1.
On Shabbat, I met a young man from a Chabad family on the street in Jerusalem who really moved me. He told me, as a true Messiah, that while he usually makes sure to vote as early as possible in every election, to fulfill his civic and Jewish duty, this time, he is going to the polls for the first time in the evening. Or, to be more precise: after the stars have come out.
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What's the matter? - I asked. And here came the exciting part. The Chabadnik said with shining eyes: "The elections fall on the 10th of Nissan, but after the stars come out, a new day begins, the 11th of Nissan. It's the birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, I want to connect my vote to the Rebbe and this special day.".
That Chabadnik was not a rabbi, or a messenger, or an avrech. He was not exactly the classic Hasid either. But that's how it is with Chabadniks, no matter who they are and what they are, they always have a deep and inspiring and jealous connection to their Rebbe. It always moves me anew.
Just before we parted ways, I asked him who he was voting for. Then he told me with a smile: "I'm voting for exactly who you're voting for.".
Whoa, this is getting intriguing. How does he know what I'm voting for?
""Listen, I read you regularly," he replied. "The columns, the statuses, and I'm telling you – you and I put the same note.".
Well, tell me what we're voting for, I said to the Chabadnik nervously. And he looked at me as if he had come to argue with me, and said: "Well, enough, it's clear: Bibi!".
Wow. It was a pretty amazing moment. And I don't know what amazed me more. That he's waiting until the stars come out to link his vote for a non-religious party to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, or that he suspects me - sorry, he's sure of me - that I'm voting for a non-religious party in the elections.
2.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe's attitude to Israeli politics and leadership throughout history is a long and fascinating topic, much has been written about it (I recommend the fascinating book by Yossi Elitov, Aryeh Erlich, and Shalom Yerushalmi - "In the Moment of Truth"). But we don't have time now, we'll soon have to go vote, and I think that the principle that the Lubavitcher Rebbe instilled in his followers regarding voting is a call to direction even for those who are not Chabadniks and are debating which ballot to put on the ballot. After all, who among us is greater and more caring, not partisan, and wants to do good for the people of Israel more than the Lubavitcher Rebbe? So why don't we consult with him?
In short: Chabad has almost never been involved in politics. As a movement that wants to influence the entire Jewish people, it has tried to escape political identification. With all its heart to everyone, no matter which party they belong to. But still, there are elections, and there is the right to vote, which is actually a voting obligation, so who do you vote for? What ballot to put on the ballot?
Well, the path the Lubavitcher Rebbe directed his followers to take was to vote for a party that would preserve the "three perfections." What are they? The perfection of the Torah, the perfection of the people, and the perfection of the land.
Let's take a moment to review each of the three complements, with a view to the 2021 elections:
Torah integrity: To take care of the Torah in the State of Israel. For those who study Torah in yeshivahs, and also for those who did not grow up there. To develop Jewish education for the younger generation, for every boy and girl. To take care of observing the Sabbath in the public sphere (of course, no one, certainly not a Chabadnik, will try to impose anything on anyone, but yes, the public sphere has significance in a Jewish state), to take care of observing kashrut, to strengthen the status of the family.
The integrity of the people: To ensure the continued existence of the Jewish people. To convert according to Halacha and not to recognize conversions that are not like that. The Lubavitcher Rebbe really fought for this issue. And he was not a man of struggles. But here he really went out of his way. And in line with our current situation: to fight the High Court of Justice, which is trying to change the definition of who is a Jew, and in general has been trying all these years to undermine the Jewish identity of the people of Israel in every liberal and progressive way, which is trying to move the Jewish state from "the integrity of the people" to "the integrity of all its citizens.".
The integrity of the land: Well, there's no need to explain here. Take care of the Land of Israel. Don't hand over territories, don't destroy settlements. Build, develop.
3.
When I look at the list of parties running for the 24th Knesset, there are 3 parties, only 3 parties, that represent all three complements: United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Religious Zionism.
Of course, each of them has its own emphasis, its own style, its own actions. But yes, each of the three will try to ensure the perfection of the Torah, the perfection of the people, and the perfection of the land.
Other parties may care about the Land of Israel, but not about the other two important complements, and will also go with parties that bother to emphasize how much they will fight for these three complements.
And what about Netanyahu's Likud?
First of all, the Lubavitcher Rebbe would certainly like to see Netanyahu as prime minister. How do I know? Both because he spoke to him personally with great respect, much more so than he did to other politicians who met with him, and also because it is clear that among the blocs, only a right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu will lead the people of Israel and the State of Israel to the right place.
But, and this is a big but – when there is an opportunity to vote for a religious party whose sole concern is to ensure the three perfections, can one give up on that and vote for a secular party like the Likud? True, the Likud is not anti-religious, God forbid. True, the Likud has quite a few observant representatives, but is the Likud's agenda to ensure the observance of the Sabbath and Jewish education for Israeli children? Is the Likud's agenda to ensure proper conversion? And even: Can Netanyahu really be trusted on issues of the integrity of the country, when he does not have a strong religious party on the right?
4.
That Chabadnik I met on Shabbat is right. I really, really appreciate Netanyahu. I think we should do everything we can to strengthen him as the next prime minister of Israel. We should only vote for the party that we are sure will support him for prime minister. But we must not get confused. It is important to know how to do this: we vote for a religious party, not just with a few religious representatives, but with a religious agenda: United Torah Judaism, Shas, or Religious Zionism.
True, many want to vote for Netanyahu's party. To strengthen him against the left, to support him against Udi Segal and Rina Matzliach, against Mandelblit. He deserves it. And of course there is the gratitude for the vaccines. But voting for one of the religious parties is a tremendous support for Netanyahu, as he himself said in recent days (by the way, in my opinion, Netanyahu in these elections did not put a sick note on the ballot, but a T'). And it also supports things that are important to us, even more than Netanyahu. The Torah of Israel, the people of Israel, the Land of Israel.
(Oh, and if you are Chabad members who choose not to vote for one of the parties that care about the three perfections, that is your right. We live in a democratic country. Just do yourself a favor, in that case, and try to vote before 6:16 PM, the time when the stars come out.).
• Published on Channel 7
