The Knesset’s Superfluous New Basic Law  

I wonder whether the angels in heaven above recited Hallel (the collection of joyous Psalms 113–118, generally said on holidays) this morning in heaven when they heard the news that the Israeli Knesset passed a new Basic Law stating that: “Torah study is a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.”

3,338 years after God gave the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai and after the murder and defilement of so many who kept the faith over the centuries, the parliament of the Jewish state finally agreed but, of course, only by a vote of 63-52.  Seriously?  Does anyone care how many points of concern this vote raises? Here are some.

We Jews have been engaged in Torah study continuously since Sinai in the face of every attempt over the centuries to destroy us, in order to maintain our connection to Torah and strengthen our sense of peoplehood during the long diaspora.  Has this not been a fundamental value of our people all this time?  Did we need to vote on it, ever?

United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni himself said: “For thousands of years, Torah study was the force that preserved the Jewish people throughout all its diasporas and in every generation.”  Agree….so why is there a need for the Knesset to vote on it?  And what would it say about this country if the bill had been defeated?  That the homeland of the Jewish people does not believe that Torah is a fundamental value of our heritage?

Further, 43% of the members of Knesset voted against the bill.  Even if one assumes that all 10 Arab members of the Knesset voted against the bill, that means that 42 Jews voted “no.”  What does that say about the country in which we live if 35% of the Knesset, all Jews, voted no?  How could they?  Why would they?  Unless, the purpose of the bill was not to glorify the study of Torah but in support of some other objective.

And what could that other objective be? Analysts have opined ever since the bill was first introduced that, if passed, the law could strengthen the legal standing of students of Torah against claims of inequality before the High Court of Justice.  Therefore, the coalition partners and the ultra-Orthodox parties pushed the bill to strengthen the legal position of yeshiva students as an important step toward a future law exempting yeshiva students from military service.

Aha!  So now we know (actually we always knew) that this is not about validating Torah as a fundamental value of our people at all.   Rather, it is a building block to the ultimate goal of legally permitting yeshiva students to avoid serving in the IDF.

At a time in our history where we face some of the most severe existential threats to our continued success in this land, with the Ministry of Defense telling us that we do not have enough people to fill the IDF’s ranks necessary to properly defend us, and with a growing cadre of young men in the yeshiva world eligible but unwilling to serve, the leadership of the country chooses to do an end run around the recruitment law to preserve a position that, long term, bodes ill for our survival in this, our ancestral homeland.

All of this while the top elected official, the Prime Minister of the State of Israel himself, chooses not to participate in the vote.  That’s what passes for leadership these days.

The moral north star of our generation, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l, strongly warned against mixing religion and politics, famously stating: “You mix religion and politics, you get terrible politics and even worse religion”.  He believed religion seeks salvation and unity, while politics seeks power and requires compromise. We should take those words to heart and implement this separation of conflicting interests.

The angels above, upon hearing the decision of the Knesset of the State of Israel, the country generations of Jews concluded every Torah study session with the words “Next Year in Jerusalem,” should have recited the mi-sheberach prayer for the country to be healed, to be provided with physical strength and spiritual comfort to be able to defend against those who would subvert Torah for political gain.  That would have been more appropriate than Hallel.