My Story 34

When Rabin won the 1992 elections in a landslide, he was anxious to form a coalition government (No party ever had a majority in the Knesset, and always needed to form a coalition). This usually takes several weeks at least. But he was in a hurry. He first approached the Meretz, ultra-Left party, and vowed to implement their policies. There was immediate agreement. He only needed a few more seats in order to form a coalition. An unlikely deal was reached with the Shas party. Shas was formed in the early '80s. It was formed by one man, Aryeh Deri, who had been hired by then Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to tutor his sons. He proposed a bold plan to Rav Ovadia. Sepharadic Jews, and especially North African Jews, have always been Israel's underclass, in many ways even less privileged than Israeli Arabs. Prejudice and discrimination were everywhere. Deri proposed to Rav Ovadia the forming of a political party, aimed at securing the rights of Sepharadic Jews. Rav Ovadia would be the titular head, while Deri would be the political action man. Shas became the anomaly of an utra Orthodox party, most of whose constituents were not observant! There is a fundamental difference between Ashkenazi and Sepharadi secularists. Ashkenazi secularists tend to hate religion (I have personally been spat upon by total strangers in Ashkenazi secular neighborhoods, and been searched when coming out of a supermarket, under the assumption that I had stolen something.) Among Sepharadic secular Jews, there is usually enormous honor for religious Jews, and especially rabbis. (I have had total strangers walk up to me and kiss my beard as I walked  through their neighborhoods,) Upon completing his term as Chief Rabbi in 1983, Rav Ovadia assumed the mantle of party head. The party grew and grew, until it finally became Israel's third largest party by the late 1990s. Rav Ovadia was one of the most impressive people I had ever met. He had a photographic memory of Talmud and later sources. More importantly, unlike most great rabbis who closet themselves in their own yeshivot, Rav Ovadia would give classes in the poorest neighborhoods, to people with little or no knowledge of, or connection to Judaism. He wrote more responsa literature than any rabbi in history. He felt the people's anguish, both material and spiritual. On several occasions, I brought him people who were having difficulties of various kinds, and witnessed the tears streaming down his cheeks as their story was told. Unlike other Sepharadic rabbis, however, who meekly accepted the supremacy of the Ashkenazi rabbis, his motto was "To Return the Crown to Its Former Glory". He advocated a return to Sepharadic practices and methods of study. In his written works, he acknowledged that Ashkenazim should abide by their practices, but that Sepharadim should renew their largely lost culture. In more intimate settings, he made clear that he thought that Ashkenazim had deviated from the true path of Torah and observance, preferring folklore to reality. However, he knew he would not win over the Ashkenazim, and concentrated on winning back his own people. As I have mentioned in a previous post, my studies had led me to be increasingly uncomfortable with Ashkenazi ways. I felt that the Sepharadic path was correct, but I was not Sepharadic. In 1991, I was teaching a course for sofrim. One of the students, one Yosef Anan, was a close follower of Rav Ovadia, later to become his personal secretary. He informed Rav Ovadia that he was "taking a course for sofrim, in which the rabbi (me) had lectured for four hours straight on the shape of the letter Alef, without repeating himself". Rav Ovadia expressed interest. When I later told the young man my feelings about the superiority of the Sepharadic system, he arranged a meeting for me with Rav Ovadia. The Rav spoke with me at length, and was satisfied that I wasn't just a kook, but was both well reasoned and well informed. He brought in two more rabbis, thus forming a Beit Din. He declared me and my family as Sepharadim. He later announced this on his weekly television program. We remained close. As long as I remained in Israel, I was under his "protection" (more on that in a later post). After Rabin had made his agreement with Meretz, an agreement with Shas was only hours away. Rav Ovadia realized that the gains he had made for his people would be lost if his party joined the opposition. In a few more days, other parties would certainly join, leaving him with little leverage. Thus, the strange alliance between Israel's ultra secular, anti-religious government, with an ultra-Orthodox party, was born. He secured a promise from Rabin that no territories would be ceded without a plebiscite. In return, he would support Rabin's moves for peace, while maintaining Shas' educational and religious goals. This move made him a hated figure in "national religious" circles. On the other hand, the radical left, that had traditionally called the Hareidim "parasites" and "vermin", now changed their tune, viewing them as possible partners, while the settlers and ultra-Zionist religious were the ultimate enemy. The situation came more sharply into focus when Oslo came to a Knesset vote. That will be my next post.