Q:
The Mizrachi movement advertised on the 80th anniversary of its founding that one of the founders of their organization was the Netziv. Is there any truth to that?
A:
No. The Netziv of Volozhin was so early that actually you can’t say he was part of Mizrachi. However, it’s true that some of his descendants were. Rabbi Meir Berlin was a descendant of his.
Now, the Netziv of Volozhin was enthusiastic about settling in Eretz Yisroel, that’s true; but all the Jews were. In those days when they heard there were Jews going to settle in Eretz Yisrael, to colonize Eretz Yisrael, there was a lot of enthusiasm among Russian Jews. But it doesn’t mean that this organization itself was given a gushpanka, a stamp of approval. No, by no means.
TAPE # 405 (May 1982)
