Question: What does HaRav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, ZTL and Dr. David Berger have in common?
Answer: Not that much. They are actually on diametrically opposite sides of the Orthodox Hashakfic spectrum. For example on the very important issue of secular studies Rav Shach’s views which carry the day in the Charedi world, have done great harm to the fabric of Torah Judaism in Israel in my view, as I have written about here in the past. Rav Shach has forbidden any Charedi Yeshiva high school to incorporate any form of secular studies into its curriculum at any level. He even went so far as to excommunicate Maarava, a Charedi Yeshiva high school in Israel which has been established with a secular studies curriculum. I’m not sure if the Cherem stuck, but it is certainly off limits to any card carrying Charedi parent (…although many students from Maarava have been accepted to high caliber Charedi Yeshivos post high school).
Dr. Berger, is a professor at Brooklyn College and therefore, quite obviously very supportive of secular education. So what do they have in common? They have in common one of the most important issues of our time: the complete dedication to battle the false Messianism of Lubavitch. They are one and the same on this issue and they are (were) virtually alone in this battle. It is quite remarkable that two people with such widely differing Hashkafos are of one mind on this issue.
In a recent edition of the Internet Yated, Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz, tells the fascinating story of Rav Shach’s battle against the false Messianism of Lubavitch. He describes Rav Shach’s lonely fight and …why… it was so lonely. It was because no one else was willing to put up the fight. Just as Dr. Berger has maintained. And now that Rav Shach is gone, Dr. Berger seems to be the only one willing to continue making the case that the situation is worse than it seems. It behooves all those who are in doubt about how serious the problem should be taken, to read this article. It is also an interesting footnote to this story that the Yated was in essence founded because of this very issue. A very informative article, indeed.
Though the Yated is responsible for some of the worst journalism of the civilized world, I think it is safe to say that the story written on this issue is a fairly accurate history of Rav’ Shach’s position. In fact that is the very basis of the Yated’s editorial philosophy: Rav Shach's position. At least there was one Gadol who was willing to fight the fight and put his money where his mouth was. Why aren't there more?
