Seeking Spirituality in Israel

Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu (Arutz Sheva)

Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu has a fascinating insight as to why Charedim are better able to bridge the gap between themselves and the secular public.

That came as a real surprise to me considering how polarized the Jewish world is there. The image of Charedim seems to be increasingly negative. In fact Avigdor Lieberman, one of Israel’s savviest politicians is running on the premise that he will not serve in any government that includes the Charedi parties.

It isn’t hard to see why he believes that this is a winning strategy. Charedim are painted as self serving abusers of government welfare; who avoid military service; don’t work; and take pleasure in shoving religion down the throats of every single Israeli citizen.

I do not see them that way. But I get why many Israelis might. Which makes Rabbi Eliyahu’s observation so surprising.  One would think that under these circumstances Religious Zionists would be the first place an Israeli would go to seek spirituality. Their lives resemble the secular lifestyle far more than does the Charedi lifestyle.  Religious Zionists are far more integrated into the general culture, serve in the military, work, and do not appear to be abusing the welfare system. And they are religious by definition. Wouldn’t it make more sense to seek spirituality from religious people whose lifestyles more resemble your own?

I think the answer might just be that when seeking spirituality the life they led till then had been unsatisfying. They therefore seek something different. Not more of the same. Becoming a religious Zionist but otherwise living the same way they have till now may not seem like much of a difference from their secular perspective - even though that is not the case. Religious Zionists are observant. Secular Jews are -  for the most part – not observant. Which makes for a totally different life experience in significant ways.  That may not be so obvious to the casual observer. On the surface the lifestyle of a Religious Zionist might seem - if not identical certainly ‘ballpark’to a secular lifestyle.

But there is more to it than that. Religious Zionists have a problem that Charedim don’t. It is a problem that many of us who are not religious Zionists have observed. It is that Zionism is overemphasized. That almost always means focusing on settling all the land of Israel. By which they mean settling the West Bank. Their Halachic observance seems to be almost incidental and secondary to their Zionism. 

Most Israelis do not see a Zionism that focuses on settlements to be a religious issue – even though it is. They see it as a political issue. One that they are not particularly interested in. Settling all the land of Israel is NOT sine qua non of observant Judaism. And not what a secular Israeli seeking spirituality is looking for. They are looking for the kind of spirituality that keeping kosher or observing Shabbos and Yom Tov bring. In other words they are looking at connecting with God in tangible, non political ways. And see that a lot more in the Charedi world than they do in the Religious Zionist world. To put it the way Rabbi Eliyahu did: 

I see two main factors that have caused this disconnect.

One is our investment in the internal sectoral discourse focusing on the settlements. This focus was crucial and welcome in its time, but it cost us a double price.

Firstly, we've gained a reputation as being focused on national security, which has diminished our image as a 'Torani' or strongly religious movement.

Secondly, this has resulted in a Judaism that does not interact with the wider public – like a man who stands in the beit midrash and shouts to people passing in the street.

The second thing that caused us to disconnect from the secular public is a compromising discourse that has western cultural characteristics; a discourse that seems to question everything – the Talmudic sages, the attitude toward the Torah, the attitude toward the Jewish family, and even things that it would have been fitting to preserve a respectful attitude toward.

In order to connect, one has to be connected: connected to your Jewish identity, to your Torah, to your nation. You need to know how to speak the language. We switched to speaking about universal values and forgot to speak about the Torah, forgot to mention the Kadosh Baruch Hu, forgot how to speak simply, plainly and not over people’s heads. We left behind our pride in our Jewish culture, forgot to maximize the simple basics of warmth and affection, on the warmth and within it the reverence for the rabbis, the warmth and from within it the personal connection. 

If that is indeed the case, it is no small wonder that Israelis seeking more spirituality in their lives gravitate to Charedim. Because if one really pays attention they will see all of those things.

What about the above mentioned negative perception of Charedim? Obviously they are not seen that way by seekers of spirituality. They see people living a lifestyle of sacrifice in order to better enhance their connection with God. They see people giving up their material welfare in favor of a better spiritual life.

In my view, as in most things, the truth lies somewhere between those two extremes. Yes their lives involve a lot of sacrifice. But at the same time the way in which they go about it is ripe for abuse. And when that happens politicians are quick to exploit it for their own personal gain. But that is not the sum and substance of the Charedi world. No community is perfect. But that nonetheless feeds the hatred of their enemies. When it comes to seekers of spirituality - by not obsessing over one issue, that of settling all the land of Israel - Charedim are clearly seen as more attractive choice in serving God.

Charedim are thus better able to bridge the gap between themselves and secular society than are Religious Zionists.