Guest contribution by Paul Shaviv
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| Image taken from the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan |
Our respected blogger, Harry,
addressed the latest flurry of anti-Conservative/Reform pronouncements by
Israeli rabbis, political leaders and the Haredi press. His most important point, I think, is in his
last sentence – “…But it does mean taking every opportunity to reach out
- even if it means sharing a stage with a Reform rabbi whose theology you
openly and clearly reject or sending an Israeli cabinet minister that happens
to be Orthodox to a Conservative Shul”. I
agree with him 100%.
However, my take on this issue is
somewhat different, and I am grateful to Harry (as always) for having the
courtesy of providing me with space to contribute to this discussion. I think that the crucial issue here is the
public, leadership status of the protagonists, who – as Harry points out – are
not speaking only as Rabbis, and have considerably broader responsibilities.
Of the current round of
statements, first was the Israeli Minister for Religious Affairs, Mr. Dovid
Azoulay, last July: – “I can’t allow myself to say that such a person [a Reform
Jew- PJS] is a Jew”. He kept his seat in
the Cabinet. Then the Ashkenazi Chief
Rabbi, Dovid Lau, last week, criticized Minister of Education and Minister for
Diaspora Affairs, Naftali Bennett, for visiting a Conservative Day School in
New York – “... behavior unacceptable to the Jewish public, etc. etc. etc.”. He is still Chief rabbi.
Not to be left out, the Haredi press, led by
Yated Neeman, criticized Israeli President Reuven Rivlin for being in the same
room as a Conservative rabbi … in the White House! Well-known purveyor of extreme views (to
which he is nevertheless entitled), Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Sfat, joined in
with a comparison between non-Orthodox Judaism and the Holocaust. It seems as though nothing will dislodge him
from Sfat.
Listening to these Israeli rabbis
and leaders, it sounds as though they imagine US Jewry to still be solidly
Orthodox or traditional, with upstart movements snapping at their heels –
movements which can be totally marginalized if Orthodox leaders ‘delegitimize’
them. They seem to be blissfully unaware
that non-Orthodox Jews are a huge majority of the Diaspora, and that – for
better or worse – they will not listen to orders by Orthodox rabbis. (I also feel it is infantilizing the Jewish
public to assume that they cannot understand that different rabbis hold
incompatible opinions, and that seeing an Orthodox and a non-Orthodox rabbi
together will lead them to think that one confers credibility on the
other.)
One has to ask oneself a series
of questions: What century do these
people live in? Do they know anything
about Diaspora Jewry (probably not), or the last two hundred years of Jewish
history (also, probably not – they don’t teach history in Yeshivot)? Do they have any idea of the intense damage
they are doing, at a time when the image of Orthodoxy in Israel and in the
Diaspora is, overall, already dismally negative?
My guess is that this new verbal
offensive is connected to feelings that Israel is moving towards ‘recognition’
of non-Orthodox (or alternative Orthodox…) movements and streams. Maybe it is.
If so, it should surprise no-one, since the establishment Orthodox appear
so unfriendly and hostile not only to the Israeli population, but to the very
State itself. However, that is not my
point in this piece. Instead, I want to
discuss what I believe is the incalculable harm these pronouncements inflict on
Diaspora Jewry, and on Jewish support for Israel.
Surprise, surprise, non-Orthodox
Judaism is not something new. The first
purpose-built Reform Temple opened in Hamburg in 1819 – almost two centuries
ago. The Conservative movement in the
USA is over a century old. The nineteenth century saw fierce battles for
control of European Jewish communities. But for the overwhelming majority of
Jews outside Israel, those battles are over. Hitler y”ms, and in a different
way, Israel, put an end to those arguments.
We agree to disagree.
The
obliteration of European Jewry, and the rise of North American Jewry, also
changed the map. In America, the
Orthodox were the last to arrive and the last to organize – and unlike almost
every other Jewish community in the world, the Orthodox were, and still are,
only a minority in the Jewish population. (And among them, a sizeable
proportion are either non-Zionist or anti-Zionist.)
Here are some points to consider:
Most important, in my view: there is barely any such thing as secular
Judaism in ‘chutz la’aretz’. Whether
they are near or far from Jewish observance, or Jewish tradition, most Jews
still define their Jewishness as somehow connected to religion. Many, if not most, also see “Israel” as
representing the center of Judaism and Jewishness. (It is a central paradox of
Jewish history that Israel itself, for all sorts of reasons, does not
necessarily share this self-image). If
central figures in Israel – Chief rabbis, Cabinet Ministers – tell the Jewish
masses that they are not Jewish, or their Jewishness is unacceptable – the
natural reaction will be “Then why should I bother? If Israel doesn’t want me – fine. I don’t have to be Jewish – and I don’t have
to bother supporting Israel any more!”
Israel totally misjudges what
will ‘turn off’ American Jews from Israel.
Life, and allegiance, is about emotions. The sort of public
pronouncements referred to above, the sight of women being arrested by Israeli
police because they want to pray at the Kotel, horror stories regarding the
discrediting of conversions, or announcements about the ‘right not to work’,
not to serve in the Army, and the ‘right’ to live off the public purse - all impact
more on the American psyche (including – make no mistake – many Orthodox
psyches) than security or political issues.
The former affect the most important beliefs we hold, and most Jews
regard the latter as matters for Israelis to decide.
The organized political and
financial support for Israel in the USA comes overwhelmingly from non-Orthodox
Jews. Alienate them at your peril. The lukewarm, politically motivated non-reaction
from Prime Minister Netanyahu to the latest broadsides is grievously
misjudged. If Israel claims the
attachment and support of all Jews – it has to be a country for all Jews (and
all of its citizens). A broad umbrella (Israel) must be inclusive and friendly,
not exclusive and insulting.
History has overtaken denominational
arguments. Whether Reform and
Conservative Judaisms (and other, smaller streams) were originally founded to
keep Jews in the fold when they were already leaving in huge numbers (which I
believe is historically accurate), or whether they were founded to offer ‘easy
exit’ (the official Orthodox line) is irrelevant. Nowadays we coexist (sometimes uneasily),
recognise our differences, recognize our overwhelming common interests, and respect
the positive in each others’ programs.
Diaspora Jewry, including
Orthodoxy (especially outside NY/NJ, whether it admits it or not) faces huge,
and real, practical challenges in a rapidly changing Jewish world. How should synagogues, families and
individuals relate to interfaith families? (The flood of seasonal ‘Chrismukkah’
articles seems more this year than I ever remember.) Or the changing Jewish family? Or changing gender norms? How do we deal with BDS? How do we keep being Jewish affordable,
especially to young families? What is
the future of synagogues? In all of
this, we look to Israel for constructive and sympathetic support – not
negativity and aggression.
We may agree or respectfully
agree to disagree with Jews of different beliefs and denominations to our
own. We – and especially those in public
positions - do not have to be insulting, or sneering, or aggressive, or
rude. Making wild statements which are
barely, if at all, grounded in contemporary reality, are not helpful.
Does anyone really believe that a
Conservative day school in today’s Jewish community is anything other than a
positive force for Judaism? (That an
Israeli Chief Rabbi is attacking Diaspora Jewish day schools – of whatever
allegiance - is in itself surreal.) Do
our Israeli brothers know that many teachers at non-Orthodox day schools are
Orthodox? Or that many Orthodox rabbis
lecture and take part in joint programs with Conservative and Reform rabbis?
A more jaundiced observer might also
comment that Mr. Azoulay, Rabbi Lau, Rabbi Eliyahu and Yated Ne’eman have more
than enough work to do in Israel itself before commenting on a community of
which they are clearly ignorant.
Finally, a personal note. A few weeks ago I underwent serious surgery,
from which, thank G-d, I am well on the way to recovery. But as a result, I learned to appreciate more
those beautiful, more meditative and more personal first opening pages of Shaharit,
before the ‘brachot’. One of the very
first blessings we say on beginning prayer in the morning, part of the ‘Birkat
haTorah’ is ‘Veha’arev na…’ – “… make the words of Your Torah sweet in our
mouths and in the mouths of your people, the house of Israel….”
It is good advice. And, whatever you wish to say, if you cannot
speak ‘b’darchei noam’ – consider remaining silent.
Paul Shaviv, after many years of
heading Jewish Day Schools, is a management consultant for independent schools
and NFP’s.
