The Rabbi's Daughter

A video was recently produced which profiled three prominent religious-Zionist rabbis whose daughters have left the fold.  The parents of these girls cooperated in the making of this film, so there is no issue here of publicly embarrassing them.

It has been said that the girls and their parents exhibited great courage in going public.  I think that applies to the parents rather than to their daughters.  The daughters are regularly seen in public and are obviously not religious.  They don't make an attempt to appear religious while secretly sinning.  The parents though, well, why did they appear in this film? Perhaps this is their way of doing what all those articles and speeches say to do, "keep lines of communication open," "be supportive," "don't be judgmental."

It bothers (angers?) me that their daughters put them in this position of having to publicly appear in a video that embarrasses them.  I think it was reprehensible to do this to their parents and maybe the parents felt they had no choce but to appear in a film that would, at least, make them look kindly and reasonable, as opposed to refusing to take part and having who-knows-what kind of film made about them. So no, I don't applaud either the parents or the children for allowing themselves to be exposed to the world. 

I found it interesting that the irreligious men in the video have more respect for the rabbis than their daughters. The rabbis were their teachers, and as such, the men felt they were deserving of respect. 

The daughters don't explain why they are no longer religious.  When one of them whines about Judaism, her husband gently counters with - you haven't searched for answers to your questions.  What comes across with two of them is their tremendous discomfort being the "rabbi's daughter," of being in his shadow, of being held to a higher standard and with one daughter, feeling different than her less religious peers when she was growing up. 

Why was this film made? What was the goal? Simply to fulfill today's mandate of sharing one's private life with the world? Let me guess ... "if it helps one person ..." blah blah blah, that tiresome, often silly line.  Was it meant to support other children of rabbis in going off the derech? Was it meant to show parents in the same situation how to be loving despite being spat at in the face? We aren't told. And at this point, the video was removed and I don't see it available online anymore.

Gutta - A Memoir

I read Gutta - Memories of a Vanished World (Feldheim 2005) by Gutta Sternbuch and David Kranzler and found the first part poignant and fascinating.  She grew up in a Chassidic home in Warsaw in the 1920's and she describes her beautiful family and what frum life was like in those days, providing snapshots of the ordinary though special people (contradictory but true) she knew.

Although I was familiar with the devastation wreaked by the many ideologies of the time: secular Zionism, socialism, communism, etc. it was so interesting to read about these enticements from the perspective of an intelligent, teenaged, Chassidic girl. 

She attended Bais Yaakov from the age of 11-13 and it wasn't a positive experience for her. She then went to a religious high school with high secular scholastic standards on the condition that she would attend Beis Yaakov seminary afterward.  Rabbi Orlean radically transformed her way of thinking and she describes the spiritual journey she made (she was frum throughout).

The book has appendices, one which provide a historical overview of Poland between the two world wars and another one on secular Jewish ideologies for those who want more information on this period of our history and there is also a section on Warsaw.

Rather than painting only a nostalgic picture of Jewish life before the war, Gutta provides a more balanced view in which she shares her struggles and ultimately, her firm commitment to Yiddishkeit.

The State of Israel Acts as our Stepmother

I am reading Eretz Yisrael in the Parashah by Rabbi Litchtman which contains divrei Torah that highlight the centrality of Eretz Yisrael in the Torah.  The author, a modern Orthodox rabbi, made aliya in 1991 and urges all Jews to do the same.

I have no argument with his divrei Torah (at least the ones I've read so far) for he quotes from reputable sources.  However, his conclusions are another story.

What particularly aroused my ire this week is a section called "Foreign Labor" that begins on p. 326.  He refers to the Chazal which says, "Jews [who live] outside the Land worship avoda zara in purity."  Elsewhere in the Gemara it says that the term "avoda zara" can mean "work that is foreign to him."  Based on this idea, R' Shalom of Belz explains, "Jews who live outside Eretz Yisrael do foreign work in purity."  Meaning, they work for the sake of others.  All the effort they put into building up the lands of galus is foreign to them because whatever they build or produce there eventually falls into the hands of others.

The Zionist author of the book learns a lesson from this that we should leave the diaspora for Eretz Yisrael.  He quotes Eim Ha'Banim Semeichah where the author urges us to return to our "true mother," Eretz Yisrael.  He bemoans the money we invested in other lands which he calls our "stepmother."  How did our stepmother treat us? "She took a staff and hit us cruelly and mercilessly .. She also banished us completely and took our money from us.  We were forced to leave her house ... Now should we put our faith in her for the future and return to her once again? How can we be so sure that after a few decades she will not do this to us again?"

The author of Eim Ha'Banim Semeichah was murdered in 1945.  Not in his wildest dreams would he have imagined what took place during the summer of 2005.  Five years ago, the State of Israel destroyed Gush Katif and settlements in Northern Shomron.  1700 families were forced to leave their homes where some had been living for 30 years.  Jews bulldozed homes, 33 kindergartens, 6 elementary schools, 3 high schools, 6 yeshivos, 3 kollelim and 21 settlements.  They abandoned hothouses that were estimated to be worth over $80 million.  The agricultural produce of Gush Katif represented some 10% of all agricultural produce raised in Israel.  They dismanted 38 shuls which were later desecrated by the Arabs.  47 bodies were exhumed from the cemetery.

And yet R' Lichtman urges us to make aliya! My questions to him are:

If our "true mother" [his beloved State of Israel] acts like a "stepmother," why should we go to her? How did Jews in Israel treat us? "She [Jews in Israel] took a staff and hit us cruelly and mercilessly .. She also banished us completely and took our money from us. We were forced to leave her house ..."  The chilul Hashem picture of Jews in riot gear throwing the Jews in Amona out of their homes, won the Pulitzer Prize. 

I quote R' Teichtel and ask R' Lichtman: Should we put our faith in her [the State of Israel] for the future and return to her once again? How can we be so sure that after a few decades she will not do this to us again?" when this calamity was not even the first of its kind.  Israel gave the Sinai and its oil fields to Egypt and destroyed the settlement of Yamit.  In fact, some residents of destroyed Yamit resettled in Gush Katif only to have their homes destroyed yet again, by Jews who act as our "stepmother."

When will the religious-Zionists open their eyes?