Just when I thought it was time to change the subject, as if on cue, I read today of two unrelated events in Klal Yisroel that emphasizes the point made in the last post. The first is the unfortunate passing of Rabbi Yosef Sheinberger, head of the Edah HaCharedis. Why is this significant to me? After all have I not severely criticized this organization many times for many disparate things, from its tepid response to a gay bath house under its control, to its strident rejection of the State and its military forces during a time of war? Yes I have and they deserved it. But what is interesting here are the words of Rav Meshi-Zahav, Rav Sheinberger’s grandson and founder of the amazing ZAKA. Apparently if I thought they were extreme till now, “I ain’t seen nothing yet!”
“Meshi-Zahav pointed to recent incidents as examples of the lack of political leadership within the Edah Haredit. One example was the resent body snatching of a Beit Shemesh woman. The body was reportedly held overnight in a slaughterhouse refrigerator by the more zealot members of the Edah Haredit that were fearful of a state autopsy.”
According to Meshi-Zahav, the Edah is now rudderless and the extremists were prevented by his grandfather from running the show. I can’t wait to see what happens now.
The second event is the investigation of some Religious Zionist Rabbis who actually Paskin’d that General of the IDF central command, Yair Naveh is Chaiv Misah for authorizing restraining orders against West Bank settlers. Are these fringe Rabbis? That depends on what one thinks of "a group of rabbis linked to the revived Sanhedrin: ...Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the head of the Jerusalem Temple Institute, Rabbi Yehuda Edrey, of the movement to rebuild the temple; Bar Ilan Literature Professor Hillel Weiss; Rabbi Rueven Hass and Rabbi Ido Alba." Truth is I don’t know if they are a fringe element or not, although I would hope they are.
I fully expect all the nay sayers to come out and now bash the nefarious government for daring to start a probe against these God fearing Rabbanim. After all the current Israeli government is in fact the guilty party here. The poor settlers are the innocent victims of government brutality.
But that is the wrong focus. The focus should be on the extreme position taken by these Rabbanim:
“About two weeks ago, a group of rabbis linked to the revived Sanhedrin movement - or high court of Jewish law - ruled that Naveh was guilty of three crimes: "Causing the masses to sin"; being a "moser" - someone who informs against fellow Jews or hands over Jews or Jewish land to gentiles; and terrifying the public in a blasphemous way.”
”In their decision, the rabbis referred to a ruling made by the 12th century Jewish philosopher Maimonides, according to which "it is permissible to kill a moser everywhere, even in this time when the courts do not rule on capital cases.”
How wonderful. How loving of Torah these Rabbanim must be. I’m sure they think their words are meant as a religio-political statement and not a call to action. But I’ll bet that those who said similar things about Itzhak Rabin participation in Oslo at the time thought the same thing. What they do not realize is that there are serious people in their midst who do not take a Psak like this lightly. Certainly Yigal Amir didn’t. I can’t wait for the next Yigal Amir to rise to the call now!
Someone suggested that perhaps that extremism is a function of the Israeli mindset. At the time I thought that to be of overstatement, since I can easily point to violent mob-like incidents by religious Jews right here, in the United States. But the truth is that I think he is on to something. It isn’t like I didn’t think of it myself. But I just never focused on that aspect to be a significant one. But the fact that both these groups, the Edah HaCharedis and the Religious Zionists are on the opposite ends of the theological debate about the State of Israel yet both have siginficant extremists who act on those beliefs, makes me think that the extremism is a way of life there. It is moderation that seems to be abnormal!
Everything in Israel seems to be extreme. Whether it is extreme religiosity or extreme secularism, Israel has it in spades.
