A legend told by various spiritual guides (known as a mashgiach ruchani) in the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) yeshiva world recounts that Aristotle, the “chief of the philosophers,” whose ancient lectures on ethics serve as a cornerstone of Western ethical thought, was once observed by his students eating like an animal. They asked him: How can you behave in a way that totally contradicts your teachings? He replied: Right now, I am not Aristotle; I am eating.
Over the past month, it seems that haredi politicians have demonstrated this dichotomy in the most striking way. In one role, they serve as officials within the state system, allocating resources from one to another by virtue of the law. In another, they act as community activists, for whom legal frameworks are merely recommendations.
About a month ago, media reports revealed that Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Minister Meir Porush had established a hotline advising yeshiva students on how to evade their legal obligation to enlist in the military. According to the reports, when a yeshiva student called the hotline asking what he should do after receiving a draft notice, the response was: “No, no, absolutely do not report!”
Last Thursday, it was reported that the Agudat Yisrael party operates a telephone hotline featuring a recorded message explaining how to circumvent the attorney-general’s decision to halt daycare subsidies. According to the report, the recording advises taking advantage of a legal loophole that allows small businesses to avoid reporting income for six months.
This would enable an avrech (married yeshiva student) to qualify for a daycare subsidy during that period by registering as a “business owner.” The hotline even cynically suggests exploiting the war and its casualties by registering the venture as a business for “studying Torah and reciting Psalms for the elevation of fallen soldiers’ souls, and the recovery of those in need of healing.”
Let’s set aside the question of legality for a moment. The obvious question that arises is: How can a party in the Knesset and a minister in the government so openly undermine the very state institutions under the authority of which they operate? How can they play the political game, serve as government ministers, and at the same time openly disregard the law and judicial rulings?
The answer lies in the fact that the haredi parties do not see themselves as part of the Israeli institutional system but rather as an internal communal organization operating within the broader political arena. In their view, the political system is merely a tool for achieving communal goals, and as such, it entails no real commitment to the state’s political framework.
Status of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel
Since the early days of the state, an internal debate has taken place within the ultra-Orthodox community over whether it is possible to cooperate with the Zionist state and benefit from its resources while still preserving a distinct ultra-Orthodox identity.
The Brisker Rav, who served as the leading authority of the Lithuanian community in the second half of the 1950s, vehemently opposed any cooperation or acceptance of state funding, even calling it “handing over the key to the Torah to those who undermine and fight against it.” However, his disciple, Rav Shach, ruled differently.
As one writer in the Hamodia newspaper put it in 1969: “[My stance aligns with that of rabbis] whose approach to Zionism was absolute rejection; yet from the day the state was established, all their efforts were directed toward operating within it and utilizing it as a tool and means to promote Torah causes.”
The ultra-Orthodox parties’ conduct over the past month demonstrates that, from a historical and practical perspective, Rav Shach and his faction were correct. If one is willing to overlook the moral dilemma involved, one can comfortably sit in a ministerial position, fully enjoy the fruits of the state, and still remain a fully committed Aristotelian-haredi.
The writer is a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute.