Saturday, June 23, 2012

THE INDECENT EXPOSURE OF A CHIEF RABBI


The Chief Rabbinate in Israel is an institution most Israelis would rather avoid.  But now, thanks to the Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Moshe Amar, we will all have to pay some attention to him and his office, as he has called for a rally, this Tuesday, June 26, 2012, to protest the involvement of non-Orthodox rabbis in Israel.  Referring to these rabbis as destroyers of Judaism and terrorists, he denigrates some very good men and women whose sole purpose in life is to teach a Judaism that is non-judgmental, compassionate, all-embracing, and welcoming of modernity.  The chief rabbinate has never been an institution that resonates with most liberal Jews, whether Israeli or not, as the Judaism it promotes is rigid and intolerant.  But rarely do we catch a glimpse of how disdainful of the majority of Jews a chief rabbi can be.  Rabbi Amar exposes himself, indecently, in an action that is a transgression of the mitzvah of ahavat Yisrael, the love we should have for our fellow Jews.  And if few of us can abide by that mitzvah as carefully as we should, certainly someone whose title is “chief rabbi” ought to be an exemplar of that sort of love.
I do not subscribe to Amar’s incendiary language and I would certainly discourage others from thinking the Judaism he promotes as exclusively authentic.  Both his language and his Judaism seem to me an unethical response to serious problems that all Jews must face, including assimilation into a non-Jewish world and alienation from the sacred rituals and beliefs of our people.  We can work together to find proper responses to these realities or we can beat each other up.  And if Jewish leaders choose the latter, the decision itself proves just how unsuitable they are for leadership.  There is actually a place in Israel for Amar and those who think like him.  But it simply is not in any position of authority. 
Rabbi Amar—you’re exposed.  It was an indecent exposure.  You need to leave office and study Torah.  You obviously have forgotten what it means to be a Jew.