MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, a witty and brilliant man by all accounts, yesterday, following the Habrechim Law, called Supreme Court Justice Rubinstein "evil and insolent.".
Apart from the fact that it is shocking to me that such harsh statements are made by an observant person about a Jew, who in this case is also observant, I believe that his statements harm him and the public he seeks to represent more than they benefit him.
Rabbi Gafni attributed 'wickedness' and 'impudence' to Rubinstein. I am not familiar with the details. I am also willing to admit that the High Court's decision regarding this specific allowance is disproportionate, but does Gafni think that with his harsh words, he will be able to achieve what he wants? I doubt it.
As in the famous children's story, the shepherd who declared 'wolf, wolf', every day, is forced to deal with it alone in real time. Not everything is destruction, the end of the Torah world, or hunger and death for the Abrahim and their poor children. I am not on the Haredi street, and hence I do not know how it sounds there, but 'outside' - in the general media, these are harsh statements at worst or clichés that no one believes at best.
Just don't give him too many horses.
And speaking of Gafni, I would like to raise another question: The esteemed MK has served in the Knesset since 1988, almost continuously for 26 years. He has a rich record of activity, even surprisingly in the field of environmental quality.
During this long time, the Knesset member has not passed any primaries or regular committee of any kind. He is not accountable to the public or the voter, and he derives his mandate from the power of Torah wisdom. In the meantime, he is gaining power and influence, and while the finance ministers change every so often, he remains in his place.
It must be admitted that there are not many people with the knowledge that the MK Medgel HaTorah has, both in everything related to the state budget and the mechanism of government in the State of Israel. But this power is dangerous and even corrupting.
Lord Acton was a famous British historian and politician in the late 19th century. From a young age, he studied history, philosophy, and politics in an integrative manner. His writings contain the statement that contradicts the prevailing opinion of his time (and of quite a few people in our time) that kings and leaders are more suspected of abusing power than ordinary people, since the very status of power and influence is the source of moral corruption: "All power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.".
But Acton's words are already anchored in the words of our rabbis of blessed memory: "Woe to the rabbinate that buries its owners," says Rabbi Yochanan - "rabbinate" in the sense of its power, and it buries its owners not only in the physical aspect but also in the mental aspect, since it corrupts a person's character and brings him to places where he has never been before. And the Sages also said, "A person does not become a head below unless he becomes wicked above." The very fact of being a person with power and influence leads a person to the offense of corruption, even if not criminal, but certainly with the potential for it.
This is also the reason why the king orders not to multiply horses and the like. The intoxication of power and vast possessions may turn the king into a person who is not focused, relying on his wealth and financial capabilities. A person who is forced to bring 'bread home' every day is not mentally free to have negative thoughts aboutFor acts of corruption, And things that are not decent.
Before blind
As a believer, I am not willing to accept the axiom that a person cannot resist temptation, and in any case, there is no doubt that the "before the blind" rule certainly teaches us not to put ourselves in a position where we can fall into transgression. Does the fact that a person has served as a member of Knesset for so many years necessarily degrade him into transgression? I cannot answer that in the affirmative, but it seems that if the fact of his being an MK does not stand up to any public test, he [and this is not of course referring to Gafni personally] is certainly likely to do so.
There is no dispute about the power and status of the 'greatest of generations', and it is also clear that leadership is entrusted to them, certainly according to the Haredi view. Yet we are also aware of the calls for bias in the rabbinical courts. At such a time, it would be appropriate for a party that desires life to establish a mechanism of transparency and regulation, which at the end of the day can only benefit it.
Daniel Goldman is a businessman from Beit Shemesh and chairman of the Gesher Association for Building Dialogue Between Parts of the People
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