Bnei Brak vs Ramat Gan: A soldier’s struggle with faith and leadership

For those who follow this column, you already know that the Mrs. and I (aka Rabbi and Mrs. Dinosaur) are, well, not totally hooked into the tech scene.

Yes, we do have email and WhatsApp – that’s certainly no longer “cutting-edge” territory, I know – but that’s about as far as we go, social media-wise. No Facebook, no Meta (aren’t they the same thing?!); no Instagram or X (where I come from, X means “sign here”).

We did get rid of our 8-track, and all our DVDs are gathering dust, but I’m proud to say I still have a fax machine in my office (I let the grandkids play with it; they think it’s some kind of robot). Yes, I guess I do somewhat live in the distant past, but it’s not such a bad place to inhabit – or at least visit from time to time.

But while I don’t actually subscribe to Facebook, I do sometimes receive messages from it via the kids. And I recently saw one that really shook me. It was from a fine young man, the son of long-time friends, a soldier, who chose to announce that he was hereby “resigning” from observant Judaism (if that’s even possible). He posted the following, and I paraphrase:

I no longer want anything to do with the Religious Zionist community. Their representatives in the government are a disgrace. They have sold themselves and their principles for money and political power; they bow to the haredi Knesset bloc and submit to their every wish.

The Dati-Leumi [National Religious] soldiers do the fighting – and the dying – while they spit on us and collect billions of shekels. 

In my opinion, the community I grew up in is no longer either nationalistic – they separate themselves from a large chunk of the nation – nor are they religious – at least not the kind of religion, with morals and principles, that I once knew.

They have completely lost their way. And it’s not just the party heads who cowardly rubber-stamp the outrageous demands made by the coalition; I also blame the average person who voted for them and now refuses to stand up to demand that they do the right thing. I’ve had it; I’m done with them.

Powerful words, indeed. Words from the heart, from the “silent majority” of pure-hearted citizens. This is a man-child of today’s Israel, thrust into combat, who has a right to be listened to but whose critique, he says, falls on deaf ears.

If I was actually one of his Facebook friends, I would tell him the following:

“I feel your pain. I feel it because I’m in pain, too. Here we are in the midst of a terrible war, arguably the toughest challenge we have ever faced – and we have endured a helluva lot of wars – and our world has turned topsy-turvy.

“The derelict government that fell on its collective face a year ago and allowed all this to happen – and more and more evidence is finally coming out that they were indeed culpable – is still in power, even stronger than before October 7.

A refusal of acknowledgement 

“They arrogantly refuse to acknowledge their incompetence, hoping their crimes will be buried in the travail of war, and we gullible citizens will just chalk it up to ‘politics as usual.’ Those who do have the decency to apologize are sacked, while the obstinate ones survive.

“Like you, I also deeply feel the pain of having to bear religious ‘leaders’ who abdicate their holy calling, those who pervert the Torah while arrogantly claiming to represent it. Those who ‘stand idly by their brothers’ blood’ as the Torah prohibits, and do not even have the simple respect to recite the prayer for the welfare of the soldiers, the ones who actually do keep the sacred mitzvah of militarily defending the Jewish nation and the Jewish people, as Hashem commands.

“What kind of a crazy, upside-down world do we live in, where the ‘holistically holy’ Jews – those who brilliantly study Torah, keep the mitzvot, support the State of Israel, and courageously wage war against the Amalek-like enemy – are dismissed and denigrated in some circles, while those who sit comfortably in their dalet amot of safety are considered the elite of observant society?!

“The Moshes, the Joshuas, the Davids, and the Rabbi Akivas – all of whom took up arms to defend Israel, even at the peril of death – are shoved aside and their legacy hidden, if not outright denied.

“But, I want to say to you that it is wrong, and even foolish, to blame what is happening either on God or the Torah. Let’s start with God: While the creator of the world has pledged that Israel will be immortal and survive the vicissitudes of history, it does not mean that we should be passive and uninvolved. We are God’s partner, and so we are smack in the center of the struggle for right and justice and holiness. God will do God’s part, and we must do ours. ‘Depending on a miracle’ is not a Jewish belief.

“And as for the Torah, be careful not to confuse the product with its salesman. The product – Halacha, the mitzvot – is divine wisdom, a gift. It covers all the bases: love of your neighbor, love of the land, love of decency, honesty, kindness, and selfless giving to others. The fact that some people defile the Torah and thus bring shame to it – causing Jews to be looked down upon, ridiculed, or hated – is not the Torah’s fault.

“The blame lies squarely with those who know better – or should know better – and yet fall victim to their own greed, temptation, or mean-spiritedness. The ugly face they paint on Judaism is the height – or depth – of hillul Hashem, desecrating God’s good name before the nation and the world. But just because you encounter a delinquent doctor doesn’t mean you should give up on medicine.

“Do not despair, my friend! The inexorable waves of history will ultimately wash away the injustices we see around us. The Torah will, of course, survive – it is eternal – but it will be carried forward by people of honor who will truly, authentically represent it.

“The State of Israel, after all, is still in its infancy. Little by little, more and more religious Jews across the spectrum will come under its wings, recognizing that Judaism in its natural habitat is the future.

“Even now, thousands of young people, denied the right to break through the walls of intimidation and cast their lot with the state, are seeking – and finding – ways to connect to Zionism and the army, all while maintaining their strict observance. This will only accelerate in the future.

“Time, as we’ve said so often, both heals the wounds and wounds the heels. In time, truth emerges, justice prevails, and the good guys win. It’s perfectly okay that you vented your anger, but don’t give up and don’t give in. Hang on; the best is yet to come.”

The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra’anana. rabbistewart@gmail.com