On the one hand, I thought they looked kind of cute dressed
like that. But the fact is, the insistence on this mode of dress is about far
more than cuteness. It reflects the necessity of conforming to the ideology
that this dress code has come to represent.
This is not to say that the Charedi world doesn’t have the
right to dictate the culture in which their adherents live - including the way
they dress. Of course, they do. What troubles me is that this school is by far
the largest day school in the city, with over 1,500 children enrolled. While
the parent body may be comparable to that of other mainstream Orthodox day
schools here in Chicago, the number of children per family is significantly
higher. And that too is okay.
But what this unfortunately means is that the Hashkafa
(ideological worldview) that defines them is likely to become the dominant
Hashkafa of Orthodox Judaism. And in my view, what they accuse my Hashkafa of
being - is precisely what I accuse
theirs of being: Krum.
Krum is the Yiddish word for “crooked.” In the
context in which both Charedim and Modern Orthodox (or more specifically,
Centrist) Jews use it, it does not imply illegality or a violation of Halacha.
Rather, each side claims that the other's path to fulfilling the will of God is
not the most ideal, and should not be prioritized.
Charedim believe that the highest priority for every Jewish
male is full-time Torah study, and that anything else - no matter how important
- should be sacrificed toward that goal.
Centrists believe that Torah study should also be a
priority, but not to the exclusion of all else - except for certain
extraordinary individuals whose clear mission in life aligns with that path.
Centrists believe that Torah is not the only thing that
should be studied by the vast majority of the Jewish people, and that God is
best served by utilizing the unique, God-given talents of each individual. So
if a Jew has a particular aptitude for a profession or field that benefits
Torah or humanity, they have an obligation to pursue that path rather than
force themselves into a mold of full-time Torah study. THAT - without
elaborating any further - is the essential difference between us.
As much as I believe that the Centrist Hashkafa more
accurately reflects the will of God, it is increasingly becoming a minority
opinion. While Orthodox Jews in both the Charedi and Centrist worlds tend to
have larger families than the rest of the modern world, it is no secret that
the Charedi world outpaces us - probably by orders of magnitude in each
generation.
Now, of course, I have no problem with having large
families. Kein Yirbu! But when that comes along with the kind of rigid
indoctrination represented by the sight of those young Charedi schoolchildren
in their uniforms - it troubles me deeply. Not just because it prioritizes Torah
study to the exclusion of all else, but because it also instills in its
adherents the belief that their rabbinic leaders are nearly infallible.
So when these leaders make public pronouncements on matters
of public concern, their statements are accepted uncritically as the ideal Torah
standard by which they should all live.
In some cases, that deeply disturbs me. Especially these
days when it comes to matters concerning the State of Israel. The latest
example came from one of their leaders at a time when a sense of solidarity
with the state would have been appropriate. Instead, he offered the standard
condemnation of Israeli leaders for congratulating themselves on their victory
over Iran: ‘Koḥi
V’otzem Yadi’ – ‘my strength and the power of my hand’ brought this
victory.”
He then followed with the usual line that the real credit for
any victory against Iran goes to those who dedicate their lives to full-time
Torah study with true Mesiras Nefesh - the intense self-sacrifice they
put in towards that end.
But in doing so, he completely ignored what the Prime
Minister actually said. He asked God for help in achieving victory before the
attack and thanked God for helping the IDF achieving it afterwards.
It is sad that the words of truth came NOT from someone
revered by vast segments of the Charedi world, but from a non-observant Jewish
leader. Words more recently echoed by a non-Charedi rabbinic figure, Rabbi
Eliezer Melamed, who was quoted in Arutz Sheva saying the following:
“One must be precise and say that we reached all these successes with God’s help. In other words, the military achievements were made by idealistic, talented, and brave people who, for years - with diligence and resourcefulness - gathered intelligence and formulated successful plans. And thanks to heroic soldiers who trained for the missions, risked their lives, and entered enemy territory by air and land to deliver a crushing blow.”
This is the essence of Emes - the truth of Torah.
That the Charedi world refuses to recognize the IDF’s role in this, and the
sacrifices that they and their families have made over nearly two years of war,
is the height of insensitivity. An insensitivity in service of the false god of
self-congratulation.
Ironically, Kocḥi
V’otzem Yadi may better describe the attitude of the kind of Charedi
leadership that accused Israeli leadership of it. At least in a spiritual sense.
Because they believe that only their spiritual strength, as expressed
through their Torah study, is what matters. The spirituality of
thousands of IDF soldiers - many of whom are devoutly observant - seems not to
exist in their worldview at all.
This is why they insist on their ‘uniforms’ from their
earliest days in school. They want to ensure that Hashkafos foreign to their
worldview - including those regarding the Jewish state - do not influence their
children. And the best way they seem to do that is by making them look as
different as possible from the rest of us - within the bounds of socially
acceptable modern attire.
And white shirts with black pants certainly achieve that.
I wish it weren’t so. But so it is.
One might wonder why I care so much about what Charedi leadership thinks. For one thing, I care about Emes, and I want to see it promoted, not ignored - or worse, denied - by the leadership of the largest and fastest-growing segment of Orthodox Judaism. But even more importantly, I abhor the complete marginalization, if not delegitimization, of all other segments of Orthodoxy (no matter how observant they are) by largest segment of Orthodoxy.
This is something that I cannot in good conscience ignore and simply say it doesn’t apply to me.
Kol Yisroel Areivim Zeh BaZeh. All Jews are responsible for one another. I care what other Jews think. Especially if they are observant like me. And even more especially if they outnumber people like me. By increasing orders of magnitude over time.
*The original version of this post referenced yesterday as the day I noticed that. I have been informed that that mode of dress is worn by young Charedi students on Rosh Chodesh. Students are told to dress up in honor of that day and otherwise are not required to wear 'the uniform' on a daily basis. It must have been on last Friday when I noticed their mode of dress. Not yesterday. I apologize for the error which has since been corrected.
