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| Israeli Charedi leader, Rav Dov Landau |
“Since the war broke out, I’ve personally raised thousands of dollars in aid for military families. It’s so incredible to see how we are one nation”
“I may live in Lakewood, but my heart is in Eretz Yisrael”
“I haven’t slept through the night since my son went up to fight”
“I lost my second cousin in a battle in Gaza. He was a new father with a heart of gold”
“I feel like I can finally understand the fear of my grandfather, a Holocaust survivor”
Rabbi Slifkin noted that Charedi leaders in Israel see only the ‘suffering’ of Charedim in Israel who lost government funding because their leadership refused to allow a single one of them to be drafted into the IDF. Even into a Charedi unit.
Recall the following which was said by a Charedi leader about Shai Graucher, who among other things raised millions of dollars to help with the war in all kind of ways:
Rav Dov Landau didn’t just say something negative about R. Shai Graucher. He condemned him in the harshest terms. He described him as a mazzik gamur, a “totally destructive person.” And he declared that this should be publicized.
With this Rabbi Slifkin concluded that there is a difference between American Charedim (which is what I think he meant by ‘Yeshivish’) and Israeli Charedim that tend to agree with the attitude of their Charedi leaders.
I think for the most part he’s right. But I don’t think it is the geography that divides them. In Israel it is the nature of extremes that dominates Israeli culture. In Israel, the Hashkafa of Torah only is taken literally to the exclusion of everything else. American Charedim do not live in a culture of extremes and take the Torah only approach with a grain of salt. Which is what makes most of them moderate.
I believe that the vast majority of American Charedim are moderate. And they are the mainstream. Their lifestyles are not all that different from those of us that identify as Centrists. While there are significant differences in Hashkafa, our lifestyles are more or less identical. We tend to live in the same neighborhoods, socialize with each other, Daven on the same Shuls, and in some cases send our children to the same day schools.
Moderate Charedim tend to have decent secular educations and in many cases end up getting a higher education towards professional degrees. They have the same kinds of jobs Centrists do in a variety of fields that include professional, business, and even the trades. We all work hard, set aside regular times for Torah study, and raise our children with similar values. The differences in Hashkafa between Centrists and moderate Charedim never interfere in our interpersonal relationships. When discussions of Hashkafa do on occasion come up, the debate can be lively but rarely interfere with friendships.
My closest freind who died a few years ago was a lawyer by profession and a huge Talmid Chacham. He used to call himself a reluctant Charedi. His point being that he identified with that Hashkafa but privately - not always the decisions of Charedi leadership. He didn't care much for my Centrist Hashkafa but that never interfered in the close friendship between our two families. I loved him like a brother.
I believe that the vast majority of Charedim in America and a minority of Charedim in Israel are like my friend. They believes strongly in the Charedi Hashkafa, but privately do not always buy what passes for Daas Torah in their world. Which is what the above quotes from Mishpacha (via Rabbi Slifkin) represent.
The key word there is privately. A public rejection of ‘Daas Torah’ is tantamount to heresy and will get them kicked out of the club. At least as a matter of how they are perceived by fellow club members. What a moderate Charedi might tell me in private he will never say out loud.
There is still a huge segment of the Charedi world that is not moderate but hardcore right. In Israel they probably constitute the majority. They consider Daas Torah to be inviolable, venerate their leaders as though they were infallible and consider Mishpacha Magazine a piece of trash that should not be read by anyone.
Which is why there can be no grass roots rebellion. It’s just not in the cards. The true believers are very vocal and the moderates are quiet because they don’t want to lose their Charedi credentials.
Making matters worse is that in pursuit of leadership positions in the American Charedi world, many younger Roshei Yeshiva have turned their eyes Eastward for guidance. Which is why so many Charedi high schools in Lakewood have completely abandoned a secular studies curriculum.
But there is still a victory of sorts - at least in America. - in the way moderate Charedim lead their lives and in their private thoughts. At least for now. Where we go from here, remains to be seen.
