Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Charerdi students in Ponevezh (Forward)

I am pessimistic. But my pessimism about the Charedi world may yet change because of the confluence of pressures upon them with respect to the draft and education now taking place. In my view, these pressures could eventually result in a quiet revolution among rank-and-file Charedim—if they are able to express their views through the privacy of the ballot box.

As things stand now, there is a malaise that has been caused, at least in part, by the longstanding tradition of steering virtually every young Charedi man into uninterrupted full-time Torah study for as long as possible. Torah study is expected to be pure and pristine, free of extraneous distractions such as Limudei Chol. This has been the paradigm of the Charedi world in the State of Israel since its very beginning.

How this came to be is beyond the scope of this post. But that is the reality today.

Limudei Chol is considered a dilution of Torah study. As I have noted here many times—and as recently as yesterday—this lack of education has contributed to an unnecessary level of poverty within the Charedi world.

Not that every Charedi is poor. Far from it. Many Charedim have found their way out of poverty, often with educated working wives whose careers provide enough income to support their large families. But on the whole, the poverty rate among Charedim is considerably higher than it is among the general population.

And yet the Charedi public has been indoctrinated to maintain this system as the highest form of Avodas Hashem—serving God. That, together with meticulous observance of Halachic stringencies, is what defines the Charedi ideal.

There is, of course, a significant Charedi working population. But working Charedim are often regarded as second-class citizens by their “learning” peers. That cannot be a very comfortable position to occupy among one’s friends.

That attitude is reinforced by the stridency with which Charedi leaders oppose offering Limudei Chol as part of a Torah-oriented way of life.

The Israeli government has made it mandatory for Charedi schools to offer a verifiable core curriculum of Limudei Chol in order to receive state funding. It appears, however, that the law is not being adequately enforced, and many Charedi schools that do not offer a core curriculum continue to receive government funding.

The reason for this lax approach to enforcement is political. Charedi parties have repeatedly been relied upon to form governing coalitions and have effectively pressured ruling parties to continue funding their schools in exchange for their support. That is essentially the situation today with Likud, although other parties have been guilty of the same practice in the past.

What is the effect of all this on the future of the State of Israel? Is the sky falling…

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