Religious missionary institution replaces missionary institution
The Jewish Tribune reports,
Hundreds of yeshiva students and residents danced with a new Torah scroll down the narrow cobblestone paths of the Old City’s Jewish Quarter last week to inaugurate a building donated by Canadian philanthropist and businessman Leslie Dan.
The facilities will contain Aish HaTorah’s interactive museum of Jewish history. Located opposite the Western Wall, Aish HaTorah has taught Torah to mostly unaffiliated Jewish youth since 1974.
and then notes,
Ironically, the building, built during the Ottoman era, was previously used by an American missionary to convert Jews during the 19th century.
Oh, yes. Very ironic. You see, when it’s Christians seeking Jewish converts, it’s missionary activity. But when it’s Jewish missionaries seeking Jewish recruits to ultra-Orthodoxy, it’s not missionizing at all! Rather, it’s…education.
Jerusalem’s Mayor Nir Barkat remarked,
“This requires education. Hence, the role of the building is significant,” he said.
20 comments
Aish HaTorah’s interactive museum of Jewish history
One can only imagine – “Touch here to see how the evil, HaShem-hating Reform Jews caused the Holocaust.”
I really don’t see the problem. Assuming the DNA of haredim and secular ashkenazi Jews are the same, and hence have the same iq distribution, these hareidi could become the backbone of the hi-tech sector in Israel. Especially with the secular leaving in droves.
You just have to know how to tap into the good of people instead of spending so much time in an adversarial state.
these hareidi could become the backbone of the hi-tech sector in Israel
That would take precious time away from learning Toyreh.
It isn’t for us to decide how the haredim could be useful and productive members of society. It is for us to protect our community from haredi machinations and aggression.
I have already seen about a half a year ago Haaretz or Ynet I forget exactly which and exactly how long ago, it was calling haredi “educators” missionaries in a news article. It was on Failed Messiah actually.
DK,
I am a big fan of your blog. I think you are dead on when you warn of the dangers posted to us American jews by immigration of muslims. I was rasied in a conservative jewish community and my wife was raised in a reform jewish community. There are a lot of things about the haredi that really revolt me.
At the same time, I think that conservative and reform jews here in America have to face the facts about intermarriage. I mean, if you assume that each generation of conservative and reform jewish children have a 40% chance of marrying out of judaism, it doesn’t take too many generations for judaism to completely die out among the conservative and reform jews. This isn’t just an American phenomenon – It happens in almost every country that is almost totally lacking in Anti Semetism. Go to canada or brazil or new zealand and you see a similarly high rate of people leaving judaism through their decision to marry christians.
In fact, if you look at the list of Jews living in America in 1850 you will find that almost none of their descendents living today are still jewish. That is important – 150 years of America has bleached away almost all of the judaism.
DK, in some ways I would be better off living as a jew in Iran than living as a jew in America. I mean, raising my kids conservative or reform here in america means that my great grandchildren are almost certain to be non jews, while raising my kids as jews in Iran means that none of the local non jews will want to intermarry with them and thus if I have any great grandchildren they are sure to still be jewish.
Remember, I am writing this as a jew and as an patriotic American, but the truth is that America is so friendly towards jews (example, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump have both encouraged their daughers to marry jews) that Judaism itself, at least conservative and reform judaism, seem unlikely to survive.
On the other hand, the haredi have huge numbers of kids, and almost none of those kids intermarry. So demographically it seems that 150 years from now the only jews left in the United States will be haredi. There won’t be any jews like you and me still here in the USA.
So make no mistake, as individuals I find haredi revolting. But as a group, I think I like having them here in America, I like the fact that they are reproducing so quickly.
Anyway, my feelings are mixed and I am eager to hear the perspective of others, but my current hypothesis is that if we, the readers of this blog, want judaism in America to exist in 150 years we have to be grateful that the haredi exist, and perhaps we even need to support the haredi.
And if the haredi are aggressive in recruiting among conservative and reform jews and the haredi succeed in getting thousands of conservative and reform jews to turn in to haredi isn’t that a good thing for the existence of jews in america in 150 years?
David,
There is a point where we have to face some very harsh existential questions.
My position is as follows:
The fundamentalism of the haredim has little to do with the paradigm of most of my ancestors.
That which is destroyed by haredism is the more valuable part of Judaism and Jewish identity for me, and for most non-Orthodox Jews.
I would rather not be Jewish than haredi. I would rather my descendants not be Jewish than haredi.
In terms of morality, culture, and perspective, if the choice is truly between Liberal Christianity and haredism, I would personally buy a Christmas tree for my house.
There are more important things to me than staying Jewish.
If the tents of Jacob become owned and operated by the bastard offsprings of Shamai, then it is time to find new tents.
dk.
can you detail what specifically you find so “shammayistic” about them, and what is so “hillelian” about your approach.
im serious about this. its not a trick or a trap.
DK, I hear you and I respect your position. For now, I think I am a little different than you. Even though haredi repel me and revolt me I would rather my great grandchildren be haredi than not be jewish at all. But I need to think about it. This is something I still need to work through
peter wrote,
can you detail what specifically you find so “shammayistic” about them, and what is so “hillelian” about your approach.
I wouldn’t call myself Hillelian. I am more Spinozan. My ancestors, however, were Hillelian, in terms of engagement with the world around them, and not filled with contempt for others.
Additionally, they weren’t seeking an ever-stricter halachic system, but were broader in application.
I would rather my great grandchildren be haredi than not be jewish at all.
That is your decision. However, I would caution that this is how the haredim succeed in getting concession after concession.
They play on this fear. “Do you want your kids/grandkids to be Jewish or not? Our way works — yours does not.”
At some point, the non-Orthodox world has to find the strength to say, “You don’t get a blank check. It isn’t worth it. If the only way possible to stay Jewish is by being a lying, science rejecting, Gedoylim worshipping, vocationally limited (at best on a general level) fundamentalist, I’ll go Unitarian.”
Big Kiruv will cut a deal when they feel they have to. Not a moment earlier.
The problem isn’t really the haredi. Their extremism relative to the Orthodox makes them an easier target to the seculars. But even the modern Orthodox will insist on some Torah laws such as the Sabbath and kashrut in public.
Assuming even this is too much for DK, I suggest he gets some books on Unitarianism and starts reading. There is such a thing as being too liberal where even the minimal Torah observance seems oppressive.
Their extremism relative to the Orthodox makes them an easier target to the seculars.
So does the way that most of the rest of the Orthodox world tolerates their nonsense or is silent, or worse, like NCSY, is in cahoots with them when they do “kiruv.”
But even the modern Orthodox will insist on some Torah laws such as the Sabbath and kashrut in public.
I was Orthodox in my youth. I don’t want it for myself; I don’t want it for me descendants.
Assuming even this is too much for DK, I suggest he gets some books on Unitarianism and starts reading
The problem is leaving traditional Judaism. I don’t personally seek another faith. It has a long struggle, not an easy one. Step by step, I divest. The way you got in is the same way you get out.
DK, you make good points, and David (for sure Peter) sound suspiciously like Garnel to me. In any case, David’s comment was repulsive to the extreme, by stating that he wants Haredim because they reproduce at astronomical rates. Never mind that their lives are hell, and they make everyone crazy, too. All he sees is his fat Jewish pride and self-interest, and says hey, I need to keep my Jewish supremacy and feelings of CHOsEn-NeSs, and if it takes loonies to keep our tribe going, I’LL TAKE WHAT I CAN GET!!! What a sick thing to say. It’s like some asshole Muslim saying, “I may be a moddderrrate, but I don’t vant Islam to die! Therefore, let’s increase the numbers of the Taliban because they excel at baby-making!” (read with Indian accent.) It defeats the purpose, and causes far more problems than it solves, not to mention is grossly unethical on many counts. A related post is here.
And DK, you’re right on with your comparison to Hillel and Shammai, although by now I expect it’s gone from Hillel/Shammai to Hillel/Amalek
David, I second enthusiastically everything DK has said. It would be better a thousand times over that Judaism fade away entirely than that even one more generation of children should be brought up in the dismal, stultifying, repressive hell that is Hareidism.
Even if Hareidism does represent the last vestige of traditional Judaism (which I don’t acknowledge), you and the Hareidim are already practicing two entirely different religions. Whatever it is you wish to salvage – theology, culture, even if it’s only bagels – you will not salvage it by relying upon them.
Something else – you say, “haredi repel me and revolt me”, then go on to say, “I would rather my great grandchildren be haredi than not be jewish at all.” Seriously? You’d rather your kids be emotionally repressed, intellectually and creatively stifled, financially downtrodden, be incapable of real intimacy due to being brought up in an environment with twelve children with little parental input because the mother is too busy and the father is at kollel six days a week, then be pressed into a loveless marriage with a stranger at eighteen to continue the cycle? You want them to spend their lives angry with everyone else on the planet, even Hareidim of other sects, believing that all other Jews will burn in hell while the gentiles will simply cease to exist because they’re essentially animals? You want them to suffer from poor hygiene and wear black woolen suits in the summer? This would be better than being a happy, healthy, reasonably well-adjusted secular person, or even a liberal Christian? Cultural identity is that important to you?
You really haven’t thought this through.
Yes, cultural identity is that important to me.
Guaranteed David is frum
Probably. In any case, it’s an extremely selfish and short-sighted attitude.
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