Q&A: Is There an Obligation to Vote for the Haredi Parties?
Is There an Obligation to Vote for the Haredi Parties?
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask a question that came up for me following things I heard in the past from a rabbi at a Haredi yeshiva where I studied. He said that in elections one should vote for Haredi parties, among other reasons because they work to prevent the secular government from allowing transgressions such as the sale of pork, public transportation on the Sabbath, and the like. He explained that this is part of our responsibility toward our secular Jewish brothers—that they too are Jews, and therefore we must do what we can to prevent them from desecrating the Sabbath and committing other transgressions.
He did not go into the halakhic details, but perhaps he meant that this is connected to laws such as "do not place a stumbling block" or "assisting a transgression." (He did not say this explicitly.)
I wanted to ask the Rabbi:
1. Is there really an obligation on us (halakhic or moral) to prevent secular Jews from committing transgressions when we have this kind of influence (such as through voting, legislation, and the like)?
2. Is it different when this concerns in a person who is not observant of Torah and commandments to begin with—in other words, does the fact that he is in any case already committing transgressions change our halakhic or moral approach toward him?
Thank you very much in advance for your time and attention!
Answer
There is a law of "do not stand idly by your neighbor's blood" and "you shall surely rebuke," but political coercion is not a fulfillment of these laws; it is their opposite. It causes people to become more sinful and creates a desecration of God's name. Moreover, the Haredi parties commit transgressions more severe than all of these, so voting for them is directly assisting a transgression. In my opinion, there is a halakhic prohibition against voting for those corrupt parties.
A Jew who does not believe has no possibility of performing commandments or transgressions, and therefore there is no point in causing him to perform commandments or preventing him from transgressing. This is my view, and I have explained it in the past (see, for example, my article on causing a secular person to stumble in transgression).
Discussion on Answer
I referred you to the article. All my articles are here on the site. Search for it using the Google search here.
I really don't understand why a prohibition on public transportation on the Sabbath prevents transgressions. On the contrary—it increases travel by private car, which creates more Sabbath desecration!
Halakhic marriage also creates more transgressions involving a married woman and mamzerut.
And that's besides the hatred of religion that political coercion causes.
In short, religious laws actually increase transgressions among the Jewish people rather than reduce them.
And I'm writing this as a Haredi who doesn't support Zionism at all (but not fanaticism either).
Thank you!
Where can I read about your view on this issue (what you mentioned at the end)?