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Religious Zionist approach, even without adopting iden-
tical texts, would make a positive difference in Charedi
education.
Torah relevance: Besides the serious study of the Jewish faith,
the other distinguishing feature of the Religious Zionist
Torah curriculum is its relevance to daily life. The Charedi
emphasis on Torah lishma, “Torah for its own sake”, while
admirable, leaves students with a sense that the Torah
is an artifact rather than the animating force of Jewish
existence today. We spend an entire yeshivah zeman (term)
learning shor shenagach et haparah (an ox that gores a cow),
though none of us live on a farm, without asking what tort
law means for our own lives. This is one of the most serious
problems facing the world of Torah education. PHOTO: LEVI MEIR CLANCY ON UNSPLASH

The emphasis on Torah’s relevance to daily life has pro- tradition and its acceptance of variant streams renders
duced several important Religious Zionist figures and
institutions. Uniting them is the desire to translate the it wishy-washy and religiously weak. Even if this is the
case, we can learn and gain from studying Religious Zion-
Torah into the language of contemporary society without ism’s strengths without surrendering our own. Even if the
sacrificing any of our texts’ original vitality. Projects such Charedi community adopts but a small part of the inclusive
as the Puah Institute, the journal Techumin, and the Eretz and accepting spirit of Religious Zionism, we will have
Hemdah beit midrash stand out in this regard. Torah scholars
from the Charedi camp have begun to participate in these profited much.
efforts, though Charedi society as a whole remains barely Good citizenship: Lastly, Religious Zionism’s spirit of good citi-
acquainted with them. zenship has much to teach Charedim. Covid-19 unequivocally
proved the importance of grounding Torah in derech eretz.
Here too, there could be costs. The purity of the Torah is The Religious Zionist community sees no tension between
tarnished when it is mixed with the grittiness of the out- the two; religiosity and good citizenship complement one
side world. As much as we would like our surroundings to another, and both are in fact religious duties.
conform to the pristine halachic theory of the beit midrash,
more often than not the reverse occurs, relaxing rules that Of course, this strength is a direct result of one of the deep-
should be stringently maintained. This is not true in all est differences between Charedim and Religious Zionists:
cases, and oftentimes there is a need to strike a balance their respective attitude to the state. Charedim do not have
between halachic stringency and the practical needs of life to adopt the state-centered approach of the Religious Zionist
outside of the study hall; excessive detachment from the community, but they could benefit greatly from adopting
world can lead to extreme halachic stringency. At any rate, their respectful stance towards it. Even if we assume the
it is important for us to be aware of the serious project of state is not necessarily the “beginning of the redemption”
making the Torah both relevant and accessible, even if we or the “foundation of Hashem’s seat in the world,” we still
dispute the rulings of some of its advocates. need to be good citizens, both for prudential reasons and
because the principles of derech eretz demand it.
Fighting discrimination: Charedim can learn from Religious
Zionism outside of the beit midrash as well. In the Religious Our primary goal in this world is to extend the sovereignty
Zionist community there is virtually no discrimination of G-d’s holiness. This ambitious aim requires the basic
between Ashkenazim and Sefardim, Ethiopians and con- unity of those faithful to G-d’s Torah – a unity that needn’t
verts. All are welcomed. Differences between Sefardi and flatten or blur legitimate differences but must bring us
Ashkenazi halachic traditions are respected, yet the com- together despite our differences. Indeed, a significant part
munity is not divided by ethnic lines. Indeed, regular inter- of our tradition is the maintenance of differences for the
action between halachic cultures is mutually enriching. A sake of Heaven. But disputes for the sake of Heaven are
prime example of this in a halachic sense is Rabbi Melamed’s always between respectful peers, rather than between hos-
very broad halachic work Peninei Halachah. tile opponents. This communication and conversation, in a
spirit of Jewish unity, will strengthen all parties: “Ephraim
Communal pluralism is beneficial even for the beit midrash shall not envy Yehudah, and Yehudah shall not besiege
since it opens up the fullness of the Torah to the student. Ephraim.” (Yishayahu 11:13)
Halachah, mussar, Chassidut, lomdus – all are legitimate in the
Religious Zionist batei midrash, and many yeshivah institutions  A version of this article was originally published in Tzarich Iyun.
offer classes in each of these fields, sometimes from a broad
range of teachers. In a Lithuanian yeshivah, by contrast, it is Rabbi Aryeh Meir studies and teaches at Yeshivat Pitchei Olam,
hard to find a mashgiach who will discuss a Chassidic source and lectures and moderates workshops at Nefesh Yehudi, a prom-
or deviate from the tradition of acceptable texts. inent kiruv organization in Israel. He has written several thought-
ful pieces for Tzarich Iyun and is a graduate of the Tikvah Fund’s
But diversity has costs as well as benefits. It can be plau- “Chochmatchem Ubinatchem” Charedi seminar program. He lives
sibly argued that the Religious Zionist world has no clear in Jerusalem with his wife and four children.

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