UTJ Viewpoints

1. The Standard View of Orthodoxy

The standard, popular self-presentation of Orthodox Judaism is that all Israel is bound by the laws and ideas of the Talmud. The Talmud and its official rabbis have to be accepted. The more strict, the more authentic, the more parochial, the more Orthodox. We are told that we are obliged to accept the words and views of the Talmudic sages, and to question the sages is to question. To argue that an ancient view is racist or otherwise wrong is heresy. We are obliged to accept their ruling and their thinking.

Great rabbis do not endorse questioning the laws and rules and ancient values. Their words must be accepted without question, their rulings must be obeyed without hesitation, and their opinions must adopted, without objection.

1. The Israeli Reality

In a column in Haaretz 9/21/09, internet edition, entitled “Time to Tell the Truth” , internet edition, by Rachel Azaria, the following points are made:

1. 80 percent of Haredi men in this country don’t work,

2. the average Haredi woman gives birth to eight children, isn’t workable.

3. We, the non- Haredi public, are no longer capable of carrying them on our shoulders.

4. And there is no moral reason why we should be required to do so.

5. I will be direct: We are shouldering the burden of theHaredipublic in every area of life.

6. Humans don’t live on air alone, after all, so someone has to support those eight children, and pay for the needs of the 600,000 members of the ultra-Orthodox community nationally, whether it be in education, health care, housing, food or extracurricular activities for the children.

7. And although the Haredim do receive some generous assistance from donors abroad, for the most part, it is we who pick up the tab:

8. We, the rest of the population of the State of Israel, who work hard and pay high taxes – we are the ones who support them.

9. How does the system work? I’ll give an example.

   1. In non- Haredi municipal preschools in Jerusalem, 70 percent of the fees are covered by the children’s parents, with taxpayers paying for the remaining 30 percent.

   2. The discounts that make up that difference usually go to impoverished families, new immigrants or those with other difficulties.

   3. It’s natural in any society for those who are weaker to need assistance. Thirty percent is a high percentage, it’s true, but we can still afford to cover the cost. That’s what social solidarity is.

   4. Among the Haredi public, however, only 30 percent of tuition is covered by parents, while the lion’s share, the remaining 70 percent, is picked up by – that’s right, the taxpayers.

10. Take housing, a major portion of any family’s budget. Israel is crowded and housing is expensive. Almost no construction is going on these days for young families of limited means.

11. Except for Haredim , that is. Our minister of construction and housing, Ariel Atias, recently announced a new project to build apartments specifically intended (in terms of size and cost) for young couples, but some 90 percent of them are in ultra-Orthodox communities.

12. And who is subsidizing this worthwhile endeavor? Non-Haredi young couples and the rest of the population who pay taxes.

13. Let’s move on to arnona (property tax). The Haredi public is almost completely exempt from paying it, for economic reasons. Therefore, in Jerusalem, where one-third of the Jewish population is Haredi , there is a lot of arnona that isn’t being paid. Who then pays? We, the non- Haredi public.

14. Little wonder, then, that the city is so dirty. And I haven’t even mentioned army service, public funds that are directed to yeshivas, child allowances and many other examples of how the burden is not shared equally.

15. What’s amazing is that the system isn’t even working for the Haredim themselves. In the first generation of the Haredi “revolution” – revolutionary in the sense that the men studied instead of working – in the state’s early decades, they still had parents who could support them, even after they got married and had children.

16. In the next generation, perhaps some money was left from the grandparents. Today, though, no money remains, and raising eight children with no regular full-time income is no easy task, even with all the discounts in the world.

17. Even with the support of the non- Haredi public and foreign donations, these families remain poor, and have no way of escaping the vicious circle of poverty, so long as their rabbis maintain their hard-line policy.
    I can see the growing anger and bitterness the non- Haredi public is feeling toward its ultra-Orthodox brethren, because of being forced to shoulder the burden of an entire public that can’t cover its own needs. The same will happen nationwide in time.

18. And if the ultra-Orthodox public doesn’t take the lead in changing this situation, then the non- Haredi majority will do so. Because we’re all very tired. And the system no longer works.

1. What does Judaism really say?

We are obliged to obey the positive rules, the negative rules, and the customs of the Oral Law. Israel is allowed to disagree with the sages as long as you do not rule that the rules of the sages are to be disobeyed. bHorayyot 2a. The sages are teachers, not dictators. They do not rule by fiat, they teach by example. Israel is bound by religious legislation, not by rabbinic opinion.

Great rabbis are really great not because they read the mind of God; they are great because they shape the minds and hearts of people. Unless we can show where the sages demanded that their philosophical opinions are binding, the claim that we are bound to think in a specific way is undocumented, unworthy, and itself unacceptable. The same rabbis who tell us that we are bound by the Talmud rule that we do not really rule according to the Talmud. Both Maimonides and Nahmanides agree that the Talmud need not be taken at face value. Real Judaism says that we judge opinions according to the law and we do not bend the law to fit our opinions.

We are told that really religious Jews work at studying Torah, of sitting and learning. They quote Maimonides, Shemitta 13:;13, has a right to a life of learning. But Maimonides,Laws of Torah Study3:10, that those who study Torah and not work:

1. profanes God’s name

2. despises the Torah

3. dims the light of the law

4. brings evil to himself

5. and keeps himself from the world to come

Avoda Zara 3a finds God asking, “one who labors on the Sabbath eve will eat on Shabbat; but one who does not work, from whence will he eat on Shabbat?” In other words, there is no free lunch.

1. The standard view of Orthodoxy measured by Orthodoxy’s actual standard

Jewish law forbids misrepresentation. The claim that the rabbis of the Talmud may not be questioned conditions Jews to accept the views of all rabbis blindly. Maimonides’ view of professional students is dim indeed.

In fact, a working Orthodoxy makes money, has culture exposure, and social power. An impoverished Orthodoxy that sells votes to sustain itself but keeps its people poor is not concerning itself with the world to come; it is concentrating power in the here and now.

This Orthodoxy claims that only its clergy have the right to rule. The appealing to rules is rude; advancing objective benchmarks is bashing.

When confronted with extremist claim, we have a responsibility to ask:

1. what rule in the Talmud justifies your claim?

2. Is the claim being suggested social control or an ethical gesture

3. Does the law measure the culture or the is culture defining the law

4. Since Jewish law forbids taking charity from non-Jews

OK let’s start with Acharei Mot What does “v’lo yamut” imply? Here’s my p’shat: Coming into the proximity of the Qodshei Qodshim – requires protection . For Aharon – that meant a proper Q’toret – while an improper Qktoret – even b’shogeig – could have left the Kohen Gadol without his “radiation suit” and thereby be exposed to an overwhelming dose and risk death. Not due to a transgression, but – rather like an electrician with a leaky rubber glove – the shock would be overwhelming.

Back to Nadav and Avihu. AISI they were consumed by the fire primarily because their ersatz Q’toret failed to protect them and therefore Aharon was commanded how to avoid such a similar catastrophe. And as for Uzah – in the Haftara of Sh’mini – AISI he wasn’t punished so much as overwhelmed by the Q’dusha and lacked protection. Bottom line – AISI it’s not “punishment” rather it’s consequences. Like a kid sticking his finger in an exposed socket. Hashem is not punishing the child. We have been fixated with seeing din as punishment. Din sometimes is merely teva, and electricity, radiation, high places all entail physical risk.

Kol Tuv

Rabbi Richard Wolpoe