It is sad to see how the debate on the issue of public transportation on Shabbat is being conducted. Instead of discussing the substance of the matter, the nature of Shabbat in the Jewish state, they are dealing with the question of whether the Haredim are allowed to impose 'their Shabbat' on those who do not observe Shabbat, and to what extent one should avoid 'hurting the feelings' of the Haredim.
Placing the ultra-Orthodox at the center of the discussion relegates them to a marginal place, and also makes thinking automatic.
The waves of hatred for the Haredim, which are being carried shamelessly by several parties, with the help of the media's tailwind, dictate a one-dimensional position - if the Haredim say something, we must immediately oppose and do the opposite.
After the cheers and dancing
But there is a complete distortion here.
The ultra-Orthodox and religious will continue to observe the Sabbath even if the buses race on the roads from the beginning of the Sabbath to the end. They will also get along with the 'hurt feelings'. True, it will hurt, but unfortunately there are many other things in this country that hurt, and we learn to live with them. That's not the point.
Those who will pay the real price for trampling on the Sabbath are the masses of non-observant citizens. Let's do a thought exercise: The ultra-Orthodox and religious announce one day that they no longer have any objection to operating whatever they want on the Sabbath – transportation, factories, banks, offices, shops, entertainment venues – everything is open.
After the jubilation and dancing in the squares, with signs reading "A free people in our land," what will the country look like? The ultra-Orthodox and religious will continue to rest on Shabbat, sit with their families for Shabbat meals, go to synagogues, and savor the beauty and sanctity of Shabbat. But millions of citizens will be forced to give up Shabbat and go to work.
These are not hypothetical thoughts. Already today, hundreds of thousands of Jews are forced to work on Shabbat. Those who work in shopping malls, restaurants, gas stations, and entertainment venues that are open on Shabbat, along with those who work in the service centers of telecommunications companies, in some factories and agricultural industries, and a long list of other entities – all of these have lost their Shabbat.
Even if they want to rest with their families on Shabbat, they cannot do so, for fear of losing their jobs.
Do you miss soot?
Where will things go if more and more systems start working on Shabbat? Doesn't operating all these systems require manpower, and each system that operates drags more and more systems operating in sync with it. And where will the parents who go to work leave their children? Soon they will rise up and demand that kindergartens and schools also be open (in one format or another).
Is this what Shabbat is supposed to look like in the Jewish state? Is this the two-thousand-year-old hope? Is the public really longing for another day of soot in the streets, traffic jams, and nerves? Is this the Shabbat they are longing for when they tell Sabbath keepers: You have 'your Shabbat' and we have 'our Shabbat'?
Perhaps only then will the public understand how much gratitude it owes to the elected officials who stood with their finger in the dam and tried with all their might to block the flood that is causing disaster for all of us. Perhaps only then will they realize what a wonderful gift they have lost with their own hands. And perhaps people from the general public will rise up and stop the race to the abyss.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
