The Price of Ignorance

Satmar Chasidim of Kiryas Joel (5 Towns)

A few years ago, advocacy groups like Agudah mounted a concerted effort to defend the rights of certain segments of Chasidic Jewry to remain ignorant of secular studies. Legal experts were hired to argue the case in court that such rights fall under the religious freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.

The truth is, they’re right. If people choose to remain ignorant based on a religious principle that holds that religious studies supersede secular studies - and are far more important to their spiritual welfare than, say, learning about American democracy or even speaking English properly - that should be their right.

But what about preparing young people to function in society and qualify for jobs requiring more than a second-grade reading level? That does not seem to concern the defenders of this educational philosophy. Extremist Chasidim in isolated communities like Kiryas Joel (Satmar) believe that full-time religious study, to the complete exclusion of secular studies, is vital to their spiritual well-being. Requiring them to dilute any of their religious studies, they argue, violates their fundamental rights as American citizens.

I have always felt, however, that emphasizing the spiritual at the expense of material well-being harms them not only materially but spiritually as well.

To be fair, many Chasidim who subscribe to this mentality function quite well in life. They marry, have large families, and manage to live relatively happy lives despite their modest circumstances. Their lives revolve around their Chasidic Rebbes. They may be impoverished by society’s standards, but they are happy in the orbit of their Rebbe, who somehow ensures that no one starves, everyone has a place to live, and everyone has some sort of job

Furthermore, Chasidic entrepreneurs often do remarkably well without much secular education. There are many wealthy Chasidim worth millions, even billions, of dollars. But it is equally true that many live below the poverty line and cannot escape it, largely because they lack the basic communication skills needed to obtain meaningful employment.

Many years ago, a group of young former Chasidim established an organization called Yaffed to address this problem. Their goal was to compel the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to enforce state educational requirements in private and parochial schools. While mainstream Orthodox schools generally observe these requirements, sects like Satmar have largely ignored them, with NYSED long having turned a blind eye.

Following a legal battle, a compromise was reached under which these Chasidic schools agreed to offer some form of secular education.

Fast-forward to today. eJewish Philanthropy published an article by Yaffed Executive Director Adina Mermelstein Konikoff arguing that little has changed. She writes:

“In New York, thousands of children complete Hasidic and Haredi schools without receiving the education required under state law. Many leave school without basic proficiency in English, mathematics, science, or civics. Some struggle to find meaningful employment.”

She also points out that civic participation requires education. Citizens must be able to read a ballot, understand a contract, earn a living, serve on a jury, and support themselves and their families.

Konikoff’s point is that while people criticize the lack of secular education in Israel’s Charedi schools, they ignore the same problem here in America. The addresses may be Brooklyn, Kiryas Joel, Monsey, or New Square rather than B’nei Brak or Jerusalem, but the underlying issues are strikingly similar.

I could not agree more.

Agudah and other advocates have vilified Yaffed, accusing it of harboring an anti-religious agenda. They claim its founders are disgruntled former Chasidim seeking to tear down their former communities. Perhaps there is some truth to their suspicions. I have no idea.

But don’t kill the messenger…

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Jewish Education for All

Just when you think all hope is lost, something happens to change all that. Although, what I am about to discuss in this vein was one of the worst terrorist attacks in Jewish history: the October 7^th massacre, in which Hamas terrorists brutally raped, tortured, and/or murdered over 1,200 innocent Jews in Israel and kidnapped several hundred more - it did change things.

Obviously, this is not the kind of event one would ever hope to use as a recruiting tool for outreach to uncommitted Jews. But sadly, it has been one of the most effective recruiting tools of my lifetime.

This has been aided even further by the antisemitism sparked by Israel’s military response to that massacre. I of course would rather not have had this event happen at all, regardless of how many otherwise unconnected Jews it inspired to explore what it means to be Jewish. But tragedies of this magnitude do have this kind of effect. When Jews are singled out for attack, many Jews want to learn what it means to be a Jew.

I wish this were a more or less universal response among uncommitted Jews. Sadly, some Jews have gone in the opposite direction rejecting everything Jewish because of its association with the State of Israel, which they now see as genocidal and wish to see destroyed. But I do not believe this represents the mainstream secular Jew, who is mostly clueless about his religion and whose curiosity about it has now been awakened. This has apparently sparked the following developments, as described by eJewishPhilanthropy:

After Oct. 7, 2023, Jewish parents started asking different questions — not only whether their children are safe, but what does it mean to raise a Jewish child in this moment? What do I want my children to know about who they are? And what will ensure there is a next generation that not only knows it is Jewish, but wants to be?

For many families, those questions led somewhere very concrete: a Jewish school…

Oct. 7 did not only awaken alarm. It awakened a determination to hold tighter to the people, traditions and identity that suddenly felt more fragile than ever. We saw families put on Stars of David they had not worn in years and walk into synagogues they had rarely attended.

And we saw parents choose Jewish education.

This phenomenon may help reverse the trend of so many secular Jews opting out of Judaism entirely, with intermarriage rates among non-Orthodox Jews exceeding 70%.

I had just about given up hope that these Jews could ever be reached and convinced to value their Jewish heritage instead of abandoning it as though it were the plague. And with antisemitism at one of its highest levels in decades, it is no small wonder that many secular Jews do not want to identify as Jewish at all.

But with the increase in enrollment numbers cited in this article, there is hope that not all is lost. Children of families that never previously considered a Jewish education for their children are now seriously considering it.

That is despite the cost of tuition, which in most cases is unaffordable for parents to pay in full - and, in some cases, even in part.

So there is the conundrum: How do we educate the children of Jewish parents who cannot afford the tuition for the education they now want for their children?

I wish I could say that altruism would prevail over money. If the only way a secular parent will send a child to a Jewish school is if they do not have to pay for it, a way should be found to accommodate them.

This was, in fact, how Jewish elementary schools operated when I attended them in the late 1950s…

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Feeding the Anti-Israel Narrative

West Bank sheep farmer, Mordehai Minster (screenshot)

It’s hard to make the case that Israel is a moral country fighting for its right to exist when you have religious-looking Jews, with large Kipot and Tzitzis flowing out from their clothing, terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank. On the contrary, those who see Israel as a brutal occupier of indigenous Palestinians can easily point to these people and their actions to make their case. And frankly, I don’t blame them.

As reported on 60 Minutes last night:

In recent months, some militant settlers are ramping up their campaign to violently drive out the Palestinians who live there — often with impunity — the Israeli government showing an unwillingness to crack down on the violence.

Normally, I am skeptical of the media’s practice of showing disturbing images without providing context. That is a legitimate criticism of media bias. Eliminating context from a negative story is unfair and distorts the truth.

But honestly, there is no context in the world that could justify the terrorism of these young Jewish thugs. While they may not be on the same level of evil as Hamas, they are terrorists nonetheless.

To the casual American observer who watched this segment on 60 Minutes, the conclusion might well be that the worldwide calls to boycott Israel are justified. How can anyone of good conscience support a country that appears to look the other way while some of its own citizens terrorize their Palestinian neighbors?

Why do these young Jewish terrorists do it?

The violence is often carried out by these young shepherds known as “Hilltop Youth,” who have flocked here for a sense of adventure, told they’re on a God-given mission to redeem the land.

But it isn’t only these young thugs who are trying to push Palestinians out of their homes. There is a relatively new tactic:

Mordehai Minster cofounded this sheep farm. It’s a new kind of settlement here in the West Bank from where his herd is driven deeper and deeper into the surrounding Palestinian communities…

The sheep have taken over huge swaths of land: 20% of the West Bank. In one Palestinian village after the next, herds from these farms have pressed in, and the village shepherds pushed out…

The settlers even push sheep into people’s homes.

When asked about it, Minster acknowledged that it was unfortunate that violence sometimes took place and things sometimes get ugly. But that, he said, does not diminish what he considers his God-given right to all the land of Israel…

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Rabbi Hauer’s Unity Legacy

Rabbi Moshe Hauer and Israeli President Isaac Herzog
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I never thought I’d be talking about the former head of the OU - a man I have never met – a year after he died on the anniversary of his death. But in the case of the late Rabbi Moshe Hauer, who was the Executive Vice President of the OU, it’s hard not to.

That is in large part because of the outsized impact this humble giant had on just about the entirety of Klal Yisroel. From ultra-Chassidic Rebbes to BMG-type Roshei Yeshiva, from Charedi rabbinic leaders in Israel to Modern Orthodox rabbis, from Religious Zionist rabbis in Israel to the head of Reform Judaism. An impact that was all positive.

I don’t think there is any other individual who could have received the tributes he did from all those segments of the Jewish world. Those tributes came from the powerful as well as the common man, from colleagues who had one-on-one relationships with him that they thought were uniquely theirs, yet later discovered that he was the same with everyone he encountered. A man who spent valuable time with the downtrodden and forgotten even though he was often involved with the powerful and wealthy

This kind of care and dedication to all - regardless of station or how far removed from their religious perspective he was seems unimaginable. And yet that is who he was. Reading last week’s edition of Jonathan Rosenblum’s Mishpacha column reminded me why Rabbi Hauer was such a towering figure.

One of the things Jonathan pointed out was Rabbi Hauer’s desire for unity among the Jewish people, a desire I share. But as I noted recently, and on more than one occasion, the prospects of that happening are about as likely as my becoming president of the United States. We have grown too far apart factionally for any rapprochement to seem possible.

Imagine a meeting between American rabbinic leaders from both the Chassidic and Yeshiva camps and Religious Zionist rabbis in an effort to find common ground. A fool’s errand, one might surmise. But Rabbi Hauer was undeterred. His mission of unity among Klal Yisroel was not limited to mere words or wishful thinking, as mine often are. He acted on those ideals…

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Making American Education Great Again

There is an educational crisis in America. That is the contention of Eric Cohen and Steven Price, authors of a rather lengthy article on the subject. And their prescription for a renaissance is based on a return to the Judeo-Christian ethic upon which this country was founded.

American education is failing. Academic performance is down, the teaching profession has been weakened, classical knowledge has been displaced by progressive educational theories, technology has damaged students’ attention span, and religious ideas—particularly the biblical foundations of American civilization—have largely disappeared from public education.

That needs to change. It should not be the case. American education needs to go back to its original focus. And a good place to see where that is still happening is in religious parochial schools, like those of the religious Jewish community.

This is not to say that the entirety of Jewish education is the avenue upon which American education should embark. There are, in fact, several versions of Jewish education, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. But if one looks at its broad mainsteam, one will find a very successful paradigm to follow.

The authors maintain that what is missing from the current American educational paradigm are the good old-fashioned religious values that were once the bedrock of a solid education. One that would produce well-educated and moral citizens with values that reflected those of the Bible.

The Bible they are referring to is what the founding fathers call the “Old Testament,” which is what we call Tanach. And, more importantly, the portion of Tanach that makes up what we call the Torah. Often referred to as the Judeo-Christian ethic.

What has replaced those religious values is a progressive ideology that has abandoned the morality outlined in the Torah, which so many of the Founding Fathers saw as the basis for their national ethos. Today’s youth are subjected less to educational values and more to ideologies that, in many cases, are anathema to the Torah.

That the many cynics among us deny that this country is based on the Godly values of the Torah and seem to believe that the so-called New Testament is what really guides them is belied by the many references made by the Founding Fathers to Jewish history and the Torah. Jefferson and Franklin, for example, wanted to use imagery from the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt as the official logo of the United States. Or the imagery of the pillar of smoke by day and pillar of fire by night that led our ancestors through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land (Israel)…

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NAZA - When Misguided Becomes Malicious

John Spencer (Arutz Sheva)

There’s misguided. And then again, there’s misguided.

The animus expressed against Israel by the left is often based on perceptions that are taken out of context. When Jews are misguided along these lines, however, it is even more troubling. It becomes a gross violation and reflection of what should be their values as Jews. These are the Jews for Justice in Palestine people, whose voices are very loud.

But Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the Jewish directors of a documentary film called NAZA are misguided to a whole other level.

They portray themselves as warriors for mankind. Warriors for justice. Exposing the evil deeds of an evil army led by evil leaders.

When the fact is that they are attacking the very people who are on the front lines of protecting the Jewish people from jihadist groups so savage and brutal that they make Jack the Ripper look good.

These are the people who savagely massacred approximately 1,200 people on October 7 in some of the most horrific ways imaginable—and then celebrated it as a victory for God.

Just yesterday, I read the story of one of those victims - a 12-year-old girl found doing her homework who begged for her life, saying that she just wanted to go to school the next day. She was killed and brutally mutilated, making identification nearly impossible. Her remains had to be identified from pieces found scattered among those of other victims.

And these filmmakers want us to believe that Israel is the villain?

The problem with NAZA is not simply that I disagree with its conclusions. It is that some of its most consequential claims are being presented as established fact despite serious questions about their accuracy, sourcing, context, and verification.

The Israeli military has responded in detail, calling the film “distorted, misleading, and disingenuous” and accusing the filmmakers of substantial factual errors, manipulative editing, and omitting essential context. The IDF specifically disputes the film’s claims about how targeting decisions are made and denies that it ever planned or approved a strike in which 500 civilians were expected to be killed.

But no one has been more scathing in his criticism of the film than Jonathan Spencer, perhaps the world’s most respected expert on urban warfare.

Arutz Sheva reported his reaction:

Urban warfare expert Jonathan Spencer accuses documentary of spreading “lies, lies by omission, and lies of ignorance,” takes particular aim at claim that Israel killed more than 73,000 in Gaza…

Spencer is not some random political commentator. He is the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. You don’t get that position by being a shill for Israel.

His comments are not merely the opinions of some liberal former army officer. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to urban warfare. More than just about anyone else.

So when he accuses these filmmakers of “lies, lies by omission, and lies of ignorance,” he is speaking from professional knowledge, not partisan political bias…

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Centralized Rabbinic Authority

Rav Chaim Soloveichik (Wikipedia)

The biggest mistake made by Agudah’s founders was not listening to the concerns of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, the grandfather of my Rebbe, Rav Ahron Soloveichik.

There is a fascinating article in the latest issue of Mishpacha about R’ Chaim’s connection to Agudah, specifically why he did not personally endorse it the way the other Gedolim of the time did - even though he was instrumental in its founding. The article is mostly about a supposed list of 18 conditions that needed to be satisfied for him to endorse this new organization. Which was created to be a unifying force for all observant Jewry - that promoted a religious lifestyle, with the top rabbis of the era guiding it.

Rav Chaim’s major objection seems to have been the centralized power Agudah’s founders vested in those rabbis. R’ Chaim objected to the idea of a single authoritative body deciding what was and was not acceptable for the entirety of the observant community. He firmly believed that such authority should be left to individual community rabbis, since each community had its own Hashkafos. That belief was probably generated by the following

Since Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch was to be part of that governing body of rabbis (to be called the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah), he feared that Rav Hirsch’s Torah im Derech Eretz Hashkafa would be applied to all segments. Rav Chaim strongly believed that the status quo of his particular segment of observant Jewry should be left as is. with no secular subjects being taught. Why he felt this way is probably related to his negative experiences in Volozhin. Where the antisemitic czarist government wanted to use a secular curriculum to disabuse the Jewish people of their observance. (To be clear, Rav Chaim was definitely not opposed to Limudei Chol per se.)

Be that as it may, his view was that the Moetzes should not be considered the sole authority for all of observant Jewry. (Often referred to as Daas Torah.) Individual Hashkafic decisions were to be left to the leaders of individual communities. Not to a centralized body that would rule over all of observant Jewry.

He was right.

Unfortunately, Agudah decided not to accede to Rav Chaim’s demands. And he therefore did not join in endorsing Agudah, even though he firmly believed a unifying agency like Agudah was vital to the perpetuation of observant Judaism.

I mention all this in light of Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein’s latest Cross-Currents piece, wherein he clarifies why he is so committed to the new Charedi party, Hatzibur HaCharedi. So committed is he that he joined the list of members who will serve if they get enough votes…

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As a Jew

“As a Jew…” Whenever I hear comments prefaced by these words, I know what’s coming next. Which is usually some of the most condemnable rhetoric coming out of a Jewish mouth that one can imagine.

This is the kind of phrase often used by spokesmen for groups like “Jews for Justice in Palestine” or like-minded ideologues. Jews who wouldn’t know a Jewish value if it hit them in the face.

To these people, the idea of Jews living in land “colonized illegally” by European Jewish Zionist is a cardinal sin. Any claim about a Jewish heritage to the land is a form of a particularism that is seen as racist in ideology. Believing that it has nothing to do with “Judaism”. In their minds, Judaism means universalism. Where individual differences by definition cannot exist. Thereby striping Judaism of any defining characteristics - making the phrase “As a Jew” totally meaningless.

Sadly, the only thing that is Jewish about them is that they were perhaps born of a Jewish mother. A mere happenstance of life that has no significance. And yet they continue to use the phrase “As a Jew” as though it made any difference. I challenge any of them to explain the significance of “As a Jew” means to them. In other words, what is it exactly that makes their views particularly Jewish as opposed to universal?

The fact is, they have more in common with Karl Marx than they do with Moshe Rabbeinu.

The contempt, anger, and utter disgust I feel about Jews like this is palpable. Whenever I hear people like this saying “As a Jew,” suggesting that the values they articulate are specifically Jewish, I both cringe and shake with anger. While in some cases they might overlap with Jewish values, in many cases those values are antithetical to Jewish values.

A political or social principle does not become a Jewish value just because Jews embrace it. The same is true of a position that does not cease to have Jewish significance merely because non-Jews also embrace it.

To describe a position as specifically Jewish requires some meaningful connection to Jewish sources, concepts, traditions, or obligations. Modern political movements - may - share important principles with Jewish teachings, but that does not make the movements themselves expressions of Judaism.

The fact that these Jews don’t seem to know or acknowledge that gives lie to that claim.

Sadly, though, it’s not entirely their fault…

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When Will It End?

When will it end? When will the Israeli government finally do something about it? When will they hunt down these vicious Jewish criminals and bring them to justice? Because so far, they seem to have free rein to terrorize innocent Palestinians who have done absolutely nothing to a single Israeli.

The following was reported in eJewishPhilanthropy:

“Overnight, dozens of radical settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Jalud, setting fire to homes and cars, blocking roadways and assaulting Israeli troops who had been escorting a Palestinian family home after they had fled following regular harassment and attacks by neighboring settlers…”

This was not simply a report from some hostile foreign media outlet. According to the IDF, more than 100 Israeli rioters were involved. They blocked roads, set tires on fire, threw rocks at security forces, and set fire to Palestinian homes, vehicles, and other property. Three Border Police officers were lightly wounded. Three suspects have so far been detained.

I am sick and tired of the apologetics. Sick and tired of the defenders of these reprobates who think they are acting in the name of God but, in reality, are acting on behalf of the devil!

I hear it all the time. Apologetics like: How do you know how true this is? Don’t believe everything you read. Do you know the details of what really happened, or are you going to take the biased media’s word for it? Or… how do you know these attacks weren’t really courageous vigilantes who prevented a serious terrorist attack? Or… how do you know these were actually Israelis? They were probably Palestinians disguised as “settlers,” doing damage to their own people for the sole purpose of making Israel look bad.

Sorry. I am not buying any of that.

Sometimes a zebra is actually a zebra! (…not a horse painted with white stripes.)

The apologists and defenders do no favors for the Jewish people by explaining what “really happened.” Is it because they might secretly agree with them? I don’t know. But those defenders are almost as bad as the perpetrators themselves. Because in defending them, they think they are helping the Jewish people survive in a hostile environment when, in fact, they are helping the Jewish people dig an early grave for their country. Our country!

I know the prime minister doesn’t approve of these people. He has been very clear about condemning settler violence, including after this latest incident, and has called for law enforcement to prosecute those responsible.

The problem is that words alone are not enough.

The people with these extremist tendencies were not born yesterday. As heirs to the Kahanist ideology, they have been around for decades in spirit. And the atrocities they have committed have been going on for years. Now they seem to have increased with unprecedented ferocity.

The prime minister needs to act, and he needs to act swiftly. With the same intensity and determination he has shown in acting against Hamas.

These people are causing great damage to Israel’s soul and to its image as a moral country.

They must not be allowed to continue.

All the stops need to be pulled out to hunt down these extremists who think they are acting for God and country; arrest, convict, and punish them to the fullest extent of the law. At the very least, serious crimes of violence and arson should result in serious prison sentences. The only mercy they should receive is the same mercy they gave to the Palestinians whose homes and vehicles they set fire to.

And this is not just about Israel’s image abroad. It is about the kind of country Israel is going to be.

Israel is a nation of laws. That means those laws must apply to everyone.

It cannot be that a person who burns a Palestinian home or attacks an Israeli soldier can hide behind a political or religious ideology…

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Why There is No Unity

To say this depresses me is an understatement.

I am often reprimanded for caring about the Charedi world, as if I should only be concerned with Jews who agree with me.

That is not me. I still believe in Jewish unity, regardless of how futile it sometimes feels to even hope for it. I care for all of my brothers and sisters—Charedi and secular, even those far to the left and far right. I believe there can be a meeting of the minds if there is enough goodwill between us.

And this is why I am so grieved by what I just read in Rationalist Judaism.

Rabbi Natan Slifkin posted a letter that he sent to Jonathan Rosenblum regarding his most recent column, entitled “Where is the Unity?” Therein, Jonathan laments the fact that the Charedi world on the one hand, and the secular and Religious Zionist worlds on the other, can’t seem to find unity among themselves.

I have made the same lament many times. Jonathan explains what he believes are the reasons for this and assigns blame to both sides for this impasse.

But Natan faults Jonathan’s for making claims about the Charedi world fall short of reality.

I am not going to address that here. Although most people know my views about the lack of secular education for men in the Charedi world, what really got to me is the man featured on the cover of the Mishpacha issue in which Jonathan’s column appears. And if there is anything that divides the Charedi and secular/Religious Zionist worlds more than this, I would like to know what that is.

The cover story is about Rav Bunim Schreiber. Therin heis given a tribute for the tenacity and resilience he has shown in his fight with cancer. It is a heroic lesson in courage—not allowing any disability, even one as deadly as cancer, to detract from teaching Torah - his mission in life. It is indeed an inspiring story.

But as Natan reminds us, this is the same individual who, after the October 7^th massacre, when IDF soldiers had started losing life and limb in Gaza, gave the following directive to his students:

“The soldiers who draft are nebuchs. I don’t think anyone drafts willingly… if there was no obligatory draft, nobody would join, other than perhaps a few crazy Mizrochniks…. There’s no need to express gratitude to soldiers fighting in Gaza any more than to street cleaners... Who says that there needs to be a relationship with the injured? What’s your connection to them? Why do you need to have a relationship with them? ...A ‘community tragedy’ is not if 1200 people were killed… a community tragedy is one that affects everyone.... Lehavdil, the Meron tragedy, you feel connected because they were your friends, they were your family, they were your people.... For the entity called ‘The State of Israel,’ regarding which it is superfluous to talk about our opinion, there is no ‘acknowledgement’ and no ‘good.’”

I don’t even know where to begin.

What kind of Jewish leader has absolutely no feeling for fellow Jews fighting and dying in pursuit of protecting their fellow Jews…

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