Q&A: Haredi Ideology and Social Norms or Morality
Haredi Ideology and Social Norms or Morality
Question
Hello to the honored Rabbi Michael Abraham,
1. Can the Rabbi give a summary of the Haredi outlook—what their path is? They have changed over the last 300 years, but aside from conservatism, what other worldview do they have?
2. On the Sabbath I spoke with some acquaintances of mine about LGBT demonstrations. They argued that if people take pride in such and such perversions, then there are no laws anymore and murder and theft are also permitted. I wanted to tell them that there is a difference: homosexuality is a social norm, whereas morality is a universal moral norm. But then it occurred to me that maybe this is not correct. If all human boundaries—sexual and others—have been permitted, then why not permit moral boundaries as well? If you say that LGBT identity was considered good in the ancient world, then it is just a norm; but morality too has changed from place to place. What is the difference? Aside from that, is there in homosexuality or in other perversions something deeply repulsive, similar to murder or cannibalism? Will breaking cultural boundaries also permit breaking moral boundaries for those who do not hold by religion?
Answer
- Haredism has not existed for 300 years, but for less than a hundred. The basic ideology of the Haredim is opposition to Zionism (Haredism was established against Zionism, not against the Enlightenment), and accompanying that is opposition to innovations. But there is no clear line that defines them.
- These are foolish arguments. I am really not at all sure that there are more thieves and murderers among LGBT people than among the Haredim. At the moment, those who excel in violence and dishonesty are not them.
- It is indeed true that without faith / belief there is no basis for morality (see the Fourth Notebook), but fortunately not the whole world is consistent, and many people uphold moral principles even though, on their view, they have no real basis. It is worth taking into account that LGBT people say exactly the same thing: if the Haredim take pride in their immorality, then all boundaries have been breached with respect to theft and murder. It seems to me that if there is a group characterized by dishonesty and lack of moral decency, it is the Haredim. So let them adorn themselves first.