Beginnings of Redemption: Daas Torah – Then and Now

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The nascent State of Israel held its first elections in January 1949.  Over 85% of the eligible electorate participated.  The elected representatives convened, in what was to become the Israeli Knesset, on February 14, 1949, replacing the provisional government that had functioned as a parliament during the Mandate and the first few months of Statehood.  President Chaim Weitzmann, in his address opening the inaugural session, proclaimed that the primary goal of the new state would be “to gather in the exiles from all parts of the world.”

In anticipation of the elections, all of the religious factions, acting cooperatively, reached out to their constituencies and urged them to participate.  As history has shown, this decision showed tremendous foresight and its success has had lasting ramifications for the State.  The solicitations were addressed, separately, by (i) approximately 200 chief rabbis, Heads of Rabbinical Courts, and communal rabbis, (ii) the “Admorim,” leaders of the Chassidic communities, and (iii) the heads of the Yeshivot (some of whom were included in the first classification).  The letters admonished recipients not to boycott the elections, proclaiming that those who did so assisted sinners and strengthened the hands of the Torah’s adversaries. The signatories urged their constituents to vote and persuade others to vote, and not to separate themselves from the community.

I would like to share the opening portion of the letters, reproducing the original Hebrew verbatim, followed by my own translation:

יום ששי כ’ טבת תש”ט.  דעת תורה.  דבר רבני ישראל אל עם ד’ בציון!  נודה לד’ על שזכינו ברוב רחמיו וחסדיו לראות את הניצנים הראשונים של האתחלתא דגאולה, עם הקמתה של מדינת ישראל.  מאת ה’ היתה זאת להראות לנו כי הגיעה שעת רצון המחייבת אותנו לבוא לעזרת ה’ בגיבורים, כדי שארצנו ומדינתנו תיבנה ותכונן על טהרת הקודש.

Friday, 20 Tevet 5709 (January 21, 1949).  Rabbinic Authority (literally “opinion of Torah”). The rabbis of Israel speak to the nation of G-d in Zion!  Let us thank G-d that we were privileged, in His abundant mercy and grace, to witness the first buds of the beginning of redemption, with the establishment of the State of Israel. This was from G-d to show us that a time of his will/mercy (lit. “desire”) has arrived that obliges us to come to G-d’s aid heroically (lit. “with heroes”), so that our land and our state may be built and established (lit. “prepared”) on the purity of holiness (lit. “the Holy”).

Lest you think this message (which had the support of Aguda) was signed only by progressives or adherents of the Religious Zionist faction, consider the following signatories, in addition to Chief Rabbis Herzog and Uzziel.  HaRav Tzvi Pesach Frank; HaRav Yaakov Moshe Charlap, HaRav Zalman Sorotzkin, HaRav Shlomo Yosef Zevin, HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, HaRav Isser Yehuda Unterman, HaRav Y.M. Tikochinsky, HaRav Yitzchak Yaakov Wachtfogel, HaRav Yechezkel Sarna.  Google them if you doubt that haredim were included.  There are also scores of rabbis from cities throughout Israel among the hundreds of signatories.

In the interest of intellectual honesty, I should note that the focus of the body of the letter that follows relates to the fact that a strong turnout will help establish Sabbath observance, kashrut, and traditional family values. These were, after all, Orthodox rabbis with an agenda to advance, just like other special interest groups.

But please.  Look again at the language. I overcame my natural inclination to add emphasis to the text, but these phrases, spoken by these luminaries, deserve to be in bold, italic, 32-point type, because they scream for our attention: “ . .  the first buds of the beginning of redemption (“atchalta degeula”);” “the establishment of the State of Israel;”  “ . . . our land and our state.”

Keep in mind that this is a communication introduced as “daas torah” from haredi royalty.    For those unfamiliar with the concept of daas torah, it means an authoritative rabbinic pronouncement, not necessarily on Jewish  Law (halacha).  Nevertheless, even if it deals with a subject beyond the traditional boundaries of halacha, it must not be dismissed as outside rabbinic expertise .  The haredi community places great emphasis on the obligation to follow the opinions of leading rabbis identified as daas torah, even in matters outside the four walls of halacha, because Torah is viewed as all-encompassing.  The duty to follow the edicts of the rabbis set forth in the letter referenced above is not only daas torah, but is also labeled a mitzvat aseh shehazman grama, a positive commandment necessitated by the times.

There are those, even in the Orthodox camp, who dismiss “daas torah” as outside the purview of rabbinic authority.  They question whether rabbis, cloistered in the yeshiva, sheltered from world news and events, ignorant of modern technology, have the expertise to enable them to issue authoritative dicta on non-halachic matters.  We have doctors, scientists, pundits, writers of blogs.  Let the rabbis stay in their lane.  Haredim dismiss this view as heretical.

Valuing my privacy and my possible share in the world to come, I do not venture to offer any opinion on this subject.

One thing, however, is entirely clear.  These letters are addressed to those who accept, without any reservation, the authenticity and authority of daas torah.  And these rabbis, possessing that authenticity and authority, under the umbrella and auspices of daas torah, labeled the State of Israel the atchalta degeula, the beginning of redemption, and affirmed it as artzeinu umedinateinu, our land and our state.  Language like that carries consequential implications.

Just as I would not venture into the debate into daas torah, I customarily try to steer clear of the controversy over the role of the haredi community in national defense.  I understand the view that learning Torah is of great importance, but it is also clear to me that there is no historical or halachic basis for the exclusion of God-fearing students of Torah from wars to conquer and defend the Land of Israel.  Moshe Rabbeinu sent Joshua, who, the Torah tells us, never set foot outside the Ohel Moed, to lead the Israelites in battle.  And while the Torah grants exemptions to certain classes of people (newlyweds, the faint-hearted, owners of newly built and not yet inhabited homes), it does not mention scholars or yeshiva students.  It could not, for all the nation traversing the desert are presumed to have been engaged in the study of Torah, and the Ark of the Covenant itself went into battle.

That argument aside, it is beyond question that the rabbis who wrote those letters in 1949 were victorious under the banner of daas torah.  Their constituents voted and their resulting political power became essential, for better or worse, depending on one’s ideology, in preserving Shabbat observance, torah education, control over marriage, divorce, and kashrut, and other indicia of a Jewish State that is atchalta degeula, ushering in the Messianic Age.

Surely the time has come for the rabbis who inherited their power and influence to assert themselves again.  It is Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut.  One can not avoid seeing the ubiquitous, heart-breaking pictures of faces of those who fell in battle for the State of Israel, demonstrating that last measure of devotion to the gift God has bestowed on us.  Hesder students and kibbutzniks, boys and girls, young men with unrealized futures and middle-aged miluim with families and careers.  We owe them everything.  Every one of them has a privileged place in Paradise.

 I am no rabbi and I am not presumptuous enough to tell learned and righteous rabbis what daas torah requires.  All I know is that we are at a crossroads, different from the one faced in 1949, but equally critical to the existence of Israel.  The rabbinic predecessors of the current generation of haredi leaders recognized and proclaimed the divine origins of the State of Israel.  Given that, and charged with the obligation of nurturing the “first buds of the beginning of redemption,” surely these leaders can understand that the participation of charedim in the IDF in support of what their predecessors called God’s will would have a huge impact on society, would bind some of the wounds of our community, and would be a great sanctification of the name of God, a great kiddush hashem.  The previous generation of charedi leaders saw an obligation to come to God’s assistance with heroism and heroes; if only the current generation of leaders could see their way clear to that sort of pronouncement.

What a cataclysmic effect it would have!

The mishna in Rosh Hashana, describing the effect of the heavenward thrust of Moshe’s arms during the war with Amalek, says : “The entire time that Israel lifted their eyes heavenward to the skies and subordinated their hearts to their Father in heaven, they were triumphant; when they failed to do so, they were defeated.”  The fighters were an army of God, on the battlefield, not in the study halls.

May the sacrifice of our fallen soldiers and the realization that God’s gift of the State of Israel is atchalta degeula, the beginning of redemption, cause the righteous and wise leaders of the haredi community to see the same light that was recognized by their predecessors. May they direct their followers to fulfill the positive commandment necessitated by the times to come to the aid of God and his people.