Q&A: Extremism and Agreements
Extremism and Agreements
Question
Hello Rabbi, I’m a Haredi kollel fellow who drops in from time to time and really enjoys it. I’d like to ask about an idea for a project that occurred to me, one that might bring a bit of order here:
After all, the problem of lack of agreement between the different sectors in the country stems mainly from the religious side (Haredi and Religious Zionist), since of course you can’t compromise on religion, and “let the other side go to hell” is not really an option at all.
But if we were to publish a book or pamphlet or something like that to be distributed in Haredi population centers, for example, in which various rabbis and halakhic decisors are presented who articulate religion differently, including supporting sources from the Talmud and medieval authorities (Rishonim)—just as an example, the Hazon Ish writes that even if all the residents of the city are Torah scholars, guards still have to be stationed, which contradicts a common Haredi claim that if everyone studied there would be no need for an army; and of course Rabbi Shach himself writes that someone who is not studying must enlist)—I don’t necessarily think this would change the readers’ minds, but it would make them understand that their position is based mainly on sectarian identity and not necessarily on religion, and consequently the possibilities for compromise would become more realistic.
Likewise regarding the Religious Zionist public—about the commandment of settling the Land of Israel, the beginning of redemption, provoking the nations, and so on—in my opinion this would lower the level of tension and hatred, at least within the religious publics. I’d be glad to hear your opinion on the matter.
Answer
Unfortunately, in our discourse everyone is religious. All sides and all positions are entrenched and unwilling to listen. My feeling is that the left-wing secular side is more dogmatically religious. True, the religious content is more problematic on the Haredi side. Their religion is worse than the secular one. Meaning: beyond the stubbornness that exists on all sides, with them there is also the problem of stupidity and wickedness.
I think your suggestion is a bit naive. The arguments exist everywhere; there’s just no listening. You can bring sources until tomorrow, and nobody will care. Of course it also won’t be possible to distribute this in any orderly way, but that’s only a technical problem.
As for the Religious Zionist public, I didn’t understand what you want. You want to bring them sources that we are not at the beginning of redemption, or that it’s forbidden to provoke the nations? Good luck.
Discussion on Answer
Its public conduct is astonishingly wicked. It’s a wicked ideology, and that’s worse than incidental wickedness (the Nazis, too, had an ideology). Sometimes a public made up of people, some of whom are good, behaves collectively in a wicked way.
But Germany changed too, and today there are almost no Nazis, and I’m trying to fix things rather than say there’s nothing to be done. As I said, there is enormous ignorance among a very large part of the public, which doesn’t know really significant Jewish laws (like the Shulchan Arukh, which requires one to work, etc.). And I mean specifically laws and halakhic decisors, not vague outlook-based claims about “equal sharing of the burden” and so on—which is an argument that doesn’t speak to people who don’t have universal moral values. Just look at an average street in Bnei Brak and the filth there, and you’ll understand that their system of rules is fundamentally different. And I really do believe that exposure to Jewish laws that bear on worldview can internally shake fanatic and extremist conceptions. Also, what rabbi would be able to say not to distribute in the synagogue a pamphlet that contains nothing but explicit Jewish laws from the Talmud, the Mishnah, and the greatest halakhic decisors of every generation? That would create an internal conflict.
There are no explicit Jewish laws on this matter; against every statement you’ll find another contradictory statement. The question is what seems most plausible when all the data are weighed together, and that depends on one’s intuitive judgment.
Stupidity, fine—but why do you think the Haredi public is wicked? After all, it stems from ideology, not ill will.