Thinking Differently: Modern Orthodoxy and Religious Zionism with Rav Yitzchak Blau

And I also recently took a great interest in your one-man protest against the violence that's going on in Judea and Samaria, which I think we've touched on a bit with Rav Avidan and with Nechama, Rabbi Nechama, but I, I do want to, maybe we'll, we'll touch on that in a bit.

So for the baseline of our audience, you know, when we just gave the intro to you, we spoke a bit about how you were raised in a modern Orthodox and Zionist, but, but sort of Haredi-slanted home.

And I want to talk just for, to give us each a bit of a primer.

Can you give us a quick, you know, summary of what is the difference to you between American or general modern Orthodoxy and what we see here in Israel as Dati Leumi, National Religious, um, if that's something which, which we can have a quick summary and compare and contrast on?

Sure.

I'm just gonna lengthen it a bit to point out, just like there are differences between modern Orthodoxy and religious Zionists, there are huge differences between being Haredi in America and Haredi in Israel.

So just listeners should realize, like, in a Haredi world in America, like, you go to high school, and you take biology and social studies.

Uh, so here, like, you stop their secular education at, I don't know, at 8, at 10, so it's really not comparable.

Okay, so that's just an aside.

That's a topic for another podcast perhaps.

Okay, but, uh, in terms of modern Orthodoxy and religious Zionism, so I would say as follows, there is some overlap and yet some very, very significant differences.

Uh, clearly, in the state of Israel, the status of the state and army service is gonna be at the forefront of our thinking.

And there, many religious Zions would say that's the essence of their identity, right? That's their identity, is that the state of Israel is a religiously important endeavor, and there's an obligate, absolute obligation to go to the army.

Whereas, just by definition, like, in a modern Orthodox community in, you know, Teaneck and Riverdale, that's gonna be less on the forefront, you know what I mean? They're most, uh, again, it's become more popular, but most American kids are not gonna serve in the Israeli army.

Uh, and there, the modernity aspect tends to be manifest in one's attitude to the broader world.

Uh, at one point, perhaps, you know, secular knowledge was a big dividing line, where Haredim might study only for pragmatic reasons, and modern Orthodox will have a sense that there's inherent value.

But I think it's not just secular knowledge.

I just think there's also, like, the values of the broader world.

Like, let's say we got feminism from the broader world.

So you might say, "Okay, if feminism is a challenge to Orthodoxy, it's clearly treif.

It's clearly problematic." But I think a modern Orthodox person might say, "No, there's actually some good things that came out of it, and we have to n-navigate a more tricky path, but let's take the good and You know, reject the bad, as it were.

Okay, so that's some of the major differences.

I would then say-- Actually, I'll throw in one more thing.

I think there's a, you know, before I just, interestingly, I just, I differentiate between the different Haredim, you might also differen- differentiate between the different right-wing aspects of our communities.

Meaning, I think in Modern Orthodoxy, so many of you know there's been a little bit of a move to the right in wa- OU and other circles.

And I also recently took a great interest in your one-man protest against the violence that's going on in Judea and Samaria, which I think we've touched on a bit with Rav Avidan and with Nechama, Rabbi Nechama, but I, I do want to, maybe we'll, we'll touch on that in a bit.

So for the baseline of our audience, you know, when we just gave the intro to you, we spoke a bit about how you were raised in a modern Orthodox and Zionist, but, but sort of Haredi-slanted home.

And I want to talk just for, to give us each a bit of a primer.

Can you give us a quick, you know, summary of what is the difference to you between American or general modern Orthodoxy and what we see here in Israel as Dati Leumi, National Religious, um, if that's something which, which we can have a quick summary and compare and contrast on?

Sure.

I'm just gonna lengthen it a bit to point out, just like there are differences between modern Orthodoxy and religious Zionists, there are huge differences between being Haredi in America and Haredi in Israel.

So just listeners should realize, like, in a Haredi world in America, like, you go to high school, and you take biology and social studies.

Uh, so here, like, you stop their secular education at, I don't know, at 8, at 10, so it's really not comparable.

Okay, so that's just an aside.

That's a topic for another podcast perhaps.

Okay, but, uh, in terms of modern Orthodoxy and religious Zionism, so I would say as follows, there is some overlap and yet some very, very significant differences.

Uh, clearly, in the state of Israel, the status of the state and army service is gonna be at the forefront of our thinking.

And there, many religious Zions would say that's the essence of their identity, right? That's their identity, is that the state of Israel is a religiously important endeavor, and there's an obligate, absolute obligation to go to the army.

Whereas, just by definition, like, in a modern Orthodox community in, you know, Teaneck and Riverdale, that's gonna be less on the forefront, you know what I mean? They're most, uh, again, it's become more popular, but most American kids are not gonna serve in the Israeli army.

Uh, and there, the modernity aspect tends to be manifest in one's attitude to the broader world.

Uh, at one point, perhaps, you know, secular knowledge was a big dividing line, where Haredim might study only for pragmatic reasons, and modern Orthodox will have a sense that there's inherent value.

But I think it's not just secular knowledge.

I just think there's also, like, the values of the broader world.

Like, let's say we got feminism from the broader world.

So you might say, "Okay, if feminism is a challenge to Orthodoxy, it's clearly treif.

It's clearly problematic." But I think a modern Orthodox person might say, "No, there's actually some good things that came out of it, and we have to n-navigate a more tricky path, but let's take the good and You know, reject the bad, as it were.

Okay, so that's some of the major differences.

I would then say-- Actually, I'll throw in one more thing.

I think there's a, you know, before I just, interestingly, I just, I differentiate between the different Haredim, you might also differen- differentiate between the different right-wing aspects of our communities.

Meaning, I think in Modern Orthodoxy, so many of you know there's been a little bit of a move to the right in wa- OU and other circles.