At the time of voting, I wasn’t aware that there were more
than two Orthodox parties vying for votes in that election: the Charedi Eretz
HaKodesh party and the Mizrachi (Religious Zionist) party. I had urged everyone
to vote Mizrachi for reasons beyond the scope of this post. But it
turns out there was another religious party that garnered more votes than
either of those two: Am Yisrael Chai, which Rabbi Adlerstein describes
as an Orthodox party involved in outreach. Apparently, there were also some
other Orthodox party slates I wasn’t aware of, which received votes as well.
According to YWN, the combined total of votes for all the
Orthodox parties outnumbered the combined total votes of the secular or
heterodox parties. (The numbers are still being checked for accuracy and
possible fraud, so we’ll have to wait and see if the final tallies hold up.)
Still, I’m feeling pretty good about the fact that observant Judaism seems to
have become more important to Jews who care at all about Jewish peoplehood than
at any other time in recent memory.
This does not necessarily signal unity, though it should. It
does, however, underscore my long-held contention that our ultimate survival as
a people depends on our observance of the Mitzvos of the Torah.
That Eretz HaKodesh got more votes than Mizrachi should
surprise no one. Charedim vastly outnumber Religious Zionists.
What is perhaps surprising is that this outcome does not
seem to hinge on the Charedi concept of Daas Torah. As Rabbi Adlerstein indicated,
that ship seems to have sailed.
As mentioned in an earlier post, Rabbi Aharon Feldman - a
member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudah - issued a call forbidding
participation in the WZO election, even for the Charedi slate, calling it a Chilul
HaShem. He argued that the very nature of the WZO is antithetical to Torah
values, and participating in their elections—even for the purpose of obtaining badly
needed funding - would be hypocritical and thus a desecration of God’s name.
This view was endorsed by the Roshei Yeshiva of BMG in Lakewood, which even
interrupted its regular afternoon seder Limud so that the students could hear
Rabbi Feldman’s message directly. He sharply criticized those in the Charedi
community (including the Charedi magazines) who encouraged people to vote.
While this wasn’t a universally held view within the
Moetzes, and was never presented as such, the lack of public dissent from other
members left the impression that this was Daas Torah.
There was a time when a Moetzes member speaking out so
forcefully - and without any public disagreement - would have been sufficient.
The Charedi world would have by and large listened to its Gedolim. But this
time, that didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite seems to have happened. As
Rabbi Adlerstein put it:
(Those) who voted did not simply fail to receive the memo. They were defying one message in the Charedi world for different ones they received from their own guides and mentors. Or, they didn’t see it as an issue that required a Torah luminary to pass judgment on, and voted their own conscience.
Eretz HaKodesh got 50% more votes than they did last time,
when it was publicly endorsed by Rav
Chaim Kanievsky!.
Some may argue that those who voted were listening to their
own Daas Torah - their own Rabbis and mentors. That may be true. But no
one has called these guides ‘Gedolim’.
I think the better explanation is this: one need not always
follow a Gadol on non-halakhic matters. God gave us brains, and a conscience
based on our education - equipping us with a moral compass to make independent
decisions. So, when it came to voting in the WZO election, people followed
their conscience, effectively setting aside the pronouncement of “Daas Torah.”
As a result, the Orthodox world will now reap the majority
of WZO’s financial rewards. It will be
distributed equitability based on the numbers who voted per party, which they
can use as they see fit.
I do wonder, though: if some of the money awarded to Eretz
HaKodesh is allocated to yeshivos whose leaders publicly opposed voting,
will they take it? Or will they stay true to their principles and reject
funding from a source they ideologically oppose? My guess is: they’ll take it.
Just as they accept money from a government they also oppose ideologically.
Be that as it may, it appears that Daas Torah, as the
Charedi world defines it, may very well be in its death throes. The idea of
religious edicts handed down from on high by Rabbinic leaders whose ideology no
longer fully aligns with their constituents may be fading.
I’m not sure what the future holds. But the large Charedi
turnout in this election seems to be a form of quiet rebellion. I think that’s
a good sign.
I would add that one of the primary differences—though
certainly not the only one—between Centrists and Charedim is how we view the
concept of Daas Torah. Specifically, whether unlike Centrists their views on non-Halachic matters still carry
the same weight as their Halachic rulings. It seems that gap is starting to
narrow.
And I, for one, am happy to see that.
