Painting With Too Broad a Brush is Always Wrong

Scene in Williamsburg last night (TOI)

As I often say when I disagree with Rabbi Avi Shafran, I more often agree with him than not. On most issues we see eye to eye. And it pains me greatly when I see unwarranted, unfair, and sometimes vitriolic attacks against him from some – even religious - quarters  just because they disagree with him and his overall Hashkafos. That is just plain wrong and smacks of the kind of anti Charedi bigotry his current article in Ha’aretz deals with.

That being said, I am in disagreement with him here even though I completely understand where he is coming from. I actually do agree with him up to a point. 

Rabbi Shafran justifiably sees a current of antisemitism – or more precisely a current of anti Charedi hatred on the part of the mainstream media. Some of it coming from some segments on the Left of the Modern Orthodoxy. He correctly notes that when there are open and public misdeeds by a few misguided Charedim, the media nonetheless paints the entire Charedi community with the same broad brush. These days it is in the form of blaming Charedim for the spread of the coronavirus. Here is how he puts it: 

Judging an entire population on the basis of recalcitrant outliers is the essence of bigotry. 

He goes on to say that the truth about the Charedi community is exactly the opposite. They care more about preserving life than the rest of the world. In the case of the current pandemic, most rabbinic leaders not only adopted all of the mandated  mitigation measures but - once on board - exceeded them. This is true.

What is not true is that there are only a few outliers that have or still are violating them. The fact is that there are entire groups of Charedim that are. They are  a community within a community known as Chasidim. 

I hasten to add that it isn’t all Chasidim. Probably not even most Chasidim. But they are clearly not outliers. This was demonstrated by what happened last night in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Hundrerds - perhaps thousands of Chasidim ignored the COVID social distancing policy and attended the funeral of 73 year old Rav  Chaim Mertz, the Tola’as Yaakov Rebbe. (He succumbed to coronavirus.) It was a massive funeral!

This egregious break with New York’s social distancing policy - not only endangered their own lives and that of their families, but the lives of… who knows how many people they will come into contact with. They have no idea whether the individuals they were standing next to were carriers or not. (If there is anything we have learned about this virus, it is that it is being spread mostly by asymptomatic carriers.)  

Rabbi Shafran rightly complains about broad brush strokes. But he is guilty of the same thing in reverse. Painting all Charedim as generally adhering - and even going beyond the mitigation requirements. Yes, most of them do. As he demonstrated with the funeral of Rabbi Ya'akov Perlow:

(The funeral of the) Novominsker Rebbe... took place with only a handful of family members present, and well distanced from one another.

But there are groups of Charedim that don’t care. The broad brush of painting Charedim as adhering to public health policies does not apply to the Chasidim that attended that funeral in Williamsburg last night. An event that prompted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to say the following: 

“I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.” 

The mayor was right to be upset. This was about not only potentially harming themselves and their families, it was also about spreading the virus and prolonging the pandemic!

As was the case with the residents of Ramat Bet Shemesh B I discussed a couple of days ago, these people are ‘Nebech ignoramuses’. But as I pointed out, Nebech an ignormamus is still an ignoramus. And in this case (as is the case there) it is a large group of dangerous ones!

What about the fact that there is a double standard? One which focuses only on Charedim and ignores the same type of violation by a massive group of non Jews. As noted in a YWN headline: 

NYPD Break Up Massive Funeral But Ignore Massive Airshow Crowds. 

Is this not anti Charedi bigotry? Perhaps. But I have said this before and it is worth repeating here. Granted there might be a double standard where observant Jews are judged more harshly than other groups that do exactly the same thing. But shouldn’t there be?

Shouldn’t the people Chosen by God be judged by a higher standard than the rest of the world? Is it not our duty to set an example for the entire world to follow? …instead of complaining about being judged unfairly?

It is with all this in mind that I believe the Charedi rabbinic leadership should make a  public, unequivocal, full-throated, and pointed Macha’ah! ...a condemnation of who, what, and where! Without offering any excuses or explanations. Or complaining about double standards.

YU Rosh Yeshiva, R' Mayer Twersky

It is not enough to only do that with a Chilul Hashem that occurs outside the Charedi world. It is perhaps more important to condemn it when it happens inside of it! That may not change how those Chasidim behave. But at least it will tell the world that this kind of behavior is condemned by  leading and recognized rabbinic authorities.

Another thing. These ‘Nebech ignoramuses’ are not only ignorant about what goes on outside their world. They are ignorant of one of the most fundamental Halchos in the entire Torah: Pikuach Nefesh. From Matzav, here is how Yeshiva University Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Mayer Twersky put it his analysis of our overall handling of this issue: 

One who makes light of the mandate of pikuach nefesh is not only making light of one isolated halacha. Rather, he is guilty of distorting and perverting the entire Torah. His flippancy depicts the laws of the Torah not, r”l, as “merciful, kind and just,” but as vengeful and vicious. It goes without saying that such a distortion constitutes a chillul Hashem. 

This profoundly insightful article should be read in its entirety. I will end with the following words excerpted from that article that articulates how I feel about it: 

While nothing else compares to the gravity of chillul Hashem, we must not ignore other severe consequences of our failures on this front. The chillul Hashem stemmed from the flippant attitude adopted to an immense danger to life. Who can possibly measure the dreadful ramifications of this attitude? Only God Himself can truly know.

At this juncture, our obligation is twofold. We must mend — to the extent that such is possible — the mistakes of the past, while simultaneously, prospectively, charting a communal path which accords with the authentic Torah position.

Regarding the past mistakes, we are obligated to publicly declare our guilt in having been willingly blind and deaf to the manifest reality and being shockingly flippant about the immense danger posed by that very reality. As for the future, we must emphasize — clearly and decisively — that the Torah demands our absolute alacrity in the face of danger to life.

We must not look for pro forma loopholes or so-called solutions which –at best– may mitigate, but certainly will not eliminate, the dangers of this disease. The Torah absolutely condemns and forbids acting in a way which – under any circumstances – may allow for the death of a Jew.

To which I answer, Amen!