Posted on 07/12/2005 8:40:36 PM PDT by Salem
Don't blame Chabad
There is no question that the Chabad movement is strongly opposed to the disengagement policy. Strangely, it was Omri Sharon who explained it best. When his father, the prime minister, came to visit close family friends in Kfar Chabad sometime ago a few of the local residents engaged in a spontaneous, peaceful demonstration outside the house. Omri explained to a reporter that "their demonstration against my father's policy is motivated by their love for their fellow Jews."
Concern for Jewish life and security stands at the center of Chabad's view. We fear that the prime minister is leading Israel down a path that will only undermine its security. That Arabs will think the intifada has succeeded and that our will is weak. That they will renew the terror in the hope of more concessions.
Many in the security and intelligence establishment share these same reservations. Just ask former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon.
The test for Chabad – and those on the Left – is how to disagree in a democratic society. Here it seems that Chabad's approach is clear. All the movement's major institutions, most notably its Supreme Rabbinical Court, which is the ultimate body that guides polices and decisions of the movement in Israel, have spoken clearly and unequivocally. They are totally opposed to any violence:
"Chabad hassidim are prohibited from any kind of protest that disrupts public order. Soldiers and police are to be treated with respect and dignity. There is to be no incitement. Violence of any kind or even verbal abuse is banned."
Our rabbis even made it official policy that any student of a Chabad institution who is arrested for illegal protest activity is to be immediately expelled." It's a zero tolerance policy.
The settler movement is somewhat frustrated with Chabad. They know that the hassidim share their concerns that the disengagement is a terrible error. But they also know that Chabad hassidim will not participate in any civil disobedience. This frustration may have been the cause of some of the settlement movement's change of tactics. For instance, Chabad rabbis agreed to participate in the "take 15 minutes and think about it" protest – in which drivers pulled to the side of the road – only after they were assured that there would be no disruption of traffic or illegal activity.
A week ago the Chabad leadership in Israel had a long meeting with Ariel Sharon. He has been a Chabad fellow traveler for some four decades. As one, the rabbis noted: "We are family, and at times families disagree."
As others waited impatiently for their scheduled meetings, Chabad's session with Sharon lasted almost two hours. It was different than most meetings in the Prime Minister's Office. The rabbis sang hassidic songs with Sharon and even broke open a bottle to say L'chaim. Like hassidim at a farbrengen they told stories, and Sharon recalled some of the letters he received from the Rebbe.
But, like in any hassidic gathering, there was heartfelt, blunt, honest talk. The hassidim encouraged Sharon to heed the Rebbe's view that giving up territory endangers Israel. At the end of the meeting, after hearing multiple pleas to change his mind, Sharon said: "You hassidim never give up." Retorted one of the rabbis: "In Chabad we never give up on a Jew."
STILL THE question that needs an answer is: What about the nails on the highway near Kfar Chabad?
Is this Chabad?
No one knows who laid down the nails. And we won't know until someone is arrested, charged and convicted. Some assert that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) is trying to besmirch Chabad.
On Pessah, I understand, two men looking like Lubavitchers appeared at a Chabad House in an Israeli town. Something about them wasn't right; their rhetoric was a bit harsh and they were agitating for violence. The local rabbi became suspicious, wary of who exactly they were. When they put on tefillin in the Chabad style on Hol Hamoed – when Chabad custom is not to lay tefillin – he smelled a rat.
The teachings of Chabad have been clear: Violence of any kind is not tolerated. You cannot be a hassid if you repudiate the teachings of the Rebbe. Wearing a black hat does not make you a hassid. Hassidism focuses on the inner person and demands that we mold our personality and actions according to the teachings of the Torah. The Rebbe taught us to treat every human with respect and dignity, even the ones we disagree with.
If someone asserts that he is Chabad and advocates illegal demonstrations, disrespect for the security forces, violence of any kind, injury to any person, be he Jew or Arab, he is in essence excluding himself from being a hassid.
The Rebbe once noted that ceding land will be the cause of greater conflict and bring violence and death to Arab children. He expressed his deep concern that Arab children as well as Jewish ones would suffer.
There are some who are troubled by the inroads Chabad has made in Israeli society and the Jewish community worldwide. They would like stifle our influence. What better way than to point to a few individuals who do things inimical to Chabad teachings, and claim, "They are the dark side of Chabad."
That ignores the disdain many hassidim feel for these individuals' ideas, ideology and strategies. It ignores the fact that the Chabad leadership has repeatedly banned violence and illegality.
Focusing on these few individuals obscures the real debate. Will the disengagement enhance Israeli security or not? Will the Arabs think violence works and rack it up again?
The writer is a Chabad representative in Yorba Linda California.
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