I could not believe my eyes. There I was at a bar mitzvah in Or Torah, the modern Orthodox shul in Skokie. There were buckets of paint spilled all over the place as a result of righting a perceived wrong. Apparently some of the Satmar relatives of the bar mitzvah bachur who had come in from Israel were bashing the IDF. They were very loud and persistent. All attempts to quite them down had failed as they became louder and more insulting with every breath. They said some of the vilest and most disgusting things one could imagine about the Medina and its soldiers. Don’t ask!
The modern Orthodox kanoim could not take such vile language about Jews whose blood was being spilled so that these chasidim could live in peace in the Holyland. It insulted their sensibilities. They were beside themselves! How could any Jew talk this way about fellow Jews who were risking their lives on their behalf? So, a group (two or three) of zealots decided to do something about it. Justice demanded it! They brought a few buckets of paint from the basement of the Shul and poured it all over them.
Does this sound outrageous? ...spilling paint on people just because they were expressing their views? I think it does. They should have just let it go. In a few minutes it would have all been over. But, No... they had to debase their fellow human beings, ruin their clothes, and mess up the shul! It is an absolute chilul HaShem. Thank God it never happened.
That’s right. I made it up. This scenario did not happen and could not happen... and will never happen. No Modern Orthodox Jew would ever do anything like this. No matter how upset they were at the kind of rhetoric I described. And believe me such rhetoric is extremely upsetting, especially in a modern orthodox and Religious Zionist enclave like Skokie.
But in the Charedi world things like this are happening right now.
Now, before anyone accuses me of bashing charedim again (and I am sure some people will) ...I am not. Most charedim would no more do this than would any Modern Orthodox person. But the difference is that time after time there are a small but significant minority of Charedim and only charedim, that take it upon themselves to “right” perceived “wrongs” with actions that can only be described as a great Chilul HaShem. What am I talking about? It is all in an article on YNET.
There are really no words to describe the arrogance, stupidity, and self righteousness of these people and the extent of the chilul Hashem it causes. They have decided that their own levels of tznius are the only acceptable ones and anything that does not measure up deserves... “action”. It isn’t just about exposed skin like a short sleeved blouse (which also does not justify such action). It is even about the colors of the clothes. Excerpt: “...clothes that may seem modest to most people are considered by religious extremists to be ostentatious if they have shiny or colorful elements to them.”
What are these kanoim doing about it? They are spraying their victims with bleach. Where is this taking place? In Geula, the charedi shopping section of Jerusalem and a huge tourist attraction.
And it isn’t just individuals: “Last week yeshiva students arrived at a women’s clothing store on Amos Street and destroyed thousands of shekels worth of merchandise with bleach.” And isn’t only a bleach war. These people are using arson as a means to get their way too: “About six months ago a store from the same chain was set ablaze in Bnei Brak.”
If a comparable event, like the one I described above, would have been perpetrated by even a single individual in the modern Orthodox community, the condemnations would have been fast and furious. And the loudest among them would have been from the Rav of that shul. And it would have been condemned by all of Modern Orthodox leadership. There would have been no defense of it at all. No excuses made. None.
But where are the voices of the Charedi leadership that these kanoim are loyal to? Why is this not being condemned in the strongest possible terms? I don’t mean lip-service with an explanation that begins with the words, “But you have to understand where they are coming from.” I am talking about the kind of condemnation I am making right now.
Of course there will be many in the charedi world that will condemn this. Even very strongly. And rightly so. But that is not enough. The actual rabbinic leadership of these very kanoim needs to go to the authorities, work with them to find out who they are and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. These rabbanim ought to be first in line to testify against them.
Right! When that happens I will be the first in line to congratulate them... right after I greet Moshiach.
