A Start - But Far from Enough!

NYPD tow trucks on 16th Ave. and 56th Street in Boro Park (Hamodia)

I was happy to see the strong admonition issued by some of Boro Park’s leaders about what far too many of their residents are guilty of. A statement generated by an event I dealt with last Sunday. From Hamodia, here is the key sentence from that statement:

These practices of bending or breaking the law to suit our own purposes create an enormous chilul Hashem and they need to stop immediately.

A welcome but long overdue statement. I am glad that community leaders are taking this as a serious Chilul HaShem that has to be eradicated. And using forceful language to make their point.

What is interesting to note is that racism is not the only problem. Apparently a significant number of Boro Park residents consider cheating the government to be a positive act if it suits their purposes. A number large enough to call for a crackdown by the police.

I am sorry to say that I am not surprised by either the racism or the fraud. I have come to almost expect it from people that believe they are better and smarter than everyone else. I’ve have heard racist comments far too many times. Although not usually in public.

The racism on display in Boro Park a few days ago reminded me of 2 incidents I experienced. In one case a fellow I know explained how easy it would be to defraud the government because of the ‘stupid Shvartzes’ that work for them. He subsequently went about trying to prove that by defrauding the social security system out of millions of dollars. He is now sitting in prison.

In another case, I clearly recall a prominent Rosh Yeshiva warning Orthodox Jewish voters during a public lecture on Shabbos just prior to the 2008 Presidential election - not to vote for ‘that Shvartze’! (his words). Yes, he used that term in the pejorative way it sounds. I heard it with my own ears! Needless to say, I was shocked!

Why does such racism exist? I believe that the idea that we Jews are an inherently superior people is a constant theme of Jewish education in some segments of Orthodoxy. So instead of ‘White Supremacy’ we get ‘Jewish Supremacy’. Only in this case it isn’t a bunch of fringe Jews that feel that way. It is a bunch of Jews that are among the most religious looking among us - living in mainstream Jewish neighborhoods like Boro Park!

What about that? Are we superior human beings? The truth is that what makes anyone a superior human being is acting in Godly ways. For a Jew, that means following the Torah. All of it. Not just the ritual parts. To the extent that we do is to the extent that we are holier than those that do not act in Godly ways. It is the Torah that makes us a holy people. We - the Jewish people - were chosen by God to be His people as a gift promised to our ancestors, the Patriarchs. Not - in my view - because of any intrinsic holiness. It is observing the Mitzvos in the Torah that makes us holy.

We are not an inherently righteous people. We are not born that way. We have to act righteously in order to earn being called righteous. Furthermore non Jews can be righteous too. Being righteous is not the exclusive province of the Jewish people. As evidenced by the righteous gentiles of the Holocaust. And there are Jews that have been plenty unrighteous – as we know all too well.

The constant hammering by certain educators in certain communities into the brains of their students about how great we are and how evil ‘they’ are - can and apparently does in far too many instances lead to the kind of behavior that generated the admonition in that statement. If someone believes that he is a ‘superior’ human being - racism then becomes a natural inclination. And some of us feel no compunction expressing that to ‘inferior’ human beings.

And it isn’t only racism that is justified. As Hamodia statement bears out, so too is defrauding the government. Justified by the sense of superior human beings they have been indoctrinated to believe they are. They will say that any ill gotten gains will surely be put to better use by ‘superior’ human beings than it would be by ‘inferior’ human beings.

Fraud of that type might even be seen as a Mitzvah. Much the same way a Chasidic Rebbe must have seen it until he got caught and convicted in a massive money laundering and tax fraud scheme a few years ago. Which he must have justified since he used it for the ‘better purpose’ of supporting his Mosdos – the religious institutions he created and supported.

So as happy as I am about this statement, it is far from enough. Its signatories are 3 community service organizations: CB12, Miskaskim, and Shomrim… and one a rabbi who I assume is associated with these groups. I have been told that these organizations are the primary representatives of the Boro Park community. But where are the rest of the rabbis?

Where is Agudah whose rank and file consists of many Boro Park residents? I know that they do not condone fraud or racism. So why the silence? What are they waiting for?

A couple of days ago here, a noted educator came up with the idea of a movement to help solve these kinds of problems.  It would consist of a significant number of  lay and rabbinic leaders from all stripes of Orthodoxy. A force for good that would tackle the all the many fronts that contribute to these problems. A movement that would ignore Hashkafic differences between themselves and focus on the common good of eradicating racism in all its forms from our collective midst. A movement whose leadership would be unafraid of repercussions to their stature when speaking the truth.

This is the kind of Achdus - unity - I have been dreaming about for as long as I can remember. And what better place to start than right here with this issue. If this would happen – things might actually change.

But alas, I have little confidence that it ever will. Agudah has for example refused to ever invite one of the biggest Talmidei Chachamim and Poskim in America to sit on their main dais at something as universal as a Daf Yomi Siyum Hashas. A Siyum they claimed was meant to be inclusive. They refused  because of his association with Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchok Elchanan. Is there any hope that they would join together with individuals like this on a far more important mission that would involve more than just giving them the respect they deserve? I doubt it.

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Agudah will invite such people to sit on the main dais at the next Daf Yomi Siyum - coming up in 2020. Which would be a harbinger for better things yet to come. But I am not going to hold my breath.