My Story 45

As I look back on my seventeen years in Israel, my immediate reaction is " What a horror! I wish I had never heard of the State of Israel". At the same time, I learned and experienced many things that have made me who I am. One thing I learned was the necessity of balance in Judaism. The rabbis there discuss things that are never mentioned here. There are no topics that are "out of bounds".  Two-thirds of the laws of the Torah relate to the Temple. Nature abhors a vacuum, and, in the absence of a Temple, in rush custom and superstition. The recently coined PC term for this process is Mesorah; Tradition. That is "this is the way we've always done it, at least for 75 years!" One rarely hears this in Israel. There are those working to restore the Temple. But most seek instead to make sense of what remains, until such time as G-d restores His Temple. Also, the Torah forbids adding or detracting from its laws. If one takes one mitzvah, and makes that the be-all and end-all of Judaism, that is simply a cult mimicking Judaism. On the other hand, deliberately ignoring a mitzvah does the same thing. Declaring the place of the Land of Israel in Judaism as null and void is heresy. Making it the central theme of Judaism is as well. Much criticism has been leveled against Zionist leaders for their inaction during the holocaust (with a few exceptions). One pre-State Israeli politician even said "One cow in Eretz Yisrael is worth more than all European Jewry." Needless to say, that view was pure evil. One rarely hears in Israeli rabbinic circles "justifications" appealing to custom for these sins of omission or commission. Rabbis are constantly speaking and writing about the crooked paths that have been adopted over the years, and are urging their remediation. Whereas American rabbis are mostly trying to PRESERVE the status quo, most Israeli rabbis are trying to fix it. Whatever criticisms we may have of the Chief Rabbinate, their requirements for ordination are light-years ahead of anything that exists elsewhere. American and European Yeshivot test rabbis only on the laws of Kashrut. It is hoped that they will go on to proficiency in other areas. Some do. Most don't. It is thought that congregations need rabbis who can deal with their problems, not necessarily scholars. Rabbinic scholars do exist, but mostly as Yeshivah deans and teachers. The Israeli Rabbinate, on the other hand, requires proficiency not only in Kashrut, but in Shabbat, the laws of the Eruv, family purity, mourning, basic scribal law, Sabbatical Year law, some business law, marriage and divorce, and a host of others. In Israel, I could enter into a deep halachic discussion with almost any rabbi. Here, there are few who know what I am talking about. In the U.S. spirituality is hardly a topic that rabbis touch. In Israel, it is a pervasive theme for many. In addition, Israel, being the home to many Jewish communities, demands that we have a basic understanding and respect for other ways of belief and observance, so long as they conform with halachah. In America, there is a standard, "one size fits all" variation of Lithuanian Judaism, watered down into what many call "Rabbi ArtScroll", just a bit beyond the level of Rabbi Google. I think that one of the reasons for the success of Lubavitch is that it offers a more spiritual alternative to the usual fare. My first Shabbat back, I attended a Brooklyn Sepharadic synagogue. The rabbi, in his sermon, was waxing eloquent on the terrible prohibition of brushing one's teeth on Shabbat. I approached him quietly after the service, and told him that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and most other Sepharadic rabbis, permit this activity. "Really?!?!".The Ashkenazi Yeshivot had done their work. Another thing I learned was the necessity of reviewing one's ideology from time to time. Rabbi A.I. Kook, observing the beginnings of Zionism, concluded that this was the prophesied Redemption. Secularism was a passing phenomenon, which must be tolerated at "this stage". Had he lived to see the persecution of religion and the religious that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s (and to a lesser extent even now), I doubt that he would have said what he did. Just about three years ago, Ahmed Tibi, a close associate of Arafat and his successor, Abu Mazen, while also serving as a Knesset Member, made an impassioned speech from the floor of the Knesset about Israel's antisemitism (i.e., the disgust in which Hareidi Jews are held). But Rav Kook's followers still follow that path. As an Israeli saying goes "They're spitting on us, and we declare that it's raining". This has resulted in some very bizarre ideologies, which I have described. Much rhetoric has come from many circles whether Israel is good for the Jews or bad for the Jews. Cogent arguments can be made for both sides. Practically, however, the fall of Israel would mean another holocaust. Back in the 1950s, the Rabbi of Satmar met with the Rabbi of Belz. The Satmar Rabbi said "when Mashiach comes, a fire will descend from Heaven, destroying the institutions of the State, and the Heavenly Jerusalem will descend to Earth!". The Belzer replied "No. A great sanctity will descend from Heaven, sanctifying and transforming what is here!". I have no answers to offer. When I first got there, and people would ask me what I missed about America, I would answer "Heinz Ketchup and Carvel Ice Cream" (both of which are now plentiful there, although a new law now forbids Heinz to call itself "ketchup"). After five years there, I would always answer the question of what I miss  "the Bill of Rights".The Rabbinic greats I met there, make American "gedolim" seem pitiful. In some ways, I remain an Israeli, in other ways, I have nightmares about my experiences there. Both sides have been a tremendous education. I will now leave my Israel story behind, and deal with my new life in the country of my birth.