Tisha B’Av and the attack on a Haredi soldier

CHULA VISTA, California — When the nine days of the Jewish month of Ab arrives, our joy diminishes accordingly.[1] Unlike other times of the year, this period in particular beckons us to give thought to the reasons why the Second Jewish Commonwealth of the 1^st century ended in disaster for the Jews of Judea and the Diaspora. Josephus records, that the Jewish Wars began in 66 C.E. and they were a direct revolt by the Jews … and after over one million Jews were killed, 95,000 captives were taken as prisoners. [2]  This was the largest number of Jews killed prior to the time of the Holocaust.

The Talmud suggests what led to our ancestors’ loss of their homeland and Temple was gratuitous hatred of the Other. [3] Despite our ancestor’s love of God, when it came to the love of their fellow citizens, they acted with intolerance, bitterness and hatred. When the Jewish people stand united, they are capable of achieving great things in the battlefield of life. Unfortunately, when we implode with hatred and negativity, we foolishly realize our worst nightmares and fears.

In classical biblical terms, one could certainly argue that the return to our ancestral homeland is one of the greatest miracles of Jewish history—especially when one considers the experience of the Holocaust.

Such a principle ought to be self-explanatory; is it not obvious?

Apparently not.

Earlier this week, a group of Haredi Jews living in Me’ah She’arim in Jerusalem attacked and nearly killed an Israeli soldier (who happened to be a Haredi soldier) in protest of the Haredi draft. Were it not for the Commando units that came to the poor soldier’s aid, he might have died from his wounds.

What is especially striking is the absence of criticism offered by the Haredi leadership. This could indicate one or two different scenarios: (1) The Haredi leadership may have encouraged this type of mob violence in order to express their disdain toward serving in the Israeli military.  (2) The institutions that govern the Haredi young people have become too weak and now favor mob formation.

Either way, through their complicity, these leaders have abdicated their moral leadership and are illustrating the terrible absence of spiritual and ethical values that exists in the highest echelons of  traditional Jewish learning.

This thought also finds expression in one of my favorite films, The Karate Kid, when a group of bullies attend a karate school named Cobra Kai, where their sensei, John Kreese teaches them to be ruthless in victory.Mr. Miyagi instructs his student young Daniel, “No such thing as bad student, only bad teacher …” This terse description certainly applies to the Haredi teachers of the Meah Sha’arim community in Jerusalem.

The holiday of Tisha’B’av illustrates what happens when religious communities sacrifice moral principles in the name of traditional religiosity and piety. In the past, this disintegration of our people’s moral center led to one of the darkest periods of Jewish history—despite the fact that God  miraculously restored His people to their homeland during the days of Nehemiah and Esther.

We would be naïve to think that such a tragedy cannot occur today.

Although Israel is very strong militarily and commands a powerful presence in the Middle East, the force of Ultra-Orthodoxy in Israel is doing its best to create seeds of intolerance, dissension and violence in Israeli society. As we may deduce from this week’s Torah portion, God holds the leaders  responsible—they alone must act as the moral voice of conscience in their communities and ensure that their members act ethically toward all people.

So what is the cure to our predicament? For one thing, the Haredi leaders must realize that the country needs everyone to help serve in their country. Israel’s survival depends upon everyone working together in the spirit of harmony and brotherhood. The first Chief Rabbi of Israel,  Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, famously said, “The Second Temple was destroyed because of causeless hatred. Perhaps the Third will be rebuilt because of causeless love.”

We can only hope that the sobering minds of good people across the religious divide will realize and appreciate the certainty of this truth.

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Notes: 

[1]  Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6.

[2] Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book XX, Chapter VIII, Section 5-6.

[3] Cf. BT Gittin 55b-56a.