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| R' Yitzchok Scheiner's Funeral (TOI) |
That’s what might be called guilt by association. I allow the free flow of commentary here. Which may include nasty comments about any segment of Judaism. Orthodox or not. As I do those who choose to respond in kind in defense of the particular segment being attacked. The ONLY thing I do not allow is personal attacks.
The question is why indeed is there so much animosity by non Charedim against Charedim? Is it innate prejudice of people that are more religious …or appear more religious? I think not. It is based on observing their response when certain situations arise. Which projects a sense of entitlement to do whatever they please in the cause of ‘doing their thing’.
Does that sound like bias? Yes, it does. But it isn’t. It is based on the observable reality of their world. The current pandemic has placed that behavior into stark relief. Behavior that manifests itself far more frequently these days. To the point of violence if they are denied that to which they feel entitled religiously. They are going to have their way by hook or all to often by crook, it seems. For example there is this ‘little’ tidbit published in VIN:
The chareidi community in London has a COVID-19 infection rate of 64%, which is nine times higher than the British average of 7%, according to a BBC report Wednesday. The number of infections is “among the highest reported anywhere in the world,” according to a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
It was previously reported that Jewish men are twice as likely to die of coronavirus than their Christian counterparts, even after adjusting for socio-economic factors.
If that doesn’t get you angry, I don’t know what will. If I am a non Jew of even an non Charedi Jew – even a religious one – I would be livid. How can they do that to themselves? And how can anyone outside of their community not fear the possibility of coming into contact with one of them and getting sick – or even dying?!
Apologetics won’t work. Not when their infection rate is so high. It isn’t just about crowded living conditions. Although that is certainly a factor, so too is the almost complete rejection of following rules designed for their own safety and those of others. Weddings and funerals are attended by masses of chardem with few wearing masks and zero social distancing, With results nine times worse than the general public! Is it prejudice to see Charedim as the most careless human beings in the civilized world? Dangerous to be near? Aside from putting themselves and their loved ones in danger, they are putting everyone else in danger, too. COVID is highly contagious. The newer strains are exponentially more so.
Their cumulative behavior is both stupid and a Chilul HaShem. But don’t take my word for it. Here is what Jonathan Rosenblum said:
It has been a very bad week for me. Over 40 years ago, my new wife and I joined the chareidi world. For 30 years, I have been a sometime spokesperson for that community, at least to the outside world. And suddenly, I find myself wondering whether I understand anything about the community, or at least a major swath of it, and its mindset.
My only solace came when I mentioned how disoriented I’m feeling to my rav, a major talmid chacham and respected dayan, and he expressed the same feelings, despite having been raised from birth in the heart of the Israeli chareidi world.
Thursday night, parshas Bo, when someone sent me a clip of a melee in a Bnei Brak yeshivah, which some undercover cops entered to investigate whether COVID regulations were being kept. They were discovered and set upon by a mob. Police reinforcements were called in. The windows of police cars were smashed.
The following Monday, a municipal bus driver in Bnei Brak was dragged from his bus, and the bus was set on fire. In the Knesset, MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni described the perpetrators as chareidi youth “from the fringes.” And photos from the scene seemed to confirm that. But even youth on the fringe are more likely to act violently when there is already violence in the air.
The police and fire departments did not respond to calls from neighborhood residents for hours as the bus burned, whether out of a desire to punish the chareidi community or out of fear of being attacked. Meanwhile the flames from the burning bus melted curtains in the adjacent apartment building, forcing residents to flee.
Also at the beginning of the week, protests in Jerusalem against the expansion of the light rail turned very violent. A neighbor who davens in the same minyan I do (with strictly enforced social distancing) was on the train, and described to me how terrified he was when it was attacked by a mob, who smashed every window on the train with hammers and threw black paint on the cars.
In what the US media would have described as “mostly peaceful protests,” cement was also poured onto the tracks. According to a spokesperson for the light rail, the cement could have derailed a car and caused it to tip over, with lethal consequences. From blocking traffic and burning garbage cans in their own neighborhoods, certain elements in the chareidi community have moved on to potentially murderous actions. They have fully appropriated the “hands of Eisav.”
Wow!
So there you have it. Need I say more? One of the most vocal and erudite defenders of the Charedi world is now having second thoughts about even being a member of this community. For the same reasons that I have been so critical of them for some time now.
I understand the need to participate in the social norms so essential to religious life. When social norms are so closely tied to the perception of the standard of observance, being denied them is painful.
But there is another reason for Chreadi behavior at this time. Ironically it was something I heard last night on an online fundraiser for a local Orthodox Jewish high school. It featured stand up comedian Elon Gold (who is himself Orthodox). He said that when restrictions are placed on top of the many restrictions religious people already have – they become more difficult to accept. The more right wing, the more restrictions there are. Thus the more strongly they might be resisted. (It was a very funny routine – despite that somber part of it.)
Those two reasons might make their reactions more understandable. But they do not make them any more acceptable. Instead they are a major source of Chilul HaShem. One that is finally making Charedi defenders re-think that defense. And even question whether they belong in that community if the first place. If there is any hope for change it is the fact that an actual Posek who is Chreadi from birth seemed to feel the same way Jonathan did. The question is are there others like him? And what are they going to do about it?