“You say you want a revolution?” – John Lennon, 1968
A lot of people will tell you that Judaism, like so many other institutions and cultural systems, changes by evolution. Tiny, gradual, often imperceptible, and hardly noticeable changes that eventually create new realities. But it ain’t necessarily so; Judaism, I suggest, has a history of revolutionary men and moments that jerked the needle violently forward with a blast and a bang.
Take the very first Jew, for starters. Abraham lived in a world that was inextricably tied to idolatry. This was a given, a mainstay, a universal way of life for the entire known world. Why, Abraham’s own family was in the idol business!
But this young lad – some say he was just a child – saw the error in worshiping wood and stone and would have none of it. His vision was that of an all-encompassing, all-powerful timeless God that transcended every community and controlled every facet of the universe. And so, Abraham “broke the idols,” literally and figuratively, and dramatically changed the way the world views a higher power.
Moses, for his part, was no less revolutionary. Though himself a member in good standing of the entrenched power structure, Moses dramatically declared that might does not make right, that the poor and poorly armed need not be slaves to a despotic master, and that even the mightiest of armies would fall precipitously before the power of a moral deity whose beloved children were destined for greatness.
Through the ages, many courageous rabbis changed the course of Judaism by taking bold action, often, if not always, in the face of vehement opposition. Rabbi Judah the Prince would break with millennia of tradition by writing down the Oral Law, a daring decision that, to this day, has kept Torah learning alive.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai would challenge the ruling authorities and, at the risk of his life, cut a deal with the hated Roman authorities to perpetuate our spiritual existence. Maimonides/Rambam would later elicit the fiery rage of his fellow rabbis – who labeled him a heretic and burned his books – when he synthesized Jewish law so that it could be better understood and followed by the masses.
What we need in a revolutionary rabbi
And now, it is time for another revolutionary rabbi to come to the fore before it is too late. We need it desperately because – as happened so tragically in the past two Jewish commonwealths – we are a nation divided both socially and religiously, to the point where we, too, may internally self-destruct.
And so we are seeking a religious leader who is an undisputed scholar, a man of vision and action, a person of integrity with an impeccable reputation and sterling character. Someone who is widely admired, who sees the world both for what it is and what it can be, who recognizes that each and every member of Jewish society is of inestimable value and cannot be taken for granted. This rabbi, rather than constantly looking over his shoulder at his detractors, will fearlessly go forward in the pursuit of the type of Judaism he knows to be right, and just.
He will seek to spread Jewish knowledge to all sectors of Jewish society, accepting everyone at his or her own level, while seeking to advance and uplift them. He will welcome the convert, and persuade through love, rather than legislation. He will teach the beauty of tradition even as he preaches the path of tolerance.
He will be a model of Torah learning – a staple of our national identity – while also adhering to the Talmud’s dictum (Avot 6:6) that an essential element of Torah living is “sharing the burden with one’s fellow man.”
While honoring the students of Torah, he will remind them of the examples set by the great sages of the past who also proudly pursued a livelihood, such as Shammai the builder; Rabbi Yannai and Rashi who owned vineyards; Nachmanides/Ramban, the Sforno, and Mar Shmuel, who were doctors; and even Abba Shaul, who was a gravedigger.
This rabbi will also be an unabashed, unashamed Zionist. He will accentuate the miraculous nature of the State of Israel, where every aspect of life can be approached from a genuinely Jewish perspective. He will state the undeniable fact that the Israel of today is greater than at any other time in our history – including the days of King Solomon – and affirm that our survival – indeed, our amazing success – is proof positive of God’s guardianship of this country.
He will encourage his children to join the army, in the traditions of general-King David and Rabbi Akiva, and he will promote and popularize our presence on the Temple Mount. He will affirm our unbroken connection to our holy places in Jerusalem and throughout the country, encouraging us to exercise our inalienable rights, even as we protect the rights of other religions. He will call upon all the Jews of the world to return to their rightful home, to the seat of our destiny and the place where we belong.
Of course, the moment such a figure arises – even, perhaps especially, if he is prominent within the haredi world – there will be intense opposition, even calls for his excommunication. But if he is a person of stature, and if he has many students and followers, the hope is that they will stand by him and that, if he is loyal to the cause, the truth will spread and the revolution will take on a life of its own. A whole Jewish world out there is terribly hungry for rabbinic (and governmental!) leadership, for change, for innovative ideas and approaches that accentuate the positive and are inclusive rather than insular.
As I write this, there is an unparalleled void within the Chief Rabbinate. For the first time in 100 years – since the days of Rav Avraham Isaac Kook and Rav Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, the first and second Ashkenazi chief rabbis, respectively, and Rav Yaakov Meir and Rav Ben-Zion Uziel, the first and second Sephardi chief rabbis, respectively – there is no chief rabbi in Israel, yet another casualty of the disunity within our political establishment.
And there is a clear and present danger that politics and back-room horse-trading will impose yet another unpopular candidate upon a weary public, further delegitimizing and debasing a rabbinate that already is far from attractive.
It is within this void that we must make our voices be heard, demanding that a rabbinic leader of quality be chosen. And if that does not happen, a brave person must stand up, step up, and take up the charge, within or without the system.
Pundits like to say that a people always gets the leaders it deserves. If that is true, we deserve better leaders, holier leaders, because we are, at our core, a holy nation. If we do not get what we deserve, it’s high time that we start our own rabbinic revolution.
Let us fix what’s broken, demand the best, and refuse to settle for less.
The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra’anana. rabbistewart@gmail.com