Torah Ideology in Practice (19 February, 2015, 30 Shevet, 5775)
Continued from:
Hareidim. Israeli Dislike of the Ultra-Orthodox?
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/18/hareidim.html
Contents:
1. Perspective. Money is not the real issue!
2. Resentment of Intellectualism and Self-Sufficiency. Ami-Ha-arets in History
3. Hareidi Cities Receive Awards
4. Divisions in the Hareidi Community
5. Education
6. Relevance for the Ten Tribes?
7. What Should be Done? Anecdote.
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1. Perspective. Money is not the real issue!
The real issue in claims against Hareidim as well as, on the other side, defence of Hareidim is Ideology.
In the previous article we indicated that funds received by Hareidim from the public purse are returned almost immediately through taxation on consumption goods.
For every shekel a Hareidi receives from the government he has to find three more to survive. This makes for four shekels only one of which is from the government. Out of the four shekels two go back in the form of consumer taxation. The government thus comes out ahead with a one shekel profit and this is only the beginning of a cumulative gain for the economy and government gains.
Points like these however do not really interest anybody.
Those against Hareidim do not care whether the Hareidim cost them money or add money to them.
So too, Hareidim and their supporters are not out to finance government expenditures.
There are however sections of the population who might basically be sympathetic to the Hareidim but are also influenced by the media and anti-religious propaganda.
Every now and again leading politicians etc make statements as if it is axiomatic that without Hareidim going to work the Israeli economy will collapse or without them joining the army we shall not be able to defend the country, etc.
These claims are false but they have an influence.
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2. Resentment of Intellectualism and Self-Sufficiency. Ami-Ha-arets in History
It should be stated that in effect that many Hareidim learn Torah while most of the Jews in Israel want them to do so!
Historically having a large portion of the Hareidim learning full time came about due to a combination of objective circumstances.
Nevertheless most people in Israel feel they benefit from it and support it.
That is the bottom line.
It expresses something about the Jewish Soul in the Land of Israel.
BUT other Jews are also ambivalent about it.
As well as in a de facto sense being in favor of the phenomenon they may also feel something against it.
They may resent others who are able to learn and live a different life without suffering from the same pressures they do.
This is parallel to the case in Western Societies where intellectuals may be both admired and despised, pitied and treated with jealousy, in one and the same breath.
We also find this in Jewish History.
In Second Temple Times and in the Period after it there was the class of Sages and the ordinary people known as Ami-Ha-arets or People of the Land.
The Ami-Ha-arets were observant but relatively ignorant. They supported the Sages, learned from them, and did what the Sages directed yet they were also resentful of them. [The feeling was mutual. The Sages treated them with suspicion and kept them at a distance.]
Rabbi Akiva said that when he was one of the Ami-Ha-arets, before he himself became a Sage, he felt like biting one of the Sages like a wild donkey (Talmud, Pesachim 42;b).
# The hatred with which one of the Ami-Ha-arets hates a Sage is greater than that with which the Heathen hate Israelites, and the women [of the Ami-Ha-arets] hate [the Sages] even more # (Talmud, Pesachim 42;b).
The rest of this article will deal with a few more points worth noting.
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3. Hareidi Cities Receive Awards
Hareidi cities have low budgets. Many of their inhabitants need to be exempted from city taxes or given special discounts.
Nevertheless time and time again these cities receive awards for efficient management that is open to innovation, aesthetics, and high level of community services. Compared to other cities in Israel there is very little, if any, corruption and almost no nepotism.
Hareidim tend to live in relative isolation but they are not backward.
Put yourself in the place of an ordinary secular Israeli. You get these people dress in outmoded dress, with little money, strange ideas that at first seem superstitious, yet on many points they will know more than you do, and think clearer. The media and politicians (on both the right and left wing) may be telling you that these people live at your expense and are interfering with your progression forward. You may not believe this altogether but to some degree you will be influenced by it. Not everyone can live with this.
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4. Divisions in the Hareidi Community
About 40% are Mainstream (Lithuanian)
40% Hasidic
15 % Sephardic
5% National Religious and Others
The Mainstream are also known as "Litayim" (Lithuanian), "Yeshivish", or to the Hasidism as "Misnagdim" i.e. Opponents.
They usually place more emphasis on learning than the others. They marry a bit later but have families that are just as large.
They use Hebrew as a spoken language whereas the Hasidim usually speak Yiddish.
To an outsider their approach would be considered more rational but they are just as dedicated as the others.
The Hasidim on the average may learn less, speak Yiddish, marry earlier. They are divided into different groups each with its own Rabbi who they follow quite devoutly. Hasidim tend more to the extremes. Some are very rich, others live in abject poverty. Hasidim often have a stronger commmunity cohesion. Chabad is a Hasidic group.
The Sephardim, meaning those who are also Hareidim, more or less emerged from communities that were observant but not learned.
Their observance may be different and relatively more liberal.
A Sephardi family that is Hareidi may often possess a TV set whereas other Hareidim consider TV anathema.
Due to these and other reasons Sephardim sometimes feel discriminated against by the others. On occasion the feeling of discriminiation may be justified and otherwise not so.
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5. Education
Hareidim teach their children to read and to comprehend their reading at an early age.
The value of Hareidi education is not to be underestimated. It can be very high and in our time it is nearly always good.
If the child has potential the Hareidi system will discover and develop it.
Sociologically the value of education system keeps the community together and keeps young couples within it, toeing the line.
The priorities of a Hareidi family may be listed as:
a. Serving God.
b. Surviving
c. Educating the children.
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6. Relevance for the Ten Tribes?
In the End Times the Ten Tribes (represented by the Stick of Joseph) and the Jews (Judah) will re-unite (Ezekiel 37).
Isaiah 11:
12 He will raise a signal for the nations,
  and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
  from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
  the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
  and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim.
We see from the above that after the unification of Judah and Ephraim the two bodies shall no longer be opposed to each other.
See our commentary to this verse:
 http://www.britam.org/isaiah/Isaiah11to15.html
The verse (Isaiah 11:13) also speaks of "Ephraim" (the Ten Tribes) and "Judah" (the Jews) as having remained separate entities sometimes antagonistic to each other right up to the end times when they shall unite.
Tension and negation of one side by the other is negative and should be avoided.
We saw that a natural tension exists between the Hareidim and other Jews, cf.
# The hatred with which one of the Ami-Ha-arets hates a Sage is greater than that with which the Heathen hate Israelites, and the women [of the Ami-Ha-arets] hate [the Sages] even more # (Talmud, Pesachim 42;b).
We should learn from this and seek to avoid it. It may be natural that Joseph and Judah at first will experience certain difficulties in adjusting to each other.
We should be aware of this and be prepared to do our best not to let the difficulties become an impediment.
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7. What Should be Done?
Anecdote.
I was once walking in the company of Rabbi Frank in the township of Beer Yaacov.
We were joined by a young enthusiast who started complaining about the behavior of the non-religious etc. He asked what is to be done and what shall become of the country.
Rabbi Frank replied that the secret lies in each one of us doing the best they can from where they are.
That may well be enough and if it is not at least a beginning will have been made.