"For Show": AZR against Ostentation

A The Land of Israel as an "Exhibition"

AZR identifies a deep flaw: because the Yishuv depends on the donations of the Diaspora, a competition arises among the institutions for the attention of the visiting donor, and this corrupts even institutions that at their foundation embody an ideal. He cites Pestalozzi as an example (whose school failed once it became an exhibition for visitors).

"The saddening aspect of our life in the Land of Israel has long been known: that it is a kind of exhibition meant to draw the eye… and through this even those institutions have been defiled that at their foundation undoubtedly held an ideal matter." AZR, "For Show," "Kuntres," Adar 1921.

B "Walking Humbly": Work for Its Own Sake

The most precious vulnerable point in his eyes is precisely the pioneers' labor, the "one remaining corner" of pure ideality. And therefore it must not be turned into a spectacle. This holy work demands modesty and inner joy.

"Work for its own sake and the joy of a mitzvah. An inner, modest joy, that is not clamorous and does not put itself on display in the marketplace of life… And it is not pleasant even to bring to mind that the pioneers' labor should serve as an amusement for the town's idlers, who for their shilling would have the pioneers come out and dance before them." Ibid. (The biblical phrase he quotes: "and walk humbly with your God.")

And as a positive example he recalls the cantor Minkovsky, who guarded the sanctity of the melody's proper place:

"The cantor Minkovsky did well, when he by no means agreed that the melody of the prayers he renders in the synagogue should be heard through the gramophone in banquet-houses." Ibid.

C "Let the Clamor and the Decorativeness Cease"

The piece closes with a demand of values: that the pioneers cherish the merit of their labor and be guides toward work for its own sake, and that "the clamor and the decorativeness cease, which corrupt everything."