I am repulsed by their opinions and actions.
In my community, a few years ago, several rabbis initiated that one day a week in the evening, those who can gather at one of the synagogues and there is a very active Beit Midrash for a few hours.
A social community event and Jewish wisdom together, something that seems to go well.
Some study in some kind of group study group, some topics that interest them, some hear a variety of classes that take place simultaneously in several areas of the building, refreshments and a generally good atmosphere, and anyone interested in Jewish wisdom is welcome.
I have participated in studies there several times in the past and I have anxiety.
I will try to explain myself.
I noticed that all the rabbis who teach there are extremists and do not see the complexity of a variety of issues, some of which are core issues of our existence as a people.
They have no democratic values, they have no value of evil (some of them did not serve significantly in the IDF or did not serve at all), they are full of brotherly hatred for those who do not think like them, they have certainly understood reality. Their analysis of reality is strange and full of serious biases and failures to the point of doubt whether they are deceiving themselves or simply stupid, although they are not liars in the simple sense of the word, but they seem to be problematic and biased, they are decisive and less logical and intelligent in things, more slogans that indicate problems in thinking and judgment, and it seems that they can be defined as ‘people with goals (which can be argued about) but absolutely without morality’ both in the goals themselves and certainly in the way to achieving the goals.
They are extreme bipartisans.
Every time I enter that synagogue, I feel a degradation of personality, contempt for the values of truth and judgment, contempt for the values of evil, contempt for the values of free love, contempt for respect for other opinions. I feel a kind of humiliation that is difficult for me to explain, even though I know the insides, eat the peel and throw it away. I feel that their personality is embedded in their lessons and I do not accept the lessons and the material taught ‘purely’, but rather with the addition of their serious problems.
In the last few hours I went in there, I really felt physically nauseous, and this repeated itself over and over again for hours.
I feel like I can’t do it anymore.
Now I asked
Is it the Torah that made them this way?
Or is someone like that drawn to the Torah?
What should I do? My soul yearns for the wisdom of Israel, but on the other hand, for values (which I believe are our fundamental values as a nation, certainly in light of our painful history) that cannot be given up?
peace.
The feeling is well known to me, and unfortunately it characterizes quite a few rabbis of all shades. You asked two types of questions: practical (what should you do) and theoretical (what causes this).
As for the practice, you should try and see if there is anything of value in the class they give? Usually not. If these classes are used to convey worldviews and not to learn Torah (what I call Torah in vain), then don’t go there. If there is anything of value in the classes, I believe you can adopt a policy of eat the insides and throw away the peel. If you feel that you can’t, I think that means that the classes themselves aren’t really worth much either. Unfortunately, that’s also very common.
The question of who caused them, I think it is not precisely the Torah, but a combination of fanatical faith and closedness, which characterizes religious faith, including Jewish faith. It is almost inevitable as a correlation, and one has to work hard to avoid it and remain a serious believer. From this you will also understand that if you do not find this problematic combination outside, it is not necessarily because the people there are better but rather because they do not have great beliefs in anything. Wherever there are beliefs, you will find the same shallowness and tendency. Not always, but in large quantities. You have to work hard not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, that is, to remain serious about your beliefs without paying the accompanying prices. I say this from my own personal experience and experience. My feelings are very similar, and this is why I do not spare the honor of such rabbis, because I think it is very important to say it honestly and loudly and not leave the polite game of the values of peace and unity, which bring us to these difficult feelings, as a result of which many abandon the path, and rightly so.
As mentioned, if your soul yearns for the wisdom of Israel, you don’t have to look for it in your neighborhood. The world is open today, and you don’t even have to leave your house. There is the Internet and Zoom, and classes in abundance for everyone. Sometimes you can hear good classes from such rabbis, if the context is true Torah study (meaning halakha and Talmudic study) and not community study evenings that are sometimes exploited for propaganda and an ‘educational’ agenda, on the topics of ‘faith’, ‘thought’, and the like (like the format known as ‘women’s classes,’ which, thank God, at least in normal communities, is slowly disappearing). Keep your feet away from these.
In the end, everything is heard, fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.
And he further says: The answer to the question of who represents the Torah is given by you and not by anyone else. Nor is the majority vote. Therefore, these people do not represent anything related to the Torah, except for themselves. At least in my eyes and probably in your eyes too. I believe in the Torah and in the Almighty who gave it, but not necessarily in all those who received it and claim to represent it. Don't go around chasing titles of "Rabbi" and the like. Unfortunately, today that doesn't mean much.
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