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PARSHAS VAYAKHEL BEGINS WITH THE WORDS, "Vayakhel Moshe es Kol Adas Bnai
Yisrael…" (Shemot 35:1). How does one translate those words? It clearly
means something like "And Moshe gathered the People of Israel…” but the
Torah is written in Lashon HaKodesh, the Holy Language, and to translate it
means to be in command of its great subtleties and nuances. Specifically, the
problem with this verse is that the word "Vayakhel" refers to the creation of a
"kahal," one kind of group, and "Adas" refers to the creation of an "edah,"
another kind of group. But they are not exactly the same, and therefore the
English word to use in each case is not obvious.
In connection with Shemos 12:6, he uses the image of the tree whose
collection of branches are comparable to the "edah," whose common purpose
is to bring life to the whole tree; but again, each individual branch is
powerless to accomplish the purpose by itself. It takes the living tree to
realize the common purpose. In the context of the Jewish People, it is
necessary to have the "edah," the congregation of individual Jews united by a
common purpose, but only the "kahal," the People as a whole can accomplish
the national purpose.
I believe that this model should guide the corporate, as well as religious
structure, of our community. We must adopt the understanding that there is
one “Kehilla“, one community, with many different “Edahs”, different
individual entities.
This model can only be achieved in our community if it is accepted that the
Rav, whoever it may be, must set the vision, the Hashkafa, and the Halachic
standards, for the entire community. In addition, it must be clear that if we
are to use Rav Hirsch’s Kehilla metaphor of a tree, the shul, is the trunk and
the rest of the institutions are branches. They all must subsume their
interests and needs to those of the synagogue. Their constituents must be
active participants in the synagogue and its programming, and their events
must work in concert with those of the synagogue. It is only when we are all
working together for the common good and goals of this Kehilla that we will
achieve the growth, success, and the Kiddush Hashem, for which we are
striving.
O U R “K E H I L L A” – I T ’ S H A S H K A FA ( P H I LO S O P H Y )
The result of these extremes has been the creation of two educational
models - primarily on the High School level. In Chareidi schools, the
curriculum emphasizes intensive Torah education, while the minimum
number of governmentally mandated secular studies contact hours is
provided. More often than not, even those few hours are disregarded by the
students, for they take secular education as serious as does the school’s
administration. The idea that one should learn in Kollel is almost universally
conveyed, as well as the sentiment that, should one embark on a professional
track, they are forsaking their primary vocation for a “B’di Avad” (post facto)
life choice. The result is a community that is decreasingly self-sufficient,
social and communication skills are lacking, and in which young adults –
particularly young men – are having increasing difficulty negotiating their role
as both Jews and Americans. I believe that one of the primary causes of the
“At-Risk Teen” crisis facing Orthodoxy is the neurosis this confusion creates.
I believe the “Shvil HaZahav”, the Golden Mean, lies in the Hashkafa, the
philosophy of Rav Hirsch. Rav Hirsch (1808-1888), was the formulator of the
principle of "Torah Im Derech Eretz" (TIDE), the combination of a life based on
Torah with an active involvement with the world." He didn't think that this
approach was original; rather this was the Torah’s ideal. TIDE posits that the
way in which the Jewish Nation serves as an “Ohr LaGoyim”, a light to the
nations, is by having Jews on the forefront of every secular discipline - all the
while being seeped in Torah study. It is precisely that Torah-oriented
involvement in the general culture that allows the Jewish People to
demonstrate that the Torah has much to say to the secular culture for that
culture to accomplish its purpose.
Rav Hirsch was extremely optimistic about the secular culture of his day, and
really believed that it gave Jews the opportunity to grow and perfect
themselves as Ovdei Hashem, servants of G-d. He believed that the ghetto
culture had been an unfortunate by-product of gentile oppression of the Jews,
and that now it was time to cast it away for good. He believed that all Jews,
must strive, Lechatchila, or ante facto, to have a full and advanced secular
education for the sake of developing and nurturing human intellect and
character. He held that the great "classics" of German literature, e.g. the
writings of Schiller and Goethe, were full of Mussar, ethical teachings, from
which Jews could grow in their service of G-d. It is important to note that this
Hashkafa was not Rav Hirsch's innovation. This was the ideology of many of
the Sages who lived in Spain from the 10th to the 13th centuries, as well as
Sages who lived in Italy from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and of many
other Sages who lived in Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Clearly, the secular world has changed since then. It was easy for Rav Hirsch
to find affinity to a Torah lifestyle in the German society of his day, where
boys and girls were educated separately and men and women behaved
modestly around one another in public. It was easy for Rav Hirsch to feel
enthusiastic about partaking of gentile culture in a society whose cultural
ideals (as found in Schiller, Goethe, etc.) were so close to the teachings of the
Torah. I believe that if he were to find himself living in the year 2005 in
America he wouldn't find American university students dressed like civilized,
cultured people, wearing suits and ties to class. He wouldn't find them
studying Shakepeare and Plato the way they used to, looking for refinement,
truth, and virtue. Given only two options, there is little doubt that Rav Hirsch
would prefer that a Jew live in Williamsburg and speak Yiddish than be a part
of today's elite liberal culture.
However, there is a middle ground that still embodies the essence of “Torah
Im Derech Eretz”. Yeshivos can still strive to educate their students in the
learning of classical antiquity and in the best of Western culture, even if the
gentiles themselves have moved on. Yeshivos can still encourage students to
express themselves in beautiful English, and develop a civic connection to
the world in which we live. And Yeshivos must strive to inspire their students
to proudly enter the professional world and thereby inspire those around
them. This approach is advocated contemporarily by, among other people,
Rabbi Berel Wein, who affectionately calls it, “Chareidi Lite”.