Emuna: The Fourth Camp

 by Rav Aharon Egel-Tal, yeshiva.co, translated by Hillel Fendel

The national-religious inclination to work with the left-wing sometimes harms our efforts to rectify that which must be improved.

I was standing next to the late Minister Yaakov Na'eman, an observant Jew, at the inauguration of the Otniel Synagogue in 1994. A few people were with us when he excitedly told us about Arik Sharon: "You have no idea who this man is. He is fantastic – a remnant of the Great Knesset of 2,000 years ago!" His excitement has been imprinted in my memory for a long time, and especially so during the days of the Disengagement and expulsion from Gush Katif that Sharon engineered. Religious people often look for the good, but in this case, Sharon will be remembered not for his many strengths and merits, but, unfortunately, for the destruction of Gush Katif. 

I was reminded of this about two years ago when then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett delivered a speech extolling the virtues of his new government. The man who previously had positioned himself "to the right of Netanyahu" seemed to have suddenly discovered the light of national unity, or more precisely: the necessity of giving the left-wing camp in Israel a place in the government. Apparently taking a lead from the teachings of Rabbi Kook in Orot, Bennett claimed that three forces are trying to "pull the rope" of national leadership: the religious, the nationalists, and the left, and that the tension between the forces is what makes us what we are. "We actually need all three vectors," he claimed. "We are the Jewish State. I'm glad there are hareidim, but we need to limit their political influence... I wouldn't want an Israel without the left… The story is not just one of compromise, where if we move towards one direction, the other side loses. It's about finding the right point between these forces. I am proud to lead a government that is there."

It is certainly good for politics to be influenced by the exalted thoughts of someone like Rav Kook, but it is essential that this be done in an accurate manner that is faithful to the source. There is a big difference between forming a "no choice" government, and enwrapping it in what appear to be concepts of profundity. One can recite Kiddush on Shabbat and then go to a soccer game, acknowledging his weakness in Sabbath observance – but to explain that going to the game after Kiddush is the "right" thing to do is already something quite different. Giving left-wing, anti-religious elements a major place in our government is not the right thing to do. 

Rav Kook wrote that there is a division between the forces of sanctity, of nation, and of humanity. That is, we are not an isolated island in humanity, but rather an integral part of it, and all universal tendencies are represented in our people. The struggle between the three forces is actually a struggle for our national identity, which necessitates all three of these forces.

But is this the case in our national political stage today? The political left today is represented by people like Merav Michaeli, who preaches for the destruction of the family, and a former Minister of Health who thought it was a good idea to visit terrorism-sponsor Abu Mazen in Ramallah precisely as the Israeli government was in the midst of a critical internal debate. Are these the type of people whom Rav Kook had in mind when he said that the left-wing truly wants goodness for the whole world?

Let us recall our Patriarch Abraham, who entered into an argument with the Master of the Universe about the people of S'dom. Despite their evil and the fate that they justifiably deserved, Abraham sought a way to save them. He had no personal interest in them, and they were not members of his community; he rather sought what was good for people and for mankind. This precious quality of Avraham's defined our national identity later on. 

The Netziv of Volozhin (Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, d. 1893) wrote in his introduction to the Book of Genesis that Abraham's leadership was the foundation for what he calls "straightness," or integrity. That is, he behaved even with lowly idolaters with love and concern, all for the sake of mankind and Creation and their continued constructive existence.

The Jewish infrastructure is built upon the desire for this existence. We desire the rectification of the world, and not its destruction. Yes, sometimes in today's left-wing camps one can hear an echo of the need for environmental protection and a general love of mankind. But today's political left is far from representing such values; it rather seeks the destruction of human culture and justice as we know it.

Our Father Abraham did not confuse good with evil. He did not make concessions to that which is bad, as the above-quoted Netziv continued: "Abraham prostrated himself to pray for S'dom - even though he absolutely hated them and their king for their wickedness, as he himself explained to the king of S'dom. But still, he desired their existence." It can be safely assumed that under no circumstances would Avraham have shared political power with the evil people. 

Saying Goodbye to Lot

It is critical for us to distinguish between the left that seeks to destroy our world, and the left that is intrinsically connected to the Land and its values. They have a different outlook than ours, but they love Israel. They happen to be sure that the best thing for us is to separate from the "conquered territories," in direct opposition to our opinion and values. With these people, we must have a respectful and loving dialogue. 

The problem is that their political representation apparently connects to the global movement that seeks to dismantle national identity, including ours. Some of their comments are hateful of religious Jews, showing that they are clearly not out for the cause of goodness. Rav Kook himself warns in Orot against a situation in which these camps do not accept each other, and instead bring about only the desire to negate the other. This creates a terrible reality of contamination of the spirit and negation of truth, a situation of genuine national danger.

Is today's political left open to listening? Does it hear the desperate cry of the religious about the loss of the State's Jewish identity? 

Our religious-nationalist tendency to always "understand" the other and to want to be accepted by the leftist elite not only does not succeed in strengthening our humanity. It actually weakens our power to establish a solid position against the evil that periodically arises to destroy the nation. Instead of taking an active part in building the good, we unconsciously become philosophers standing on the side interpreting the reality being developed and built by others.  

Avraham our father understood that he had to separate from his nephew Lot, because their proximity to each other was harmful to Avraham's historic role of instilling faith and morality in the world. But his desire to separate did not prevent him from taking his students into heavy battle to rescue him! 

We do not live in a binary world, but rather in a complex reality with various shades and hues. Not every distancing necessarily means disconnection. We can love our brothers, but need not run to them for help in running the State.