In this time of mourning for the destruction of our Holy Temple, Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb reminds us of the cause of the destruction of the second temple. The sages explain that Jews had become exclusionist. They were guilty of baseless hatred.
“There was a man – never identified in the story – who threw a party and intended to invite his good friend Kamtza. His servant, however, erred and mistakenly invited his enemy, Bar Kamtza. When the host realized the mistake he immediately and very publicly demanded that Bar Kamtza leave the party. Obviously embarrassed, Bar Kamtza made a series of offers – even, ultimately, offering to pay for the entire party – hoping to persuade the host to allow him to remain. Unmoved, the host callously throws him out of the party. The Gemara recounts that Bar Kamtza was so offended, not only by the host, but also by the silence of the guests – some of whom were great rabbis – that he slandered the Jewish people to the Caesar. One thing leads to another and the result of this sad story is, ultimately, the destruction of the Beit Ha-Mikdash (Gittin 55b-56a).”
One of the biggest laments of my life is the lack of Achdus among Jewry. This malaise is such a strong reality in Klal Yisroel that it makes me wonder if it will ever be possible to acheive Achdus again. How does one define the Hebrew word Achdus? The common definition is unity. A united people. I suppose that’s true but I think it is more than that. I see it as brotherhood.
I think Achdus requires practicing the religious precept of Arvus… responsibility of one Jew for another, no matter what his Hashkafos or level of observance is… either to the right or the left. It also requires respect… a sense of tolerance… of Elu V’Elu about one another’s religious views. My dream and my goal is to one day see a people who truly respects one another without reservation. A people where one Jew... any Jew ...can say to another ‘You are my brother’.
If one is one is Orthodox and looks only to other observant Jews as brothers, that would be a huge step toward the direction I want to see our people go. Of course true Achdus would mean encompassing all Jews whether Orthodox or Reform, believing or non-believing. But that is a subject of another discussion. In this discussion I look inward. I look at Orthodoxy
The fact is that we Orthodox Jews tend to be extremely limiting as to who we really consider our brothers ... aside form, paying lip service to it, that is. And I’m sorry to say, the more right wing one is, the less likely one is to consider another Orthodox Jew truly a brother in the sense of tolerance; in the sense of Elu V’Elu. That does not mean to say that left wing Jews are much better. There is plenty of enmity to go around on both ends of the religious spectrum. But in my experience, the more right wing an Orthodox Jew is the more likely he or she is to be insulated from …not only society but from other Orthodox Jews.
There is unfortunately ample evidence if that. The Agudah is a prime example. They have literally gone out of their way to reject Modern Orthodxy completely from their ranks. Though it may not be the official policy, it is certainly the unofficial one. They have yet to invite any Modern Orthodox Rav, no matter how learned… no matter how Ehrlich… no matter how Frum… to be a part of their organization. They will not allow any modern Orhtodox Rav address their conventions. Even if he is a brillian and Ehrliche Talmid Chacham like and Yiras Shamyim like Like Rav Herschel Schachter, let alone someone more Centrist like Dr. Norman Lamm, who the one time head of their Moetzes called a Sonei HaShem an enemy or hater of God!
They proclaim Achdus all the time., But they have yet to fully practice it. And it isn’t just Agudah but all whose Hashkafos are assocuiated with it.
It may seem to some that right wing rabbinic figures have made attempts in the past to engage with Modern Orthodox Jews. In a rather famous event last year that included Rav Aaron Schechter, Rav Aharon Feldman, and Rav Matisyahu Salomon, a Modern Orthodox Rav invited these Rabbis to address his congregation. They accepted and were given a warm and gracious reception by the many who attended. But that event belies the fact that it was almost a totally scripted affair. If I recall correctly questions had to be submitted in advance. It was not an attempt at respecting the views of others. It was instead a Kiruv event… a call by them to ‘come on over to our side’.
There has been no follow up to that event. And even worse is that there was never any reciprocity. No Modern Orthodox Rav of even Rav Herschel Schachter’s stature was ever invited to address a right wing crowd. That event was never a call for Achdus in any real sense. It was the opposite of it.
There is an article in Jewish Action by Rabbi Berel Wein in which he expresses the same feeling. He points out that this has not always been the case. There was a time where different Hashkafos were perfectly acceptable and respected, even if they were not agreed upon. He illustrates this by way of a book he received as a gift. It contains essays by the most disparate of authors whose Hashkafic views polar opposites. It was co-edited by Rabbi Menachem M. Kasher, of author of theTorah Sheleimah . Such a book would never be published today. Rabbi Wein further points out the entire enterprise of Torah education has changed from what was once the most inclusive of institutions to what is now one of the most exclusive… in the most negative sense of the word:
‘At the time, the day school classroom included children of Chassidic rebbes, of modern professionals and of those who came from non-Sabbath observant homes. There are many heads of yeshivot and Jewish schools today who would be unable to obtain admittance to their own schools if today’s exclusivity standards would have been enforced when they were students. And the tragedy is that the irony of this situation is lost upon most of them. In the 1950s the relatively small number of Sabbath-observant families were united in attempting to protect and promulgate their tradition. Divisions existed within the group but there was no demonization, exclusivity or separation from the others in the group.’
How unbearably true!
To further illustrate how truly different thing are today from what they once were, I am reminded of a story I heard about Rav Isser Zalmen Meltzer who was considered the Gadol HaDor of the the Yeshiva world in his day. I believe I have already told this story but it is worth repeating.
Rav Meltzer had heard that Rav Kook was seriously ill and had persuaded another Gadol to go with him to be Mevaker Choleh (...the term for the Mitzvah of visiting the sick). When he approached the door of Rav Kook, he turned to the other Gadol and said, "Until we cross the threshold of Rav Kook’s door we are Gedolim, once we enter Rav Kook’s presence, we are not Gedolim." That is how a Gadol should act. But that is not what we see today as evidenced by how Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's death was treated.
We are today dividers, not uniters! Rabbinic leaders of today especially on the right seek to divide the Jewish people through their exclusionary practices. The call for unity comes only under their own very limited banner. There is no more ‘one Torah’. There are now many!
