I believe
that is certainly the case today. In my view - previous generations of Gedolim
were far more cognizant of what Judaism entails than today’s rabbinic leaders.
This does not mean that we don’t have an obligation to respect the views of
today’s leaders. But it does mean the previous generation had a leg up on
today’s generation.
Which brings
me to the Chazon Ish, Ben Gurion, and
the Agudah of the early days of Israeli statehood. They made public policy decisions
then that – were they to be followed today, there would be no animosity against
what the Israeli government wants to do for them with respect to serving their
country or in better educating their masses.
I was recently
forwarded a document from 1947. It is a call by the Agudah for all Charedi residents
of Jerusalem age 17 to 25 to serve their
country. It is based on assurances that all concerns of the Charedi community
are met with respect to issues of Kashrus, Shabbos and a general religious
atmosphere.
I don’t know
if this was ever carried out. I tend to doubt it. Perhaps because their assurances
were never fulfilled. Or perhaps because the subsequent agreement between the
Chazon Ish and Ben Gurion where Charedim in Yeshivos would be exempt from service
(called the status quo). But the clear point to be made here is that in theory the Charedi world saw
no problem with Charedim serving their country provided their religious sensitivities
were respected.
(Of course
this call by Agudah exempted women. In my view a wise decision irrespective of
religious reasons. I do not believe men and women should serve together in the
armed services of any country for many reasons that are beyond the scope of
this essay. But for men? No problem at all.)
Well now 66
years later, the government is again trying to equalize the burden of service upon
all of its citizens. This is something I support. They have once again promised to accommodate the
religious sensibilities of Charedim. But the reaction to this in the Charedi
world is evident almost every day via
the hateful rhetoric of Charedi politicians and even some Charedi rabbinic
leaders. They treat it like Shmad – forced conversion to another religion. And
compare government officials to the Czar of Russia or worse.
Interestingly
even moderate Charedim some of whom actually served are opposed to it because they see it as financially
unviable for the government to accommodate the masses of Charedim that will be
drafted. Which I believe erroneously leads them to conclude an ulterior motive
of assimilating Charedim out of Charedism or worse – out of observance.
I
understand their concern and their rationale for it. But I do not agree. That’s
because the government promised to try accommodate their concerns. It ought to be given a
chance and not automatically be opposed, at least in theory. The focus
ought to instead be on making sure that the government keeps its promises and
work towards that goal.
Some may argue that things are different now than they were then... that now the situation
is much worse and the draft must therefore be fought with vigor. I think they are right
about one thing. Things are different now. But not in the way they are
saying. Things are different in the sense that much as it would like to, the
government is no longer set on using the army for its melting pot assimilationist
purposes. They have proven that by creating Nachal Charedi. And they have promised to apply the same type
of accommodation in drafting the Charedi masses.
Another
thing that is being fiercely opposed by today’s rabbinic leaders is Limudei
Chol – secular education. They insist that their high school students
study Torah only. They therefore consider any attempt by the government to implement
a core secular curriculum that includes subjects like, Hebrew language, history
and science as Shmad. Just as it was considered
Shmad when the Czar tired to do it in Russia over 100 years ago.
But the
previous generation of Gedolim didn’t think implanting secular studies was
Shamd. They actually approved of the government doing so. What kind of Gadol approved
of it? Try the Chazon Ish. A core curriculum was in fact part of the original
status quo agreement. From Rafi’s Life in Israel blog:
Education: complete autonomy of each education system will be guaranteed (as an aside, this arrangement is already in place between the Zionist Agency and Knesset Israel even now) and the government will not violate the religious status and religious conscience of any group of Jews. The State, of course, will determine the minimum obligatory courses, Hebrew language, history, science, etc. and will supervise compliance with this minimum, but it will give full freedom to every stream to manage education as it sees fit, and will stay away from encroaching on their religious conscience.
I have also
noted in the past that even a Gadol such as Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld permitted Rabbi Dr. Shmuel Auerbach (no relation to the current rabbinic leader by the same name) to establish - in the Yishuv HaYashan - schools with a core secular curriculum in order to counter the secular schools that were
being established then. He feared that those schools would attract parents whose
children would then be indoctrinated to abandon their religious beliefs and
observances.
Today’s Charedi
rabbinic leaders see only red at the mere mention of Limudei Chol. They consider
it an encroachment on their rights to teach their children as they see fit.
Really? The
Chzaon Ish didn’t think so. Rav Yosef Chaim didn’t think so. As long as these
schools are given complete autonomy to teach their own Hashkafos – a core curriculum
as mandated by the government was not seen as a problem.
I don’t know
how this current cultural conflict will end. But if you look at how the great
historical figures treated these two issues and combine that with the common
sense approach that the rest of the observant world has about them today, I don’t
see how they can possibly make any rational argument to support their cause.
