A. D. Gordon (Aaron David Gordon, 1856–1922) was a prominent Zionist thinker, ideologue, and pioneer of the Labor Zionism movement. Born in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine), Gordon is best known for his philosophy that emphasized the importance of manual labor, especially agricultural work, as a means for Jews to reconnect with the land of Israel and renew their spiritual and national identity.
In 1904, at the age of 48, Gordon immigrated to Ottoman Palestine, where he worked as a farm laborer, despite being from an intellectual background. His lifestyle and beliefs greatly influenced the establishment of kibbutzim (collective agricultural communities) in Israel and contributed to the ethos of self-sufficiency within Zionist communities.
“We must enhance the light, not fight the darkness.”
— A. D. Gordon
“You work here [on the farm] simply without philosophizing; sometimes the work is hard and crowded with pettiness. But at times you feel a surge of cosmic exaltation, like the clear light of the heavens… . And you, too, seem to be taking root in the soil which you are digging, to be nourished by the rays of the sun, to share life with the tiniest blade of grass, with each flower; living in nature’s depths, you seem then to rise and grow into the vast expanse of the universe.”
— A. D. Gordon
“And when you, O human, will return to Nature, that day your eyes will open, you will stare straight into the eyes of Nature and in its mirror you will see your image. You will know that when you hid from Nature, you hid from yourself. We who have been turned away from Nature – if we desire life, we must establish a new relationship with Nature.”
— A. D. Gordon
“Nowhere in the world can the Jew savor the taste of Homeland save in the Land of Israel.”
— A. D. Gordon
“The love of power comes from a lack of the most important power, that of living a life of eternity with every creature.”
— A. D. Gordon
“The soul of the slave, the soul of the ‘little man,’ is as dear to me as the soul of the great.”
— A. D. Gordon
“The soul should be examined in the light of other souls.”
— A. D. Gordon
“A false idea is not only one which is absolutely subjective but one which is absolutely objective.”
— A. D. Gordon
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