the obligation to liberate the homeland depends upon us. We cannot rely on miracles. And then, all hell broke loose.

“From the day I met Yair, I knew he had very warm religious feelings, even if he might not have observed all the commandments to the letter. But I never imagined how important the Jewish religion was to him. The Torah of the Jewish nation, he said angrily, is not a religion like all the others. It is not just faith but the very core of our national essence. If there is no Judaism, there is no nation, and we are not doing this to redeem just ourselves. He who is not capable of understanding the importance of the Torah as part of the national Israeli struggle will eventually lose his way and cannot be trusted. Look and see, he said, how all the Jewish heroes were people who believed completely that the Almighty would help them. This is the Hebrew nation; this is its true character. I am not leaving until you add the sixth stanza, and I hope that from here on, we won’t have arguments on this matter. After all, he said, that is why I refused to remove ‘Building the Holy Temple’ as one of the Principles of Lehi, even though I knew people would leave the movement because of it.

            “Today, in retrospect, I understand that this outburst of his was not some random moment of agitation. Precisely during his moment of anger, precisely when he attacked me, I saw Yair for what he really was. It was as if he had opened the door to his heart and revealed the source of his being. He was not dedicating the best of his energies and life out of cold political considerations. He believed with perfect faith that one can liberate the homeland through human effort, but this idea did not run counter to the Jewish religion. On the contrary – he held that the Torah obligates us to make the necessary sacrifices to win our freedom. I did not see him during the final months of his life, but those close to him then testified that he began to observe the practical mitzvot and lay tefilin.”

Yair Stern was perhaps the most misunderstood Jew of his generation. Far ahead of his time in thought, he was widely considered zealous and dangerous to the Jewish community. It was his deep faith and gallant leadership, however, which enabled Lehi, against all practical odds, to oust the British occupier from Eretz Yisrael. Although it took a dark chapter of history to prove him right, Yair’s vision began to spread only after his murder. Other organizations soon joined Lehi in their battle to liberate the homeland and establish the first Hebrew commonwealth in nearly two thousand years.

The beliefs that drove Yair are the subject of much debate and forever shrouded in mystery. What is certain, however, is that he believed in a G-D that would not fight his battles for him, but rather infuse him with the strength to achieve the impossible. Yair saw himself as a partner with HaShem in the Redemption of the Hebrew nation after nearly two thousand years of exile. Inspired by the zealots of Masada and their passionate struggle for liberty, Yair began his revolt where they had finished theirs. When examining his 18 Principles of Renaissance, one finds that it includes the building of the Third Temple, the revival of the national character and spiritual might of Israel, the complete ingathering of the exiles from abroad and the mass transfer of gentiles from Israeli soil. Yair defined the Land of Israel according to its Biblical borders. His Principles are clearly those of someone who dreams of Israel’s honor, which speaks volumes of the type of man he truly was.

In order for a Jew to dream about national honor, he must first be extraordinarily sensitive to the humiliation of Israel. When one genuinely cares about another and truly cannot bear the humiliation of his brother, he arrives at a level where he can dream of Israel’s glory. Like Avraham the Hebrew, he must smash all idols necessary in order to arrive at a level of courage and selfless devotion. Only by being able to destroy idols can one truly become one with his nation and reach the height of self-sacrifice demonstrated so boldly by Yair Stern.

Yair was the first to recognize the British as an enemy and the first to launch the modern Hebrew struggle for freedom. He was a warrior poet who destroyed all illusions within himself and strove unselfishly for the future of his nation. Decades ahead of his time in thought, Yair epitomized Ahavat Yisrael – love for the Jewish nation. He was a romantic patriot who willingly gave all of himself for the nation of Israel and the revival of G-D’s Kingdom.

Every Sage in Israel who possesses the words of Torah according to their true significance and grieves for the honor of the Kadosh Baruchu and for the honor of Israel all his days, and lusts and feels pain for the honor of Jerusalem and of the Temple and for the swift flowering of salvation and the ingathering of the exiles, attains to the infusion of the Divine Spirit in his words... (Tanna d’bei Eliyahu chapter 4, Mesillat Yesharim chapter 19)