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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
HaRav Boruch Shmuel Hacohen Deutsch, chairman of Degel
Hatorah's rabbinical board and HaRav Nosson Zochovsky, a
member of the rabbinical board, recall the party's launching
and discuss their role as emissaries of the gedolei
haTorah.
Unchanging Goals, Unchanging Standards
HaRav Deutsch: "The Rosh Yeshiva, Maran HaRav
Shach zt'l, did everything in his power to avoid
breaking away from Agudas Yisroel. Unity within the chareidi
camp was of supreme importance to him. In the circumstances,
though, he saw a need for preserving the self-identity of
bnei Torah; he wanted them to attain independent
standing and to represent themselves. [Working] with `wisdom
that surpasses prophecy' he brought about the founding of
Yated Ne'eman and also the establishment of Degel
Hatorah, to raise the prestige of the bnei Torah and
to build [Knesset] representation that would listen to what
the gedolei hador said."
HaRav Zochovsky: "The Rosh Yeshiva, Maran HaRav
Shach zt'l, wanted to drive home the involvement of
gedolei Yisroel in every detail, in every issue and on
every level, as a matter of course. Over the years a
[chareidi political] establishment had taken shape that had a
life of its own and didn't always recognize the right time
and juncture for consulting the gedolim. Degel Hatorah
was established in order to reaffirm the need to ask for and
to listen to the opinions of the gedolei hador. The
party raises the banner of allegiance and absolute obedience
to our leaders. Gedolei Torah do not have spare time
on their hands, however, and cannot be involved in every
detail on an ongoing basis. Therefore, a group of expert
talmidei chachomim was chosen to determine which
issues pose difficulties that need to be decided solely by
gedolei Yisroel.
Degel Hatorah is more important today than ever before. It
represents a public that charts its course according to the
directives of gedolei Torah, without being dragged
after mass opinion or the feeling in the street. The Torah
world and its leaders has its own way of viewing every
contemporary issue, and the existing structure, manned by
bnei Torah, ensures that current events are considered
from a Torah perspective.
Take the recent withdrawal from Gaza as an example. Without
addressing the question of whether it was or wasn't the right
step to take, the Torah world looked at the affair
differently and wasn't caught up in the superficial approach
of the crowds in the street. Things were assigned their
correct place and proportion in the overall picture.
From the movement's inception to this day, it has been
important that the Torah world have its independence. The
party came into being because every large and worthy public
grouping deserves its own representation. That public that is
composed of bnei Torah has its own pristine world
view.
Although we have joined other groups within a single external
framework for the Knesset — obviously according to the
directives of our teacher zt'l — this unity was
external and was for a practical purpose. Our own opinions
and views and our absolute obedience to gedolei Torah
remained unchanged.
The rabbinical panel recognized the need for conveying the
views of the gedolei Torah to the representatives, and
fulfilled the directives of the gedolim in various
ways. It continues to serve this function in several ways,
acting as a `board of education' representing the gedolim.
In this capacity it scrutinizes current affairs and
solves all sorts of communal and educational problems that
are always cropping up."
The Need to Stand Tall
All are unanimous with regard to Degel Hatorah's emergence
and convey the same message — nobody today is seeking a
renewal of strife or discord. All we want is to understand
the past in order to learn how to handle the future. There
are no grudges and no personal sensitivities or tender
spots.
The Rosh Yeshiva zt'l discerned a need for the
chareidi community and for bnei Torah to "stand tall."
He saw it as both necessary and important that members of
this community fill positions, even as [Knesset]
representatives, in order to protect the image of the
chareidi public and to ensure that it was respected. Another
important point is that whereas the leaders of the general
public are those who head the political parties, we convey
the message that the party leaders are simply emissaries of
the gedolim and are in no sense whatsoever leaders.
HaRav Deutsch: "As someone who has spent all his life
in yeshivos and Torah academies, I would not ordinarily have
had anything to do with the establishment of Degel Hatorah.
It was only because I felt that on many occasions the dignity
of bnei Torah was being trampled. The gedolei
hador, our great teacher zt'l, and the Kehillas
Yaakov zt'l, felt this way and indicated to us to take
an independent path. They fostered this approach for the sake
of the Torah world's benefit.
"In the course of negotiations with Agudas Yisroel things
seemed to be running aground. Up to the last minute, we were
given the impression that the well-known issue of Chabad and
the attitude to be taken towards them was agreed upon. Then
they attempted to sabotage all the discussions over that
single issue, in order to create a bone of contention for the
elections over the "banning of a holy congregation" and
similar accusations. The Rosh Yeshiva refused to countenance
an agreement based on silencing those who articulated the
correct outlook; this was one of the main reasons that the
negotiations fell apart and Degel Hatorah was launched.
"At the time — the eleventh of Tishrei 5749 (1989), on
the eve of the split from Agudas Yisroel and the submission
of a separate Knesset list — our great teacher spared
no effort and tried until the very last minute to pull the
ranks together and avoid taking a separate path. The Rosh
Yeshiva wrote two letters to Agudas Yisroel, which are being
published here for the first time. In one, he recommended
that his candidates for Knesset membership, Rabbi Moshe Gafni
and Rabbi Chaim Brillant, be entered into Agudas Yisroel's
list and [promised] that Heaven's honor would grow through
them."
In his second letter he addressed Agudas Yisroel as, "the
holy movement that was founded by our masters, the
gedolim of the previous generation — led by the
gaon Rav Chaim [Brisker] and other geonim of
the generation, ztvk'l, among them the Chofetz Chaim,
the Gerrer Rebbe and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky — so
that all [communal] affairs could be run according to the
pure Torah outlook. Since the position of [our] religion is
very difficult in Eretz Yisroel and in the world at
large, we deem it incumbent upon everyone to orient himself
as part of a party that is subject to daas Torah and
whose representatives are emissaries of the rabbonim. Since
all [the groupings] within Agudas Yisroel have be'ezras
Hashem reached agreement with the bnei Torah and
their representatives, I call upon all who seriously heed
Hashem's word and who follow the opinions of the great Torah
scholars, the great teachers of halochoh and the Admorim,
shlita, to vote for the Agudas Yisroel list and
strengthen it so that Heaven's glory increases."
In the drafts of the agreements that were drawn up between
the representatives of Agudas Yisroel and those of IBT
(Irgun Bnei Torah), the following passages appear:
"Yated Ne'eman will give proper coverage to the
activities, resolutions and campaigns of Agudas Yisroel and
its representatives, without suppressing news and public
notices about Shas. Agudas Yisroel will report and
will publish its activities and its public notices in
Yated Ne'eman as well."
In the addendum to agreement number one: "Further to
paragraph five, the movement's publication, Hamodia,
will not publish information or notices about Chabad,
even for payment, neither will representatives of Agudas
Yisroel appear at Chabad gatherings . . . It goes without
saying that this agreement is not intended to limit or
detract from the right and the obligation of teachers of
halochoh shlita, on either side from continuing to
express themselves and lead their communities as they see
fit."
The agreement that was never finalized stated further that
the meetings of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah would be renewed,
that all budgets would be divided equally and the
distribution of special allocations would be discontinued,
that a rabbinical panel would be set up to settle all
problems that arose and that all representatives would submit
signed letters of resignation, to be used in the event that
it was decided to do so etc.
The Critical Moments
As the new movement was about to be launched and the deadline
for the parties' submission of their lists of Knesset
candidates approached, the prospects looked very bleak
indeed. Some spoke in terms of two hundred bnei Torah
creating the impression that they [on the other side] were
thousands. Others conceded that there might be two thousand
voters and even the most optimistic forecast put the number
of probable voters at seventeen thousand, while the minimum
number of votes needed to secure a Knesset seat was over
thirty thousand.
HaRav Deutsch: "We urgently had to bring the
signatures of three thousand voters in order to submit the
lists. These were obtained in the space of a few hours at the
Torah centers. It later turned out that the Rosh Yeshiva had
somehow heard that thirty thousand signatures had been
obtained in a few hours and he was therefore somewhat
sanguine. With the announcement of the election results,
before the second seat was secure (which took a few days
until the results of the soldiers' voting were known), our
teacher made an unusual comment to the effect that he almost
regretted having taken an unnecessary risk whose excessive
daring had almost had unpleasant results for the chareidi
community.
"For the sake of the historical record, the name Degel
Hatorah was coined by Rabbi Menachem Porush, at the time when
Irgun Bnei Torah's entrance as a group within Agudas Yisroel
was under discussion. The name, which bore similarity to
Degel Yerushalayim, was suggested and broadly approved. A
good word must be said for the Belzer Rebbe shlita,
who assisted our great teacher with Degel Hatorah's
establishment, providing encouragement and mutual assistance
in order to strengthen the bnei hayeshivos and the
Torah world."
A Refreshing Change
With the founding of Degel Hatorah and the party's
independent stand in the elections, an internal rabbinical
panel was formed. This news soon spread around the world when
the party's Knesset members informed the heads of the main
parties that their rabbinical committee had to meet before
any coalition negotiations could be entered into.
HaRav Deutsch, Chairman of the Rabbinical Panel: "We
met with Mr. Shamir and Mr. Rabin and the Knesset members
left the room. Our message to them was clear, `We want to sit
and learn. Only Torah imposes obligations upon us. Beyond
that nothing else interests us.' In order to drive the point
home I said, `If one of our young men chas vesholom
wants to go off the tracks, we pray that he should leave the
world while he is innocent and untainted, not contaminated by
sin. For us, a Torah life is the be all and end all. We are
not interested in forcing our views upon others but we do
want to live our lives according to the Torah.'
"When our master heard this it gave him great pleasure and he
clapped his hands in joy. It was a refreshing change in the
political arena. Former Minister David Levi said, `This is
the first time that I grasp what you really want.' "
HaRav Zochovsky: "Maran ztvk'l, who sent us as
representatives in the coalition negotiations — even
though, as roshei yeshiva it was a far cry from our
ambitions and our intentions — wanted to receive
direct, accurate and firsthand reports of everything. Without
wishing to give anyone offense, he wanted to be kept informed
of the issues that were being discussed by people who had no
interest in attaining positions for themselves, or engaging
in politics or the like.
Understanding the Unspoken
"Not everyone understood his intentions. He didn't always
speak clearly and unambiguously and he didn't express his
real opinion in explicit terms to everyone. We witnessed his
extraordinary knack of judging people — knowing what
was fitting to say to each individual and the terms in which
to couch it. Sometimes he let people draw their own
conclusions as to what he meant. But it should be stressed
that whoever carried out his wishes, even if he hadn't been
explicit, afterwards enjoyed his full backing. Sometimes he
would stress, `You'll have to take the responsibility upon
yourselves,' but he never abandoned anyone who did what he
wanted to fend for himself. Behind closed doors, he gave
guidance, ideas and counsel to those who were loyal to
him.
"Our master ztvk'l never engaged in polemics with
others. I remember that Mr. Rabin visited him when he was
Minister of Defense. To begin with, Maran stood up and
thanked him for his favorable stance towards the bnei
hayeshivos and for his vigilance in ensuring that they
were not drafted, releasing them from army service through
yearly deferments. He then quoted the comment of the
chossid Yaavetz, who said that in the various trials
to which the Jewish People have been subjected, the ordinary
folk withstood them better then others.
"Our teacher further told the Minister of Defense, `The
ordinary folk are the rank and file. We don't want the Left.
We prefer the ordinary folk, the people, the traditional
public that respects Toras Yisroel and its faith.' In
conclusion, he again thanked him for his help to the yeshiva
world, though he'd given him to understand by himself that he
wouldn't support a coalition with Labor.
"The Rosh Hayeshiva recognized the importance of the media
and made thorough use of the world coverage that was his at
the famous convention in Yad Eliyahu, where he posed the
eternal question [to the Israeli Left], `What makes you
Jews?' To this day, this question echoes at every convention
and symposium where the irreligious meet. The question is
still asked today and those to whom it's put immediately go
on the defensive and start trying to pinpoint their Jewish
identity.
"Maran was extremely careful with every word. He knew the
eagerness with which his every word was awaited and absorbed.
Before speaking in public he would pray that no mistake
result from what he would say and he also asked others to
pray for him. There was an aura around him like that of the
shaliach tzibbur who prefaces musaf [on
Yomim Noraim ] with the prayer, `Here am I, the pauper
in deeds, frightened and terrified . . .'
"He once compared himself to an elderly, experienced general
who can see his quarry and approaches it. If obstacles and
hindrances arise, he either circumvents them or grapples with
them but he keeps his main objective in sight and
concentrates on attaining it. Our teacher processed
information, listened and took note and always reached a
decision based on the entire array of facts and
considerations."
The Power of a Paper
As an example of the power of a newspaper, one of the
rabbonim points to the campaign waged by the Eida
HaChareidis to get Chayei Olam institutions to change
their policy on accepting funds from the Israeli government.
It has been going on for years and has consumed huge
resources, but maybe a total of ten talmidim have been
withdrawn to date, after all the demonstrations and sharp
protests. Amazingly though, within three days of when notices
started appearing in Yated Ne'eman about Hamesorah
Institutions in Yerushalayim and rumors began circulating
that our teacher was about to issue a letter telling people
to withdraw their children, eight hundred talmidim
left immediately and they opened Ahavas Torah Hamesorah!
HaRav Deutsch: "I was visiting one of the chareidi
magnates, a generous benefactor of the Torah world, and he
asked me, `Since when do gedolim launch newspapers?' I
told him that the hidden aim was to launch a party and every
party needs its own mouthpiece and publication. When I told
this to Maran, it was apparent that he agreed with the
sentiment."
The Bedrock of Our System
HaRav Zochovsky concludes: "Two of the cantillation
marks for the Torah reading are pozeir (meaning
literally, disperse) and munach (stay put). In order
to read from the Torah one has to know how to sing them.
There are times when it is correct to disperse and take
action rather than remaining gathered in one place. At other
times though, one has to consider how to remain in one's
position.
"Gedolei Torah are thoroughly acquainted with the
Torah's different notes and they know the right one to strike
for each and every situation. There is no merit in adopting
either a policy of always being against — come what may
— or of always agreeing. Things always have to be
weighed on their own merits and gedolei Yisroel are
the only ones who know how to attain the correct pitch.
"We must remember that we pride ourselves on our beliefs. We
based the founding of Degel Hatorah on trust in our sages.
The bedrock of our system is the profound realization that
even though there have been many in the past who asked for,
and received, advice and counsel and were given instructions
and directives as to what to do in a variety of situations,
when it comes to future decisions we must remember that
ultimately, only the gedolei Torah and the
generation's leaders have the authority to decide what course
to take, which situations can be likened to past experiences
and which should be treated differently, thus charting the
course of the pure Torah outlook — these decisions are
theirs, and theirs alone."
This election campaign is not only about an extra
representative — though that is important,
because the vote of a single representative can change
reality. Even though on the face of things it doesn't seem
that way, we nevertheless witness how among the irreligious
parties even the small parties modify the approach of the
larger ones — and the power of holiness is greater
still. Light is stronger than darkness. We therefore
certainly need that representative, who will follow the views
of gedolei Yisroel, the Chofetz Chaim and Reb Chaim
Ozer, ztvk'l.
But besides this, the present campaign is over the very
acceptance of their approach. A vote for Degel Hatorah
represents agreement with the approach of our masters, the
Chofetz Chaim and Reb Chaim Ozer.
(HaRav Zevulun Shub, Rosh Yeshivas Ramat Shlomo, in 5749)
Discord is obviously a bad thing. But when there's no choice,
unfortunately that is what we must do. We still hope that in
time a way will be found for going forward together but only
on one condition — that they listen to the gedolei
haTorah. Are they Agudas Yisroel just because they hold
on to the voting letter gimmel? Does this or that
letter determine who is Agudas Yisroel? Is Agudas Yisroel
dependent on having Knesset representation? All that Agudas
Yisroel means is that those who take Hashem's word seriously
unite. Those who obey Hashem's word [today] are the ones who
listen to the voice of our teacher and his colleagues.
(HaRav Dovid Hecksher zt'l, one of the roshei
yeshiva of Kol Torah, in 5749)
We are currently involved in an election campaign. For the
irreligious, the main thing is smaller or larger Knesset
representation. For us bnei Torah, does it matter
whether ploni or almoni is our representative
in the Knesset? The main issue is, how many Yidden
will vote and declare, "We obey the gedolei haTorah in
everything!" How many, in voting will be saying that nothing
else is of value and nothing else equals the Torah path?
No communal activist or individual has any [independent]
opinion or outlook. Everything is charted for us by those who
have toiled in Torah all their lives, acquiring it through
the forty-eight traits through which Torah is attained. That
is the banner that we raise aloft.
(HaRav Dovid Cohen, rosh yeshiva of Chevron Yeshiva, in
5749)
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