The New Schism « Rejewvenate!

The New Schism

November 12, 2007 at 4:18 pm | In beliefs, halacha, jewish denominations, orthodox |

I have come to believe that a new schism is coming to the Jewish world, a vast new reorganization that will supplant the current denominational divides. One of the new fault lines will split the Orthodox movement and pit Hareidim against Modern Orthodox Jews. Ahead is a guest post by my good friend and long-time reader MJFire surveying this split. The post comes in response to a post on Emes Ve-Emunah about R. Nachum Eisenstein’s pronouncement in R. Elyashiv’s name at the Eternal Jewish Family conference that it is heresy to believe that the world is older than 5768 years.

Without further ado, the guest post:

I think the MO have a dependency on the Charedim that is entirely one-sided, and this is at the root of the problem between the two camps. On the one hand, the MO are in awe of the emunah, lack of materialism, and rigorous observance of halakah of the Charedim. Moreover — and more importantly – they depend on Charedi religious leaders ( e.g., R’ M. Feinstein, R’ A. Kaminetzky, and R’ S.Z. Auerbach, et al.) for piskei halakha on many practical issues, with the prominent exception of educational standards and tzniut/negiah. This dependency puts them in the difficult position of kowtowing to the Charedi world’s norms and standards on a semi-regular basis. On the other hand, I do think that the MO value their contact with the modern world, and recognize that for all the problems that such an interaction creates for a religious person, this contact is worthwhile. In other words, they are unwilling to give up the “modern” aspect of their lives, and have therefore made the choice to accept, with some level of disappointment, the disdain in which they are held by the Charedi world, while at the same, secretly admiring many aspects of the Charedi world.

But the attitidue of the Charedim (which has never returned the MO’s secret admiration) has moved from disdain to condemnation — and as the Charedim grow more powerful in Israel and take better advantage of emerging tecnologies to broadcast this message, this attitude starts to define the relationship. At core, the MO need to realize something that they have been loathe to recognize in the past: the Charedim just don’t need and don’t care about the MO. The Charedi world views itself as Shevet Levi at the moment Moshe comes down from Sinai after having shattered the luchot. They are perfectly willing to execute the family members who have strayed from the path, and they will burn down the village to save it. This attitude is anathema to the MO world, even in its interactions with the Conservative and Reform movements.

The response of the MO should not only be in denominational reorganization (which I think has as much if not more to do with the drift of the Conservative movement), but to break with the Charedim by actively cultivating poskim from within the MO community who are willing to publish an MO Mishna Berurah and an MO Igrot Moshe that is not only modern in a “scientific” outlook (there is really no great controversy over evolution among the MO), but that takes a modern approach to issues on which the MO world has been totally beholden to the Charedi community for halakhic guidance in the past, but where there is now a sense growing alienation from the Charedi camp, ( e.g., womens’ issues such agunah, kol isha, and kavod hatzibur, and even chumras related to shmirat shabbat and kashrut). Only then can they say to the Charedim — we don’t need you anymore.

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Good suggestion, but what are we going to do while (hopefully) people heed the call to get the training and start sorting this out? Or are there enough MO Decisors of the calibre to do this already? It’s just I keep reading how there’s not even enough MO type teachers for the MO schools and I just shake my head. What is up in the MO society that teaching the beliefs is no longer a highly valued position?

But you’re right. I wish there was some way to make people realize they don’t have to admire the Chareidim…they could just be more like them in emunah and observance…is it pursuit of wealth? I’ve heard that MO types tend to be high up on the socioeconomic scale…at that level, the various taxes on time and energy bite hard into maximizing earnings…?

I truly don’t know I’m just trying to make sense of how things got into this mess. People say there’s a lack of coherent ideology, but an ideology that isn’t built on a pyramid like basis of communal tradition and habits of living isn’t much use, imo…

Comment by Kendra — November 13, 2007 #
Are you crazy? Even the Charedim can’t reproduce another Chofetz Chaim of Rav Moshe. There is nobody in the world who considers himself MO to even contemplate such an endeavor.

Comment by SDR — November 13, 2007 #
SDR, there may be some brash young scholars among the MO who would have the audacity to write such a text - much as the Rambam once did. No we gotta hope that he is of the Rambam’s caliber.

Comment by rejewvenator — November 13, 2007 #
I think that line “and they will burn down the village to save it.” very appropriate. It does seem that the charedi world in many quarters has in the name of piousness and humility become very impious and arrogant. If you follow some of their conclusions to their logical denouement, G-d Himself is incapable of making any changes.

Say what?! Even the Almighty G-d can’t change His mind? Hello? No meat before the flood, meat after the flood… G-d changed His mind for some reason and while pontificating and ruminating on what He did that for is perfectly fine, trying to deny it ever happened is to deny G-d His own free will from which ours comes.

In the name of exalting Him, we’ve shackled Him. Great going.

So, very appropriate use of that Viet Nam-era line I remember so well.

As to what MO needs do now, who said they don’t have anyone of high caliber? What matters isn’t the breadth of scholarship in human quibbling over G-d’s instructions, but breadth and depth of your heart to receive them whatever He decides they are. A closed cold heart can receive nothing from G-d. I am dead certain the MO just lacks confidence in themselves, as opposed to faith in G-d, which they have in abundance.

So many charedi consider themselves chasidim but act more like staunch mitnagdim to the point some of them need not be written off (because that’s not a charitable response), but more like a dilapidated house you yourself can’t live in anymore, let’s say if you’re MO, or Conservative, a fan of their finer points. Consider their finer points like R. Nachman, R. Israel, etc. to be really good fixtures to salvage from that house while you build a new one. Maybe it will lead to a schism right now, but if it is done for the right reasons and in the right ways, it will be over and done with quickly and with little pain, and much rejoicing because it might lead to something everyone might gain from: a new stronger centrist Jewish movement.

Centered not between the rule of G-d and not being G-dly which is certainly how some will see it no matter what, but centered between an absolute unattainable perfection where G-d sits and wherever mankind is/should be. G-d’s no unfair taskmaster and doesn’t expect more of us than He knows we are not only theoretically capable of, but what we can handle right now. Sometimes I think people are too hard on themselves in His name.

Comment by suitepotato — November 14, 2007 #
First, no one should “write off” the Charedim. That they have unfortunately written off the MO is to their discredit, but the MO must continue to relate to them in a respectful manner. (Aside from the issues of national unity, on simply a practical level, their political power in Israel requires that lines of communication be cultivated and maintained at all times.) That said, one can be respectful of their way of life and also not look to it as normative, or even suggestive of the only authentic observant lifestyle.

In my humble view, modern Orthodoxy is really at a crossroads; if it wants to survive, it will need to develop its own poskim who are willing to develop a body of halakha that is relevant to the modern world. Certainly the Charedi version is not. And right now, the only approach taken in the MO world to halakha is some combination of Charedi religious practice and the notorious custom of picking and choosing which mitzvot to ignore and which to accept based on personal preference — is it any wonder, then, that the MO Gens X and Y either wander off the derekh or become black hat? MO needs to develop a third way that avoids the obvious failings of the Conservative movement while rejecting an ahistorical notion of an unchanging halakha.

Part of this process requires real soul searching among the modern orthodox about their own institutions. Are the OU, Young Israel, and the RCA really just mouthpieces for the halakhic decisions of the Charedi world, or do you think they are willing to embrace modernity and what comes with it? Does YU really have a commitment to modern orthodoxy, or is just so frightened of its own shadow and place in the larger Orthodox world that it is incapable of fostering any real modern halakhic development? We ask where the modern orthodox poskim will come from; we have to be ready to accept the fact that they may not come from an established “modern orthodox” institution. We also need to really ask what “modernity” means; if we honestly engage that subject, will we be willing to accept all of its implications for a religious lifestyle?

Comment by mjfire — November 14, 2007 #
MJFire, I don’t think that the current MO institutions are up to the task that you set for them. Maybe YCT will generate some groundbreaking poskim, but I doubt it. I actually think that the institution that is most capable is the one that is most ignored - UTJ. It sits right in the sweet spot that acknowledges science, halachic development and so forth, but insists on a traditional Judaism our shtetl-dwelling ancestors would recognize.

Anyway, it is interesting to see guys like R. Jeremy Wieder, R. Slifkin and others say some pretty controversial things about the nature of the written and oral Torahs. But maybe the world of academia is where we have to turn for revolutionary ‘psak’ - certainly folks like Moshe Halbertal, Menachem Kellner, Marc Shaipro, and James Kugel have pushed the envelope while maintaining faith commitments.

Comment by rejewvenator — November 14, 2007 #