Rabbi Haim Amsalem, with Shas hecklers in hot pursuit (photo: D Danan)
He's been called a renegade and the 'seed of Amalek' by his former Shas party colleagues, but Haim Amsalem is hoping his one-man party Am Shalem will make a real difference in today's Israeli elections, Deborah Danan writes in the Jerusalem Post. (With thanks: Lily)
Wherever
he goes, his opponents follow him, spitting and shouting, “Traitor!” On
national television, he was deemed a heretic by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,
Shas’ spiritual leader. His books have been subject to public burning
ceremonies in Israeli Yeshivot. He is accused of being “the seed of
Amalek” – the traditional arch-nemeses of Jewish People.
Yet his
campaign slogan proclaims that Maimonides would vote for him. Not sure
how verifiable that is, but speaking as a descendant of Maimonides, I
can tell you that Rabbi Haim Amsalem, leader of the Am Shalem party, can
count on my vote this Tuesday. Here’s why:
Haredi rabbi and
former Shas MK, the renegade Amsalem represents the kind of Judaism that
I grew up with. The kind of Judaism that was passed onto me by my
ancestors; generations of renowned rabbis and dayanim (Torah
judges) in Morocco. It is the kind of Judaism that is open, warm,
tolerant, embracing, free from prejudice and above all, a Judaism that
espouses “Torah im derech eretz”
(the balance of Torah study with work); a Judaism that understands that
the world keeps on moving forward, that there is room for science and
Torah to coexist.
Two days ago was the hilula [anniversary]
of the death of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, otherwise known as the Baba
Sali. Shas frontrunner Arye Deri was in attendance, as was both the
Sephardi and Ashkenazi chief rabbis. Amsalem was also there, but he only
made an appearance at the grave after the others had left the scene,
presumably to avoid a lynching.
Amsalem battled his way through
the throngs, shaking hands and stopping to chat to well-wishers who
praised him for his bravery in taking a stand. All the while, Shas
supporters were on his heels, hurling abusive terms in between wrestling
with anyone that came in their way. Yet with each word and raised fist,
the wry smile playing on Amsalem’s lips just grew larger.
So
how does Amsalem feel about the negative – nay, downright violent –
reactions he causes? “I don’t mind getting into intellectual debates
with people. In fact, I encourage it – it’s ok to have differences of
opinion. But these people are just ignorant, they claimed to learn Torah
but they didn’t learn that derech eretz kadma laTorah. I feel sorry for them. So I can only laugh.”
According
to Amsalem, traditional Judaism does not repel any Jew, religious or
secular. But sadly these days secular Israelis have been so turned off
by the kind of Torah that Shas –the party that Amsalem refers to as a
“dictatorship that has lost its way” – promotes, that they want nothing
to do with any of it. And he doesn’t blame them either. “The [haredi]
community is a good community. But their [attitudes] are bad for the
people as a whole. I want to show all people in Israel the kind, smiling
face of Judaism. Everyone sat at Baba Sali’s table – even Shabbat
transgressors. He didn’t discriminate.”
Amsalem laments the loss
of Sephardic tradition as practising a moderate Judaism, where people
were able to ask all manner of questions and where rabbis were equals
who spoke to people at eye level. He claims that it was hijacked in
favor of something closer to what he calls the “elitist” and extreme
Litai [Lithuanian] branch of Ashkenazi haredim. He also laments the fact
that so many rabbis who agree with him are keeping quiet for fear of
losing their positions or jobs. “They are under coercion from the
religious [bloc.] They are too scared to come out and say what they
think.” Amsalem also claims that he was approached a number of times
with all manner of bribes from high-ranking rabbis and politicians.
“They told me that if I left the political arena, it would be worth my
while, they would arrange a good job for me.”
As for Amsalem’s
political policies? On the two big issues on the haredi front – army and
livelihood – Amsalem again draws from Maimonides who wrote the
following: “Anyone who decides to be engaged in Torah [study] and not to
work, and will be supported by charity - this person desecrates God's
name, degrades the Torah, extinguishes the light of our faith, brings
evil upon himself and forfeits life in the world to come.” He also goes
on to write, “Any Torah which is not accompanied by work will eventually
be nullified.” With regards to war, the Mishnah in Sotah states: In a
Milchemet Mitzvah [a war that Jews are commanded to fight], all go out
[to war], even a groom from his room and a bride from her wedding
canopy.” Maimonides explains that a milchemet mitzvah includes any enemy
that rises up against Israel. However, he also stipulated the following
exemptions: The tribe of Levi and “anyone whose spirit moves him and
whose knowledge gives him understanding to set himself apart in order to
stand before the Lord, to serve Him, to worship Him and to know Him.”
That
is where the haredi ruling powers find justification for fulltime Torah
study. But Maimonides was talking about a small, select elite – an
exception, not the rule. Likewise, Amsalem believes that certain Torah
scholars who have really proven their worth should continue to study
Torah, and further, that the state should enable them to do so. But for
the rest? “Take them and put them to work. Put them in national service,
into the army. Enough of this hilul Hashem [desecration of God].”
So Am Shalem can count on at least one of Maimonides’ relatives to cast the letter “tzadi” into the ballot box.
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Kol ha kavod, Rabbi Amsalem! I appreciate your wisdom and your deep understanding of living, breathing Torah, as it relates to us in the real world, today. Stay strong!
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