A RACE, NOT A RELIGION:

At the heart of it all is the issue of the moral fabric and standing of the State of Israel. Prayer for leaders and judges is an important part of our daily prayer. Recited thrice daily, we pray during the Amida prayer for the establishment of judges and for proper leadership. Where are the concerns for proper moral leadership in the present political reality? How much are these seen as religious concerns proper?

The sad news - religious voices, as represented by political parties, do not even consider this an issue. With the exception of rare lone voices all religious parties, and their respective rabbinic leadership, have rallied behind Netanyahu. Graft, corruption, dissention, spreading hatred, engaging in lies, dirty campaigning - none of this ever comes under religious scrutiny. It is as if Torah voices have nothing to say about any of this.

The reason for this is that "the right" is perceived as more supportive of the flourishing of religious life. The culture of state-sponsored Yeshivot and the possibility for advancing religious legislation have created a "natural partnership" between the religious, Zionist and charedi, and the nationalist right wing parties. This process is detrimental to Judaism. It ends up redefining it, in line with nationalist concerns and at the expense of fundamental moral concerns. If "morality precedes Torah"(derech eretz kadma letorah) were the guideline, and if the kabbalistic teaching of midot (moral attributes) preceding mitzvot (ritual performance) were adopted, things would have been different. The cost of the "natural" partnership is the emergence of a Judaism that prioritizes ritual over morality. This undermines spiritual wellbeing of the State and of Judaism itself.

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