By: Rabbi Yakov Horowitz
It is almost exactly one week after the chilul Hashem in Boro Park where fires were set in the streets and a police car was torched after a respected 75-year-old man was roughly treated by police officers while being issued a summons.
I spent this past Shabbos in Boro Park celebrating a simcha in our extended family. Walking the streets and enjoying the tranquility of Shabbos in a predominantly Shomer Shabbos neighborhood, it was hard to imagine that such mayhem occurred in those streets just a few days past. Over the course of Shabbos, I spoke to many people who were in the vicinity during the melee. The vast majority of adults spoke of their horror and disgust at what happened. Several people told me that they found it to be the most embarrassing experience of their lives.
If charedi Yiddishkeit was a product, I would suggest that we took a terrible body blow to our marketing campaign (which we refer to as our kiruv movement) as a result of the events of the past Tuesday. Don’t believe me? Speak to anyone who works with or interacts with secular Jews or Gentiles and ask them how they enjoyed fielding questions about what happened in Boro Park last week.
Please note that I am separating the stimulus from the response. I do not wish to deal with the stimulus (the treatment of Mr. Schick by the police) – only our response to that stimulus. Discussing the facts of how Mr. Schick was treated distracts from the painful but necessary discussion about how our community responded to that stimulus – and what lessons we need to take from this horrific Chilul Hashem. The fact is that some (and I stress, only some) of our children who were raised in our homes and attended our yeshivos acted like thugs and disgraced ALL of us.
There were clear and unequivocal quotes of condemnation of these illegal acts and calls for us to act as law abiding citizens in this malchus shel chesed (benevolent government) by both the Noviminsker Rebbi shlita and Horav Rosenbloom shlita in a full-page editorial in the daily Hamodia newspaper.
Now, what? What do ‘we the people’ need to do?
Time for a Cheshbon Hanefesh
Ingrained in the hard drive of my mind are the teachings of my great rebbeim who shared with us the notion that a cheshbon hanefesh (an enhanced level of reflection and introspection) is in order when something goes wrong in our lives and when we succumb to averos (sins).
I think that a collective chashbon hanefesh is in order after the recent events – one that will hopefully result in an improved set of circumstances in the future.
For if we brush this over and do not explore the reasons and circumstances that created this mess, it will most certainly happen again. And, let’s be honest, this is not the first time these types of incidents have occurred, a fact noted by virtually all the newspapers when reporting this incident.
There are those who will undoubtedly fault me for ‘airing our dirty laundry in public.’ To that charge I respond by pointing out that the charge of ‘airing dirty laundry in public’ would be appropriate if I wrote an article about the private shalom bayis (marital) problems of a couple who came to me for guidance. That is not the case here, this matter ALREADY TOOK PLACE IN PUBLIC. So it is already ‘out there.’ We frum Yidden are already taking far too many body blows in the public arena from these types of acts. I didn’t cause this mess or chilul Hashem. I only responded to it. Every visibly frum person who interacts with non-Jews or secular Jews was bombarded with questions about this matter and was shamed at having to defend the indefensible. As for the notion that I and the others who condemned these acts of hooliganism are ‘piling on’ to the criticism of the secular media – I say that our critics will most certainly find it refreshing and comforting that frum Jews are engaging in the type of necessary reflection that will hopefully result in an end to this type of Chilul Hashem.
How Did We Get Here?
So, I guess we collectively ought to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask ourselves:
How did this happen? What tinderbox was ignited that turned a spiritual, great group of bachurim enjoying their bein hazmanim break to two groups: 1) The tiny number who participated in these acts and 2) The vast majority who stood by and did not interfere with the chilul Hashem that unfolded?
In the spirit of the Pesach Yom Tov, where asking questions is the order of the day, I pose some questions. I will not respond or editorialize (at least not now). I will only ask the questions, and allow you the reader to explore the answers to them. And perhaps encourage you to discuss these questions with your spouse, friends and children over the Yom Tov.
Are we conveying to our children the incredible, unprecedented gift that they have, one that was denied our people for 2,000 years – the ability to live our lives in peace and tranquility?
Are we repudiating these illegal actions unequivocally when they do occur with the same fervor reserved for other acts of chilul Hashem? Or other sins against our Torah? Are we stating that they are morally wrong and against all teachings of our Torah?
Where are our children learning these types of behavior? (They certainly didn’t see it in our homes.) Is it from the secular media? Is it absorbed behavior learned from the protests of other groups seeking redress? (The Times and other papers reported that the kids were chanting, “No justice, no peace.â€) Is it a result of many bachurim returning from Eretz Yisroel where there is much more friction between the police and the charedi community? And, for each of these possibilities, what are we doing to ameliorate these influences?
If the exact same mistreatment of a respected, elderly Jewish individual occurred in the Jewish communities of Scranton, Pennsylvania or Seattle, Washington, would this type of protest occur? And, if you feel that it would not occur, why do you think it wouldn’t?
It is unquestionably the case that our neighborhoods and schools have become more insular over the past thirty years. That being the case, what are we doing to promote tolerance among our children, among different streams of charedi Jews, non-charedi Jews, non-religious Jews, and gentiles – especially since there is often little meaningful interaction between them in predominantly charedi neighborhoods?
How do our charedi children view the police?
a. Devoted public servants who protect us
b. Devoted public servants who protect us and sometimes give out tickets
c. Irritating people who give out tickets
d. Irritating people who give out tickets in much greater proportion in charedi neighborhoods
And, if I can paraphrase what my children ask in Yiddish after they chant the four questions – “Now that I asked the questions; will you, dear reader, please provide some answers.
Best wishes for a Chag Kosher V’somayach
Rabbi Yakov Horowitz
Menahel, Yeshiva Darchei Noam
Director, Project YES
Please click for links to articles that I have written on these subjects over the past few months.
Sorry, tongue in cheek. I do know how to spell.
>>Where are our children learning these types of behavior? (They certainly didn’t see it in our homes.)
Rabbi Horowitz, was this line “toungue in cheek?”
Is it possible that the world expects more from us? Should they?
Alter only shows that the system isn’t perfect. No one claimed it was.
Please ask Jonathan Pollard if the system is fair. He can’t even see the evidence that is being held against him.
My friend Bob is right. Our children must see us as the example. We need to be tolerant of others, and promote Ahavas Yisroel in the homes, schools, and back yards. I actually just posted a possilbe solution that might help. Please feel free to view it and comment.
Now that everything’s been said about Boro Park, we have to refocus to pitch in and straighten out our own communities as needed.
All religious leaders of all Orthodox Jewish groups have a duty to guide group members in the ways of Torah, and the members have a duty to follow. No group is exempt from correction; each has its characteristic areas for improvement, areas that are no mystery to its leaders.
Alter & David- I think that this issue requires a far more nuanced anc sophisticated approach than merely avoiding admitting to a stereotype that paints a bad picture of all of us or denying that we have any bad apples because it makes us all look bad. As a given-noone denies the wonderful acts of Chesed and the devotion to Torah and Avodah in our communities.That is the beginning, but not the end of the discussion. As Chazal say “Meat Or Docheh Harbeh Choshech.”
Look at it this way.There is a major difference betwen confirming or denying the worst stereotypes that others may have about us and acknowledging that some members of our communities, regardless of the hashkafic label, are ethically challenged in some ways. Unfortunately, some of us, regardless of our hashkafic orientation, view secular laws such as traffic , tax and security fraud with perspectives that range from an annoyance to legal evasion to illegal avoidance or seriously believe that “Gnevas Akum Mutar” or “taos akum mutar” and only awake to the gross Chillul HaShem when they walk the “perp walk” with the full glare of the media on them.The question of the propriety of the conduct tends to fade away and resurface on a case-by-case basis. Chana’s point was that we seem instances of such conduct without any evidence of communal change and that the Chillul HaShen caused by one prominent individual can be as enormous as that of the individuals, regardless of their number, in the disturbances in Boro Park.
More fundamentally, one should applaud the articles in the JO and shiurim on business ethics. That is a welcome development and as necessary for our community as shiurim on any other issue.
I do note that Mesirah is raised periodically here as a defense against cooperating with a prosecutor or subpoena. The question of whether Mesirah applies to a fair and impartial judicial system with civil liberties such as the Bill of Rights in the USA is beyond the scope of this post but has been addressed by R M Broyde in an article that sets forth the Shitos HaPoskim. I do think that the knee-jerk invocation of Mesirah requires broader shoulders than just the claim that Halacha bars all cooperation with a secular prosecutor and court system. It is nothing short of the highest irony that some who assume that Mesirah bars such cooperation have absolutely no reluctance to use the civil litigation process, as opposed to a Din Torah, to settle issues of succession of leadership within their communities.
brewing in “him” should read brewing in “them”
David,
Of course it wasn’t all of Boro Park participating in this but there’s a reason why when one Jew named Achan sinned in the Midbar and kept some spoils of war for himself, the nation lost a subsequent battle and some nice people died. Others around him had some small part of what he did brewing in him for what he did to happen.
If our culture was very sensitive to how we feel about others, we wouldn’t be able to have hundreds (read the article I linked to) participate and even more stand by and do nothing. Things like this don’t happen in a vaccum.
I laud Rabbi Horowitz’ (and Dov Hikind’s) strong words. We need to all take this very seriously. Maybe if we do, something good will actually come out of this!
I think Alter has a good point. Though Rabbi Horowitz’ pieces are important and insightful, some of us are painting all haredi/frum/orthodox/hasidic Jews with a broad brush. Clearly it was an overwhemingly small minority that rioted and a somewhat larger minority that stood by without doing anything to stop it. Certainly, these individuals were wrong and that issue should be addressed. Certainly, the problem is not limited to this small minority and has roots somewhere which we must discern and address (as R. Horowitz pointed out). At the same time, let us not cast all of haredi Jewry as rioters.
Unfortunately, this is the nature of stereotyping and it is usually magnified when orthodox Jews are involved. This may have been what the commenters meant when they say things such as “this confirmed all of the stereotypes that my non-frum relatives have about frum Jews”. In the eyes of someone with a preconceived notion, this type of a bushah (embarassment) confirms the stereotype in that person’s mind. That is a false understanding but it is a reality and it is what needs to be addressed to ameliorate the chillul hashem that has been engendered.
What Alter is saying, I believe, is that we shouldn’t fall into the same trap as those holding these stereotypes. We shouldn’t pronounce all charedi Jews as perpertrators for the actions of a small minority.
Just as R. Horowitz has written that he would wish to avoid bringing further chillul hashem examples to the discussion, we also should not cast stones at the overwhelming majority of frum yidden who had no hand in this disgrace.
Again, comments like: “this incident just confirms every stereotype my secular Jewish friends and relatives have about the charedi. ”
Did all Charedi joins participate in that riot? Most, almost 99.999% didn’t. So, why are we condemning all charedi jewry. Please don’t tell me that anyones secular friends never jaywalk, talk on the phone, beep their horns at the wrong hour or never double park. I don’t believe it. Every human being on earth does it occasionally. Most crimes in this world are commited by either non-jews or secular jews proportionately. Does that mean they are all bad? By the standards used by the commentor above, yes. I think most people here would disagree.
Let’s not judge anyone till we have been in their shoes and let’s not be naive that the reason most people dislike frum jews is because of their behavior. The reason in my opinion why they dislike us is not for now.
Have a Chag Samaech.
Just checked my email and saw that someone just sent me this link
http://www.jewishpress.com/page.do/9595/Boro_Park's_Night_Of_Shame_And_Disgrace.html
Rabbi Horowitz,
I wasn’t trying to stir up trouble. What can I say though? My kids are hearing one thing about “them” from school and in my home we’re more open to accept others for who they are. Over the years our oldest 3 have learned to keep many of their positive thoughts about others to themselves. (Isn’t that sad?)
So really, how should I respond to your question? We’re trying very hard to do our part in our home, but our kids report back that the school environment is saying something else.
Dear All:
Let’s try and have each of us focus on what WE need to do, in our homes and with our children. Respectfully, I do not want to ‘go there’ with stories of individuals who did not do what they should have.
Trust me, as Director of Project YES, i have heard more than my share.
I try not to direct attention to those.
Best.
Yakov
As a long-time mehanech (how I miss it!), I resemble that remark! :-)
Seriously, I’m afraid the finger pointing at educators (of all sorts, including rabbanim and parents) is at least partly correct.
A friend/colleague who works for Torah U’Mesorah recently said he could use me in the NY area. I replied that seemed silly; that the NY area is full of yeshivah-educated educators, I have nothing special to add. He answered that too many of the educators lack the enthusiasm for Torah, and the attitude to deal with a variety of students and families.
If that’s so, we certainly can’t expect that those same teachers, etc. will exude general love and respect for the broad range of humanity….
A sad situation indeed…
Well written post and I entirely agree. As for the answers to these problems, first we must get our Mechanchim to realize that not only is there a problem but in many cases the Mechanchim ARE the problem. This was illustrated quite well in R Gershon Seif’s comment (at 16:14).
I know of a few such anecdotes myself.
Gershon-that post was very important. A rebbe who makes such comments is in the wrong profession. IIRC, we have the legacy of Leon Trotsky-who was also thrown out of a cheder and went on to become one of the founding fathers of the Communist revolution.
As a BT, this incident just confirms every stereotype my secular Jewish friends and relatives have about the charedi. We’re supposed to follow the laws in this country. Yes, that includes 75 year old men. The law forbids talking on a cell phone. So, we don’t talk on cell phones. The arrogance of believing that Jews are above the law hurts all of us, BT and FFB alike. My secular and Reform friends and relatives are law-abiding and represent themselves well in the eyes of the rest of the country; why can’t the charedi be?
–What are we doing to promote tolerance among our children, among different streams of charedi Jews, non-charedi Jews, non-religious Jews, and gentiles?
We are doing nothing. Worse than that we are the problem. Here’s a small example with a close family member as a case in point. In a local yeshivish day school, a respected rebbe consistently made fun of am aratzim throughout the year. Even the words “am ha’aretz”, were always mispronounced with a southern mocking drawl just to bring out the point. This same rebbe dismissed any student’s parents who were advising their sons to go even to a yeshiva like Ner Yisroel, because “it wasn’t really a yeshivah” since they allowed boys to attend college. If that’s what he said about Ner Yisroel, draw your own kal v’chomer about non-charedi Jews, non-religious Jews, and gentiles.
Oten these attitudes are not even conveyed with words, just with a look or a smirk.
There’s much work to be done here, but before you talk about implementing a new Torah U’mesorah kindness attitude program into the curriculum, you might want to look into putting the right attitude into the minds of our Roshei Yeshivah (now I’m in big trouble), Menahalim (not you Rabbi Horowitz!) and Mechanchim.
(BTW, this particular close relative, was brought up very yeshivish but is quite a sensitive person. His reaction was to spend 7 years running away from anything that resembles yishivishkeit.)
I would guess that many people who should consider these thoughtful questions don’t read this or possibly any blog. It may be useful to place this piece in community newspapers or magazines.