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| Rabbi Aharon Schechter, Rosh HaYeshiva of Chaim Berlin |
The right constantly challenges me about why I do not discuss what they perceive to be a much larger instance of Going OTD among Modern Orthodox Jews. I am not prepared to concede the point. As many people have pointed out, there have been no studies (at least that I am aware of) that breaks the OTD phenomenon into percentages or numbers of individual groups. But I will concede that it is very possible that the MO community is the one that goes OTD is the larger of the two, at least in terms of percentages.
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| Rabbi Avi Weiss, founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah |
In answer to the first question, I speak about Charedim
because I believe them to be the wave of the future. Their current large
numbers and exponential growth over the years would seem to confirm that
belief. Lakewood Yeshiva has grown from a few hundred students in the 60s when
I was in high school to over 6000 today with plans to accommodate an increase
in growth to over 10,000 students.
That Charedi
Mechanchim outnumber MO Mechanchim is a simple fact of life which is bolstered
by the fact that Charedim tend to go into Chinuch a lot more than MO Jews do. Some
MO schools hire Charedi teachers in fact for lack of finding enough teachers that
are MO.
Charedi family size is clearly larger on the average than that
of MO Jews since they are encouraged to have as many children as they can. 9 or
10 children per family is not an unusual number for Charedim. Not so for MO. The Charedi rate of growth will no doubt
continue along those lines and increase exponentially with every new
generation.
The only real question in my mind is what form Charedism
will take.
I have expressed my views on this many times –views which
were first noted by Rabbi Berl Wein. I firmly believe that Charedim will increasingly
take the form of moderate Charedism.
That means that Charedim will employ
(and in many cases already have employed) many of the modalities of Modern
Orthodoxy. Like having professional careers requiring university educations for
example. That's why places like Touro exist and flourish.
I can't understand why anyone would deny this reality. Is there anyone who thinks that Charedim will
suddenly reject the values they have been indoctrinated with and suddenly become adherents of Torah U'Mada?
That Modern Orthodox Jews have a sizable number is also
true. But their rate of growth is a fraction of the Charedi rate of growth. The
very nature of a more open society that is a hallmark of Modern Orthodoxy creates an environment that is more conducive to assimilation.
Those without a firm grounding in the values of observant
Judaism can easily abandon it in college where the pressure to conform to the
campus social life is very strong. Especially in those schools with little or
no Jewish presence.
Who among MO will fall prey to these negative influences?
I believe that many MO Jews (those who I call MO-Lite of
which I think there are a great many) do not provide their children with the
kind of grounding that can withstand the pressures of campus life. By opting for the best University they may sacrifice a
strong Jewish presence other schools might have - and hope for the best.
On the other hand committed MO Jews on either the right or
the left will survive and so will their children. They will opt for YU, Touro, or a university like
Penn with a strong Jewish presence.
In the Charedi world where observance and fear of outside
influences infecting their Hashkafos is always the primary concern – they do
not fall prey as much to assimilation because they fight it tooth and nail…
preferring isolation over any exposure at all.
True, Charedim have other problems much of which is caused
by that very isolationism. But even if you even out the attrition rate of both
MO and Charedim, the exponential growth rate over that of Modern Orthodox Jews
definitely points to their numbers increasing. And comprising the lion’s share
of Orthodoxy.
This does not of course mean that MO will disappear. Of
course they won’t. Not as long as there is a Yeshiva University. And as well because
of MO Gedolim like Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and rising stars like Rabbi Michael
Broyde.
But though they will not disappear I firmly believe that they
will be joining the ranks Moderate Charedim as a socially cohesive group. Those
joining those ranks from among MO will be those I classify as Right Wing Modern
Orthodox (RWMO). That’s’ because the values of this group are similar to those
of moderate Charedim. As is their choice
of lifestyle. The only real difference between them will be a Hashkafic one which
on a day to day basis means very little. Where it may matter is where their children
might go. The RWMO will generally choose a YU whereas the moderate Charedi
might choose a Touro.
MO lites whose knowledge of and commitment to
Judaism is not as strong as is their other interests - will not be major
contributors to this new demographic. Their children run a higher risk of assimilating
for reasons I stated earlier.
Left Wing Modern Orthodox Jews (LWMO) - though sincere and committed
to their beliefs - are too far out of the mainstream now in my view for them to
be a serious contender for the mainstream Judaism of the future. They may be
around but as they continue to interact to the point of near integration with heterodox
movements …and push the envelope of Halacha as far left as it can go… I just don’t
see that catching on with the majority of Jews and will not be the wave of the
future.
This is why I talk so much about Charedim even though I am not
Charedi. What happens to them… and what
they do… affects all of us.
