The event: The decision of the Council of Torah Scholars, allowing Deputy Minister Litzman to accept a ministerial position
Date: 12th Elul, August 27th
There is no doubt that this was a significant and special year.
A year of Shemitah during which we awaited, if not out loud, then in a creeping, longing and consistent silence, the arrival of a cousin of ours... and we still wish for him, with all our hearts.
There were events of all kinds: politics shook like a sine graph, with the peaks being marked by clearly unexpected events, such as former Minister of Education, Gideon Sa'ar, returning to the fold of Judaism, as opposed to a Minister of Education who is seemingly in its fold, and is looking for new places to define himself.
Israeli socialization has developed in many unexpected directions, such as the Israeli community in Berlin, which preferred not to expend energy on repeated social protest. And so on and so forth....
I will not mention the terrible tragedies in Har Nof and with the Sasson family.
I will also mention the young brides in their 30s and 40s who were honored to stand under the canopy, and the 65-year-old woman who gave birth.
But all of this, while history, is still not my event.
My event relates to the decision of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudath Israel to allow Yaakov Litzman to be appointed and function as Minister of Health.
•
Something happened in Israel.
No more deputy. No more irresponsible and involved. Minister of Health with all that that implies.
An ultra-Orthodox minister in the government.
I will not address here the reason and the circumstances surrounding it, for those who wanted to curse and were found blessing.
The reflections of the Minister of Health brought me to many and varied thoughts, I will share with you just one idea:
In the practice around the world, in educational organizations, there is a hierarchy of roles: district supervisor, general supervisor, general director, administrative director, pedagogical director, teacher, coordinator, and also student.
Imagine if semantics didn't matter?
Imagine if it didn't matter if the person holding the position was called a student or a supervisor? Maybe that's an exaggeration, so let's say it didn't matter if the director was pedagogical or administrative?
After all, each of them has a completely different role.
What would the education system look like in the aforementioned situation?
This means that the name does matter, the name constitutes the crown of responsibility.
In many educational settings, there are straw roles. So be it. As long as a person is called a supervisor, it is good for him, he is neither harmful nor beneficial, convenient for him and convenient for people, so be it with good luck.
But what do you think about an educational director who is not a director? And a deputy who is both a deputy and a director? And a CEO who is also the district director? Can an education system assign two roles to one person? There is practical significance to both titles. Does it make sense for one person to shoulder the double great responsibility?
I don't agree with Litzman, God forbid. He was indeed the person who knew he was called a deputy, but the nickname doesn't indicate his position.
Litzman knew that in practice he was a minister, and he functioned as a minister for all intents and purposes.
But something happened in Israel, Thanks to the Council of Torah Scholars, the straw semantics was immediately eliminated.
No more titles without a role, no more roles without titles. Everyone on their own flag, on their own crown, and most importantly, on their own responsibility.
The historic decision to name Minister Litzman a minister, as he deserves by virtue of his position, calls on all of us to do some introspection.
Does the nickname "crown" we wear on our heads truly describe our responsibility and actions in the role?
Are the systems we are entrusted with truly staffed by personnel known for the role they hold, or have we decided on an arbitrary distribution of names, which has not even the slightest accidental connection to practical responsibility?
Apparently the Council of Torah Scholars suggests otherwise....
May a good year be upon us, may we be worthy of carrying out our duties with responsibility and genius in order to carry out the work of education in faith.
• Tikva Ovadia is a lecturer in mathematics science education and educational management, and holds a doctorate from the Technion.
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