Betar France 5787

At Rosh Hashanah, just as at Yom Kippur, we speak of teshuvah. But what is teshuvah, really?

Drawing upon the Torah portion of Nitsavim, Rav Kook teaches us that teshuvah always begins with a collective process which, as the name implies, involves the entire people of Israel. This collective teshuvah commences—as stated in the portion of Nitsavim—with the ingathering of the exiles to Eretz Yisrael.

It is subsequently, upon returning to Eretz Yisrael, that God will circumcise our hearts—meaning that complete teshuvah will be achieved.

The Land of Israel is therefore not, as some claim, merely a refuge from antisemitism. Israel is the place where our national and spiritual identity can truly be rebuilt and find its full meaning. Returning to Israel means returning to one's essence and drawing closer to Hashem.

That is precisely what Betar does. When Ze'ev Jabotinsky founded Betar in 1923, he sought to mold a new type of young Jew—one capable of taking their destiny into their own hands and returning to their ancestral homeland.

This is the full meaning of Hadar—that standard of conduct and dignity that must accompany the Jew in his actions, his speech, his relationships with others, and his relationship with himself. It is also the meaning of * mishmaat *—discipline—understood as the capacity for self-mastery in order to serve a mission greater than oneself.

An extraordinary epic has unfolded—from the early Zionist congresses, from Jabotinsky and Trumpeldor, and from the first halutzim to the return of millions of Jews to Eretz Yisrael.

The Jewish people have returned to their land. Jerusalem has once again become the living heart of the Jewish people. Hebrew has once again become a language spoken by children, soldiers, researchers, and entire families. Yet, a large part of the Jewish people still lives outside their land, sometimes far removed from their language, their history, and their national identity.

Jabotinsky’s famous phrase— "liquidate the Galut, or the Galut will liquidate you" —though uttered in the specific context of the pre-war era, remains fully in harmony with the Parashah of Nitzavim, which teaches us that the entire people must ascend to Eretz Yisrael. Today, Betar France is one of the few voices within the French Galut conveying this message to young people with steadfastness and determination.

Both because it is a commandment of the Torah and because threats persist outside Israel—particularly with the unchecked rise of Islamic and leftist antisemitism in France, which thrives due to the cowardice of the republican authorities.

Much like the shofar, our mission in France is to awaken the Jewish community and encourage young people in particular to join us each month at the Maoz—to grow stronger spiritually, intellectually, and physically—and subsequently to make Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael.

In this way, they will avoid getting lost in the maze of exile and will be able to participate fully in the rebirth of our homeland.

Thus, every young French Jew who joins Betar becomes, in their own way, another stone in the rebuilding of Israel.

Teshuvah then becomes concrete; it begins with an awakening of consciousness within Betar, and is subsequently fully realized through the return of the Jewish people to their land.

May this new year continue in the same spirit as the last, with the same enthusiasm and joy in the peoulot and mahanot!

May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.

May 5787 be a year of Torah, splendor, and action—a year of strengthening the Jewish people, of returning to Eretz Yisrael, and of building.

Tel Hai!

Shana Tova 5787!