What Will They Talk About?

What will their talk tonight be about?

I am not angry at the Charedi world. On the contrary, I am a big fan and supporter of their devotion to Torah study, which is unlike that of any other segment of Torah Jewry. No other community dedicates as much time and effort to that endeavor as they do. The fact is that studying God’s law is one of the most important things a Jew can do.

Their self-sacrifice in pursuing this obligation is legendary. While the Torah does not forbid earning as much money as one is capable of, that is not a goal most Charedim pursue. Those among them who are suited to the task - by virtue of the vast amount of time and unremitting dedication to studying the Torah - should be celebrated.

And yet, I cannot be angrier than I am right now at what their leadership is doing. Or more to the point - not doing. I am angered by their complete disregard for the sacrifices of the rest of Israeli society, including many observant Jews who share their reverence for Torah study.

I am angry that they refuse to even say the word ‘Israel’. As though it were a dirty word. Always referring to the state by its biblical name, Eretz Yisroel, the Land of Israel. They do not recognize the authority of the state and consider it an abomination because it is not run according to Torah law, thus consider it to be anti Torah

That this so-called ‘abomination’ has supported them with perhaps billions of dollars over its 77-year existence is virtually ignored by many of them. Instead, they now portray the new condition imposed on them for continued financial support - mandatory military service for at least a significant number of them - as a vile, anti-Torah gezeira (edict). Gezeira is a word historically used to describe harsh decrees imposed on Jewish populations by antisemitic regimes over the course of Jewish history in the Diaspora. This effectively places Israel’s leaders on par with every antisemitic despot the Jewish people have ever encountered in our long history.

Charedi leaders are now in America on their second annual trip to raise the multimillion-dollar shortfall caused by their refusal to allow any Charedim to be drafted. They are trying to make the case that their community of lomdei Torah will be destroyed without financial help from sympathetic donors outside Israel. Primarily in the U.S. Last year’s goal was $100 million, which they reportedly reached. This year, I’m told it is $75 million.

I’m not sure how they’ll manage with less, but that’s beside the point. What matters is that they seem so concerned about money that they’ve forgotten people are dying to protect the Jewish people. As if their own survival is all that matters. A survival that cannot possibly continue if it depends on raising that kind of money in perpetuity.

What angers me so deeply is that their cries for help seem oblivious to the fact that Israel is at war. A war for its very survival. So many Jews have been killed or seriously injured in action, many of them observant and equally dedicated to Torah study, while Charedim sit in the relative safety of their batei medrash (study halls). The fact that people are fighting and dying for the sake of the Jewish people seems to be completely off their radar.

Now, when Israel is perhaps in its most dangerous war since its founding, these leaders appear more concerned about fundraising for their yeshivos than about Israel’s survival. If they are concerned about what's happening back home in Eretz Yisroel, they certainly aren’t showing it. At least not in any of their advertising material, which speaks only about kavod haTorah - honoring the Torah by attending their events and donating money to their cause.

The saddest part of all this is that I don’t believe most Charedim are actually oblivious to what’s going on in Israel. But expressing dissent would be considered a serious breach of kavod haTorah.

The thinking goes that the rabbinic leaders who are pleading for money are the einei ha’eidah—the eyes of the community. They are presumed to see the world more clearly than the average Charedi and therefore know what truly matters—what to emphasize and what to deemphasize. So despite their own feelings, many Charedim suppress them in deference to the wisdom of their elderly sages.

These leaders are now stuck in the U.S. since there are no flights to Israel. And they are not wasting a moment - holding more fundraising events on behalf of their yeshivos, calling for participation in a public show of kavod haTorah. As if to say that failing to participate is a denigration of Torah.

But what about what’s happening in Israel right now? What about their community’s lack of participation in the national effort to protect the Jewish people? If they do care, it certainly doesn’t show  in any of their public materials. Like the one pictured anouncing sn event in Chicago this evening. 

And that makes me angry. Because being a Gadol - a great Torah leader - does not mean caring only for the yeshiva world. It means caring about all of Klal Yisroel. And showing hakaras hatov – gratitude for the protection they’ve received from the Israel Defense Forces without having shed a drop of their own blood.

That being said, I hope I’m wrong and that they do address the issues I mentioned. I will be happy to be proven wrong. But if past is prologue, I doubt it.