In the State of Israel, there is a public that is on the cultural trend. This trend has been occurring since the founding of the state.
On the other hand, there are quite a few people who look from the sidelines and see what is happening before them, and it is difficult for them to internalize that one day the public they come from will be the minority. Quite a few of them try to slander and harm in every possible way, solely in order to hinder the steps of the Haredi sector and see it as bad.
What are things supposed to be?
In recent weeks, a series of high-profile articles has been broadcast - 'The Disintegration of the Haredi' - showing how the Haredi public is supposedly falling apart.
The central point that is not clear in the series is the desire of people to see, or at least try to see, reality the other way around. Couldn't it have been possible to check just in the last year how many activities were carried out in the world of Teshuvah, from home groups, workshops to seminars by all Teshuvah organizations? To follow their results?
It would be nice to call the series that examines these data: 'The Disintegration of Secularism,' or to be more precise - 'The Disintegration,' because it is impossible to dismantle something that was not previously built.
And while it's true that there are young people who have strayed from the path, we don't deny the reality, but at the same time it's also clear that as the road widens, its shoulders widen along with it.
Journalist Avi Mimran put it well, comparing the Haredi public to a road with seven lanes (and perhaps also with seven marans): there is the left lane of the group of students, the more right-wing of those who study part-time, the more right-wing of workers, academics, high-tech, etc., etc. - each at their own pace.
So that's right, it's not about us, there are those who had an accident, but they certainly don't amount to ten percent.
Google's car
I will try to present the nuances within the sector through a parable.
In recent years, news has been published about the innovative development of a driverless vehicle. A vehicle of this type will probably only be on the market for another decade, if at all.
When the car is launched, we will meet two types of people: the thoughtful ones who will wait patiently and see the development for its advantages and disadvantages, and those who will not control themselves and their wallets and will rush to purchase the advanced development.
Where will the difference between the two groups be found? When it is discovered that the new car has serious defects that could cause accidents. The first to suffer from this will be those reckless people who wanted to buy it as soon as it was released. In contrast, those prudent people who waited patiently, purchased the car only when it reached all its advantages.
And the proverb?
The Haredi public and advanced technology. Among the Haredi sector, there are those who approached the many temptations and offers of technology recklessly. They are the ones who were burned the most. Opposite them are those who stood on the sidelines and saw advanced technology with its many advantages, but also its shortcomings, and were left behind with those "kosher" devices, while at the same time finding the appropriate solutions for those who need them anyway.
Proposal for a journalist
Before I get too excited, I would like to recommend to you, dear Avishai, to start looking for other items for your audience, not those that mislead them.
It's enough to look at the audience of interviewees to understand that they are not from the fringe and fat of the Haredi public (to put it mildly), and hence they do not reflect the mainstream of the Haredi public at all.
The nature of Haredi society is not something that happens today and tomorrow. Judaism is something that brings people together, unites, and God forbid, the other way around.
It's no wonder that breaking away from it is difficult, and it's not surprising that those "throwers of the yoke" who have difficulty leaving behind the symbols of religion (Kiddush on Shabbat night, etc.), which still cause them a pang in their hearts, also seem to be like that.
And finally, another insight: the wisdom in whiteness is not through the dismantling of the other, but through the empowerment of personal virtues.
If you have not done so, it means that you do not have the material to pour the foundations into. There is no greater proof than the slanderous one, that the envy and esteem of the slandering group towards its rival is growing.
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