Rabbi Erenberg published in 'Haredim 10' an 'open letter' to the people of Peles, which he writes from a place of honesty and pain in his words.
The esteemed author begins his letter by describing a few dozen demonstrators who stood at the Shilat intersection, protesting against the arrest of a yeshiva student who chose not to stand trial. This sight, in his opinion, evokes a feeling of shame in the onlookers. However, apart from the fact that at that time – as we recall, it was Passover Eve – other demonstrations were being held in ten additional locations, it is important to clarify that the number of demonstrators does not increase or decrease.
For the struggles for faithful Judaism, it is worth mentioning, have always been waged by minorities among the many. Even against the Greeks [and I am not comparing the cases, of course], the struggle was waged by 'many against few.' The number of people has never played a role in struggles over matters of the spirit on which we cannot compromise.
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But the author's equation that many members of the Haredi public stood against those few who chose not to demonstrate is also not necessarily correct. It is true that many Haredi men did not take to the streets to participate in the struggle, but this does not stem from opposition to our methods but rather from general indifference, from a lack of interest. For that matter, how many of them have sons who are now of military age? Since the protest has become a kind of 'tiebreaker' between the two camps, many members of the Haredi public are choosing to distance themselves from the political issue and remain on the strong side, the one that is currently leading Haredi society, and who, of course, does not belong to the 'Hapeles' camp.
But even if we are few - we cannot give up on this struggle. It is in our souls. We believe that if the heads of state are impressed that we are not prepared to give up in any constellation - the dangerous law will be shelved. This was the case with the struggle of the Chazo'a over the recruitment of girls, this was the case with the question of opening the pool in Jerusalem, and introducing Sunday school classes to yeshivas during the time of Rabbi Shach, and this was the case with the struggle of the school in Emanuel during the time of Rabbi Elyashiv. Proof of the success of a struggle of this kind: the Prawer Law to regulate Bedouin settlement in the Negev, which collapsed and faded away following incessant protest.
Messianism
Rabbi Erenberg writes that winds of hatred are blowing towards us on the Haredi street.
I think he's right. I feel it too.
But the source of the great enmity lies not in our wrongdoings, but in propaganda combined with messianism that we have never known. For many months, the various Haredi media outlets have been washed over by waves of messianism toward certain rabbis, and a restrained, not to say disdainful, attitude toward other rabbis.
It is important to emphasize: I do not, God forbid, belittle the honor of any rabbi, and certainly not that of the greats of the generation. However, the way things are presented and the transformation of the discussion into a type of confrontation between rabbis, whom a faithful rabbi does not cease to honor over and over again, versus the attitude [or lack of attitude] toward other rabbis, is what leads to that severe hostility. And enough of these things.
And finally, another point that the writer may not like: The numerical minority of the 'Bnei Torah' group does not hide the fact that in the other camp, and if we are to admit it, even among those in our camp, there was a huge surprise given the large numbers we won in the last elections. Who imagined that about 7,000 people in Jerusalem would vote for a 'Bnei Torah' representative? Who would have guessed that about twenty thousand people belong to the 'Hapeles' camp? It is possible, although this is not an unfounded hypothesis, that these figures do not please certain journalists.
