Page 237 - big friday
P. 237
Ben-Gurion was not frightened
S.Y. Agnonn
O f course I wanted a Hebrew state, but if I had been asked, at the time of the
proclamation of the state, whether or not to make the proclamation, I would have taken
fright; I would have said, Let's wait another thirty years. It seems to me that every one
of us would have been frightened to take that decisive step. Ben-Gurion - whom I had
previously misjudged, not appreciating him for what he was - was not frightened; he made
the decision and maintained his conviction. Tens of thousands of Jews wanted a Hebrew
state, but even among doers – not every doer brings his endeavor to completion, and our
Sages taught that a task is accredited to the person who completes it.
F rom a letter to Geula Cohen, p ublished in MeAtzmi el Atzmi (From Myself to Myself),
Schocken Press, 5736, p. 422
Agnon and Ben-Gurion
Other Perspectives 235
S.Y. Agnonn
O f course I wanted a Hebrew state, but if I had been asked, at the time of the
proclamation of the state, whether or not to make the proclamation, I would have taken
fright; I would have said, Let's wait another thirty years. It seems to me that every one
of us would have been frightened to take that decisive step. Ben-Gurion - whom I had
previously misjudged, not appreciating him for what he was - was not frightened; he made
the decision and maintained his conviction. Tens of thousands of Jews wanted a Hebrew
state, but even among doers – not every doer brings his endeavor to completion, and our
Sages taught that a task is accredited to the person who completes it.
F rom a letter to Geula Cohen, p ublished in MeAtzmi el Atzmi (From Myself to Myself),
Schocken Press, 5736, p. 422
Agnon and Ben-Gurion
Other Perspectives 235
