I am a Centrist. But what does that really mean? I have written about the subject various times and in various ways but it seems there is much confusion about it. So, I thought it would be helpful to define it, at least as it applies to me. Centrism is, as its name implies, a Hashkafa that values the middle ground as defined by the Rambam in Hilchos Deios(1:4) He calls it the Midah Benonis or Midah HaEmtzais, the golden mean. The Rambam states that it is the correct path of mankind to not seek extremes in ideology or in characte traits. The Rambam ends this Halacha by stating that anyone who lives by this dictum is called a Chacham, a wise individual.
But this is not all a Centrist is. A Centrist is also an individual whose Hashkafa values Torah U’Mada. That is he values the study of Torah and values the study of Mada. Mada can be defined as the accumulated worldly knowledge of all of mankind. Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik in his book “Logic of the Mind, Logic of the Heart” points out that the Rambam in Hilchos Yidodei HaTorah (2:1-2, 12) states that the Mitzvah “to love God includes an obligation to study nature in all its realms.”
So there are two towers of knowledge, Torah is the primary tower and takes precedence over Mada. But Mada which is in effect studying the works of God is a very close second and is valued in and of itself. Indeed as Dr. Norman Lamm points out in the introduction to his book, “Torah UMadda” the Gemarah actually has a Bracha for a non-Jewish scholar: “Blessed are You, O Lord our God… who has given of his wisdom to flesh and blood.
Anyone who has studied in a Yeshiva or religious girls school such as Beis Yaakov knows the importance of Torah study. But what about the study of Mada? How important is it? And how does it relate to Torah?
Several perspectives on Mada have been enumerated for us by Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik in his above referenced book. The first perspective is that the study of Mada is necessary as a means to achieve Ahavas HaBorei, the love of God. The second perspective is that the study of Mada helps in Yishuv HaOlam, the building up of the world. The third perspective is that it is necessary to achieve self fulfillment. The fourth perspective is that it is indispensable for a full understanding of the Torah. And finally the fifth perspective is crucial in order for Bnei Torah, defined here as those who subjugate themselves to Halacha, should be able to inspire our Jewish brother as well as our non-Jewish neighbors with the beauty of Torah.
Centrist Hashkafa also includes permission to participate non Torah based culture that is Mutar L’ Halacha. For example, one may listen and enjoy contemporary music or other forms of entertainment as long as they do not violate Halacha. Participating in a sport or viewing it on television is one such example.
But while this last component is true, it is of minor importance versus the components of the study of worldly knowledge. And this is aptly explained in a transcript by Rabbi Eli Clark which is based on a talk by Rav Lichtenstein originally delivered at a conference of the Educators' Council of America in November 1985. (I have indeed referenced this essay in the past as an example definitive Centrism.)
There is so much to quote from that essay that is applicable. I chose the following quotes which I believe sums it all up:
“Centrism is as much a temper as an ideology, as much a mode of sensibility as a lifestyle. It is of its very essence to shy away from simplistic and one-sided approaches, of its very fabric to strive to encompass and encounter reality in its complexity and, with that encounter, to seek the unity which transcends the diversity.”
“(W)e ought, share the overriding desire to see life steadily and see it whole... I am in no way intimating that that vision of life cannot be attained otherwise, or that one cannot be a yerei shamayim or a talmid chakham without it. I am generally opposed to positing a single mold as the sole model for avodat Hashem, and I submit that, were it up to me, one could receive semikha from Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan even if, like R. Akiva Eiger, he did not have a B.A.”
“But, speaking for myself, I can emphatically state that my general education has contributed much to my personal development. I know that my understanding of Tanakh would be far shallower in every respect without it. I know that it has greatly enhanced my perception of life in Eretz Yisrael. I know that it has enriched my religious experience. I know that when my father was stricken blind, Milton's profoundly religious sonnet on his blindness ("When I Consider How My Light Is Spent," 1655) and its magnificent conclusion, "They also serve who only stand and wait," stood me in excellent stead. I also know - and this has at times been a most painful discovery - that many of these elements are sadly lacking among the contemners of culture on the Right.”
