SumFnl07 6/6/07 1:44 PM Page 31

La Différence La Similarité By Avi Shafran

may not be a typical Chareidi Jew My point is simple: While there What they describe is a balka- (if there even is such an animal), may be very real differences between, nized Orthodox world characterized by I but I’m a musmach of Rabbi say, the average Orthodox Union mem- “bitterness … demonization [and] Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, have been ber and the average Agudath Israel one exclusivity” (Rabbi Wein’s words) and a member of Agudath Israel for many (and, for that matter, between the aver- by “an innate lack of concern for the decades (and have served as the organi- age Satmar chassid and the average future of the Jewish community” zation’s spokesman for the past thirteen Gerrer chassid, as well as the average (Rabbi Feldman’s). years), don’t own a television and wear Litvisher “Lakewooder” and the average To be sure, communities, no less a black hat. Israeli “Chardal”), there is no lack of than in the case of individuals, do well And I have often related wonder- unity amid the divergence. to take stock of themselves and ferret ful divrei Torah from the Mei Marom I have a long and abiding admira- out areas where improvement might (Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlop) at my tion for both Rabbi Berel Wein (a be had. And there are certainly areas— Shabbos table—as well as from the pul- warm mazel tov to him and his kallah!) including ahavas Yisrael (loving your pit when asked to speak at the Agudath and Rabbi Emanuel Feldman. One of fellow Jew) and hava’as shalom bein Israel shul where I daven. I have done my beloved sons-in-law is a talmid of adam le’chaveiro (bringing peace the same with words of Torah from Rabbi Wein’s, and I have been privi- between a man and his neighbor)— Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman and the leged to communicate on several pleas- that the Orthodox world in all its vari- Satmar Rav. ant occasions with Rabbi Feldman. ation would always do well to be mec- And I know many Jews whose Both are undeniably perceptive and hazek itself. upbringing naturally leads them to sagacious men. Which is why I am But it seems to me that much of sources like Rav Charlop or Rav Kook, puzzled that they both (Rabbi Wein in the Orthodox self-excoriation that has but who would never hesitate to cite this issue of Jewish Action, Rabbi appeared in Jewish Action’s pages of the Chazon Ish or Rav Schach at their Feldman in the preceding one) have late is misconceived. At least, it pres- own Shabbos seudos or in public. taken a broad look at contemporary ents only part of a much larger pic- Orthodox society and emphasized its ture—a picture that, for all its serious Rabbi Shafran is the director of public affairs internal divisions without acknowledg- at Agudath Israel of America. ing its cohesiveness. Continued on 34

Summer 5767/2007 JEWISH ACTION 31 SumFnl07 6/14/07 1:44 PM Page 34

Continued from 31 gaps and harsh shadings, should give us all a tremendous visions of the “good old days” when Orthodox Jewish groups sense of pride. lived in perfect harmony may say more about nostalgia than It is a picture that shows growing consensus along the fact). But that different groups may have developed in some- “Chareidi-Centrist” divide over such matters as the centrality what different directions hardly makes for a tragedy. Klal of limud Torah, the non-negotiability of halachah, the impor- Yisrael began, after all, with twelve distinct tribes. What is tance of kiruv rechokim (outreach), the dedication to more, when family members act in ways that strike other tzedakah and chesed and the recognition of the dangers inher- family members as out-of-sync with the family’s history and ent in what goes by the name of “Jewish Pluralism.” It also values, the registering of protest is necessary—precisely shows growing, across-the-board concern over some of the because they are family. scourges of modern-day social pathologies that have infiltrat- Which, as it happens, isn’t a bad model here: a family. ed Orthodox Jewish homes of all stripes, across-the-board A strong bond between, say, siblings or cousins, will always activism in attempting to address such challenges as the endure, but the independence that comes with the passage of growing singles crisis and the high cost of tuition, and across- time can come to yield differences of approach and opinion the-board resolve to mobilize forces and resources to help our that may not have been as evident in more youthful days. beleaguered brethren in Eretz Yisrael. Daf Yomi shiurim are That reflects no rejection, chalilah—only the human condi- delivered and Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah proclamations are tion, and the inexorable toll taken by experiences, growth posted in Orthodox Union-affiliated shuls, and the OU’s and new responsibilities. kashrus standards are respected in countless Chareidi homes. And so we do indeed come to inhabit a different world There can be little doubt that the robust growth, than once existed. There are real and meaningful distinctions baruch Hashem, of the Torah-observant community, both in among Orthodox Jewish groups regarding a number of Eretz Yisrael and in chutz la’Aretz, has brought challenges important contemporary issues. along with its blessings. And the natural branching out and Rejection of certain changes in the role of women in coalescing of like-minded groups can indeed adversely affect observant society—changes largely empowered by the engine the intimacy that earlier times may have nurtured (although of the wider world’s militant feminism—is one point of clear distinction between Chareidi and other Orthodox Jews. Our respective attitudes toward the Internet comprise another; how to address tensions between contemporary scientific ideas and timeless Torah, yet another. No organizational or social unity can obscure such fundamental differences of out- look—nor should it. And then there are other issues that have long been the subject of inter-Orthodox debate—like the religious signifi- cance of the State of Israel (a topic regarding which deeply divergent attitudes toward Israel have come to the fore even among Religious Zionists these days); the inherent value or advisability of higher secular education; the proper degree of separation between men and women in schools and at gath- erings; the role of “daas Torah” in communal decision-mak- ing; the relative merits and demerits of insularity versus cul- tural exposure; and other perhaps less weighty but equally real things. We do ourselves no favor by ignoring—or, even worse, seeking to stifle—such differences, and even the abundant good will we must all embrace cannot erase them. But do they spell disastrous societal schism? Have such divergences of attitude among observant Jews, for all their substance, in fact yielded “demonization, exclusivity and separation?” Not where I look. Despite the different paths of principle we may tread, the good will need not be—and, baruch Hashem, rarely is— left behind. That said, we must all work to ensure that it never is—that, despite our undeniable diversity, the unity born of ahavas Yisrael continues to envelop us all. JA 34 JEWISH ACTION Summer 5767/2007 SumFnl07 6/13/07 9:09 AM Page 35