Menachem Lipkin sent me very insightful article by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo. Who is he? Good question. I’m not quite sure. He has some very impressive credentials but seems to be a bit off on a tangent. He certainly is not what one would call mainstream as is indicated by his Yeshiva, The Beth Midrash of Avraham Avinu. This isn’t a mainstream Yeshiva by any stretch of the imagination.
Be that as it may he has written an article on an issue that is near and dear to my heart. And I pretty much agree with it.
His concern is based on a prediction he makes in light of the current demographics in the State of Israel. Charedim are out populating both Chilonim, secular Jews, …and Datim, Modern Orthodox Jews. In the not too distant future Charedim will be in control of the government.
At first blush one might say, ‘How wonderful!’ ‘Finally… a government that runs according to the Torah!’ But upon reflection there will be some very serious problems that will result. Even if one accepts that a Charedi government would be tolerant of a Dati constituency, their Minahgim and their Poskim, which I am not sure they will be. What about Chilonim? How will they fare? Will they just as well pack up and leave?
But let’s assume that they will somehow be able to govern the Israeli people fairly and acceptably to these constituencies.
True a religious government is something all observant Jews hope for. But if it is a Charedi government that ends up leading Israel would that be a total improvement on the status quo? I’m not so sure. The downside to such a prospect is that Charedim are completely unprepared for such an eventuality. And that is due largely to a serious defect in the Charedi educational system …a system that I’ve been harping on constantly. And if things don’t change, Israel could be headed for a disaster… a virtual train wreck of monumental proportions.
As the demographics continue to shift in favor of a more Charedi population base, Dr. Cardozo believes that it is only a matter of time before there is a Charedi Prime Minister and Charedi majority in the Keneset. How well can an uneducated governing body do in matters other than the immediate concerns of the Charedi Lifestyle? How will they do on the world stage? How will diplomats without any formal training in diplomacy do? How will an army be maintained? How will technological progress be achieved? Many other such questions arise and they need to be addressed.
One cannot answer that the public servants such as diplomats will be secular and will simply follow orders of the Charedi rabbinic leadership in this regard.
For one thing, a Charedi Prime Minister in theory will himself be uneducated and untrained to choose the right people for the job. He will have no clue what the job entails and can easily pick the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
For another, secular public servants will likely be unwilling to serve a Charedi government.
Is Rabbi Dr. Cardozo right?
I think these are legitimate issues that ought to generate some soul searching by the rabbinic leadership about how their constituents are educated.
