Naftali Bennett’s recent visit to the Solomon Schechter
School of Manhattan was eagerly anticipated by the entire school
community. After considerable
planning, Bennett, who serves as Israel’s Minister of Education and Minister of
Diaspora Affairs, spent several hours at the Schechter School on December 1.
Minister Bennett visiting the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan on December 1, 2015
I received a full description of the planning and the actual
event from my wife Deanna, who is the school's coordinator of learning support and serves on its Educational Leadership Team. Among other things, Bennett had conversations with middle
school students and adults and shared stories and songs with the entire
school. A video showed him sitting
on the floor with the children and singing along to some popular Israeli tunes.
That same day, along with the video, Bennett tweeted the
following message, in Hebrew, to his approximately forty thousand followers: “Meeting with the students of the
wonderful Conservative Solomon Schechter School in New York. Such love of Israel. Such love of Judaism.”
Naftali Bennett, who personally identifies as Modern
Orthodox, had unabashedly revealed the school’s affiliation and indicated how
impressed he was. Deanna informed
me that the students and parents were likewise impressed by Bennett’s
down to earth manner and ability to engage. So far, so good.
Subsequently, however, several people castigated Bennett for
having visited the school. Among his
critics was Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Rabbi Lau said in a
radio interview, “you should not
go to a place that explicitly belongs to groups that you know don’t respect klal yisrael (the Community of
Israel).”
In response, Naftali Bennett’s office issued the following
statement: “Minister Bennett believes that public leaders in Israel need to
bring Jews closer and not alienate them, and he views comments that alienate
rather than bringing people closer with major concern.”
I especially appreciated a letter written to Rabbi Lau by
Daniel Labovitz, former president of the school, in which he wrote, “You
insulted me directly and personally, Rabbi, when you said that this school, of
which I was president for four years, and which has educated both of my sons to
love Israel, explicitly belongs to groups that you know don’t respect klal yisrael. You insulted me directly and personally, Rabbi, when you
said that my son, who sat next to Minister Bennett on the floor and sang,
"yachad, lev el lev niftach
b'tikva,” (“together, we will open each other’s hearts with hope”) doesn't
respect klal yisrael. You insult me personally because two of
the graduates of Schechter Manhattan are currently serving in the IDF,
defending klal yisrael, something
that most of the Haredi men their age aren't doing.”
On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we sing the prayer, hayom t’gadleinu. Today, make us larger. On Hanukkah, we follow the opinion of Hillel by increasing
the number of candles we light each night so that we can increase holiness in
the world. How sad that Rabbi Lau
chooses to reduce rather than enlarge, to be incapable of seeing an abundance
of holiness even when it is coursing through the hearts and souls of children
and the adults who love and guide them.
Fortunately Naftali Bennett knows better, and so do
we. At the Solomon Schechter
School of Manhattan, at Temple Israel of Great Neck and
at numerous other places across the globe, we understand that there are
multiple paths toward embracing the beauty of our heritage and enhancing the
glory of klal yisrael.
Originally written for the Temple Israel Voice, December 18, 2015 edition
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