 |
| Rav Dov Lando |
The State of Israel should never have come into existence. The Arabs would have happily allowed hundreds of thousands of Jews to come from Europe and live peacefully in Palestine. Zionists are responsible for all the terrible things that have happened. Religious Zionist soldiers die because of the corrupt teachings of their rabbis. Jews should only learn Torah as taught by charedim. Charedim should not participate in the war effort, even if they are not learning, and should not even perform acts of kindness for soldiers. They should not visit them in hospitals, attend their funerals, or raise money for their welfare. And anyone who wants charedim to be subject to the same rules as everyone else and share the burden of the war is evil.
These are the actual published words of Rav Dov Lando, a man
considered by much of the Charedi world to be the Gadol HaDor.
Published as part of its effort to demonstrate where the ‘Torah world’ stands
with respect to the State of Israel, its military, and those who support it in
any way.
Although these statements were not all uttered at the same
time, they were each made by Rav Lando in one context or another.
Ahhhh... there’s that word: context.
This is where deniability comes in. Sometimes it is valid,
and sometimes it is not. Any statement taken out of its original context can
easily be misinterpreted, and often is. Unscrupulous people with partisan
agendas frequently extract outrageous-sounding quotations that, when placed
back into their original context, turn out not to be outrageous at all. And are
often quite reasonable.
But sometimes, when you see a zebra, you shouldn’t assume it
is merely a horse painted with white stripes. Sometimes quotations are so clear
that no context in the world can make them sound any better.
I think it is safe to say that the quotations above fit that
category.
How, for example, can anyone spin something positive out of
a statement like:
“Religious Zionist soldiers die because of the corrupt
teachings of their rabbis”?
Or…
“Charedim should not even do acts of kindness for
soldiers—they should not visit them in hospitals, attend their funerals, or
raise money for their welfare”?
Thing is, the devout Charedi politicians who follow their
rabbinic leaders have not even attempted to deny that statements like these
were made. They defend them
Case in point:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Monday afternoon to remarks by Lithuanian haredi leader Rabbi Dov Lando against IDF soldiers in general, and Religious Zionist soldiers who wear knitted kippot in particular.
“I strongly reject the shocking statements made against IDF soldiers from the Religious Zionist community. IDF soldiers—religious, secular, and charedi—leave their homes, their jobs, and their families, and risk their lives to defend the State of Israel, its citizens, and the entire Jewish people.
“They deserve profound appreciation, gratitude, and full support from every segment of the public, and certainly also from the Torah world,” Netanyahu said.
That drew a harsh response from Charedi MK Moshe Gafni:
“The words of the Gedolei Yisrael are the Holy of Holies of the Jewish people, and we live by them. Those who do not live in the world of Torah and do not understand the depth of their words would do better not to rush to interpret them, and certainly not to attack them.”
‘Holy of Holies.’ ‘Words to live by.’ Regardless of what
anyone else thinks of them. Regardless of whom they disparage - even if they
are fellow religious Jews. It doesn’t matter. How dare anyone question, let
alone criticize, the words of the Gedolim? That would border on blasphemy.
If this doesn’t illustrate the power of Charedi Daas
Torah, nothing does. Any disagreement is viewed as playing with fire.
And yet there are many Charedim who, in fact, do not agree
with Rav Lando. Some have even joined the IDF. Many - perhaps most - at least
understand what the rest of the nation is going through.
How do they reconcile Rav Lando’s words with the explanation
offered by MK Gafni, who was merely articulating the worldview of the Charedi
community. A worldview that grants extraordinary deference to the Gedolei
HaDor…
To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.
