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| Typical Yeshiva Beis HaMedrash |
Although it did not really start with her. It started with
her ‘boss’ - Yesh Atid’s leader Yair Lapid, the son of an avowed atheist
who many saw as anti religious.
How different this Kenesset is from the Kenesset of the
founding fathers! I have already pointed out in a previous post that there are 38 observant Jews in the new Kenesset. They occupy nearly one third of the 120
Kenesset seats. I have also pointed out that it is now fashionable for even
secular parties to have at least one religious member.
This turns on its head the founding fathers’ idea of a
nation devoid of Torah except in its historical and cultural context. As I also
pointed out - back in the old days, wearing a Kipa was the kiss of death when it
came to running for the Kenesset. Only a handful of religious parties had such
people… and they were elected almost exclusively by the religious segments of the
population.
In the years between then and now two things were happening.
The Charedi population grew and the enmity between secular and Charedi
populations grew along with it. This has finally reached its peak in the
current controversy about the Charedi draft. An issue that has yet to be
resolved.
The Charedi narrative has always beens that the secular world is anti Torah
and ‘out to get them’. They also believed that as their own population grew and
representation in the Kenesset increased they would be able to exert more power. Thus having their financial needs met by cold calculated political power - making financial demands in exchange for joining a ruling coalition. All while
maintaining their enmity toward the secular their counterparts in the Kenesset - claiming they were anti Torah. This was a serious miscalculation. They were wrong.
The era of Godless leadership in the Kenesset ended with
Menachem Begin. One might even say it
ended with the Six Day War. In my view with the exception of a few of the
ruling elite in Israel, I don’t think the secular Jewish population was ever entirely
Godless. The majority of Israelis may not have been fully observant. But they were
not fully secular either. And since the
Six Day War there has been a renaissance of observance among many Israeli Jews.
The same is true of the government. There was a time where
an Israeli leader wore his rejection of Halacha as a badge of honor. I will
never forget what I had heard about Yitzhak Rabin when he was the US ambassador
to the United States back in the early 1970s.
There was some sort of banquet the United States government
had for him. It was a kosher catered meat meal. The people in charge of such
things believed that Jews keep Kosher and that a representative of the Jewish State
would require it. During the course of the meal someone mentioned to Rabin that it was a Kosher catered
one. He then immediately asked for a glass of milk to prove that the Israeli government
rejects Halacha. Although this may be an
urban legend, it is not too far-fetched to believe a story like that. Israeli leaders did in fact reject Halacha.
Contrast that with Menachem Begin who while Prime Minister never recited the holy
words of the bible without donning a Kipa. And although personally not observant he never publicaly desecrated Shabbos while Prime Minister. Who can ever forget the Kiddush HaShem he
made when he attended the funeral of Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat. He walked in the procession
instead of being driven in a car – because it was Shabbos! There were many
instances like that.
I need not go into all the various examples of how the
majority of Jews in Israel are religious in their own ways if not fully
observant. (Who can make that claim anyway?!) Suffice it to say that the
majority of the Jewish population in Israel has some level of observance. Like
fasting on Yom Kippur for example.
What is happening now is a monumental step forward. Not only is 1/3 of the Kenesset observant - Torah
study has never been more valued than it is now. Not only The Torah SheB’Ksav (written
Torah), but Torah SheBal Peh (oral Torah) in the form of the Talmud. In the
very same Keneset where the founding fathers rejected Halacha and looked down
on the observant Jew there are now 38 osbservant members and many secular Kenesset
members who not only respect them but
are willing to learn Torah from them!
According to a story in Ha'aretz, a secular party, Yesh Atid, is setting up regular Torah
study sessions in the Kenesset which will have Shiurim given by a variety of
teachers on a rotating basis. Those teachers will include the entire spectrum
of Jewry from the secular to the Charedi.
Imaging that! Charedi rabbis teaching Gemarah in the
Kenesset to secular members! This is unheard of. The founding fathers must be
rolling over in their graves. And who do we have to thank for this? Not the
Charedi parties who have done their level best to alienate every secular Jew
they can. It is the secular party of Yesh Atid, and Dr. Ruth Calderon, a
secular woman from that party.
Unfortunately there are some die-hard Charedim who see this
as a negative development… more dangerous than what the past had to offer. In
the past the enemies of Torah were clear. They openly fought the Torah. What we
have now are secular Jews learning the Torah- thinking that they will no doubt
use it against them.
Hopefully their view will be drowned out by the words of
Torah themselves. Words heretofore rarely heard and certainly not heard on any
kind of regular basis. Now it will be taught by some of their very own Charedi
members.
A positive Charedi attitude has already been demonstrated by
acting Kenesset Chairman, Yitzhak Vaknin, from Shas – a Charedi party. He spontaneously interjected a comment
related to the Talmudic discourse that was part of Dr. Calderon inaugural
address to the Kenesset. It seems like there will be a lot more of that
happening now.
Of course there are still unresolved issues between the
Charedi parties and the non Charedi parties. Not the least of which are whether
Charedim will be drafted into the army; what percentge will be exempt – if any;
and what their service will look like. The two sides are far apart. And who can
ignore all the name calling of even the religious Jews who believe that there
ought to be some form of mandatory military service by Charedim. Like when HaGoan Rav Ovadia Yosef, Shlita
called the observant head of HaBayit HaYehudi, Naftali Bennett a heretic.
We are far from a rapport between the two worlds. But we are
nonetheless far closer to it than at any time since the founding of the State. In
my view all it will take is a little more tolerance from the Charedi side and
some compromise from both sides to come to an acceptable resolution to this
crisis.
Perhaps history will record this moment in time as the dawning
of a new age of Achdus where all Jews can be seen as brothers with
unconditional love and respect for one another.
