United even when we disagree - Never Separated

There is an article online, from Pini Izik, which I feel the need and duty to respond to.

The article speaks about the latest controversy in the religious world, in which Rav Chaim Druckman's conversions were deemed unacceptable by a random Court made up of Hareidi Rabbis. This had a lot of practical implications for those converts since this ruling could influence various Rabbis to refuse to consider them Jewish and this would lead to their refusal to marry them or record their marriage with the Chief Rabbinate. In a country where the marriage of Jews is handled by the Chief Rabbinate, this has huge implications! However, to most people, and I am part of those people, this was seen like a direct attack from a small group of three rabbis towards the religious zionist movement, by discrediting one of it's main leaders. Later, in what seems to be a very inappropriately timed decision, Rav Druckman was ousted from the Conversion courts.

This is not the first time the Religious Zionist movement is attacked. It's been attacked from the religious Hareidi world, who see it as a lower version of religiousness inspired by Western thought. It has been attacked by the secular world, who see it as a part of the religious establishment and sometimes as the cause for the so-called "occupation" of our ancestral homeland. In my view, of course, there is no movement which more accurately lives what God expects of us. In my view, Torah-true Judaism is lived by the Religious Zionist movement and, as much as we have a lot to learn from both Chareidim and Secular Zionists, they have even much more to learn from us.

Still, this reality in which the Dati Leumi (religious Zionist) community is attacked from all sides has created a lot of bad feelings in our community. More and more, people have called on complete separation from the Secular World, especially after the disengagement. And now, after this controversy, which I also consider a complete attack on the movement I am a part of, people are calling for complete separation from the Chareidi World.

I disagree.

I think the greatest tragedy ever would be for us to separate. There is no greater tragedy in the Jewish World than fraction and separation. Yes, it's an even greater tragedy than the disengagement. Yes, it's an even greater tragedy than the lack of recognition from the Hareidi World. It is the worse possible tragedy.


Lets start off by quoting the Netziv, who was writing at his time when during the enlightenment, a lot of Jews were becoming secular, and Rabbis were unsure whether it was appropriate to continue living in the same communities. Some Rabbis wanted to build separate communities. The Netziv writes:

The writers instructed and advised to take guard from this generation and separate totally from each other, like Avraham separated from Lot. With all due regard to the writers, this advice is as difficult as swords to the body of the nation and its existence. For when we were in the Land and almost independent during the Second Temple, the land was darkened and the Temple destroyed because of the dispute of the Perushim with the Tzedokim, and needless hatred caused much bloodshed.

Let's not forget, the Netziv obviously agrees the Tzedokim were wrong. He agrees they were completely heretical. Yet, he opposes the complete separation of a Jewish community nonetheless.

"[Hashem] is just and upright." The praise of upright is written to justify Hashem's judgment during the destruction of the Second Temple, when there was a stubborn and wily generation. We explained that they were righteous and pious and labored in Torah, but were not honest in their conduct. Therefore, because of the needless hatred in their hearts toward one another, they suspected everyone they saw who did not act according to their definition of fear of G-d – that he is a Tzedoki and an apikores. Through this they came to bloodshed in the extreme, and to all the evils of the world, until the Temple was destroyed.

There was tziduk hadin about this, because G-d is upright and doesn't tolerate these kind of righteous people, only those who are upright also in their ways of life and not corrupt, even though it be for the sake of heaven, because this causes the destruction of Creation and the ruin of the settlement.

The Netziv basically says that when we say the Temple was destroyed because of Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred, we mean it was destroyed because of separation. There is no greater evil.

Rav Kook goes even further:

To say that there is an established view that sinners who say that Am Yisrael is one nation and that that they need to maintain the national character as a special and unified nation, even though they err in many things because of the darkness of the Diaspora – to decide that they are not part of Klal Yisrael, and that the nation includes only the good and righteous – this is the path of heresy, as the simple understanding of the Mishna according to the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot, and it is a wrong opinion that is forbidden to enter Am Yisrael according to all views.

Rav Kook gives us a little trick to know who is a Kofer (Heretic). When you see someone going around telling people they are Kofrim (Heretics), you can be sure that they themselves are the true Kofrim. This is true because even worse than the lack of mitzvah observance is the separation from Klal Israel.

The problems they had then were not less great than those we have today. The enlightenment was a huge threat to the Jewish Community as thousands were getting influenced by secularist ideals. Yet, the Netziv was clear: Separation is even worse than this threat. Rav Kook knew that secular Zionism was extremely dangerous. Yet he was clear: Separation is even more dangerous.

This is the Jewish Way, a way which will ultimately lead toward the creation of a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy nation. Any other way is one which is emotionally based on the hardships of the time. However, we, Am Hanetzach, the Eternal Nation, will not be afraid of a long way, and we will patiently continue our vocation even through the hardships. We will continue striving towards the building of ONE holy NATION rather than limiting ourselves to a holier Religious Zionist community.

The Em Habanim Semecha asks, during the Holocaust but it is also a valid question today:

"If you know the Temple was destroyed because of Baseless Hatred, how can you even think it will be rebuilt when there is still Baseless Hatred all around?"

We will not separate ourselves from the Secular, and we will not separate ourselves from the Hareidim. We will defend ourselves, but we will not separate ourselves. Disagreement is not enough to warrant separation. We have too much to learn from each other.