Analysis of An Anti Charedi Secular Jew

Chabad reaching out to secular IDF soldiers (COLLIVE)

First let me concede that I am not there. I do not live in Israel and have no way of interacting with the kind of people that made the following comment. Which was made by a secular Israeli as quoted in Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein’s column at Cross Currents. But I do have something to say about it.  Here is the quote: 

I believe that the Zionist majority that still exists here should launch a massive continuous institutional campaign, that directly targets young boys and girls from the Haredim sector, encourages them to take their own path, provides them temporary homes and shelters, helps them with mental aid and general education + Bagrut, establishes preparation training for military service and academy and more. 

Money will be raised from the wealthy private sector with a clear goal to free at least 500,000 youngsters from the chains of the Haredim communities and turn them to be Zionist productive Israelis. Whether they keep their faith or Mitzvot will be their individual free choice but at least they will have a choice which they lack today. The Haredim society should be dismantled from within otherwise Israel as a Zionist state is not sustainable.

This is an idea that I’m promoting among many business and social leaders. I might succeed and might fail. But I know with all my heart that this is the most important Zionist action in our time.

I thank you for trying to illuminate your way of thinking. It just strengthens my way of thinking. 

As noted by Rabbi Adlerstein (and as well indicated in the comment itself), this comment was made in the context of a discussion with an individual trying to explain the Charedi perspective in a positive way. Rabbi Adlerstein’s point was that even though most secular Israelis do not hate the Torah as much as this individual does, they do exist in large enough numbers to be concerned about.

I’m sure that’s true. And yet trying to figure out what we can do about intransigent people like this seems to be a fool’s errand. 

After thinking about it a bit, I had to wonder whether this intransigent individual actually is a hater of Torah. (Although  I’m sure that they do exist. I’m not sure he qualifies.) He did after all indicate that he had no problem with mitzvah observance as long as it was a matter of free choice. I also tend to doubt that he has any problem at all with the Dati (non Charedi religious) community – non Charedi religious Jews. Because they are integrated with the rest of the Israeli people. 

And maybe not even with Charedim themselves. His problem was more along the lines of being forced to be observant by virtue of not being given any other options in life. He believes that by exposing Charedim to the benefits of a purely secular lifestyle it would at least give them a choice to opt out… or stay in if that is what they ended up deciding to do. The draconian measures he wants to implement are totally unacceptable and just as bad in the opposite direction as what he is trying to fight. But I’m still not sure it qualifies as Torah hatred. Intransigent though it may be.

What it does qualify for is hatred of being denied options. To the secular Jew, it is criminal to not give free choice to one’s children by virtue of isolating them from the rest of society - coupled with indoctrinating them about the evils outside world.

It is highly unlikely that this secular Jew had the benefit of an authentic Jewish education. He was very likely weaned on the principles of freedom and humanism as representing the highest ideals of mankind with religion being little more than meaningless superstition.

So, I will agree that trying to convince people like this out of their personal aversion to religious observance is a virtual impossibility. But as Rabbi Adlerstein also said the following:‘(The) sentiments expressed are not held by the majority of those who call themselves secular’.

This point should not be glossed over. If I understand correctly, the majority of secular Israelis are traditional. By which I mean they do value and perform some form of observance. That might include keeping a Kosher home, fasting on Yom Kippur, not eating actual Chametz on Pesach and having a traditional Seder. They might light Shabbos candles, and even make Kiddush at a traditional Friday night meal. In other words they appreciate and even embrace their Judaism at some level even if they aren’t fully observant and are Mechalel Shabbos. 

I believe that many of these secular Jews can be reached. Especially now post October 7^th. It is my understanding - for example - that there has been a major uptick in observance by secular Jews. Notably among more than a few IDF soldiers serving in Gaza,

(As an aside, this is why I believe the isolationist tendencies of the Charedi world are wrong headed and counter productive. Instead of isolating themselves for purposes of avoiding secular influences, they ought to be integrating themselves into that world in order to influence them by way of example. Publicly living  their Torah based values of family, humility, kindness toward others, and charitability -  will surely have a positive impact.) 

The other thing that occurred to me is the following question: How did the secular fellow who made that comment get to be that way? It’s true that at the founding of the state there was a strong anti religious obsession among some of Israel’s founding fathers and their acolytes. Which was surely passed down generationally to people like this. But I don’t think that alone explains his intransigence on the issue. 

I believe his attitude was reinforced by the tactics of the Charedi leadership to double down on their anti secular rhetoric. And their anti state policies that include avoiding military service. At no time is that latter point been more significant than now when non Charedi blood is being spilled in combat while Charedim exempt themselves from any possibility of that. And to a lesser but still very significant extent placing a greater financial burden on taxpayers to support a Charedi system where men working for a living is a last resort. For which they are not in any way prepared. 

As Rabbi Adlerstein indicates even though they are not the majority of the secular world, we should not be blind to the power these people wield in government. Which is considerable. But neither should Charedim be blind to their own part in all this. They should for example be cognizant of the fact that every time they allow someone else to serve in their place in the IDF and possibly die or get hurt in combat, they are creating more enemies of Torah (to put it the way Rabbi Adlerstein did) than they are saving Charedi souls.