You Can’t Fight City Hall

What does one do when their successful career is threatened via condemnation by 33 rabbinic leaders? The answer is you capitulate. That is what you have to do if your want to salvage any of that career. After all, you can’t fight city hall. That’s what mega-popular Chasidic singer Lipa Schmeltzer told the Wall Street Journal.

After last year’s concert was canceled there was a major backlash by the very people who normally listen to every word these rabbis say. This was not lost on R’ Shmuel Kaminetsky who was one of the 33 signers of a ban on Lipa’s concert last year. To his credit which demonstrates his great character, Rav Kaminetsky admitted making a mistake. He said that he was misled by some of the instigators of the ban. And though he felt some of the issues relating to the ban were of legitimate concern, he would not have signed it as written.

This year he has given his blessing:

Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky, told the Jewish Star newspaper that he now had no problem with Mr. Schmeltzer: "As far as I know he is an ehrliche Yid [a truly devout Jew]."

He is an Ehrliche Yid. Always was. I don’t think his religious observance was ever in question. At issue was his material. He would use secular tunes as part of his repertoire. After the ban in order to get back into the good graces of those rabbinic leaders he agreed to sing only legitimate Jewish songs and not use secular music at all. Many people saw this as some sort of Teshuva. But there was no Teshuva. It wasn’t needed. It was a capitulation to blackmail on the part of instigators of the ban who had demonstrated their power by gathering those 33 rabbinic signatures. Which is why Lipa put it the way he did about not fighting city hall.

Of course that did not satisfy at least one of those instigators. He managed to actually embarrass Lipa publicly at a recent wedding implying Lipa deserved it because he was leading people astray with his music. He ‘whitened Lipa’s face in public’ which the Gemarah tells us is tantamount to murder. Lipa - to his credit - forgave him immediately.

What has Lipa done since his promise to not incorporate secular music? Has he avoided those influences? Not exactly:

In the months after the ban, he released an album, "A Poshiter Yid" (A Simple Jew), with a title song that could serve as a Yiddish version of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive."

I highly doubt that Gloria Gaynor’s seventies style disco music qualifies as ‘Jewish music’.

Not that such an entity actually exists - with the possible exception of Torah Trop (cantilation). But we all know what ‘Jewish music’ is when we hear it – kind of like Justice Potter Stewart’s definition of pornography. And it is nothing like what Gloria Gaynor sings. Or is it?

Using secular music as a source for Jewish music is perfectly fine - that is exactly what has been happening as far back as one can go in Jewish history. What Ashkenazim call Jewish Music is nothing more than European folk style music with lyrics from traditional Jewish sources like psalms, prayer, or biblical and talmudic passages. Much like Sephardi ‘Jewish music’ which is taken from Middle Eastern culture.

As long as the melody does not conjure up sexual imagery and licentiousness, there is nothing wrong with it – no matter what the source. I believe that this is in part why Rabbi Kaminetsky has approved of it this year. He has to know what Lipa and his music are about this time and he has given him his blessing - as noted above.

Perhaps last year’s ban was a blessing in disguise because a lot of good things have followed. I highly doubt that much has changed with Lipa Schmeltzer’s music. And I don’t see another ban taking place without due deliberation - and with the realization that more harm can come from a precipitous ban then from overlooking minor objections about it - even if those objections may have some merit. One has to look at the total picture. Perhaps those 33 rabbis will now think twice about which hill they choose to ‘die’ on.

One final note. The instigators of last year’s ban have been sidelined – perhaps even discredited. My sources in Agudah tell me that Lipa’s attacker is no longer invited to speak at their official functions. And that’s a good thing.

Three Jews

One of the things I often talk about here is Chilul HaShem. Very few things bother me as much as this. And although I have said as recently as earlier today that the more religious one is - the greater the Chilul HaShem, the fact is that when any high profile Jew does something wrong, it is always a Chilul HaShem. Just by the fact that it is a Jew doing it. And when the fallout is very high it is a huge Chilul HaShem indeed.

This was the case with investment banker Bernard Madoff. He is not observant. But his identity as a Jew is not hidden. And the fact that he had positions in religious institutions exacerbated the Chilul HaShem. The magnitude of the fraud he committed was unprecedented in the extreme. For those just getting off a spaceship from Mars, here the scoop. He defrauded his clients to the tune of 50 billion dollars. That’s 50 times $1000, 000,000.00. That’s a lot of zeros.

That most of his victims were Jews – some of them religious; some of them charitable foundations - does not mitigate the Chilul HaShem. He destroyed lives. Entire fortunes earned over a lifetime of hard work were lost. The Chilul HaShem was massive - Frum or not. He took their money on a pretext of investing it for a high return - and stole all of it. He did not invest a dime. He provided his ‘investors’ with phony financial statements about the ‘profits’ they were earning. Occasional requested payouts were made from the money new investors were constantly throwing at him. People were begging him to invest their money.

Unfortunately when a Jew is caught doing something like this – especially in this economy - it perpetuates the anti-Semitic stereotype of the money grubbing Jew who will cheat and steal from honest hardworking citizens so as to amass his own fortune. That is an exact description of Bernie Madoff.

But the stereotype is false. Not every Jew is like Bernie Madoff. For every Bernie Madoff there is a Leonard Abess (pictured above).

Leonard who?

I don’t know how many reading this saw the President’s address to congress last Tuesday. One of the highlights was his introduction of Mr. Abess to congress and to the nation. He is a Jewish banker too. But he is the antithesis of Bernie Madoff. I don’t know how religious he is but Mr. Abess is a proud and active Jew. He is a board member of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and the Anti-Defamation League.

Here is an excerpt from a JTA article. It is mostly an actual quote from the President’s address:

"I have also learned that hope is found in unlikely places; that inspiration often comes not from those with the most power or celebrity, but from the dreams and aspirations of Americans who are anything but ordinary," Obama said in the first of a number of references to the upper reaches of the Capitol, where a president's chosen "heroes" sit with the first lady.

"I think of Leonard Abess, a bank president from Miami who reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus and gave it out to all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for him," Obama said, as Abess barely contained his emotions. "He didn't tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found out, he simply said, 'I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. It didn't feel right getting the money myself.'"

This my friends is what is known as a Kiddush HaShem. I can’t think of too many people would give away 60 million dollars of their own money to their employees and former emloyees. And he is not the first Jew to make this kind of Kiddush HaShem.

There another one, an Orthodox Jew by the name of Aaron Feuerstein – who is of similar character. He was profiled on the TV News Magazine Show 60 Minutes back in March of 2002 which can be seen below. It is truly inspiring to watch.

Here is what Wikipedia says about him:

When the Malden Mills factory burnt down on December 11, 1995, Feuerstein decided not only to use his insurance money to rebuild it, but to also pay the salaries of all the now-unemployed workers while it was being rebuilt. Feuerstein spent millions keeping all 3,000 employees on the payroll with full benefits for 6 months. By going against common CEO business practices, especially at a time when most companies were downsizing and moving overseas, he achieved a small degree of fame.

Feuerstein claimed that he couldn't have taken another course of action due to his study of the Talmud and the lessons he learnt there:

"I have a responsibility to the worker, both blue-collar and white-collar. I have an equal responsibility to the community. It would have been unconscionable to put 3,000 people on the streets and deliver a deathblow to the cities of Lawrence and Methuen. Maybe on paper our company is worthless to Wall Street, but I can tell you it's worth more." — (Parade Magazine, 1996)

It’s good to know that there are Leonard Abesses and Aaron Feuersteins out there –two inspiring Jews - to counter the Bernie Madoffs of the world. Because it is they and not Madoff that exemplify what Jewish ethics are all about.

A Worthy Cause

I have been asked to announce the opening of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, Inc. I generally do not do this sort of thing since this is not a bulletin board type of blog and I don’t want it to become one. But every once in a while I am sufficiently impressed to do so and this is one of those times.

One of the reasons is the individual involved. Eliot Pasik’s efforts have had a real impact on some of the more serious issues facing religious Jewry.

At their website you will find their major initiative and the Position Paper to the New York State Legislature advocating child protection laws for religious and all nonpublic schools.

The Mindset of the Extremist Charedi

Extremism. In the context that I am about to use it, I do not mean violence. I mean attitude. There is nothing more indicative of this extremist attitude than what is represented by the following comments by two individuals. Ironically they were both responding to a Talmid Chacham who is also Charedi - but one who is hopefully more mainstream. He understands the problems in his community and constantly addresses them. He never defends bad behavior.

In one case a Charedi individual reveals a rather tolerant view of defrauding the government. Not that he condones it. But that he views it as – not so terrible. When he was challenged by his fellow Charedi on that issue - this was his response:

I wasn't aware that defrauding the government was one of the three cardinal sins. My bad.

This statement is very telling. It tacitly and cavalierly acknowledges that defrauding the government is wrong but - that it’s not a cardinal sin – a Yehoreg V’Al Yaavor - the way murder, adultery, or idol worship is. In point of dry fact he is right. His subliminal message is – it’s not so bad..

Not so bad? What category does he put Chilul HaShem into? Chilul HaShem is also not one of the three cardinal sins. So when a prominent Chasidic rebbe is caught defrauding the government, what does he say? Not so bad. Not a cardinal sin. The real guilty party- he will say - is the informant. Very little about the crime, criminal, and the attendant Chilul HaShem. What is far more troubling to this type of Charedi is the fact that a young Israeli woman who is ignorant of Halacha has taken off her clothes for a magazine cover.

Doing that is not a cardinal sin either. Yet he treats it like that. Even though what she did is a Chilul HaShem as well, it was done by someone who does not know any better. Can we say that for a Chasiddic Rebbe, who is supposed to be a role model for Jewish behavior? Which is the bigger Chilul HaShem? To the extremist Charedi the answer is obvious. The poor Jewish girl’s crime is far worse. It is tantamount to adultery!

In the second example, another Charedi individual demonstrates how far they will go to divert attention from their own problems. The same cannot be said for the same Charedi Talmid Chacham who whose challenge above elicited the following response from this fellow:

There are plenty Israeli chilonim invovled in massive ge'naivos ALL over the world. it is well known that not many Israeli Chareidim leave eretz Yisroel (the true zionists)! Yet Israelis have terrible reputations all over the world. And you want to claim chareidim are dishonest. This shows a terrible bias which is frankly just anti-semitism, when it is stripped of all its euphemisms.

What this Charedi fellow has done is indicate that when a religious Jew criticizes his own instead of secular Jews - it is anti-Semitism. Why? Because secular Jews – in this case secular Israeli leaders - do it too and they are even worse! That remains to be proven. But even if it’s true, what difference does it make?

How many times must I repeat the obvious? When a religious Jew who is supposed to have a higher standard of ethics and adherence to the Torah does something wrong, it is far worse than when a secular Jews does the very same thing . A secular Jew is known not to be observant. How much does that behavior then represent Torah Judaism?

But a Chasidic Rebbe caught defrauding the government is an individual that is supposed to represent the highest levels of Torah Judaism. He has instead besmirched it in the most public of ways. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t think he would get caught. That is just plain stupidity. He committed a fraud! The world now knows it. And it was a huge Chiulul HaShem!

Nobody is going to blame the Torah when a secular Jew - who happens to be a political leader in Israel - does the same thing. They can’t. He is not observant of the Torah. How does this reflect badly on the Torah?

It may still be a Chilul HaShem because after all is said and done they are identifiable Jews whom the world – secular Jew and non Jew alike – see as Jewish leaders and in some way tied to the Torah. But in point of fact they are not. The Chilul HaShem of Chassidc Rebbe who is tied to the Torah is far worse.

This my friends is what makes these people tick. I don’t know what to do about it except to keep hammering away at them until they realize how foolish their thinking is. Or at least to make the rest of the world (at least those who read this blog) realize that there are observant Jews like me, this Talmid Chacham, and the majority of religious Jews who comment on this blog are nothing like them.

Of Sports Fans and Porn

For those not familiar with it- Sports Illustrated is a magazine which - as its title suggests - deals with the sporting world. It is fairly innocuous magazine all year long save for one yearly edition – the so called ‘swimsuit edition’. One time a year Sports Illustrated turns into soft porn. This year there is an Israeli model who graces its cover wearing practically nothing and in a very sexually suggestive pose.

Yishai Fleisher writing in Arutz Sheva rails against this display of flesh by a daughter of Israel. And he is absolutely correct in doing so– up to a point. In his understandable zeal protesting this and praying that Ms. Raffieli change her ways – he goes too far. And when good intentions go too far they undermine their very intent.

Yes - Ms. Bar Refaeli in her ignorance was wrong for what she did as Mr. Fleisher says. I too hope she sees the error of her ways - and changes her life toward more authentic Jewish values. But to blame Orthodox Jewish sports fans for what she did because both sports and displays of female nudity are sourced in Greek culture is ridiculous. It’s kind of like blaming someone who drives a car for anti Semitism because Henry Ford - a renowned anti-Semite - ‘invented’ the automobile. Here is what Mr. Fleisher says:

But you are not the only one to blame for this ignominious degradation. All those Orthodox Jews who take pride in having kosher hotdogs and a Maariv Minyan in Madison Square Garden - they too are to blame. Oh, they would claim that their worship of professional sports has nothing to do with your public exhibitionism. But it does, because both come from the same root; that is, the Greek and Roman fascination with the body. Is it a coincidence that Sports Illustrated caters to both the pro sports and the soft-porn crowd? Of course not, because both pro sports and soft-porn are flip sides of the same coin.

He is wrong. It is possible to take from a culture that which is good and reject that which is bad. Not that I am such a big sports fan. I am definitely not. But I understand the attraction of sports and it has nothing to do with Greek culture. If one can enjoy leisure time in a 'Kosher' way, why should he deny himself that? If it is possible to make it a more Jewish experience as it does at Madison Square Garden where one can buy Kosher hotdogs and find a Minyan for Maariv – all the better.

Yes - as Mr. Fleisher says, we have to be a light unto the nations. That’s one of the things I stress the most around here. But being a light does not mean denying every source of pleasure just because it is not sourced in the Torah. Nor should one completely reject physical beauty as Mr. Fleisher seems to imply. It isn’t always about porn. Here is how my good friend Rabbi Shael Siegel puts it in his recent blog post. He begins with Parshas Terumah wherein items used in the building of the Mishkan are described. He then says the following:

Indeed the aesthetics involved in the design of the structure was as important as the message emanating from it. Otherwise, why the detailed description in our text of the materials, colors and fabrics involved in the construction of the Tabernacle. Over the centuries and perhaps because of the long exile the Jewish religious aesthetics lost its unique signature and adopted many of the art forms from other neighboring or host culture. During those periods and perhaps because of our experience in exile we shunned art forms that were pagan or Christian in nature, perhaps as a way of maintaining our unique culture and resisting assimilating into the neighboring culture.

Our sages and rabbis however were wise and they were able to draw a qualitative line between enjoying art for the sake of its beauty and appreciating it for its religious value.There is a Mishna in Talmud Avoda Zara that tells an interesting anecdote about Rabban Gamliel, president of the Sanhedrin who frequently bathed in the Aphrodite bathhouse in Acre. One of the pagans bathing there at the time that Rabban Gamliel was there asked him how it was that he was bathing in a place where there was a statue of Aphrodite.

Rabban Gamliel answered him that one has to make the distinction between that which is important and that which is irrelevant as well as the intent of the statue. Had the statue been placed there for religious worship it wouldn’t have been permissible to bath there, but as it is there only for aesthetics it is permissible to bath there and to enjoy the aesthetics.

Do we need to be Frummer than Rabban Gamliel? That seems to be the message of Mr. Fleisher. But as Rabban Gamliel’s response to that pagan indicates - rejecting physical beauty and sporting events is not what God requires of us. To the contrary. We are to know and enjoy that which is permitted to us. One has to know what is wheat, what is chaff, and what is poison.

The Dumbing Down of Our Children

One of the biggest problems facing Jewish educators today is the dumbing down of today’s youth. I’ve been told that young people who are in the upper grades in high school can barely read a page of Gemarah and have difficulty reading even an easy Tosfos - a basic medieval commentary on virtually every page of Gemarah.

This seems to be a common problem that runs throughout the spectrum of Orthodoxy, whether in Modern Orthodox Yeshivos or Charedi ones. I spoke to a Mechanech of big Charedi Yeshiva yesterday and he corroborated this. He added that there are a great many exceptions however. Some of those students are indeed quite capable and are budding Talmidei Chachamim – Talmudic Scholars. Some of those are even of such high caliber that may go on to be Gedolei Torah - if they stay on course. But there is at least a sizable minority - if not majority - of students that are woefully lacking basic knowledge or skills.

The question is why? Why has the student been dumbed down in our age? There are many possible reasons for this but let me suggest a few.

One reason that I believe this is happening is that there are just too many students. We now live in an age where going to a post high school Yeshiva is a must. It doesn’t matter whether one is modern orthodox or Charedi. This is what happens.

I am not saying this is wrong. In fact I support it. One should be able to study Torah full time for at least a year or two no matter what his capabilities. The more one learns the better off he will be. It will also keep him in an environment of religious peers longer and that will strengthen his observance. So I support it whole heartedly. But I think that helps explain what is going on a bit.

This is not how it used to be in my day back in the sixties. Not every student is capable of reaching great heights in learning. If not for the current ‘push’ to continue learning Torah post high school some of these students would have gone on to other endeavors such as college, trade school, or just finding a job – as they did in my day. The net result is that a lot of mediocre students end up learning in an environment that was formerly reserved for the best and the brightest- an environment that always had high standards and high expectations for their students.

That helps explain some of the problem. But it is more than that. The Charedi Mechanech I spoke to yesterday had a different spin – and I think he’s right. He believes that today’s world just has too many distractions. It is in overload in that department. Growing up in it lessens the time one spends developing proper learning skills. This is true whether one is a genius or not. The distractions that exist today are in some cases mind blowing! And very time consuming.

When I was growing up, it was basically television and an occasional movie. Today, there are not only those choices but there is cable, and pay per view. There is far more variety of entertainment to chose from in exponentially greater numbers. The technology has advanced to produce things like HDTV and big screens. Adding to that is the seven speaker ‘Dolby’ surround sound. And all this technology is becoming more affordable every day – notwithstanding the poor economy we are in. This has made the attraction even more enticing.

In my day, if you wanted to listen to music, you basically had two choices. AM radio or the phonograph at home. Today the radio gives you a multitude of options: AM, FM, satellite; with choices of music or talk of every possible genre. Then there is the I-pod. This has redefined portability. It gives you the ability to listen to high quality sound of just about anything imaginable at will – available for download on the Internet.

One of the biggest problems is the Internet itself. Aside from the typical problems associated it, even the most kosher material can take up huge amounts of time in a person’s day. And need I mention the enormous amounts of time spent on computer games with forever improving graphics - making them more enticing than ever?

It is obvious to me that no matter how sheltered one is, these distractions take their toll to one degree or another. If a student is very bright he may suffer a bit but will easily catch up to where he is supposed to be in learning. But most people are not like that. They need to spend the time it takes to develop learning skills to advance in Torah learning –or any learning for that matter.

I don’t have any solutions. One thing I do know is that isolation does not help much. The numbers of students that have these problems in Charedi Yeshivos gives lie to that as a real solution. Sticking one’s head in the sand and denying it won’t change anything. Everyone encounters one or more of these pitfalls in some way at some point in their lives. It’s just a matter of degree. Besides - there is an upside to modern technological developments- so avoiding them completey is not a good idea anyway. How do we handle it? I don’t know. Parental control is where to start. But I have no particular advice as to how to effectively change the current dynamic. But it is pervasive and too important to ignore.

The Spiritual Holocaust in Israel

I know that many Charedim will deny it. And I’m sure that a great many of them do not have this attitude. But I think it is fairly obvious how a great many of them do in fact think. The following statements show it very clearly.

As in the survivors of the Kastner train, do they owe the nazis hakoras hatov? Now what about towards the state of Israel?... We don't owe them anything. We were existing before them. We didn't ask them to create a state

They were made and repeatedly referred to by a fellow who is clearly a member of the Charedi world. He thinks he is valiantly defending it. I would have normally deleted these remarks. They are not worthy of a response no matter how many times this fellow protests that they are. I posted them to show exactly what I am fighting.

As I indicated many Charedim will in fact be outraged by his statements. Some just as outraged as I am. And others not quite as outraged - but outraged nonetheless. But this fellow reflects the definite mindset of a sizable number of Charedim who are the products of an indoctrination of hatred for the State of Israel - instead of teaching them to have the Hakaras HaTov for it that it deserves. At the very least there should be Hakaras HaTov for the blood that was shed by Israel's young so all Israelis - religious or not - can live in relative peace and security and lead their lives the way they wish.

He is not a lone wolf or a member of a small group of people who are the 'exceptions that would prove the rule'. That was made painfully clear by R’ Elaya Weintraub, a Charedi rabbinic leader. He infamously condemned any partnership between Charedim and secular Jews via the ‘adopt a soldier’ program where an individual Charedi would ‘adopt’ an individual secular soldier and pray for his safety.

He is one of many Charedi rabbinic leaders who indoctrinate their students in this way. It is an indoctrination of hatred akin to hatred of Nazis. They call what secular Israelis do - a Holocaust too - a spiritual one that is worse than the Holocaust itself!

What this poster child and a few other like him have failed to learn - but many other others who harbor these beliefs have learned -is how to keep their mouths shut and not spill the beans to the rest of us. They do not want the rest of the world to know what they really think. That's obvious from when R' Elya's defenders say things like 'R' Elya never meant his statements for public consumption'. Of course he didn't! Can't let those beans spill!

Most Charedim who genuinely disagree with this mentality will rightly protest his words. Some will protest what he said but allow that this mentality has to be understood. Still others will quietly agree with him but will outwardly protest what he said - just to try and save face. They will deny deny deny that any genuine Charedi feels this way. But the mask is off. The truth is that these particular Charedim - let's call them the R' Elya Charedim - see the Israeli Government as worse than Nazis because their ‘holocaust’ against the Jews is spiritual!

It pains me to say it - but it is the truth. This fellow is the poster child for that mentality no matter how he tries to explain it away. The truth stands out like a bad pimple on smooth skin.

Of Loyalty Oaths and Charedim

The Israeli elections have once again produced interesting circumstances. As it stands now Tzipi Livni is being referred to as Tzippi Gore. That’s because her party, Kadima received the the largest plurality of votes - but she will very likely not be the next Prime Minister.

That’s because that usually goes to the party that can best put together a ruling majority of at least Kenesset 61 seats. I don’t recall how far back in history one has to go to find a single party winning enough votes to provide that number. In the last few decades, it has been partnerships with other parties that has given a party leader the office of Prime Minister.

The one given the opportunity to do that usually goes to the winner of the most seats. That would be Mrs. Livni. But it is largely believed that the best chance for putting together a ruling coalition is in the hands of Benjamin Netanyahu.

That’s because the party with the largest number of seats after Likud (Netanyahu) and Kadima (Livni) is the Yisrael Beitenu party of Avigdor Lieberman - a very right wing party has indicated it will join only Likud and not Kadima. So Mr. Netanyahu was given the first try at forming a coalition.

Who else will join that coalition remains to be seen. There is talk of Shas being a part of that.

But the focus of this post is not whether any of the religious parties will have a say in the next government. The focus is on one of the campaign promises made by Avigdor Lieberman. He has said that all citizens should be required to take a loyalty oath before being allowed to vote.

Some one may suggest that this is a totalitarian idea and against the principles of democracy that Israel stands for. But is that really true?

I remember when I was in elementary school. We all had to begin our school day with the ‘pledge of allegiance’. For those too young to remember it was a formula statement pledging allegiance to the United States of America. It was integral part of school life then and no one ever had any problems reciting it. Including the Charedi day school I attended. We said it every day.

The purpose as I understand it is to require Arab Israeli citizens to make that pledge. Some in Israel see Israeli Arabs as a sort of fifth column or as having dual loyalty to Israel and to the Palestinian cause. There is indeed a feeling among many Israeli Arabs who at one time were loyal citizens of Israel that they are only second class citizens. Current events (ala the possibility of a Palestinian State) have awakened national aspirations in them. That raises questions about their status as loyal Israelis). Mr. Lieberman believes that they must therefore be required to take a loyalty oath.

The problem is that if every citizen is required to take such an oath, How will Charedim view this? What will they do? Will they take it? Or will their antipathy to the state prevent them from doing so? Are there Halachic considerations? Can a religious Jew pledge loyalty to a state that is not Halachic? What if they refuse to take the oath. Should they be disenfranchised?

I personally do not see this as a problem - anymore than it was a problem for a religious Jew to say the pledge of allegiance in America. I therefore think that a loyalty oath to the State of Israel is not an unreasonable request. I’m not sure if that will help solve any problems with Israeli Arabs but taking such an oath - or in the alternative - pledging allegiance if one refuses to take an oath – should not be a religious problem at all. I certainly hope that the Charedi leadership doesn’t make it one if it ever comes to pass.

Rewarding Savage Behavior

The requests are understandable and even reasonable.

Passengers on Egged bus route 2 that travels through the crowded Charedi neighborhood of Meah Shearim are ‘squished like sardines’. Not very Tznius if the buses are mixed seating. So residents of that neighborhood have requested from Egged that men and women be allowed to separate on that bus route. As of yet it remains mixed. Egged has thus far refused to oblige.

As a solution to their problem this community has set up their own Mehadrin bus line. They are financing it and have put it into service. The problem is that it is unlicensed and Egged has protested that.

Egged is technically within their legal rights to try and stop this private bus line from operating and taking away their business which is probably considerable - considering the numbers and the fact that bus travel is the main form of transportation for this poor neighborhood.

But they are wrong for fighting it. They either ought to be more accommodating on their own buses or allow that community to bus themselves. The Mehadrin busses are self funded - so far via newlywed contributions of $100 per couple. (If that’s how they want to spend their money it’s their business. After all there’s plenty more where that came from. Just kidding. It’s mind boggling - if you think about the dire financial straits they are in currently)

But - it’s their community and their way of life. They should have the right to lead it in any way they see fit – as long as no one else’s rights are trampled. And I don’t think they would be – especially if Egged would provide enough alternative mixed busses for those who want them. This way the entire community would be served including the many tourists who frequent Meah Shearim and prefer sitting with their families when they travel.

As much as this lifestyle is not my cup of tea, I support their right to live their lives as they see fit. But I do not support their means of achieving those goals. And that changes everything! Some of them have once again resorted to violent protest. They therefore do not deserve what they are asking for.

There was a violent attack against an Egged bus in Meah Shearim. These people have decided to do what they do best in situations like these described in Ynet:

Dozens of people demonstrated Wednesday afternoon in the Ge'ula and Mea Shaarim neighborhoods, blocking through traffic to Egged buses.

That deteriorated into even more violence.

According to police reports, haredim threw stones at an Egged bus traveling through the neighborhood. No injuries were reported, but damage was caused to the bus' windshield.

As always seems to be the case with these savages, if they don’t like something they see they get violent. Reckless disregard for human safety is not a problem for them. It is justified! That no one was injured is just plain dumb luck. Next time who knows what will happen?

Will a mother carrying a young child walk into the ‘line of fire’ and the child be hit with a rock causing brain damage? Is that what it takes to knock some sense into the brains of these savages? I doubt it. Nothing is going to stop them from doing their sacred duty here. God forbid a man sits next to a woman on a bus. Better to throw rocks at buses than let that happen.

All the rock throwers should be locked up for a very long time. No exceptions. The private Mehadrin bus lines should be canceled! Violence by protesters in situations like these must never be rewarded no matter how valid their claims might be.

The Man I Knew - Dr. Eliezer Berkovits

I was just informed that Rav Hershel Shachter has said the Dr. Berkovits should not be considered Orthodox. I don’t know what he bases it on. But to the best of my knowledge, I do not believe that is an accurate statement about him.

I have said many times that I was a student of his and learned much from him. But I have also stated that my primary mentor is Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik (Rav Ahron). By the end of Rav Ahron’s tenure at the Hebrew Theological College (HTC) they were on opposite sides of the fence. That’s putting it mildly. But I have learned from both of them and respected Dr. Berkovits tremendously even though I sided with R’ Ahron on all issues in contention between them.

Who was Dr. Berkovits? There are many people who have done in depth studies of him and can answer that question a lot better than I can. But I will give my impression based on my own memory of interactions I had with him. No matter how much one studies a giant, personal memories can add a great deal to understanding them.

I call him Dr. because that is how he preferred it when I knew him. But Dr. Berkovits had more than one Semicha. One from distinguished right wing Roshei Yeshiva and one from the Hildesheimer Seminary (if I remember correctly). And he had a PhD in philosophy from the Univeristy of Berlin. He is also credited with rescuing the manuscripts of his primary mentor the S’ridei Eish. He in fact wrote a beautiful eulogy upon the S’ridei Eish’s passing in Tradition magazine back in 1966.

When I arrived at HTC he was already there. And he was already controversial.

HTC was under the direction of its president, Rabbi Oscar Z. Fasman. The unofficial Rosh HaYeshiva at the time, Rabbi Dr. Chaim Zimmerman. Rabbi Fasman retired after my first year at HTC and was replaced by Rabbi Dr. Simon G. Kramer. Rabbi Kramer promptly fired Rabbi Zimmerman after an incident between him and Dr. Berkovits. He then succeeded in persuading R’ Ahron to become the official Rosh HaYeshiva. This was at first enthusiastically supported by Dr. Berkovits. But that support did not last long.

One of R’ Ahron’s primary goals was to eradicate the Traditional movement. This was a movement that allowed Orthodox Shuls to remove Mechitzos. All Poskim but one, Rav Chaim Dovid Regensberg, were opposed to this. That included the Rav and of course R’ Ahron. That was one of the main points of contention between Rav Ahron and Dr. Berkovits. R’ Ahron set up several barriers Traditional Shuls immediately upon his assuming the position of Rosh HaYeshiva. In the process he alienated many Traditional rabbis (who relied on R’ Regensberg’s Heter) but who may have otherwise been Rav Ahron’s natural allies.

Rav Regensberg allowed Orthodox Rabbis to take non Mechitza Shuls - provided that they remain Orthodox in every other way. He told these rabbis to try and get these Shuls to install Mechitzos – but that in the meantime they would keep its members in the Orthodox fold and would be able to influence many of their children to attend Orthodox religious day schools and high schools.

That indeed did happen. In fact once in the Orthodox educational system - most of those kids refused to Daven with their parents and Davened in places like Bnei Akiva instead. When they got older many created their own Mechitza Minyanim in the basements of Traditional Shuls.

Dr. Berkovits felt that the ‘R’ Regensberg heter was not only valid, but that Orthodox rabbis had a religious obligation - a chiuv - to take them in order to keep its members on the Orthodox track as much as possible.

Dr. Berkovits never personally Davened in a non Mechitza Shul himslef. He in fact was the founder of the first Mechitza Minyan in Skokie in the basement of a Traditional Shul. That was the precursor to the current Or Torah – a huge Modern Orthodox Shul in Skokie.

Dr. Berkovits was controversial to be sure. But he had never espoused violating Halacha in any way. Nor did he espouse any sort of heretical thought as far as I know.

One of his biggest ‘offenses’ - if you can call it that - was his strong support of the Traditional Movement. But there were other things about him that were perhaps even more controversial. His solution for Agunos was one such controversy. Briefly and without getting into details he wanted to help irradicate the terrible situation of Agunos - women who were unable to get remarried because of their husbands refusing to grant them a religious divoirce – a Get.

Dr. Berkovits wanted to use a legal loophole that seemed perfectly valid. He approached Rav Moshe Feinstein who conceded to him that at face value it would seem to work but that we could not use it today because its simplicity was so obvious that our sages – Chazal were certainly aware of it and never mentioned it as an option. That enraged him and led to his very strong belief that there is no such thing as a Gadol today.

When I asked him about R’ Moshe he answered (and this is an almost verbatim quote) If he’s a Gadol then so am I.

Rav Mordechai Gifter - then Rosh HaYeshiva of Telshe - had publicly accused Dr. Berkovitz of being an Apikores. I asked Dr. Berkovits about it and he told me that the accusation was based on a complete misunderstanding of what he said. He was accused of saying that one must ‘adapt’ the Torah to modernity. He never said that. What he did say is that one must ‘apply’ the Torah to modernity. Big difference. I think that may have eventually generated his book Lo BaShmayim He. Though I disagree with his conclusions, I am not sure that they qualify as heresy.

The was only one other controversial statement I heard from him personally. It was about the State of Israel made right after the 'Six Day War'. He was firm believer that the creation of the State of Israel was the beginning of our redemption - the Aschalta D’Geula. He felt so strongly about it that if Israel were God forbid ever destroyed it would shake the foundations of his belief. If memory serves I heard him say it at a gathering of Frum College students.

So I disagree with Rav Hershel Shachter. To the best of my knowledge Dr. Berkovits never crossed any heretical theological lines. He was an Ohaiv Yisroel and tried mightily to change things for the better within Halacha and Hashkafa as he understood it. And though I disagreed with some of his positions I value his intellect and his many contributions to Jewish thought.

Defining Centrism

Centrism, Left wing Modern Orthodoxy, Right Wing Modern Orthodoxy - how does one really define these Hashkafos?

A lot of it depends on who is doing the defining. Perspective is a huge factor. Certainly those who see themselves as Centrists may in fact be either left wing or right wing. On the other hand perhaps a moderate Charedi can technically call himself a Centrist too.

It’s therefore kind of difficult to pinpoint exactly what one means by those terms. I have heard the word Centrist used by both the left and the right.

I define myself as a Centrist. What that means to me can be seen somewhat by my bio on top of this blog. But I believe defining Centrism requires a bit more description.

It might be useful to follow the trek I took in getting here.

The first three years of my formal education were spent in public school in Toledo - a city where there was not even a Minyan of observant Jews. I therefore had no religious peers.

My parents were of Chasidic background but of Torah Im Derech Eretz (TIDE) Hashkafos – or more correctly - Torah Im Parnassah. But Torah was first in their priorities so they sent me to a Charedi Orthodox day school in nearby Detroit. Despite the fact that some of my Rebbeim there were - and still are - heroes to me, I did not fully pick up their Charedi Hashkafos there.

It was the Rabbis from the Hebrew Theological College (HTC) in Skokie sent to my father’s Shul in Toledo that inspired me. They were hired for Rosh HaShanna and Yom Kippur. They were Musmachim and were highly educated in secular studies – most of them with college degrees – who were observant, knowledgeable, and well on their way to becoming professionals. Those were my original role models.

After graduating elementary school I attended Telshe for my first two years of high school. That experience solidly turned me away from Charedism. They are (or at least were) a tremendous Makom Torah but I was totally turned off from their hard core Charedi Hashkafos. Their products were not my role models. After completing my sophomore year at Telshe I transferred to HTC which I subsequently attended for the next 10 years and from where I received my Semicha.

The HTC of my era more closely resembled Yeshiva University. During that era Dr. Eliezer Berkovits was an integral part of the Jewish studies program and an important influence in my life. I took 3 of his Jewish philosophy courses and one general philosophy course. I think one can comfortably say that he was on the extreme left of Modern Orthodoxy. Some in the Charedi world considered him an Apikores. But he was in good company because I heard Rav Soloveitchik say the same thing about himself – that some people considered him an Apikores too.

The biggest influence in my adult life was Rav Aharon Soloveichik. Aside from the four years in his Shiur and the fact that he was generally my Posek - he was an important source for much of my Centrist Hashkafos.

There were many such influences during those years when I crystallized my Hashkfic outlook. It is from those combined experiences that I developed it - but not from those experiences alone.

I am an adherent of Torah U’Madda (TuM). My definition of TuM is based largely but not exclusively on Dr. Norman Lamm’s attempt at formulating a philosophy of it. Without getting into too much detail TuM means that in addition to the value one gives to Torah study one gives independent value to the study of Mada. But that Torah is the superior of the two. It is in the interplay between Torah and Mada that one will derive truth. If I understand Rav Soloveitchik correctly he called such interplay the source of all truth.

I think that one can see that in two of his great philosophic works -Halakhic Man and Lonely Man of Faith. It is in the Hegelian dialectic between the two independent personalities of a human being. One reflects pure spirituality and the other reflects his observations and study of the physical universe - homo-religiousus and cognitive man. That constant dynamic produces the Man of Halacha.

My Hashkafos obviously contain the five perspectives of Rav Ahron as well - outlined here. Aside from my educational background my Centrist Hashkafa is largely derived of these views as well as those two great works of the Rav and Rav Ahron’s Hashkafic perspectives on Torah U’Madda.

That describes me. But the bottom line definition of a Centrist is one who has a serious and knowledgeable commitment to Halacha with a Hashkafa of either Torah U’Madda or Torah Im Derech Eretz.

I have recently come to interchange Centrism with Right Wing Modern Orthodoxy (RWMO). While I think that there are serious Left Wing Modern Orthodox (LWMO) Jews - there are nevertheless differences between the two that separate them. For example - RWMO Jews tend to shy away from societal trends like feminism even though they might withstand Halachic tests. And most RWMO tend to adhere more strictly to the teachings of the Rav.

LWMO tend to bend over backwards to accommodate social trends like feminism within the parameters of Halacha. And they have parted with some of the teachings of the Rav (e.g. the open Orthodoxy of Yeshiva Chovevei Torah). They explain that they do so because there are new conditions that require it – a position they say the Rav himself might have taken. RWMO would strongly disagree with that.

Dependency or Self Sufficiency?

The Charedi communities in Israel are undergoing some very trying times now. They are at the low end of the economic totem pole. Always have been. But the totem pole has not seen such lows in modern times. As I understand it, the situation is dire.

They have always relied on two main sources for their financial support. One is the relatively wealthy ‘American Baal HaBos’ who has been in the past very generous. But that source - with a few exceptions - has virtually dried up. Wealthy Baalei Batim are unable to send Israel the kinds of dollars they have in the past.

The other source is government funding. The State of Israel has been very generous in the past with its allocations to the Charedi world. But that is changing. Partly because Israel suffers from the same economic crisis the rest of the world does - and partly because secular parties are tired of being blackmailed by the Charedi parties to join their governing coalition and are finally doing something about it.

This became evident when a few months ago the centrist secular Kadima party tried to form a government under its leader, Mrs. Tzipi Livni. As I understand it - the religious party Shas demanded too much money – money that admittedly it needed for some of its institutions to survive. This time the secular Livni did not cave. She felt the price was too high and the government just could not afford it. She instead was willing to dissolve the government and call for new elections rather than succumb to what she felt were unrealistic and unaffordable demands.

The elections were held. Mrs. Livni’s party won a plurality. And it looks as though there is now a real chance that there will be no religious parties at all in the new government. Kadima is talking with the ultra nationalist party Yisrael Beitenu to form a collation that will exclude all the religious parties.

This could not come at a worse time for Charedi institutions. They are already in dire straits. Further economic cuts could hurt them so badly that many of their smaller institutions would cease to exist.

Rabbinic leaders will of course turn Heavenward and say ‘We need Siyata D’Shmaya. We need to have faith in the Creator above to help - and not abandon His people.

I don’t think that God will abandon His people. But neither do I think He will drop dollars from the sky.

I agree that we must have faith. But faith is not enough. Salvation will not come by faith alone. It will only come if the Torah world has its own Hishtadlus. Saying ever increasing amounts of Tehilim will not replace the absolute necessity for change - the kind of change that will make the Torah world less dependant on charity and more self sufficient. It knows what it has to do. And there has never been a better time to bite that bullet and change the system than right now.

The Coke Classic Metaphor

I am a Coke addict. Not the powdery kind. The liquid kind. That’s why I was one of those who were extremely upset when the Coca Cola Corporation changed the formula of its famous product back in the mid eighties. Fortunately for me a ‘few’ other people felt the same way I did. But they were Kanaoim. They zealously ‘forced’ Coke to change the formula back to the ‘original’ one. But to save a little face Coke called the ‘new’ product ‘Coke Classic’. They continued to produce ‘regular’ coke too - but at least we Coke addicts could continue to have our daily fix, thank goodness. Today - I don’t think that the new improved Coke even exists anymore.

So what has this got to do with the price of tea in China? Read on.

There are major flaws in the current system of Torah Chinuch. Many of these flaws have been discussed here. Some of those flaws are based on ‘improvements’ in the system. In other words the formula was changed. It now does not ‘taste’ anything like it used to. In fact I think Chinuch has ‘improved’ itself into many of the problems it now faces.

Were our parents and grandparents better at communicating Torah values than the current generation? Read the following.

My yeshiva-educated generation, for all the right reasons, and with the best of intentions, introduced a ‘new and improved’ brand of chinuch – with longer hours and progressively elevated standards (read: pressure) in academics, dress codes, and social norms for our children, with increasingly more and more emphasis on gemarah b’iyun at the expense of other limudim, general studies, hobbies, and exercise.

It is humbling and difficult to come to terms with, let alone say this publicly, but I think that your generation had a far better recipe than ours, though both generations have their successes and failures. You prepared us for secular culture whereas we shelter our children from it. You played offense; we play defense. You celebrated the enrollment of each and every Jewish child to a Mesivta or Bais Yaakov; we send rejection letters. You raised children; we tried to raise gedolim.

Over the past few years, I’ve increasingly felt that the most effective way of reversing the exploding number of kids and adults abandoning Yiddishkeit is to revert to the old-fashioned “Charedi Classic” education my generation was fortunate to receive from yours; and pass on those core values to our children and grandchildren.

The above words are not mine. They are those of Rabbi Yakov Horowitz. This yet again shows how accurately he perceives reality. The rest of his article entitled ‘Charedi Classic’ is available at his website. And - as always - it is thought provoking and well worth reading.

Mentchlichkeit

Guest Post by Mitch Morgenstern

Mentchlichkeit. Isn’t the lack of it often a major source of the many of the problems facing the Torah world today? I am not a Chasid. I rarely access Chasidshe Torah. But I am also a big believer in seeking the truth wherever one finds it.

One will have a hard time translating the word Mentch. The simple meaning of the word Mentch is man. But when we say someone is a Mentch -it means far more than that he is a man. It means a decent human being – one whose behavior is exemplary - a role model for proper behavior. It is in that spirit that I present the following guest post by Mitch Morgenstern. He is a descendant of the Kotzker Rebbe and a true Mentch. - HM

Tonight and tomorrow is the 150th Yahrzeit of the Kotzker Rebbe, the 22nd of Shevat. Menachem Mendel ben Yehudah Leib. His mother was Esther. The Kotzker Rebbe was born in 1787 and left this world in 1859. I always like to say a new insight on the Kotzker Rebbe or something new I learned about the Rebbe over the past twelve months.

May the Kotzker be a Melitz Yosher for Klal Yisroel and each individual Jew.

This past Shabbos, I davened at Congregation Anshe Sholem, Rabbi Asher Lopatin's Shul. His Shul is on Chicago's lakefront. The Scholar-in-residence this past Shabbos was Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Director of the OU.

Shabbos afternoon his topic was Abraham Lincoln and the Kotzker Rebbe. I was interested to hear what he he had to say and attended. Rabbi Weinreb did an excellent job presenting the Kotzker Rebbe.

Before I say anything about the Kotzker Rebbe, we have to understand that his entire life and being were Torah. The Kotzker Rebbe was credited with re-directing Chasidus, especially Polish Chasidus back to Torah,

We know that above all Kotzk stood for truth - including honesty with oneself. We also know that many times truth is subjective. Everyone in the world thinks they have the truth. My understanding is that when it came to subjective issues, to arrive at the truth, the Kotzker determined what was the Rotzon Hashem - "the will of God" and/or what is "Menchlikiet". Both played an important role in the Kotzker's worldview.

Why do I feel that Menchlikiet was a part of the Kotzker Rebbe worldview? If anything he inspired fear in people. While I do not know of too many Kotzker saying about being a Mentch, the ones I have point to this direction. Additionally, we know that the Kotzker has a number of sayings on the importance of self-esteem. Being a Mentch is a natural outgrowth of someone with proper self-esteem.

This past Friday night I was eating by my brother-in-law. Sitting next to me was a Lelover Chossid. He said over a Kotzker Vort on the week's Sedra that I never heard before and I have not seen in any book. It says:

וְאַתּה תֶחֱזֶה מִכּל-הָעָם אַנְשׁי-חַיִל יִרְאֵי אֱלֹהִים, אַנְשׁי אֱמֶת

Translated As: "Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth,

The Kotzker Rebbe did a play of the Hebrew words אַנְשׁי אֱמֶת. He said that in order to be a person of truth, you have to be a Mentch. You can add that in order to be a יִרְאֵ אֱלֹהִים - one who fears God - you also have to be a Mentch.

This is the question that we all have to ask ourselves? Am I a Mentch?

The Wave of the Future

I have been accused of not dealing with serious issues in the Modern Orthodox world. These include but are not limited to issues such as being overly influenced by western culture, the apparent laxity in observance of certain Halachos, the move to the left in some Modern Orthodox circles, Modern Orthodox dating habits, the growing Modern Orthodox singles community, and the ‘Off The Derech’ phenomenon - often for opposite reasons than those of Charedim who go OTD. Modern Orthodoxy certainly has its share of problems. Some unique to it, some interlaced with each other - and others that overlap with those plaguing Charedim.

The truth is that I have dealt with many of these issues and more. It is also a fact that I have discussed topics that are not critical in nature at all - but Hashkafic.

But it is equally true that the majority of my critical posts are about the Charedi world. Why do I do that? I have said this before. I believe that the Charedi world is the wave of the future. It will not survive in its present form, but the future of mainstream Judaism will stem from it. There are many reasons I feel this way some of which I have mentioned in the past. I will discuss those and some of the other factors here.

One important factor contributing to my prediction is that Charedim by far produce more Mechanchim than Modern Orthodoxy does. This is not to say that there aren’t many fine Modern Orthodox Mechnchim. There most definitely are. But it is not in the nature of Modern Orthodoxy to focus on producing Mechanchim as much Charedim do.

The very thing that in my view is both unique and positive about Centrism is that Torah U’Mada or Torah Im erech Eretz that characterizes it - gives students so many more career options to choose from. The Charedi world by contrast has far fewer choices available to its students. Therefore more are influenced to go into Chinuch. Additionally it is a Hashkaficly preferable option to them.

That’s why a Centrist day school like Arie Crown here in Chicago has a majority of Charedi Mechanchim . They are all excellent - Charedi and Centrist alike. But the decidedly greater influence in that school is Charedi. The same thing is true for the Hebrew Theological College (Skokie). Its high school is populated by an almost exclusive team of Charedi Rebbeim. There are also far more Charedi Yeshivos and yeshiva high schools than there are Modern Orthodox ones. Even Modern Orthodox high schools like MTA have these influences.

And then there is the post high school year in Israel. For many (but not all) high school students who study in Israel there is no doubt that they are influenced strongly to the right. These and other factors are just too over-whelming to hope for any kind of independent Centrist type community in the future. The tide is too strong - it seems to me.

But there is something else happening. It is what I like to call the ‘Rabbi Berel Wein’ phenomenon. He believes that the two worlds of Modern Orthodoxy and Charedim are merging. As I've said many times - I agree with him.

Here is a brief analysis of why.

The Modern Orthodox world is currently Hashkaficly divided between Centrists (what some might term right wing modern Orthodox) on the one hand - and the left wing Modern Orthodoxy on the other. However from a sociological perspective - the majority of Modern Orthodox is populated by what I call MO-Lite Jews. These people are not necessarily ideologues. They are culturally Modern Orthodox. Typically most were raised in Modern Orthodox homes and have gone to either Modern Orthodox day schools or public schools. Many are generally not as Jewishly knowledgeable as the ideologically Orthodox - and almost prefer it that way. Their observance is social - based mostly on peer relationships, parental concerns, or rote behavior.

As in all cases this is not black and white. There are many variations and combinations among modern Orthodox Jews. And some of this ‘Lite’ description applies to Charedim too. For the most part, however, this is how I see things generally breaking down. My prediction is that Modern Orthodoxy will eventually disappear in its current broad based form. Some of it will be absorbed into a very left wing form of modern Orthodoxy that approaches right wing Conservative Judaism.

The more Centrist oriented Modern Orthodox Jews will be absorbed into the Charedi world. Not because that is their preference - but because that is just what’s available to them. There are very few purely or mostly ideologically Centrist communities. The rabbis of these communities may be ideologically Centrist. But the community is sociologically Modern Orthodox. Not an attraction for serious ideological Centrists.

This is what Rabbi Berl Wein has predicted. He correctly observes that this is already happening. He also correctly states that many of the modalities of Centrism have already been adopted in Charedi circles as is evidence by the many Charedi professionals who have opted for college and/or professional degrees. In fact the success of Schools like Touro College and Lander are evidence of that very trend. There are plenty of Charredi doctors, lawyers, dentists, and accountants who are card carrying members of Agudah.

So there is a kind of meeting of the minds where the Hashkafic differences are not as important as the environmental influences. There are plenty of black hated Centrists who send there children to moderate Charedi Yeshivos. These new Charedi communities will become the mainstream - if they haven’t yet. The children of Centrists who send to these schools will pick up some of their parents Centrist Hashkafos but mostly those of their Mechanchim. The result will be a trend toward moderate Charedism.

That will result in the end of Centrism in one or two generations as the move to the right by Centrists will continue as will the move toward the center of mainstream Charedim. Modern Orthodoxy’s only remaining community will be the a left wing one that approaches right wing Conservative.

How Yeshiva University fits into the equation - I'm not sure. But even there there is a tendency toward the right.

This is why I harp so much about the Charedi world. It will very likely be the place my grandchildren will end up. As will the children of many other Centrists. I therefore do not want to see this community implode. I just want to see it change for the better and hope that as much of my Hashkafa will be salvaged as possible and adopted by that world. I wish I was wrong. I wish Centrist communities would grow and Centrist schools would proliferate. But I just don't see don't that happening.

Soft Landing? Or Hard Crash?

I cannot emphasize enough my deep appreciation for Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz. He truly gets it. If all Charedi leaders were like him we’d be living in another world.

Unfortunately not enough Charedi leaders are like him. At least not the ones in control. And as a result – the Charedi world as we know it will collapse. This is not my wish. Just my prediction. There is going to be a major course correction. It’s going to happen. It just a question of - how.

Will it be a soft landing or a hard crash? There is no joy in my heart at the prospect of a hard crash. One of the goals of this blog is to try and make the coming change a softer one. I try to agitate for change that will benefit the community without tearing it apart.

As it stands now this community is in great peril. There are many issues – too many to list which are often discussed here. Denying or ignoring them will not make them go away. They will just get worse. And many of these problems are being accelerated by the world-wide economic crisis.

The rabbinic leadership - although very great in Torah knowledge - is weak. The zealots and hardliners seem to be calling the shots. Those who should be calling the shots are mild mannered and either unwilling or unable to deal with the zealots.

This was not the case with the previous generation of rabbinic leaders. Mostly they were mild mannered but still - they called the shots. And the ‘shots’ were of a different sort. They reflected Darkei Noam – the ways of pleasantness that is Torah. Not the Calvinistic type fire and brimstone delivered by zealots followed up by zealous acts to match the rhetoric. This does not mean that the previous generation of Gedolim compromised Halacha or their Hashkafa. They just new what was real and what wasn’t - and knew how to deliver it.

This is wholly unlike the extremism delivered in a fire and brimstone way that characterizes much of what passes for Torah Hashkafa today. And we see the results. I am not judging today’s mild mannered leaders. Just making an observation based on the increasing frequency of stories dealing with these issues that are reported by both the secular and the Charedi press.

One issue which demonstrates this phenomenon is the increasing numbers of adult Jews who were raised completely religious and suddenly - drop observance - the so called ‘Off the Derech’ (OTD) phenomenon. In no other situation is this worse than when it happens during a marriage and children are involved. I personally know families where this has happened. It tears my heart out when I think about it.

It is in a case like this that once again Rabbi Horowitz has put himself out on a limb. He has been asked to be the arbitrator in a child custody case involving parents one of whom is no longer observant. He accepted. The details are in a post at his website.

The non Frum parent responded to that post. His response was not what some might expect from such an individual. Here in part is how Rabbi Horowitz puts it:

The commonly accepted notion is that many or most formerly frum adults who go off the derech are all drug addicts, losers, religion-bashers and (this drives me nuts) “only doing it [leaving frumkeit] so they can indulge themselves in promiscuous behavior.” This is simply false and silly.

People leave yiddishkeit for many reasons. And while some do fit the description(s) above, I have found many formerly frum people who have come to me for guidance (especially with this issue – how to stay involved in the lives of their children) to be soft-spoken, thoughtful people with a healthy moral compass albeit not a religious one. They are often creative, right-brain people – which is why so many of them are writers (and started blogs) who found today’s frum society too rigid. (I firmly believe that some or many of them would still be frum if they grew up in my parents’ more tolerant generation or in today’s day and age in out-of-town communities.)

Parenthetically; it always boggles my mind that many people in our community rally around and protect monsters who ravage and abuse our kids while shutting out and demonizing decent people who abandon yiddishkeit.

One can see the rest of his comment at his website along with all the others. As with other issues plaguing the Torah world this one is not getting better. It seems to be getting worse. And it isn’t all about drugs and dysfunction either – although one could as well ask why drugs and dysfunction is on the increase in the Charedi world.

The bottom line is that a Cheshbon HaNefesh - more than a little soul searching is in order. Better attention needs to be paid to what is really going on and the direction in which this community is going. And greater effort need to be made to realize and deal with the discontent underlying the apparent clam that is on the surface. More of the same isn’t going to work. The mild mannered Charedi rabbinic leaders need to somehow be petitioned to the greatest extent possible to do what’s necessary to change the direction the Torah world is going because if things continue as they are – to put it the way Rabbi Horowitz often does - we are all going to be driven right off a cliff.

Reporting Abuse to the Police

Last week yet another story of child sexual abuse in the Charedi world was reported in Ynet. One particularly troubling part of this story is that apparently the father went to a Rav and received a ruling that he may not inform the authorities because - not having witnessed the molestation personally he would be considered a Moser. This is a term that applies to someone who informs on a fellow Jew to secular authorities – a very serious offense.

In light of that, one may ask whether indeed one is allowed to inform the police about a child molester. Was this rabbi right? Should we never inform the police about a child who was molested if we did not personally witness the crime? Should we handle it amongst ourselves? Your 11 year old son comes home from school and says his Rebbe molested him. Are we to tell him there is nothing we can do about it since we can’t rely on his own testimony? Is Torah Judaism really that stupid and barbaric?

The answer is of course it’s not! What is barbaric is there are actually some rabbis that apparently interpret it that way – as did the rabbi in the Ynet story.

Rabbi Mark Dratch has graciously allowed me to publish a portion of his well researched and footnoted treatise on the subject. It deals with these and other questions.

Here is what he says:

The gedolei ha-poskim have already weighed in on this: (excerpt from my article on this issue: The 411 on 911: Reporting Jewish Abusers to the Civil Authorities" available at http://jsafe.org/pdfs/mesirah.pdf.)

Rambam notes that the prohibition of mesirah restricts a private individual who is being harassed from making a report to the civil authorities. However, when there is a meitzar ha-tzibbur (public menace), informing is permissible.(48)

While this would seem to restrict an abused wife from calling the authorities on her husband, or a concerned party from reporting an abusive parent, this is not the case. First, the rate of recidivism in child abuse cases is high and therefore a child molester can be considered a “public menace.”(49)

Second, Shakh records that where a person is a repeat abuser (“ragil le-hakot—strikes on a continuing basis”), one is permitted to report him to the non-Jewish authorities in order to prevent him from abusing again.(50)

And third, Geresh Yerahim limits Rambam’s reading of the Talmudic statement above (Gittin 7a) to situations in which the abused faces no real personal harm. He points to Rashi’s explanation of Mar ‘Ukba’s complaint that “Certain men are annoying me,” explaining that they were merely insulting him.(51)

But, if Mar ‘Ukba would have been subjected to greater injury, i.e., physical or financial harm, it would have been permissible for him to complain to the non-Jewish authorities, even though he is just an individual. Similarly, Me’irat Einayim adds that the distress of the private individual that is forbidden to report is tza’ar be-alma (general distress). However, if one is the subject of assault or attacks, reporting is permitted.
In addition, there are situations in which a rabbinic court is ineffective, incapable of adjudicating and powerless to protect victims.

This can be for any number of reasons: perhaps one of the parties will not appear before it, perhaps a party will not feel bound by its decision, or perhaps the bet din will be unable to protect one of the litigants from physical or financial harm.

Rabbeinu Gershom Ma’or ha-Golah understood that even if someone agrees to come to the rabbinic court, he may be doing so only because he thinks he can delay or obfuscate the proceedings, or because he feels that he will be able to avoid certain punishment or fines if he avoids the civil courts. Rabbeinu Gershom enacted that in such cases the bet din should give the other party permission to go to the general court.(52)

Radbaz confirms that “this is the practice of all rabbinic courts in every generation in order not to give the upper hand to aggressors and intimidators who do not respect the judgment [of the bet din].”(53)

In a ruling of great significance for victims of abuse, Rema writes, “A person who attacks others should be punished. If the Jewish authorities do not have the power to punish him, he must be punished by the civil authorities.”(54)

According to Rema, the victim has the right to go to the civil authorities not just to prevent an attack, but to seek punishment and justice for an attack that has already taken place.(55)

Rabbi Shalom Yosef Elyahiv ruled that one may report a child abuser to the civil authorities in America, but only if he is certain about the abuse; a false report that can destroy a person’s reputation and life.(60)

And Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi Wosner, author of Teshuvot Shevet ha-Levi, applies this reading of the Talmud to the case of a tax agent who must report tax fraud to the government for prosecution. Rabbi Wosner obligates this Jew to do so, arguing that:

1) this is the law of the country and
2) the report will not cause the imposition of a dangerous sentence on a Jew.(61)

Furthermore, a child abuser is worse than a meitzar and is in the category of rodef concerning whom one is permitted to do anything to stop the attack.(62)

Others maintain the prohibitions of mesirah and arka’ot do not apply to these situations altogether. R. Yitzchak Weiss avers that the state has an interest in the safety and welfare of its citizens and one may report those who are endangering that safety.(63)

Rabbi Herschel Schachter stated that the prohibition of mesirah applies only when testimony assists civil authorities in illegally obtaining the money of, or excessively punishing, another Jew.

It does not obtain when it aids a non-Jewish government in fulfilling such rightful duties as collecting appropriate taxes or punishing criminals. When the information concerns the criminal activities of a fellow Jew—as long as the Jewish criminal has also violated a Torah law and even if the punishment will be more severe than the Torah prescribes(64) - the ban of mesirah does not apply.(65)

Arokh ha-Shulhan maintains that mesirah was prohibited because of the nature of the autocratic governments under which Jews lived throughout much of history. Such informing often led to dangerous persecution of the entire Jewish community. He maintains that this injunction does not apply to those societies in which the government is generally fair and nondiscriminatory.(66)

We are not concerned that the procedures of a civil court differ from those of a bet din or that the testimony that the former accepts may be invalid in the latter or even that the punishment may be more severe than that imposed by Jewish law (Sanhedrin 46a).
Jewish law grants the ability to impose unauthorized punishment, to accept otherwise unacceptable witnesses, all at the discretion of the judges, according to what they deem proper and fitting.(67)

Footnotes

48 Hoshen Mishpat 388:12, according to the text quoted by Shakh, no. 59, and Gra, no. 71.
49 Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, quoted in Nishmat Avraham, IV, p. 209, maintains that for this reason, child molesters must be reported to civil authorities. See R. Asher Zelig Weiss, “Mesirah la-shiltonot be-hashud be-hit’olelut be-yeladim” in Yeshurun, 5765, p. 659; R. Yehudah Silman, ”Teshuvah le-shei’lah be-inyan divu-ah al pegiyot be-yeladim” in Yeshurun, 5765, p. 661.
50 Shakh, Hoshen Mishpat 388, no. 45 and 60.
51 Rashi, s.v. ha’omdim ‘alai.
52 Manuscript Frankfurt 123, see Rabbi H. Shlomo Sha’anan, Hafna’at tove’a le-bet Mishpat, Tehumin XII, p. 252. See Piskei Ri MiKorbeil in Sha’anan, Ner LiShmaya, pesak 69.
53 Radbaz to Rambam, Hovel u-Mazik 8.
54 Hoshen Mishpat 388:7 and Shakh, no. 45; See also gloss of Rema to Hoshen Mishpat 388:9; Ba’i Hayei and Maharam miRiszburg cited in Pahad Yitzhak, Ma’arekhet Hovel be-Haveiro.
55 See Darkei Moshe, Hoshen Mishpat 388 and Teshuvot Maharam MiRizbork cited by Shakh.
60 “She-eilah be-inyan hoda’ah la-memshalah al hit’olelut be-yeled ‘o be-yaldah” in Yeshurun, p. 641.
61 Teshuvot Shevet ha-Levi II:58. See also Teshuvot Iggerot Moshe, Hoshen Mishpat I:92, which, in a similar situation allows the tax agent to report because even if he did not reports, others would, thus relieving the Jew of sole responsibility..
62 R. Moshe Halberstam, Mesirah le-shiltonot be-mi she-mit’olel be-yeladav in Yeshurun 5765, p. 646.
63 Teshuvot Minhat Yitzhak VIII:148
64 Ran to Sanhedrin 46a. See, however, Teshuvot Rema, no 88, who maintains that according to Tosafot, Baba Kama 114a, s.v. ve-lo, if the punishment exceeds that prescribed by the Torah, the mesirah prohibition maintains.
65 Rabbi Herschel Schachter, “Dina De-Malchuta Dina,” Journal of Halachah and Contemporary Society, I:1, 1981, p. 118.
66 Arukh haShulhan, Hoshen Mishpat 388:7. This source is authoritatively cited by R. Gedalia Dov Schwartz in “The Abused Child: Halakhic Insights,” Ten Da’at, Sivan 5748, p. 12.
67 Hoshen Mishpat 2:1; Teshuvot ha-Rashba III:393; Teshuvot Panim Me’irot II:155.