Charismatic Personality and Halachah part 6

Rabbi Riskin emigrated to Israel in 1983. He became a leader not only in his own community of Efrat, but he immediately filled a niche in areas that Israelis tend not to think of as rabbinic fields. His American style of a friendly, accessible rabbi, was novel to many. (I mentioned in an earlier series that Chief Rabbi Bakshi Doron's personal secretary once asked me if I was sure I was a rabbi. When I asked him why he asked. he said because I always smile and have a cheerful disposition.) He became known as an honest adjudicator for disputes tween neighbors. Soon, even Arabs from nearby villages came to him to settle long standing issues. He did what he could to foster peaceful, and even friendly relations, between Jews and Arabs. This, despite being the rabbi of a so-called West Bank community.He established a system of schools, from early childhood to rabbinic seminaries. Like his friend Rabbi Avi Weiss, he was zealous in providing equal educational  opportunities for girls and women. Many Israelis were wary of his "American Ways". The Israeli and American mindsets are light years apart. As one prominent American rabbi once said "The Israeli Jew is always thinking 'what would my grandfather say?', while the American Jew is always thinking 'what will my grandchild say?'" From kindergarten on, the Israeli child is trained to be "Rosh Katan" ("little head", that is, obey those in charge, and do not think. I have mentioned that once my wife and I were called into school, and told that there is a problem with one of our daughters, who "thinks for herself") In Rabbi Riskin's schools, students, on every level, were taught to think. When the Oslo agreements were formed, Rabbi Riskin, although committed to a compromise for peace, denounced them as "returning to Auschwitz borders". As these were the days of the Rabin "reign of terror", where any statement that was critical of goverment policies resulted in arrest, and often in imprisonment without trial, the moderate Rabbi Riskin  found himself in jail. But Rabin forgot about the rabbi's  American governmental connections. Phone calls and faxes from Congressmen and Senators flooded the Prime minister's office, along with irate messages from American  Jewish leaders of every stripe. After a few days he was released, on "humanitarian grounds", due to his "fragile health". The fifty five year old rabbi immediately resumed his three mile a day jogs. Things changed for him, and for Israel, with the election of ultra conservative Chief Rabbis in 1992. (Chief Rabbis are elected for a ten-year term, not by the people, nor by other rabbis, but by a Knesset committee.) The secretary of Chief Rabbi Bakshi Doron, told me that they had put into place a policy of not promoting rabbis who had a college education. It was at this time that conversion policies that had been in place from the beginning of the State, became super strict, and inaccessible to most. In the intervening decades, it has only gotten worse. Rabbi Riskin was at the forefront in urging moderation. As the rabbi of a city, he had the right to perform conversions. (Only rabbinic judges and city rabbis are authorized to convert, excluding rabbis of neighborhoods and small towns). He continued his liberal conversion policies, much to the consternation of the Chief Rabbinate. Attempts were made to force him to retire, but these were unsuccessful. However, Rabbi Riskin understood, as he reached his seventies, that he was not immortal. His progressive policies were likely to die with him. Here then came on the scene Rabbi David Stav. Like Rabbi Riskin, he advocated a more open and responsive rabbinate, including compassionate conversion policies, as well as women's rights. The much younger Rabbi Stav also lacked the drawbacks of being an American (which Israelis tend to disparage), and having an American accent (which Israelis find annoying, or even comical). He was active in education, and had founded a rabbinic body outside the framework of the Chief Rabbinate (technically illegal), called "Tzohar". Rabbis Riskin and Stav formed an alliance. Rabbi Riskin saw in Rabbi Stav his natural successor. Rabbi Stav ran an unsuccessful bid to become Chief Rabbi in the 2012 elections. The time for action had come. Rabbis Riskin and Stav joined together, forming an alternatives, unauthorized. illegal  rabbinate. They perform many unauthorized, and unrecognized, conversions. I'm sure Rabbi Riskin feels like a modern day Rosa Parks. The Chief Rabbinate refuses to place Tzohar members in official positions. But Tzohar is not going away, and is, in fact, growing. A showdown is, at some point, inevitable. Rabbi Riskin has been to the top of the mountain, and seen the Promised Land. Rabbis who derive their authority from their positions, or political affiliations, are now being challenged. It's about time.