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THE JEWISH DEMOCRATIC ETHIC
DOING RIGHTEOUSNESS
AND JUSTICE
By Rabbi Uri Regev
The fourth
Memorial Day of the assassination of Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin (of blessed memory), at the hands of a Jewish
religious zealot, is marked by a new debate, one which leads in a direct
line to the action by an assassin who justifies his act by religious
zealousness. This is a debate over the mere fact of observing the Memorial
Day and the dignity of the victim of the assassination, who wished to
fulfill one of the basic Jewish commandments: to plant the seeds of peace.
The State of Israel, as
well as many in the enlightened world, mourn the untimely death of a leader,
statesman, and foremost, the man who dared to advance the vision of peace,
which for so many years has merely been a ephemeral wish.
Judaism sees the value
of peace as the greatest divine blessing. Yitzhak Rabin tried with courage
and wisdom, to give substantial content to the vision of peace. In
doing that, he contributed, consciously or unconsciously, to strengthen the
values of Judaism.
On the eve of the
Memorial Day and during this difficult day itself, we witnessed a new
phenomenon. It became clear that not everyone shares the grief. The
education institutions of the Sephardi Ultra-Orthodox religious movement,
Shas, were instructed by their rabbinic leaders to avoid mentioning the
Memorial Day. The reason given by the Director of the Shas educational
system Rabbi Maya was that their educators do not want to expose the pure
souls of their pupils to the model of a "Shabbat violator". According
to Rabbi Maya, such a man, who does not observe the commandments, cannot be
a role model. He said that they do not ignore Rabin, rather they
include him in their Israeli history studies alongside Ben Gurion and
others.
In one of the Shas youth
movement centers, photographs of Rabin were taken off the walls. Probably in
order not to lead the children into sin, God forbid!
This phenomenon is
disgusting on a day of national mourning declared by the Knesset in memory
of the first Jewish Prime Minister whose blood was shed especially by a Jew
calling himself religious. Shas, and others of their ilk, ignore this
Memorial Day, and its meaning, the same as they ignore the rule of law in
Israel.
This behavior is a siren
signal urgently calling for serious soul searching. What is needed is a
thorough examination of the deep gaps separating the Jewish communities in
Israel, concerning their understanding of the basic values of the Jewish
people and the State of Israel.
Freedom, Justice
and Peace
In the coming weekly
Torah portion, Parshat Vayera we read about what seems to me to be
the central pillar of Judaism. "Now the LORD had said, 'Shall I hide from
Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham is to become a great and
populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by
him? For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and
his posterity to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is just and right,
in order that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what He has promised
him.'" ( Bereshit, Chapter 18:17 -19).
In these verses, we find
the meaning of "the chosen people" and the divine plan in which the people
of Israel should be partners with God -- the creation of an ideal society
and tikkun olam. To my sorrow, tragically in Israel, the
meaning of these verses have been distorted.
Rabbi Maya and his
colleagues consider that a good Jew is one who observes the commandments
concerning Shabbat, family purity, kashrut and the like. I do not mean in
any way to belittle the importance of these elements in the Jewish
tradition. The fact is that these were not God's conditions when he chose
Abraham and his descendents to be his "chosen people". According to the
clear words of the verses, the way of God is righteousness and justice. This
basic Jewish value was adopted by the founders of Israel who incorporated
this principle into the Declaration of Independence: "…will be founded on
the principles of freedom, justice and peace as envisioned by the prophets
of Israel; will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to
all its inhabitants, irrespective of religion, race or sex; will guarantee
freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture."
The Withdrawal
from Israel and authentic Jewish tradition
Those who claim to speak
in the name of Judaism, like Rabbi Maya and others, do not only injure the
memory of Yitzhak Rabin; more than that they withdraw from the nation and
from authentic Jewish tradition. The Judaism that Israel needs is: "its ways
are pleasantness and all its paths are peace" -- a Judaism that is based
upon genuine Jewish brotherhood, a Judaism that includes our religious
commitment towards all who are born in the image of God, whether Jew or
gentile. We need an understanding that the criteria for the Jewishness
of the State of Israel is the measure of equality the State gives to its
minorities, the measure of support given to weaker sectors of society, much
more then stopping public transportation from running on Shabbat.
Only a tolerant Judaism,
which goes hand in hand with the
basics of democracy, will defend us from similar tragedy in the
future.
Rabbi Uri Regev
Director, Israel Religious Action
Center
haGalil 10-99
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