Monday, March 3, 2014
Mass Atzeres planned for New York Jewry, Sunday 7 Adar
Following the massive Atzeres tefillah in Eretz Yisrael, a mass atzeres is planned for this coming Sunday March 9th, 2014. Organizers are considering holding the protest in downtown Manhattan, but the venue has yet to be finalized. It will be a joint united effort by the Litvish, Chasidish and sefardi rabbonim coming together to cry out to hashem, against the anti-religious decrees being enacted by Israel’s government. Video recap of million man Atzeres in Israel below, and here.
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Out of curiousity, how are the decress anti-religious?
ReplyDeleteNo one is saying that the Chareidim must stop being Chareidim. No one is saying they can't learn. All they are saying is "Hey, you live in this society, you benefit from it, you must contribute to it." If Chareidim are against this what does that say about their morality?
I am afraid I have to strongly disagree with your assertion that the Israeli government is passing "anti-religious decrees". Requesting that someone who is not studying Torah full-time do national service or military service like the rest of the Jewish population is not an unreasonable request. The new law recognizes Torah study as an important national goal and gives delays in conscription of several years to many students and permanent exemption to many top scholars. Yes, they unfortunately added the "criminal penalties" section which many of those who support these reforms vehemently opposed but EVERYONE, including Lapid who demagogically added them, know they will never be implemented.
ReplyDeleteAs I expected, the big demonstration exacerbated public opinion and is hardening the public position. Up until now, the Haredi political leadership, like much of the political leadership in Israel, particularly that of the Left, has dismissed public opinoin, believing that playing off the major parties on the Left and Right gives them the power of the swing vote so all they have to do is come to an agreement with the leader of one side or the other and that the system that has existed up until now will continue. THIS IS NO LONGER THE SITUATION. Public opinion is simply not going to accept giving everyone who is born to a Haredi family, whether or not he is really studying Torah full-time a permanent exemption from national or military service.
It is high time that the Haredi political leadership carry out a real dialogue with the people of Israel in which they explain fully what they view is their place in larger Israeli society. I am well aware that this is very difficult because of the "austritt' (separation) policy the Haredi world took from Shimshon Raphael Hirsch in Germany completely delegitimizes any Jewish framework outside the Haredi world. It is hard to go up to Mr Average Israeli and say that you don't want your youth leaving the Kollelim and Yeshivot because you don't want them to have any contact with people who are different than them, fearing you will lose their allegiance.. I heard a radio inteviewer ask a Haredi spokesman why non-religious Israelis who dodge conscription are sent to prison whereas Haredim who are not studying Torah are not (and everyone knows that there are many like this). The spokesman responded that "we are preserving Judaism". This is not an answer. Everyone knows that there are plenty of young men who are Torah scholars who DO serve in the IDF, some of whom have become dayanim (I know one) and major talmidei hachamim. To then say that they don't recognize their authenticity because they are affiliated with Religious Zionism just doesn't wash.
One possible solution is for the Haredi community to say that would accept that one who does not want to serve should claim that they are like the Arab community and that for reasons of concience can not serve the state. This would then entail agreeing to give up control of the State Chief Rabbanate and accepting a status like the Eidah Haredit and not accept money from the state and not get things they get now such as exemption from "arnona" municipal taxes.. Those who do serve would receive extra state funding and would not receive ostracism from official organs of the Haredi community.
It is time for fresh thinking on these matters from the Haredi leadership to prevent this from becoming a major split in Am Israel at a time when Israel is being pressured both by the Arabs and even by our so-called "friends" in America and Europe..
Interesting...your friend Average Israeli deserves a Mr, but Hagaon Hatzadik Rav Shimshon Rephoel Hirsch doesn't even get a Rabbi from you!
DeleteYou have replaced your disgusting Zionist-religion instead of our Holy Torah and then you want to conscript us!!! NEVER AGAIN !
Since these "frum" yidden can't be bothered with the mitzva of yishuv ha'aretz, perhaps they should mind their own business and think twice about this massive chillul Hashem.
ReplyDeleteSince these atheist zionists can't be bothered with keeping our Torah, perhaps they should mind their own business and think twice about stealing and abusing our holy name Yisroel, our holy-land Eretz Yisroel, or our holy brothers Shomrei-Torah Toshvei-ERETZ-Yisroel for their nefarious politics! ENOUGH!
DeleteIt's not that atheist Zionists "can't be bothered with keeping our Torah"; it's that the Zionists are consumed by trying to destroy our holy Torah and to turn Judaism itself, CH'V, into Zionism. This is what Rav Chaim Brisker understood decades before 1948, and what is only too apparent in hindsight.
ReplyDeleteAs he wrote then, it's not that the Zionists shmad in order to found a State. They want a State in order to shmad.
As well, the chareidim never wanted this State and have suffered terribly because of Zionism and that State. The very least the Zionists could do would be to allow the Chareidim to work as they would in any other country, and to not require them to first submit to shmad to become "Israelis". But, of course, once one understands Rav Chaim, one can also understand why the Zionists are and have been so cruel to their "fellow Jews" in this regard and many others: because the State is merely instrumental to the ultimate goal of shmad.