Facing the Machashavah Challenge

Facing Current Challenges: Essays on Judaism

Rabbi Dr. Yehuda (Leo) Levi

Jerusalem, 1998

Reviewed by Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer

            I once asked the principal of a yeshiva high school why the standard curriculum does not include the study of Jewish thought - excerpts from the Kuzari, Derech Hashem, Michtav Mei’Eliyahu - anything? He answered me quite candidly, saying that the study of such works and issues would likely provoke students to raise significant questions, and there was a real concern that the teachers would not be equipped to answer the questions satisfactorily. Better, he contended, not to raise questions in students’ minds than to raise questions that would remain unanswered.

            While we may be disappointed with the principal’s response, we cannot deny the reality of his concern. A standard yeshiva education generally does not equip a teacher with familiarity - let alone mastery - of Jewish thought. Systematic study of the “great works” (such as those cited above) is a rarity. Often, the sum total of a yeshiva alumnus’ exposure to musar or machashavah is the collective wisdom contained in whatever shmuessen or sichot he has haphazardly attended over the years.

            So, indeed, if the educator is not educated, how can he or she educate others? On the other hand, can we consider a yeshiva alumnus adequately equipped to face the challenges of life without a solid grounding in Jewish thought? Situations pose questions, experiences pose questions, others pose questions to us - and, sooner or later, we may well pose questions to ourselves. How can one be a fully functioning Oved Hashem without a solid grounding in Jewish thought? Indeed, it is the pursuit of such grounding that the Mesillas Yesharim demands of us when he opens his work with those immortal words: Yesod ha’chassidus v’shoresh ha’avodah ha’temimah she’yisbarer v’yisames eitzel he’adam mah chovaso b’olamo - the foundation of piety and the root of complete [divine] service is that it should become clear and [understood as] true to an individual what his responsibility is in his world.

            Clearly, both teacher and student need a curriculum. Prof. Yehuda (Leo) Levi’s book, Facing Current Challenges provides just such a curriculum. Rabbi Dr. Levi is ideally, perhaps uniquely, suited to provide a framework for thoughtful analysis of the great issues that a Jew faces in the world in which Hashem has placed us. Heir to the Torah im Derech Eretz traditions of his German-Jewish forbears, educated to the profound approach to both Talmud and Jewish thought that was the hallmark of Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner zt”l’s Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin, and an accomplished scientist and academician as well, his works possess a remarkable scope of breadth and depth. (I personally make extensive and constant use of his wonderful works on the times of day in Halacha and on Talmud Yerushalmi.)

            Prof. Levi has taught for many years, also serving for some time as rector, at the Jerusalem College of Technology, popularly known as Machon Lev. Facing Current Challenges consists of lectures that the author gave to students at Machon Lev. Prof. Levi obviously did a great deal of research and prepared extensively for each of these lectures, as they are all rich in varied sources and extensively footnoted.

            Other important compilations of Jewish thought that are helpful in learning and teaching perspectives consist of excerpted material from classic sources or summations with extensive references. Facing Current Challenges, however, preserves the flavor of the lectures that served as its basis. This format allows the inquiring reader to follow Prof. Levi’s logical and methodical development of each piece’s theme.

            Occasionally, a nugget of information is so novel an idea that you momentarily doubt the author is being accurate, but there is an endnote, and you look to the back of the book and find, lo and behold, the precise reference for the statement. For example, upon reading (p. 225) that the Chazon Ish zt”l said: “History and world events do much to instruct the wise man on his way, and on the basis of the chronicles of the past he establishes the foundation of his wisdom” - a statement that we might not quite expect to find emanating from the Chazon Ish - we might want to double check the source - readily given in the endnote (Emunah u’Bitachon 1:8).

            More often, however, a reader will read straight through an essay, and come out the wiser, educated in a broad array of issues, from: “Zionism: A Torah Perspective” and “Kahanism” to “Organ Transplants” and “Ecological Problems.” The gamut of issues spanned by Prof. Levi in this work is, indeed, vast: issues concerning the land of Israel and the State; the relationship between Jews and and gentiles; family issues and issues surrounding sexuality; the interface of Torah, medicine and science; the role of Agadah and Kabalah in Judaism - and more.

            It will be evident to any reader that Prof. Levi believes that the perspectives he presents are the authentic views of Chazal, the Rishonim and great Acharonim. To be sure, he admits that there are other views, but explains - respectfully and politely - why those views do not reflect the mainstream Jewish though the ages. Not surprisingly, Prof. Levi’s views are closely aligned with Hirschian Torah im Derech Eretz, influenced by his experience in the Lithuanian yeshiva world and by his training as a scientist.

            For example, in the second essay (in a series of three essays), on Zionism, Prof. Levi first inquires (p. 9):

What is Zionism? Some define Zionism as a love of Zion - on first sight quite a reasonable definition. It does not, however, fit the normal use of the word. If love of Zion made one a Zionist, the extreme anti-Zionist Neturei Karta, who loved Zion to the point that they refused to leave Jerusalem even during the War of Independence, would be the greatest Zionists of all. Few, however, would classify them as such. It follows that this is not the accepted use of the word.

            Prof. Levi then establishes the link between “Zionism” to nationalism. Prof. Levi explores the topic of nationalism at length in the previous essay. As he noted there (p. 7):

Nationalism, in general, is evil because it turns the nation into an end in itself. Judaism, however, is different; it has a higher purpose - to bring redemption to the world and actually rid it of nationalism. The nationalism called for by the Torah - Torah nationalism - is secondary. While the Torah confirms the importance of Jewish nationhood, it values it not for its own sake, but because of Israel’s exalted mission.

            Secular Zionism, on the other hand, in a resolution adopted at the tenth Zionist congress (Basel, 1911) divorced itself from Torah, proclaiming: “Zionism has nothing to do with religion.” It is, therefore, a nationalism that is not rooted in Torah. What then, is religious Zionism? Is the term an oxymoron? Prof. Levi continues (p. 10):

What about religious Zionism? There are many views as to what it signifies. Based on the simple meaning of the words, it is Zionism... that favors religion and sees in it an important supplement to Zionism. It follows that the religious Zionist will wish to strengthen religion in the nation, because he sees this as being of benefit, even great benefit, to the nation. Even so, as long as he is a Zionist according to the meaning of the term as analyzed above, he will view the nation as the supreme value.

            After noting the incompatibility of this stance with Torah-true Judaism, Prof. Levi writes (p. 11):

In the religious Zionist camp there are also many who view the Torah, rather than the nation, as the supreme value. When they see themselves as Zionists, they use the term Zionism to mean something entirely different from the accepted meaning. Such usage turns the term into an obstruction to effective communication; beyond this, it may compromise the clarity of thought of those who use it.

            Prof. Levi surmises that this need for clarity led Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik to say (p. 12):

“We do not believe in ‘Zionism plus religion’ or ‘religious Zionism.’ For us there is only one special noun - Torah.”

            Prof. Levi then surveys the ramifications of the inherent contradiction between Zionism and Torah, such as the correct attitudes towards the “heroes” of secular Zionism, separation from the World Zionist Organization, the relationship between religious Zionists and religious anti-Zionists, and concludes (p. 14):

I believe every Torah-true Jew must take pains to free himself of these errors. Then, he will no longer be a Zionist - not a general Zionist, nor even a religious Zionist. He will be a lover of Israel, of the Land of Israel, even an excellent citizen of the State of Israel. He will be engaged in the state’s advancement and in straightening its path, involved with its economy and politics, and will take pains to awaken it to its purpose. A “Zionist,” however, he will not be.”

            These assertions, of course, will not sit well with those who identify themselves with Religious Zionism on the one hand; nor with those who reject engagement “in the state’s advancement” on the other. But the book’s greatest strength is precisely that “irritation” it will accomplish - in challenging the preconceived positions of the reader. Prof. Levi did not make that statement in a declarative, bombastic fashion. In the course of the three essays in which he formulates his perspective on the Land, State and society of Israel and He carefully musters evidence, like the good scientist that he is, from Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook to Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnefeld; from Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel to Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch - and from Achad Ha’am - to prove his thesis. While you may very much want to disagree with Prof. Levi, you will have to do a lot of thinking and careful consideration in order to do so. In thus “facing current challenges,” Prof. Levi challenges the reader.

            Similarly, Prof. Levi’s treatment of secular studies will certainly provoke those who feel that they should be afforded less significance and those who feel they should be accorded greater weight. Again, his conclusion in one of a series of essays on the topic may be controversial (p. 221):

To sum up our findings on the Torah’s attitude toward secular studies, we must first be aware that a simplistic approach will not suffice. We cannot dispose of the whole issue with a simple “yes” or “no;” instead, we must ascertain precisely what is in question in each case. Generally speaking, the Torah’s attitude toward the study of natural science is definitely positive. On the other hand it is negative, or at least reserved, toward study of the humanities based on non-Torah sources. As we have seen, this distinction is based on the difference in the methods used to formulate principles in these disciplines: whereas man was given senses to help him reveal the laws of nature and to test his findings, he has no equivalent faculty enabling him to test his conclusions in the area of the humanities. Thus there is no reliable source of knowledge in this area other than that which God reveals to man - the Torah given on Mount Sinai.

            Again, however, this statement is backed by cogent arguments and copious references. If the reader feels irritated enough to take issue - he will have to engage in some research and careful analysis to do so!

            A flaw in the book, is Prof. Levi’s tendency on occasion to advance resolutions in areas in which we may not have the right to advance a resolution. A good example of such an area is the issue of Divine Providence. A scholar of Chassidus, Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet, once said to me that the greatest revolution that the Baal Shem Tov succeeded in accomplishing was in the area of Hashgachah Pratis (specific or special Divine providence). As Prof. Levi notes (p. 304, backed by a long endnote): “...We find in the writings of the early authorities that only righteous individuals, each according to his degree of righteousness, merit special Divine Providence.” As we know, this is not the current perspective on Divine Providence. Although Prof. Levi chooses to raise the contrary position on the basis of some seemingly contradictory remarks in Chazal, as Rabbi Schochet noted, the progenitors of today’s perception are the fathers of Chassidism. As the Rebbe Reb Bunim of Parshischah put it, anyone who does not believe that when a person draws a stick out of the sand, that God dictates where each particle of sand falls into the hole, denies Divine Providence.

            Prof. Levi proposes to reconcile the two schools of thought (ibid.):

...This contradiction is readily resolvable. Everything that happens is, in fact, an act of God, but God’s course of action is also governed by His desire to rule the world according to the deterministic and statistical laws of nature. Generally, these laws, rather than an individual’s rights and needs, determine these acts of God. However, occasionally such rights and needs do influence the course of events; when they do, this is referred to as hashgachah peratith. Divine Providence does in fact control everything. “Every blade of grass has an angel standing over it, telling it ‘Grow.’” However, the special providence, hashgachah peratith in the narrow sense, is reserved for righteous people; only they merit a personal relationship on the part of God.

            I do not dispute the rational character of Prof. Levi’s suggestion. I think it has much merit. But I do not know mi ya’aleh lanu ha’shomyma - who will go up for us to Heaven to ascertain if God acts accordingly! By contrast, in Rabbi Yisraeli’s work (see note 1 above), on this topic as on all others, he presents sources to speak for themselves - from Tanach and Chazal to the Rambam to the Baal HaTanya - and provides explanations and a succinct and lucid summation. While extensive quotation from sources is really not possible in a work such as that of Prof. Levi, it would, perhaps, have been better to acknowledge the great debate and leave it unresolved. Rabbi Yisraeli does not attempt to reconcile a theological conundrum which may be beyond human resolution.

            But this is a relatively minor quibble with a major contribution to machashavah and machashavah education. Prof. Levi’s work is, potentially, a wonderful addition to a curriculum; a powerful tool for teachers, educators and rabbis; and a good way for anyone to broaden the horizons of their thought - and thoughtful Avodas Hashem.

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