{"id":15432,"date":"2017-02-06T13:58:47","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T11:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zionism.co.il\/?page_id=15432\/"},"modified":"2018-02-19T22:12:00","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T20:12:00","slug":"the-people-of-the-second-aliyah","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.zionism.co.il\/en\/quiz-topics\/the-second-aliyah\/the-people-of-the-second-aliyah\/","title":{"rendered":"The People of the Second Aliyah"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nThe People of the Second Aliyah
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\nAbraham David Gordon
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(1856-1922)<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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A.D. Gordon was the spiritual mentor of the people of the Second Aliyah and the spiritual leader of the party, Hapoel Hatzair (The Young Worker). He believed that the “Diaspora parasitism” and the non-involvement in productive work were the greatest affliction and the root of the problems of the Jewish people. Therefore, a central part of his plan to remedy the situation was to connect the Jewish people to physical and agricultural labor. It was the experience (a word which he renewed) of labor, he believed, that linked the individual to the hidden aspects of nature and being, which, in turn were the source of vision,\u00a0poetry, and the spiritual life. Furthermore, he also believed that working the land was a sacred task, not only for the individual but for the entire Jewish people. Agriculture would unite the people with the land and justify its continued existence there. He espoused the idea that: “The Land of Israel is acquired through labor, not through fire and not through blood.” <\/p>\n<\/div>