'Idol' Worship

I note with sadness an ongoing phenomenon that among other things hurts the Charedi world.

To be absolutely clear, I am in no way condemning that world. I believe they are a vital part of the Jewish world. Without which we would be a lot poorer as a nation. It is this world that dedicates the most time to Torah study with much sacrifice and little material benefit. 

To see the way so many young couples struggle to make ends meet just so they can be involved in full time Torah study makes me wonder how they do it! I admire that kind of dedication to the spiritual pursuit that is Torah study.

It is also true that the majority of people in this world are among the most generous with their time and extremely limited resources. Just to cite one example that I am aware of, many Avreichim in the city of Ramat Bet Shemesh will deposit any extra funds they might have that are not needed to meet their daily expenses into free loan societies (Gemachim). Much like they would to a savings account in a bank – with the ability to withdraw it at will. That money is then loaned out free of interest to people that really need it.

Who does things like that?! I am in awe of such dedication and generosity.

So what’s my problem? There were three photographs of differentCharedi  Rabbinic leaders lighting a menorah published in Matzav. As most people know, Matzav is a Charedi news website. What in Heaven’s name makes these pictures news worthy? The answer unfortunately is quite simple. There are people in the Charedi world that treat their rabbinic leaders as iconic celebrities.  Much the same way the rest of the world might treat a rock star. In each case they are worshiped as larger than life.

It’s more than just giving them their due respect. Which in most cases they deserve. It’s about the virtual idol worship they get. As though they were direct messengers from God – angels walking here on earth.

Why do Matzav and other Charedi media outlets publish things like? What is so wonderful… so ‘miraculous’… that makes people want to see a rabbinic leader do something that every other observant Jew does (and even many non observant Jews do) during the holiday of Chanukah?

I can only think of one reason. And that is the celebrity factor. These people are more than leaders to their people. They are celebrities. When celebrity is combined with respect for Torah authorities it can cause serious damage to the kind of respect they should be getting.

So what’s wrong with a little ‘idol worship? I think those two words speak for themselves. Obviously we are not talking about Avodah Zara. That would be a capital offence. But there is a reason celebrities are called ‘idols’. They are treated with an overabundance of exuberance that translates to the same kind of ‘worship’ that a rock star is. Which adds to the awe they are given.

That is dangerous. When rabbinic personalities are treated as larger than life, their opinions become magnified in importance. So for example if a larger than life  rabbinic leader  makes pronouncement it is seen as near Godlike. But they are not gods Sometimes their pronouncements are based on faulty or misleading information.

The 2 most famous cases of the kind if damage that can be caused are the 2 Nossons: Rabbis Kamenetsky and Slifkin. When their books got banned by one such leader, they suffered greatly from it. A lot of time and effort went into those books. All of which were written in good faith. – faithful to authentic values of Judaism. But the way those books were described to that leader forced him to ban those books. Truth no longer mattered since their Icon had spoken. Even though that same rabbinic leader later admitted that he was misled - at least in the case of Rabbi Kamenetsky. 

Rabbi Kamenetsky’s reaction was to write a book about that awful experience. But Rabbi Slifkin was branded an Apikores. Even though that was never the intent of the leader that banned his books. His books were labeled that way but not Rabbi Slifkin. But that distinction didn’t mean much to those who worshiped their icon.

I recall one criticsm in particular that really galled me. A fellow involved in Kiruv that used Rabbi Slikin’s books which attempted to reconcile Torah with science before they were banned. But after they were he immediately threw them out. When he heard that Rabbi Slifkin tried to defend himself , he was virtually condemned by that Kiruv Rabbi who said that if that would have happened to him - he would never have had the ‘Chutzpah’ to try and defend himself and instead he would have gotten on his hands and knees and begged forgiveness for having published them I the first place. ‘How dare Slikib try to defend himself after that leader made clear that his books were heretical!’

It should be noted that those books had the approbation of many Charedi rabbinc leaders, most of whom immediately withdrew them when his books were banned.

Idol worship? I think that has a lot to do with why so many in the charedi world reacted to Rabbi Slifkin in the negative way they did. Which caused him and his family tremendous grief with consequences felt to this day.

When Charedi media publish pictures of rabbis doing ordinary things it adds to their mystique. That adds to the perception of infallibility. Which makes their pronouncements infallible - even while they deny seeing them as infallible. (How could they? That would make them actual gods!). Saying they are fallible gives them cover. But on a practical level their words are heeded as tough they were infallible. With the explanation that they are nevertheless the closest thing to being infallible they have - because of their great piety and Torah knowledge.

We ought to treat our leaders with the respect they deserve. At the same time the should be treated as human beings capable of error.  That is what’s missing in the Charedi world. Especially in Israel. 

The Charedi media would do well to no longer publish pictures like that.