Another Look at Greatness in Torah (Column 733)

With God’s help

Disclaimer: This post was translated from Hebrew using AI (ChatGPT 5 Thinking), so there may be inaccuracies or nuances lost. If something seems unclear, please refer to the Hebrew original or contact us for clarification.

Several times in the past, and most recently in column 722, I dealt with defining “greatness in Torah,” and to what extent many of those regarded in the Haredi public as “great Torah leaders” (gedolei Torah) can, in my view, be considered learned scholars but do not merit being adorned with the title “great Torah leaders.” I return to this painful subject because in recent days I came across several videos on a YouTube channel called in Hebrew, “Gedolei HaDor – Degel HaTorah Movement Channel.” A word of warning up front: this channel is for the strong-hearted only. It is an extremely difficult viewing experience (this is absolutely not written in irony; I still haven’t recovered from the shock).

It is a collection of quite a few videos of prominent rabbis from the Lithuanian (Litvish) Haredi community, gathered in one place to present the most distilled picture of the Haredi outlook as articulated by that camp’s leading Torah figures. The videos I saw there present a genuine horror show, combining malice, stupidity, and unimaginable detachment. I have heard such pearls in the past from Haredi rabbis—some even leading figures—but here there is a distilled concentration that constitutes an unusual and unique phenomenon and therefore deserves attention on its own.

These videos were chosen to present things straight from the horse’s mouth: not secondhand, not rumors, not slips of the tongue, not from political operatives or journalists, but directly from the mouths of the so-called greats of the generation. This is deliberate, organized Haredi public advocacy whose editors presumably selected the very best for the sake of the campaign’s success. The mix of elements I noted above stirred extremely harsh feelings in me. If these are considered great Torah scholars, then an average middle-schooler is Moses himself. And if there are hundreds of thousands of Jews—some outstanding Torah scholars among them—who regard this set of people as the greats of Torah, I completely lose faith in everything I’ve been told about the greatness of anyone. Who knows whether the Chafetz Chaim, R. Akiva Eiger, Maimonides, Rav Ashi, Rabbeinu HaKadosh, R. Akiva, Moses our teacher, Abraham our forefather, and all the figures on whom we were educated were in fact paragons as we were told? Perhaps they, too, were leaders of the “Degel HaTorah movement” of their time, and the superlatives spoken about them bore no relation to the vacuum within them and what comes out of their mouths? These rabbis too are presented to us here as ministering angels, every word of theirs the living word of God. Watching parts of this horror show is a tried-and-true prescription for loss of faith (and again, I write this in complete seriousness).

Another point I couldn’t figure out is: to whom is this channel addressed? As is well known, members of the in-group are forbidden to watch YouTube (though perhaps there is already a “kosher” YouTube?). It seems intended for the non-Haredi public. That is, this is the presentation chosen to express the essence of greatness in Torah and the light of faith before the general public—to magnify and sanctify God’s name. This is yet another angle that demonstrates their lack of understanding and detachment from reality. They apparently think these things are supposed to look good, persuasive, and impressive in the eyes of the broader public (see below the superlatives accompanying the videos). Is this real?! I pinch myself and can’t believe it.

In recent days, in the Q&A, someone quoted an instruction from his father that Haredim should not be counted for a minyan, due to their detachment from the people of Israel at large (see there for actual halachic arguments). Let’s leave the generalization aside for a moment and focus on the Haredim of the mainstream—those who truly and sincerely believe, or at least declare that they believe, in the malicious and detached nonsense labeled there as “the pure outlook.” At least with respect to them, I think this is an argument that indeed has real substance. He spoke of separation in the sense of kashrut certifications and the like, but I believe the separation displayed in these videos is far more substantive.

It is worth citing here Maimonides, Laws of Repentance 3:11:

“One who separates himself from the ways of the community—even if he commits no sins—rather, he separates from the congregation of Israel, does not perform mitzvot together with them, does not share in their troubles, and does not fast in their fasts, but goes on his way as one of the nations of the world, as if he is not of them—has no share in the World to Come.”

(Yes, I know: the point there is “separating from the public,” not about “the world” per se.) In Laws of Mourning 1:10, Maimonides speaks of one who separates from the community in the sense of casting off the yoke of mitzvot (that exists here too, but it does not distinguish Haredim from secular Jews). Yet here it is clear that this is not his intent. Maimonides here speaks of separating from the public in the sense of not sharing their troubles and not joining their fasts, proceeding complacently as if one were a gentile. When the public is in distress, he lives his life with utter indifference (think of a smug Goldknopf type). Someone who carries on as usual and marches in the streets to assert his right to evade service, desecrate God’s name, and live off a dwindling public purse—while others are killed for him and support him, groaning under the security and economic burden—so that he can protest against them and defame them to maximum effect. This Maimonides is an encyclopedic description of current Haredi conduct.

I did write in my response there that in my opinion most Haredim are “captured children” (tinokot shenishbu), and therefore their judgment should be lenient. On the other hand, their captors certainly should not be counted for a minyan, for they are wicked villains. But it’s unclear who the captors are! It is evident that many of their own rabbis are also “captured children” (judging also by their level of argumentation; see below). I have written in the past that Haredim are captive to themselves—a captivity very difficult to escape—and therefore I do not know upon whom, if anyone, this ruling can be applied.

The harsh things I have written thus far require evidence. I shall not repeat points relating to the draft obligation and the foolish arguments invoked to justify evasion. I have already dealt with all that. Nor will I touch here on the ridiculous conceptions and hypocritical declarations about who and what sustains the universe, and whether the army is suitable for Haredim or not. These are general “facts” and metaphysical declarations that are difficult to test rationally. I won’t even repeat why, even if all those arguments were correct, they would not exempt anyone from conscription. Nor will I venture into the deranged assumption that only Haredi Torah study saves and sustains us all. Apparently, those who study and enlist do not protect us (and therefore, if the learners devote two or three years to the army and then return to their studies, this will allegedly destroy the state). I also won’t address arguments regarding those who do not learn; they too, of course, “sustain the state” by not enlisting. I have discussed all that before.

Here I want to focus mainly on the arguments, since logic is easier to critique and to subject to rational scrutiny. To that end I chose three sample videos (and one side example) so that you can get a sense of the quality of the arguments and the arguers. I remind again: the speakers are the heads of the most central Lithuanian Haredi yeshivot (I’ve written more than once that leadership of the Lithuanian public is usually given to heads of yeshivot, and I’ve explained the problems in that; here you can see it with your own eyes). These videos were chosen at random (what I happened to hear lately). The channel is full of additional pearls; simply reach out your hand and pick.

About the framing: the moderator and his role

I chose to begin with a video dealing with a relatively neutral question: entering the workforce. The speaker is Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, the current leader of Degel HaTorah—that is, by all accounts a very central Haredi leader. It is worth noting that he’s from abroad, so you might expect his words to be a bit more sane and balanced than is common among those considered the greats of the Holy Land. But first I cannot ignore the moderator’s role and the framing of these videos.

Most of these videos open with a moderator. For those unfamiliar, you must understand his role. It is a bit like moderators at academic conferences, but here on steroids. His job is to present the speaker as an angel of the Lord of Hosts, whose words are like burning coals straight from the Divine, against whom no mortal may dissent. His role is to “set up” the “gadol” (great one) and to wrap the person and his words in an aura of sanctity. Essentially, it’s a preface of fire and smoke before the giving of the Torah.

To get a feel for it, look at the title and descriptions beneath this video, also of R. M. H. Hirsch. The superlatives are utterly detached, especially in light of the content. The title is “The Gadol HaDor, Maran HaGaR”M H. Hirsch, in a brilliant insight.” At the bottom of the video, the following description appears:

“The great mystery of the yeshiva world: Why do ‘prodigies’ fall while others flourish? In a brilliant, sharp, and clear insight, the leader of the generation, Maran Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlita, deciphers the root difference between eternal success in Torah and decline after the yeshiva years. The words were said in response to the moderator’s question at the mighty event—the Bnei HaYeshivot Conference (5785), with the participation of the Council of Torah Sages, great heads of yeshivot, and tens of thousands of bnei Torah. Among those present: Rabbi Yitzchak Azrahī, Rabbi Tzvi Danziger, Rabbi David Cohen, Rabbi Aryeh Levi, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, Rabbi Yehoshua Eichenstein, Rabbi Daniel Arenfreund, Rabbi Chaim Peretz Berman, Rabbi Shimon Galai, Rabbi Rafael Gefen, Rabbi Itamar Garboz, Rabbi Daniel Wolfson, Rabbi Avraham Moshe Ziskind, Rabbi Hezekiah Mishkovsky, Rabbi Yigal Rosen, and Rabbi Bunim Schreiber. In his golden answer, Maran reveals the two paths… Watch now the full response and receive the key to securing your spiritual future and eternal edifice in Torah.”

Note that the entire Lithuanian rabbinic leadership is seated there, and the colossal genius, the Gadol HaDor, at a mighty event, offers a genius innovation before all Israel, solving the most mysterious riddle in the yeshiva world. Needless to say, anyone who hears his words receives the key to securing his spiritual future and an eternal edifice in Torah. I warn you that when you listen to the content of the video you are in for a disappointment. The “mystery” turns out to be a cute question anyone might raise, and there are far greater ones. And the answer you hear is banal and superficial, entirely predictable, very partial, unexamined—mere gut feeling. Of course there is something to it, but any child in kindergarten asked this question would give a similar answer. But I won’t go into that specific video. Now we move from the framing to the three videos I wanted to discuss.

First video: R. M. H. Hirsch on going to work: the moderator and his role

In this video, the moderator opens with a simple premise (part of the “pure outlook”): a yeshiva student finishing a “large yeshiva” is supposed to continue in kollel for decades (ten years is for the weak). I remind you that in Haredi education, all educational institutions are “large yeshivot.” There is nothing else. In other words, the simple assumption is that every graduate of Haredi education—every Haredi person—is to sit in kollel for years and God forbid not go out to work. This with no distinction as to suitability, numbers and proportions of learners, livelihood issues, the question of who will support this parasitic world, etc. “The concept of work is outside any discussion,” the moderator intones in his golden tongue. He adds that “kosher daughters of Israel—99% of them—are not willing even to meet a boy who goes out to work.” I assume that the dozens of percent of Haredim reported to us as working (whenever they’re accused of not working) are all married to that 1% of girls who do agree to meet such “criminals.” To this small man, the matter is puzzling. It might be acceptable to permit annulling Rabbeinu Gershom’s ban (on polygamy) to preserve the purity of the outlook and allow a man to marry several wives. But where did our rabbis find a waiver for the prohibition of a married woman such that one woman is married to several husbands? This is a bold halachic innovation by the adherents of the “pure outlook” (or perhaps a great miracle occurred—six husbands in a single womb). But perhaps it’s just me; after all, going out to work is, as is well known, a matter of “be killed and do not transgress,” and perhaps it overrides the prohibition of a married woman.

All this, of course, is entirely obvious and needs no elaboration. And Rabbi Hirsch, sitting there hearing this collection of foolish nonsense, does not open his holy mouth with even a single comment to that clanging gibberish. But now our moderator raises an enormous difficulty: why is it not like this abroad? The “seraphim” there (and remember, R. Hirsch himself is from abroad) do permit mortals to go out to work (heaven forfend). The moderator notes that abroad it was customary throughout history (no less!—apparently Volozhin was founded in Aram Naharaim in the third millennium BCE—or on day zero of Creation) that after yeshiva one goes to work. And the question: how is that possible? Moreover, the matter becomes sharper in light of the decrees and the millstone of livelihood that the Zionists (the wicked) impose upon our excellent boys. He presumably means the “decrees” whereby the budget granted to each Haredi family that does not work (and whose daughters won’t even meet someone who works) is increased by only a few thousand shekels and not more. Indeed, they have placed over them a king whose decrees are as harsh as Haman’s (the Attorney General and the High Court). Truly, this riddle is second only to the previous greatest of all riddles. But fear not: R. M. H. Hirsch cracks this one as well.

I hope that merely raising the initial notion that a struggling yeshiva boy might suffice with ten years in kollel and go to work—even though it will immediately be rejected out of hand—won’t corrupt the young flock watching this video at the mighty event (oops, YouTube is forbidden, so all is well).

Rabbi Hirsch prefaces by saying that he has explained this many times to people abroad who asked him this question. In other words, don’t think he was caught off guard and couldn’t find an answer, so he pulled something out of his sleeve. Not at all! This is a well-formulated doctrine for many years, and it has apparently withstood all the intellectual challenges raised by listeners in the past. That is, the answer we are about to hear is the pinnacle of a long intellectual process—the fruit of a lengthy intellectual “evolution.” You are surely biting your nails to hear what Maran answered. Listen now to the answer received straight from on high—and let your soul live.

“The Land of Israel is a holy place, and a holy place has different laws and obligations from the Holy One, blessed be He,” opens Rabbi Hirsch. And his proof is straightforward. From time immemorial, Jews ascended to the Land from around the world and made a living through various kollelim (i.e., fundraising abroad). All the problems that arise today, he says, exist only because of excessive focus on materialism, heaven forfend. Instead of continuing to live off charity as they always did (since the third millennium BCE) and as befits all residents of the Land, people seek comfortable lives—criminals that they are. And why do boys want to leave (the yeshiva and kollel, to go work)? You’ll be surprised: it’s not because they don’t want to learn, but only because of the pull toward materialism. Therefore it’s important to internalize that everything is only Torah and to increase our disdain for this world (see column 693 on defining Harediness as “citizens of the World to Come”).

There are so many absurdities here that it will be hard to address them all. I’ll start by noting that R. Yohanan the sandal-maker, R. Yitzhak the blacksmith, R. Yehoshua (who was a charcoal-burner), and their colleagues had not heard of the Holy One’s unique demands of the Land’s residents. They did not know that in the Land of Israel, by virtue of its holiness, one must only learn and not work, heaven forfend. The Hatam Sofer also hadn’t heard of this principle when he wrote that working the land in the Land of Israel is akin to learning and performing the Torah. All the Torah commentators who speak of the transition from the wilderness to the Land—requiring us to cease being eaters of manna and begin to work the land and connect to this world—also did not know of this principle. In fact, the Torah itself, when imposing land-dependent commandments, had no knowledge of it. Or perhaps it spoke only to gentiles living here (resident aliens, of course), because the Jews in the Land of Israel—none of them is supposed to work in the field or anywhere else. And what of King David, who went to pasture sheep here, in the King’s palace in the Land of Israel? Is he normal?! An ignoramus—better he should stick to murmuring Psalms and not dare give a general shiur.

According to his thinking, we should be an entire country of righteous people sustained by international schnorring, with none of us working. What about the categorical imperative—i.e., that the behavior cannot be universalized? It is impossible to maintain an entire state whose citizens do not work. But leave aside the categorical imperative he surely never heard of. What will happen in messianic times when all Jews ascend to the Land and lose their license to work for a living—whom will we schnorr from then? Oh right, from the nations (and the verse will be fulfilled in us: “Strangers shall be your shepherds”).

And what about the duty to teach one’s son a trade? The matter of a trade appears in dozens of rabbinic sources, most of them Tannaitic—i.e., composed in the Land of Israel. What, they didn’t know that trade is simply needless bitul Torah? And what of Maimonides on one who intends to live off Torah study (and even the Kesef Mishneh there—on whom those who permit themselves not to work rely—writes that many tried and did not succeed; i.e., even he only permits it after the fact)?

His explanation regarding the “kollelim” is ignorance of historical facts. People ascended to the Land not necessarily to learn Torah but to live and be buried here. The “kollelim” in question supported not specifically Torah learners. They distributed charity funds. Simply put, the Land’s residents in the past were poor and lacked work and livelihood, so Diaspora Jews supported them. The term “kollel” used in that context refers to a charity fund, not a place sustaining mass Torah study. That is not the term’s current usage.

And what does Rabbi Hirsch think of those who cannot learn all day for their entire lives? Oh, that’s simple: he claims there are no such people. Even those who want to go out to work do so only because of their craving for materialism. In essence, everyone is built for 24×7×120 study. Do you have a greater detachment from reality? Our Sages themselves say: one who does not see blessing in his learning after five years will never see it (Chullin 24a). According to Rabbi Hirsch, such people do not exist at all. So whom does the Talmud speak of?!

And I didn’t understand the answer to the initial question. Does the principle that everything should be Torah and nothing else not apply abroad? There, must one not disdain this world? That is the purpose of our creation—so what difference does it make whether we live in the Land or abroad? What is the connection between the Land’s holiness and the centrality of Torah among the aims of our creation and the vanity of this world?! Every child knows that when the Hazon Ish established the centrality of kollel study at the expense of going out to work, he did so not because of the Land’s holiness but to preserve Torah after the Holocaust—and probably also to distinguish from the secular here. That is likely also why this directive was not adopted abroad, since the fear of gentile influence is lower there. Ah, there is another reason, of course: foreign countries are not suckers who will support all the idlers who don’t work. Only here did they find their useful idiots who fund them. But these overly simple explanations eluded R. Hirsch’s holy spirit as it roams the supernal firmaments.

Finally, I wonder about R. Hirsch’s statement that in the Land of Israel the obligations from the Holy One are different. Where exactly did God say that? We did not learn this in the Torah of Moses; it is not taught in the Prophets, nor triply stated in the Writings—but rather in the words of his prophets in Bnei Brak, whose every word is a burning coal. They innovate exalted teachings—and due to their holiness they do not violate “Do not add” or “Do not subtract.”

He should really have said this: Friends, we fear corruption, and besides, here in Israel there are suckers who fund us by the billions. Therefore we call upon everyone to live off charity despite the moral and halachic prohibition involved. But Rabbi Hirsch prefers to invent folk tales that plant this in the Land’s holiness versus the impurity of the Diaspora, to invent new obligations and prohibitions from God known only to today’s greats (and not to the greats of earlier generations—who spoke of “decline of the generations”?!), perceived through their crystal eyes. It is very hard for me to believe he himself believes this drivel. Needless to say, his listeners of course answer “amen,” for his words come from on high; not only that, they immediately go out and disseminate these exalted pearls on YouTube to merit all the viewers.

So far we have mainly seen foolishness and detachment (though at such a level that we cannot ignore a dash of malice). But we have only begun. Now we move on to the next video.

Second video: Rabbi Yigal Rosen on the draft

In another video, Rabbi Yigal Rosen, head of the Or Yisrael yeshiva in Petah Tikva (formerly “Mizrachi,” heaven forfend), explains to us the distortions and errors of the Zionists who demand that Haredim enlist. The subject is the draft, but from a different angle, so I’ll address it nonetheless. My aim, as noted, is to examine his logic.

The moderator opens with a question: what do we answer ourselves about the fact that some return from Gaza in coffins and not from the yeshivot? Rabbi Rosen answers that from “our perspective” (the Haredi one) there is nothing to talk about. But even from their perspective (=the wicked), there is no argument here. He opens his learned analysis with a question: How many, do you think, among all soldiers are in mortal danger? He claims that for every combat soldier there are about 9–10 support personnel. From those ~10%, subtract the Air Force pilots because none of them die. So let the IDF first send the Air Force and the support personnel to Gaza before coming with claims against the Haredim. He then equates support personnel with “jobniks” (=his translation: people who do nothing). Finally, he tells that officers from one of the colleges came to him, and when one of them timidly raised (apparently owing to the rabbi’s sanctity and sublime wisdom) the question why they [Haredim] don’t enlist, Rabbi Rosen asked them why they themselves sit in college and don’t enlist. He says they were stunned and couldn’t answer (for the unfamiliar, this is a classic trait of tales about wicked “maskilim”: the maskil is always dumbstruck before the rabbi’s wisdom; how had he not thought of it himself?!). Then, in his kindness, Rabbi Rosen helped him—“open for him”—and explained that they are in college to prepare the army for the future. “But that is exactly what is done in yeshiva,” he immediately adds: caring for the next generation of Israel. QED. Well, to anyone who knows the genre, it goes without saying that in the end they accepted his words (his note: when you speak their language, they understand [those dimwits]). His conclusion: the claim that the wicked Zionists constantly fear the knock on the door is bubbe-meises. It concerns a very small minority; therefore there is no claim whatsoever against the Haredim. They are at least like support personnel (and that’s only by the wicked’s own view; by ours, of course, they are the main combatants).

There is no need to say that the logic here is rather shaky. Again, a talented rosh yeshiva who delivers brilliant learned lectures presents empty, vapid pilpulim that any child can see through. This is a wonderful illustration of pilpul divorced from common sense—an essential feature of Haredi [non-]thinking. It’s somewhat embarrassing even to address them in detail, but I will nonetheless do so briefly:

• He of course ignores the hardships of those soldiers who do not risk their lives directly: people in reserves for hundreds of days, whose families are crushed, who also suffer loss of livelihood. He also ignores relatives who have lost loved ones and worry for other relatives (note to him: the relatives and friends of 10% of the soldiers are not 10% of the country’s families but far more). Beyond the dead, there are also physically and mentally wounded. None of this exists among Haredim and it exists in many more families than the number of soldiers who are directly at risk (which is itself not negligible).
• I once read that the ratio of combatants to support personnel in the IDF is among the best in the world. You cannot conduct warfare without support personnel, and the claim that they are all idle and do nothing is demagoguery at its worst (I don’t claim the IDF is efficient and free of hidden unemployment, but that is true of every large organization. If Rabbi Rosen has a solution, I invite him to propose it—actually, to implement it first in Haredi kollelim). If you transferred the support personnel to Gaza, we could not conduct the war.
• Air Force pilots number in the mere hundreds. A negligible number; there is no point even mentioning them in the overall picture.
• But if we are already speaking: pilots do take serious risks. Strikes in Iran and Yemen carry real danger of capture or death (he might interview them about how they feel before such a mission), as do helicopters extracting wounded from combat zones. The fact that none have fallen thus far does not mean no risk; it means they are professionals who operate well. This too is demagoguery. Note as well: even in infantry and engineering the actual percentage of the fallen is very small.
• Why compare to the percentage at risk out of all soldiers, rather than compare Yeshivat Or Yisrael to a given hesder yeshiva, for example—where the percentage is much higher (and the percentage of combatants is far higher)? On the contrary, let all of Or Yisrael enlist in Golani to improve our situation and the ratio of combatants to support personnel. Ah, he can of course say that Haredim are also support personnel (all of them? even those who don’t learn?).
• But I don’t understand why Haredim should not contribute their share to that small percentage that is at risk. Why should they be completely exempt from that risk and all be only support personnel? This speaks also of those who do learn—but certainly of those who don’t.
• Even for those who are learning, preparing Israel’s future can also be accomplished with 68 years of life devoted to learning, not only 70. Yeshiva students who enlist contribute no less to that preparation for the future. So at any given moment there are thousands of learners, and there will be ten percent fewer because they are serving. Is that the precise “minyan” of learners required to prepare the next generation?
• The comparison of needs is also absurd. If the army truly could not manage without those officers in college, perhaps it would send them to Gaza. But it cannot, because then we would lose the next war. Without pilots, it is certainly impossible; sending them to be infantry in Gaza is ridiculous. Likewise for support personnel. But without all Haredim (here the exemption covers hundreds of thousands) we truly cannot manage in Gaza. Is there justification to invest in the next generation if this generation is in real danger? Does he truly mean that even in real danger one must set aside people to learn Torah? If an avrech or an avrech’s child is critically ill, is he permitted to go to a doctor? Or must he continue learning as “support personnel for medicine”?

I suspect that in a major shiur he delivers in the yeshiva he would not dare present such foolish arguments (I have heard genuinely fine ideas from him), but at a “giving of the Torah,” as is known, not a bird chirps and no one asks or wonders. There is not even a single innocent little girl there to ask: why? (Well, girls are in any case forbidden to think and learn.)

Third video: From the pearls of Rabbi Peretz Berman—about us

In the next video, Rabbi Berman, a rosh yeshiva at Ponovezh, deals with questions of fallen soldiers and military successes—but above all, he deals with us. I’ll only note that at Ponovezh every ram (lecturer) is called rosh yeshiva, so I don’t know his exact status. But it is the flagship Lithuanian yeshiva, so in any case he is a central rabbi. I must preface with a sampling of the superlatives beneath the video:

“In a riveting speech delivered at the Bnei HaYeshivot Conference (5785), Rabbi Berman holds up a searing mirror to the entire system and reveals the truth behind the war over drafting yeshiva students… This is a speech that dismantles all false claims, grants immense power and strength to the world of Torah, and makes clear once and for all why there is no place for dialogue. Watch the full remarks that will not leave you indifferent.”

Indeed you will find it hard to remain indifferent in the face of this torrent of malicious and detached stupidity.

Here the moderator centers the question of Haredi involvement in what is happening in the state. He explains that soldiers are being killed, and the feeling is that Haredim are like Australians, disconnected from what is happening here (see the Maimonides cited above).

Rabbi Berman opens by saying we are dealing with fools who don’t understand the world in which they live. They don’t even know that on Rosh Hashanah everything is decreed. You might think, as I did, that he means not literal foolishness but ignorance of Torah and Judaism. Before I show you that this is not what he means, I’ll say that even if that were his intent, calling it “foolishness” is a detachment from reality. Not everyone who thinks differently from you is a fool (especially in light of his pearls we shall soon see). But fear not: as you will immediately see, he is speaking of real foolishness—i.e., lack of intelligence. They (=the wicked and foolish) take pride in the beeper operation and in the successes in Iran. But that’s all nonsense. What’s the proof? Simple: where was their intelligence on Simchat Torah? What, at one moment they have intelligence and at another it shuts down? Impossible. Therefore it’s obvious that none of this is about intelligence and ability. It’s all divine assistance (in the merit of Torah learners, of course). QED.

For some reason, this exalted genius is not at all bothered by the opposite question: why did God help in Iran and in the beeper operation but not on Simchat Torah? So perhaps it is not God or Torah study? Well, His ways are mysterious—unless we have an idea of what is happening anyway. Only when the matter is “my strength and the might of my hand” do we have conclusive proof that it is God and Torah learners. But the thesis is unfalsifiable: if something works systematically, that too will not prove that the actions were ours. For this reason he can claim Torah study sustains us, but there is never a need to examine the learners when there is failure. Failures are ours; successes belong to God and to the Torah learners (Haredim only, of course).

The possibility that there are failures in the world—and that brilliant, surprising plans succeed because of the skill of their authors—does not cross his mind at all. Want to see this? Here comes the continuation.

Now the genius moves to a brilliant analysis of the beeper operation (so who says there’s no “Daas Torah”?! Here is a rosh yeshiva who is a commander and strategist more wondrous than all our generals. Fortunate are we!). This is his proof that everyone there (in the army, the ISA, and the government) are fools. Listen: it is such a stupid operation that even a children’s fantasy author no one reads wouldn’t dare imagine it (because it’s so idiotic). Why? Simple: it’s a plan where, for twenty years (I don’t know whence the number), they would make sure each person had a phone, and of course hundreds of people know about it—and despite that, the idiots rely on no one in Lebanon discovering it. In addition, whoever wants and decides to activate it, according to them, will be able to do so precisely at the right moment—not a moment earlier or later—and hit all the phone carriers who will just happen to have them on them. Moreover, in a country of one hundred million people (Lebanon has grown somewhat), with wise and clever people like ours—and somehow we presume they are all fools and no one will catch our plan or discover it. He concludes: “Even the biggest fool wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Must I explain anything here? Is there anyone who cannot see that we are talking about a certified fool who can barely be counted for a minyan (not by the Haredi criterion—by the criterion of a deaf-mute and a fool)?

I will only note that it’s a pity the Haredi ministers weren’t in the loop; otherwise they would surely have consulted with Rabbis Landau and Hirsch and with him, and would have received a clear directive to drop this nonsense. In any event, God did us a kindness and saved us from ourselves—causing this idiotic operation to succeed nonetheless. Fortunate are we. I only wonder whether, in this genius’s view, God is involved only in stupid operations, while clever ones are done without His help? Are clever operations indeed carried out by humans? It seems that in his view the salvations by God come only when we are truly foolish. Understand: if everything is in His hands, what difference does it make if we were foolish or not? The only important question is how they learned in Ponovezh that day, no? Whether the plan was stupid or smart—it really doesn’t matter.

I’ll spare you the wonders of “saves from missiles,” which, in the view of fools, are natural; but every child understands they are solely the hand of God (but not the events of Simchat Torah—remember: successes are His; failures are ours. Don’t be foolish Zionists; every child knows this). Along the way he releases surprising theological information: once, God would not perform open miracles because that would negate our free will (for some reason at Sinai, the Golden Calf, and the splitting of the sea this didn’t quite work—but those are trifles). But today He can do open miracles because the fools don’t understand anyway that everything (i.e., the successes—not the failures, of course) is only from God.

After these pearls, Rabbi Berman moves to more directly vilify (yes, it’s possible—if you wondered) all those who speak out against the Haredim. Here are some pearls: they are all (!) liars and frauds, wicked and impure, who seek only to uproot Torah and holiness and to multiply impurity in Israel. All (!) their children are thieves, criminals, and murderers. They are all (!) beasts walking on two legs; there is nothing between them and animals. He already established the bestiality of their stupidity above, of course.

In his words he also explains that they all (!) arrange cushy jobs for themselves in Unit 8200 and Army Radio, and none of them truly serve in the army (not willing to wet their finger for the army—in his golden phrase; perhaps he means service in Shayetet?!…). Note: he does not make the correct claim that there are also non-Haredim who dodge service and run to Army Radio or evade conscription altogether (and again, without 8200 there is no war and no victory—but the fool doesn’t understand that; we already saw this pearl in Rabbi Rosen above). He makes a different claim: that all those who accuse the Haredim are draft-dodgers and do not serve. And here the son asks: so who does serve? The Haredim don’t, and those who accuse them also don’t. So who does? I also don’t think those serving in combat units refrain from accusing the Haredim. There are the reservists’ organizations and “Shvut Ra’anan” and its friends. These wicked ones stand at the head of the accusers of the Haredim—and yet they fall in droves.

But fear not—he reaches the “Mizrachi-niks” too, and actually compliments them. They are not all wicked—rather, more ignoramuses. They are afflicted with what our Sages called “the hatred of the am ha’aretz for the talmid hakham.” The demand for a draft is so absurd that it can have no explanation other than hatred of Torah scholars. Those outstanding Torah scholars who sit on the railings or in yeshivot for dropouts are also the objects of the amei ha’aretz’s hatred. You may wonder whether they are truly Torah scholars—how dare you. As Haredim, they are exempt from the draft; therefore it is clear that each one is a “talmid hakham.” Otherwise, how would he be exempt under the clause “his Torah is his trade”? Use your head, you bunch of amei ha’aretz. Of the three videos, I think the last expresses malice in the most distilled form. In the first two, it is more detachment and stupidity than malice.

Conclusion

The four videos I chose here are a random sampling. You can watch almost any video on that horror channel and see whether my description here holds. Note that this unsettling display does not come from political operatives or fifth-rate Haredi spokesmen, but from those considered there to be the greats of the generation. It is a collection of hollow clichés—of course with not a drop of originality or innovation among them—but that is the lesser problem. These are low-level arguments laced with lies and with a magnificent, malicious detachment from reality—smugness without any basis, in a spirit of “I and none else,” repeatedly reinforced by the “Yamim al y’mei melech” dances. How is it possible that such people are considered great Torah scholars? How is it possible that they ensnare hundreds of thousands of fine Jews, some of them genuine Torah scholars? How is it possible that they present embarrassing arguments that, were they to present them in a major yeshiva lecture, the students would pelt them with their etrogim and laugh at them in the mikveh or the dining hall (you should know: Haredi yeshiva boys are very critical and sharp—even cynical)?

We are dealing with people whose intellectual capacities are not in doubt. The lectures they deliver in their yeshivot are likely complex and beautiful, and their Torah knowledge is likely broad. So what can cause them to descend to such a low level of discourse in every other field? How is it that intelligent people, when they merely step a bit aside from analysis of the Ketzot, reach unfathomed depths? I think the myth of “Daas Torah”—that whoever engages in Torah with devotion and persistence thereby acquires truth in every field and every word he says hits the deepest and loftiest truth—shatters here before the eyes of anyone willing to look soberly. As I wrote above, this truly arouses heretical thoughts. I honestly wondered, again and again: who knows how we should relate to the greats of past generations? Were they, too, technicians of the Ketzot without horizon or depth and without a moral spine? Did they, too, act with smugness on the basis of clichés they never seriously examined? I very much hope not—but who knows.

What stares out at us from these videos is the result of detachment from reality (which among Haredim is an ideology and a parameter that determines Torah greatness) combined with acute anxiety (when the winds of conscription enter the Haredi world, it deeply worries them and drives them to hysterical defensiveness), all woven together with narrow, constricted thinking devoid of any general education—and, of course, accompanied by a total absence of self-criticism and of audience critique (which is usually very critical and sober—but when they reach these subjects, they fall silent). All this means that when these people deal with something not written in Rashi script, they descend to depths of shallowness—which also presents their Torah as an empty vessel. Their detachment from reality enables their political operatives to persuade them that their words are exalted and impressive and should be disseminated widely. Thus, from this heap of conceptual trash they create a fervent YouTube channel, and it is evident they are convinced no listener will stand before this exalted wisdom and not become Haredi on the spot.

It may be that the habit whereby every person must hear their words, lick their plate with zeal, and dance before them “Yamim al y’mei melech” as if they were ministering angels leads them to smugness (evident in all these videos), and to the feeling that there is no need whatsoever to examine the arguments they present. I have little doubt that none of these people has ever reflected on the basis of his outlook, examined counter-arguments, and seriously weighed what he believes. He merely repeats clichés he has been force-fed, except that from his mouth they suddenly become some great light. It seems their analytical abilities stand against them as well. Such a person is used to great admiration (often deserved) for the lectures he gives (more accurately: delivers) in the yeshiva, and perhaps that admiration leads to arrogance and smugness and the sense that in every field he touches his words shine like the firmament. Of course, all others simply don’t understand the simple truth; thus, it’s no wonder that in their eyes anyone who thinks otherwise is either a fool or wicked. Otherwise, how could he fail to accept truths so absolute and clear? Poor fellow (a very common expression—truly touching—in the speech of such people).

These fellows are so detached from reality that they are not even capable of understanding that the criticisms against them in the areas of conscription and entering the workforce do not come from hatred of Torah scholars or a war against Torah, but from acute distress and a rational analysis of reality. It is important to understand that even if someone does not accept the arguments for conscription and for the importance of going to work, I would still expect at least that he understand his non-Haredi interlocutor and his point of view: that the critic is not living his entire life solely to destroy the world of Torah, but that he has a few other concerns (for example, wondering how and from where he will continue to support through his labor the parasitic world of Torah and defend it, and how he and his family will cope with the hundreds of reserve days yet to come). In the eyes of these rabbis—like any ordinary child in kindergarten (I have written many times about Haredi childishness)—anyone who is against him is wicked or wishes him ill. He has no ability to understand that there is another side. This is a kind of collective psychopathy, for empathy for the other simply does not exist there (see columns 493 and 709). Such empathetic understanding of reality—and of the people, ideas, and movements operating within it—is a minimal foundation without which it is impossible to conduct an intelligent discussion. But they are incapable of it.

In conclusion, this channel is nothing less than astounding, and the experience of watching it shakes me to this very moment. I now understand that we simply do not belong to the same religion or the same Torah. These are Torah scholars without sense—of whom the Midrash says a carcass is better than they. It is a sect that has split off from Judaism while choosing to preserve a few of its trappings. I think the questions about counting them for a minyan gain further force in light of what we have seen here.