The Evil Empire

I promised in my first post that I would blog about the recent posts, on the Daas Torah blog, concerning Rav Sternbuch's position on calling the police.

Before I continue, let me say that I truly respect Rav Sternbuch. His positions in his halachic works are well-thought and suprisingly moderate. His views on the affaires Slifkin and Kaminetsky displayed an unusual independence of thought.

That being said, Rav Sternbuch is a member of the Badatz of the Edah Hacharedit.

As such, he subscribes -- or, at least, purports to subscribe -- to a belief system that is anathema to the majority of Orthodox Jews and in direct conflict with the views of mainstream charedi leadership.

Rav Sternbuch might hold that it is a requirement to call the police in the face of child abuse -- in America. How about in Israel?

What follows is a loose translation of a transcript of what Rav Sternbuch said at a gathering of the Edah Hacharedit, 18 Adar 1, this year, which was printed in a broad-sheet pamphlet entitled, "בהירות", or "clarity". This meeting was held after Rav Elyashiv and other mainstream, Charedi leaders, called upon the Israeli government not to make concessions on the unity of Jerusalem. The point was to demonstrate that the Edah Hacharedit does not believe in the existence of the state of Israel and that, in fact, its existence is against God's will. Let me add that the pamphlet, a collection of anti-Zionist diatribes, was distributed the day after the Mercaz Harav massacre.

"The Source of Troubles: Rebellion Against the Kingship of
Heaven"
We are, today, in an awful situation. Fire is burning all around us, heresy and the 'might and strength of my hand' [my note: a reference to Zionism]. Throughout history, he did our thing and they did theirs. We understand that the source of our troubles is the rebellion against the kingship of heaven and they explain [our troubles] as coming from politics, as do the gentiles.

The main war against the evil inclination today is to destory the holy of holies, the Bnei Torah and Charedim, the remnants upon whom God's name rests: they want us to join them in their sorrows and their war, and to take out minds of our main obligation, to fight a holy war against the destroyers of religion.

Rashi cites, in chumash, that God forsaw that the tribe of Levi would not sin with the golden calf, and thus chose them for himself. We, too, are the tribe of Levi, and no one can confuse us with the claim that their authority [the Israeli state] is in peril. ...

This meeting today is a declaration that we have no part in them. ...

So, what's my point?

How in the world do you expect Charedim to have a positive outlook with respect to the Israeli government, from the police to social services, when the State of Israel is the root of all evil?