משבר ואמונה, סיום, יב. צורך השעהCrisis and Faith, V Conclusion, 12 The Need of The Hour
א׳
1We Jews had our full share of the sickness of the age. An inordinately high percentage of our young people participated in all those adventures of man’s contemporary hopelessness and despair in the drug culture, in radical movements, in the flight to the gurus, in the escape to the Jesus freaks. We need not apologize for it to anyone. It only shows that Jewish youth has a high sensitivity to the disintegration of values.
ב׳
2On the other hand, in many places we are aware now of a dawning realization that Lo Zu haDerekh, that this is not the way. A turning homeward has begun. Among young people, as well as among adults, there are not a few who have started to realize that the search for new foundations is most hopefully directed to our own resources, to the sources of Judaism. There is a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of God. Not that “hunger for bread and thirst for water” do not exist, but perhaps external, economic and political insecurity is needed to make man fully aware of his human condition, of his spiritual starvation. The signs of this “famine” may be observed by all who care to look for them. In my own experience, I notice it by the subjects on which Jews of all “denominations” wish to hear lectures and attend classes. They are: Jewish ethics as applied to the manifold concerns of contemporary man, and—most surprisingly—Talmud, Talmud, Talmud and, of course, faith after the holocaust, with the emphasis on faith, faith, faith.
ג׳
3These are the questions of destiny directed to us in this hour:
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4Do we have a full understanding of the nature of this hunger?
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5Do we have the capacity to satisfy it?
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6Can we provide the new foundations, the new anchor?
ז׳
7Are we able to reconstruct a world of values, of faith and hope for our people?
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8Can we do it from the sources of Judaism?
ט׳
9The task is twofold: a) intellectual-spiritual; b) psychological-emotional. Let us consider the first part first. Whether they like it or not, once Jews left the ghettoes, they have been living in continuous confrontation with another culture, another civilization. If now, in this hour of the exhaustion of this culture, there is a search for standards and values, for new spiritual foundations, and if we are to respond to this search effectively, we must understand that culture and civilization critically, we must understand wherein it has failed and why. And we must find the strength to cast the searching darkness of man’s contemporary predicament, of his present-day spiritual confusion and despair, on the sources of Judaism and make them light up, as once the Urim veTumim lit up in response to the searching questions of the High Priest. It requires consistent study and hard work to unlock the response of the Torah to the problems of our time. It demands a sympathetic and penetrating understanding of those problems, as well as the ability to bring the wisdom of the Torah to bear on those problems in such a manner that the searching mind may find intellectual and emotional peace. We dare not be just demanding in the name of the Torah; we have to be convincing with the truth of the Torah.
י׳
10Such a process of responding, interpreting and teaching, must be introduced into our educational philosophy on all levels. There is at least one serious shortcoming in our educational philosophy. In our Day Schools and Yeshiva High Schools, the curriculum is divided into Limudei Kodesh and Limudei Ḥol, sacred studies, the teaching of Jewish subjects on the one hand, and secular studies of a general nature on the other. These two sections of the curriculum are kept strictly separated from each other, representing two worlds that do not recognize each other. But one cannot educate effectively in this manner. The two areas of knowledge cannot be kept apart in the mind and soul of the student. If one may paraphrase the words of Maimonides from the Introduction to his Guide for the Perplexed, by this kind of an educational process one either does violence to one’s intellect by one’s faith, or one violates one’s faith by one’s intellect. In either case, growth is stunted and the development of personality potential is frustrated. One cannot teach Torah as if one lived in the isolation of an Eastern European ghetto and at the same time give instruction in general secular subjects as they are taught in an open society. An intellectual bridge has to be built between the Limudei Kodesh and the Limudei Ḥol, integration has to be established, a unified philosophy of education conceived and implemented. The confrontation with the culture of the world in the midst of which Jews live cannot be ignored. We dare not steal away from it. We have to acknowledge it, face it, and meet it with the intellectual and emotional strength of Judaism.
י״א
11There is nothing new about this in the intellectual and spiritual history of Judaism. In long ago past centuries, some of the greatest luminaries of the Torah scholarship showed us the way. Jews in the domain of Islamic culture knew of this confrontation and met it brilliantly; for instance, Saadia Gaon, Baḥya Ibn Pakuda, Maimonides, Crescas, Gersonides, to mention only a few. When Maimonides maintained that one needed logic to understand mathematics, that one should study mathematics as an aid to the study of physical science, and physical science in order to understand the universe of creation, which understanding is the only door that gives admittance to the inner courts of the palace of the King of Kings insofar as man may know Him at all, he was not only subordinating the entire area of the general so-called secular, studies to Yedi’at Hashem, but turned it into a vital auxiliary leading to the knowledge of God, and thus sanctified it. In this scheme, there are no Limudei Ḥol; all is Kodesh, all leading to a more profound understanding of Judaism.
י״ב
12We do not say that the method of Maimonides is applicable today as he understood it. But the principle has been established. In modern times, Samson Raphael Hirsch and Ezriel Hildesheimer acknowledged the confrontation and accepted the unavoidable challenge, meeting it with no small success with their principle of Torah Im Derekh Eretz. One might sum up the gist of that principle by saying that the modern orthodox Jew from the Hirsch and Hildesheimer school was fully aware of the concerns of the age in which he lived. With those concerns he approached the Torah to discover the relevance of Judaism in relationship to those contemporary concerns. Already Saadia Gaon in the Introduction to his Emunot VeDe’ot takes issue with those who believe that any attempt at a philosophical interpretation of Jewish teaching may lead to heresy. He maintains that any such faint-heartedness is a sign of insufficient faith in the truth of the Torah. Because we have faith in the truth power of Judaism, we may well meet with confidence the unavoidable challenge of a mundane civilization around us, especially in its present state of disintegration. In this dimension lies the intellectual and spiritual responsibility of the hour to provide for the hunger of this generation, Lishmo’a et devar Hashem, to hear the word of God.
י״ג
13The other aspect of the responsibility that I have called the psychological-emotional, I see in the approach to the majority of the Jews today and especially to a searching, inquiring, and often failing youth. The approach must be motivated by our acknowledgment of the reality of Klal Yisrael, the indivisible unity of all Israel. If we do wish to help them, if we do wish to make use of the opportunity that this twilight hour of human destiny offers us in the service of the Torah, the right approach to our fellow Jews is of decisive importance. What I have in mind is well illustrated in the Talmud. Discussing the biblical statement regarding Israel, “Ye are children unto the Lord your God,” commented Rabbi Yehudah: When you do conduct yourself like children, you are called children; but when you do not, you are not so called. Rabbi Meir, however, maintained: Bein kakh uvein kakh atem keru’im banim, either way, even when you fail, you are still acknowledged as children. It would seem to me that too many among us have adopted the position of Rabbi Yehudah, setting themselves up as judges over their brethren to determine who is to be recognized as being among His children and who not. The talmudic view obviously favors the position of Rabbi Meir. For whereas not a single biblical passage is quoted to support Rabbi Yehudah, a whole series of verses from the Bible is adduced to buttress Rabbi Meir’s statement. Did not Jeremiah call them, “Foolish children.” Foolish, yet children! Did not Moses say of them that they were “Faithless children!” Faithless, yet children! And how did Isaiah refer to them? “A seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly.” A seed of evil-doers, yet children! Concludes the Talmud: Maybe “children that deal corruptly” they are called, but Bnei Me’alya lo mikru, good children, are they not called? And the answer is: It is of them, even if they departed from God completely and turned to the idols, that Hosea said that even they are destined to be recognized as “children of the living God” (T.B., Kiddushin, 36a). Rabbi Zundel, the saintly teacher of Rabbi Israel Salant, founder of the Mussar movement, when referring to the Jews of his time would forever recall Rabbi Meir’s phrase, Bein kakh uvein kakh, either way….
י״ד
14I believe that Rabbi Meir’s position is an expression of faith in Am Yisrael, in the Jewish soul that is in every Jew. What this means we can see with our own astonished eyes in the Jewish awakening that is taking place within Russian Jewry almost two generations after the Communist revolution, among young people who had no Jewish education, no experience of Jewish living, no awareness of Jewish history, who grew up far removed from any Jewish cultural activity. Suddenly, unexpectedly, miraculously, there is the spark that ignites and moves them to heroic, sacrificial affirmation of their Jewishness. I am thinking of the Russian Jew, who in an underground private synagogue prays: Alef, Beit, Gimmel, Dalet; Alef, Beit, Gimmel, Dalet … because that exhausts all his knowledge of Hebrew and thus he prays, perhaps, the greatest prayer of our times. If such things are possible, how can one not have faith in the hidden spark of Jewishness in every Jew. Either way, they are called Banim lashem, God’s children.
ט״ו
15Let an example from my own personal experience show what I mean by the right approach to our fellow Jews. One Erev Shabbat, a distinguished orthodox rabbi in Chicago asked me to see a young girl, who was in town for the weekend with her father. The father was desperate. He had come from afar to spend some time with his daughter, who was staying at a Christian missionary school in the area. The rabbi thought that I was the right person to see the girl since her problem was a matter of theology and religious philosophy. I saw her on a Saturday night. She came with her father. She was all Christian piety and lovingkindness. Her natural loveliness and vitality were completely subdued into calm and simplicity worthy of a nun. She was a young girl who, like so many of the young people of that generation, had been “into” everything. Finally, she had converted to Christianity and was chosen to be educated as a missionary. After the social preliminaries in the company of the family were over, we retired into my study. I realized soon enough that my task was not to talk theology to her, or to prove to her the superiority of Judaism over Christianity. Before anything else, I had to understand her. We talked, or rather I let her talk, encouraging her to continue, to go on, occasionally asking a question, making a remark. Finally, after about three hours, when I thought I understood her, I said to her quietly: “You have been hurt, badly hurt.” At which she started crying. After that everything went relatively easily; after that we could talk about Judaism and Christianity, about being a Jew, about almost any other subject under the sun. She stayed with us for a few weeks. Then she went home with her father, returned to her people and to its faith. The experience also changed the life of the entire family, who became Shomrei Mitzvot, Torah-observant Jews.
ט״ז
16As we try to provide for the spiritual hunger of our day, before anything else we must try to understand, to act with kindness, and brotherly love. If we wish to offer guidance to the perplexed, we can only do it if we forever bear in mind that all of them, without distinction, Keru’im banim lashem, are called God’s children. We can only meet the challenge and respond to the opportunities of these times with faith in Am Yisrael, in the promise hidden in every Jewish soul.
י״ז
17Thus far we have dealt with the challenge and the opportunity outside of Israel. However, the situation is very similar in Israel. Medinat Yisrael provides the greatest challenge and the richest opportunity for the implementation of the Torah in the full context of the life of Am Yisrael that has been granted to us since the destruction of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. As we look back, especially over the past few years, we are saddened by the long series of missed opportunities. In particular, after the Six Day War hearts were open to listen, waiting to hear and willing to understand. Well, we declaimed about miracles—and indeed there were many—but the Torah camp in Israel failed to bring to the consciousness of the majority of the population, in sustained effort and continuous personal commitment, the meaning of Jewish destiny, the significance of being Jewish, the value and the meaning of Jewish life in a Jewish state in the second half of the twentieth century.
י״ח
18It has failed to speak out clearly with the voice of the Torah on vital and burning social and moral issues and problems. And after the Yom Kippur war, in these days of internal crisis, loss of faith—even of secular faith—the voice of the Torah is not heard interpreting intelligently and speaking to the fateful problems of the day. The great majority of what calls itself—with no small conceit—the “Yeshiveh Velt,” and to a large extent the rabbinate too, is completely isolated from the people, their concerns, problems, troubles and sorrows. There are many rabbis in Israel, but the people in Israel have no rabbis. Commenting on the words of the Psalmist: “I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living,” Rabbi Yehudah (the Amora, not identical with the Tanna quoted above) explained: The land of the living? …the market places. That is where one has to walk, if one desires to walk before God. But this is exactly what God asked of Abraham: Walk before me. I often direct the attention of my students to the words of the Psalmist: “Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courtyards of God.” The study of the Torah should plant us in the house of God, but we—and through us the Torah—can flourish only in His courtyard, the market places of which Rabbi Yehudah spoke, the homes in which people live, the factories in which they toil, the communities in which they deal with their fellow men. There are opportunities untold, but we must learn to understand that the method of authority will not work; what is needed is the method of persuasion.
י״ט
19The truth is that, regrettably, the “Torah camp” in Israel is not capable of using the method of persuasion. It has secluded itself from the life and the living concerns of the people. It has neither the necessary education, nor because of its negative attitude to what it calls Limudei Ḥol–all general knowledge—the intellectual capacity to speak meaningfully and convincingly to the great majority of the people. But it is even more incapacitated by its psychological-emotional approach, not only to the secular majority of the people in Israel, but even to certain sections of the religious community. Is it not enough just to recall the intolerance, the unkindness, yes, even the venom and often violence, with which various groupings and personalities treat each other even within the orthodox section itself! A generation ago there lived a great Jewish soul in the Land of Israel, the saintly Rabbi Kook, of blessed memory. In one of his most moving statements about the upbuilding of the land and its redemption, he made reference to a passage in the Talmud, tractate Yoma 9b. It is explained there: The First Temple, why was it destroyed? Because of three sins: idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed. But during the period of the Second Temple, they were busying themselves with the fulfillment of God’s commandments, they were practicing the rendering of acts of lovingkindness toward each other, why then was it destroyed? The answer is: Because there was among them Sinat Ḥinam, causeless hatred. Said Rabbi Kook: if the Temple was destroyed because of Sinat Ḥinam, it will have to be rebuilt through Ahavat Ḥinam, causeless love. Yes, love needs no cause; it is its own cause.
כ׳
20Contemplating the dangers besetting all Israel, the threats to our very survival — not at all unlike those in the days of Nazism — how can we think of facing the challenges of this hour without the strongest possible unity of all Israel, without the highest grade of responsibility toward Klal Yisrael, without being carried forward by the deepest sense of Ahavat Yisrael? How can we do it without realizing that Bein kakh uvein kakh, either way, such are the Jews that God has still left; that, either way, they are the only brothers and sisters still left us, upon whom alone we may count and who count on us!