Travelling in various circles in New York over the past month, I have consistently encountered well-meaning people who fail to grasp the larger issues that impending expulsion from Gaza raises. Today's Haaretz has a long interview with Rav Yaakov Medan, incoming Rosh Yeshiva of Har Etzion, which states things straight on. While I differ with him in writing off the entire secular elite, he is 95% on target there as well.
Le-maan Yiru ve-yirau.
So, the values of the secular humanists interested him only insofar as they benefitted him. Now that the secular system has trampled on (their own) values, those values are to be discarded? I guess he didn't think much of them to begin with.
ReplyDeleteAnd do you accept the idea that we should not follow the law in a democratic state?
Most disturbing is the proclaiming of a natural alliance with the Haredim. Unfortunately, I think that he is right - some among the anti-hitnatkut movement do seem in some ways to be more like the Haredim, in wanting to impose their views on the rest of the country, with the certainty that this is mandated by God.
The contrast between R Amital's recent article on rejoicing on Yom Haatzmaut and R Lichtenstein's article in Haaretz on the one hand, and R Meidan's interview on the other hand, is very eye-opening. I wonder what will happen to the yeshiva after the transition.
Cyberdov wrote:
ReplyDelete>And do you accept the idea that >we should not follow the law in a >democratic state?
This is not an issue of "follow[ing ] the law..." There is also the matter of polical morality. There should ideally be an election or at worst a plebesite. In Canada during WWII:
then P.M. King wished to break his promise and to send conscripts who did not volunteer for service overseas to Europe and Asia.
P.M. Sharon wants to break his word to his voters; let him have have the decency and the courage to face them.