1.
First of all, it is important for me to say two things: 1. It is not appropriate for Mechani Lifshitz, Chabad's envoy to Kathmandu, to light a torch on Independence Day. She and her husband Hezki, and their six children, are worthy of all respect and appreciation. 2. There is nothing offensive in the wording and style of the letter she received from the Chabad court.
And after these two basic premises, let's talk about Chabad.
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Anyone who regularly reads this column has probably noticed that the Chabad movement is an inspiration to me. And not just to me, of course. This week, Chabad suffered a blow. In professional jargon, it's called a "media attack." But I think that if it weren't for the jarring, awkward, and hurtful way in which it ended, the torch-lighting saga could actually have been an important lesson for all of us. Even, and especially, if we're not Chabad members.
And again, I'm not talking about the ugly path, which left a lot of bad taste in the mouth and heart, but about the worldview.
2.
I don't know if the writers at the Ministry of Information have already managed to write the text of the lighting for Hani Lifshitz, but I assume it was supposed to be something like this:
""I, Chani Lipschitz, Chabad emissary to Kathmandu, am honored to lead this torch of the 72nd Independence Day of the State of Israel, in honor of over 5,000 Chabad emissaries, who welcome every Jew, male and female, wherever they are, with a light in their eyes, with love for Israel, with all their hearts to each one! (Applause) And in honor of the tens of thousands of backpackers who have entered our home and our hearts in the last twenty years, in honor of my wonderful emissary sisters, scouts whose walks and lazy bread will not eat them, who miraculously manage to run both the Chabad house and their private homes full of children! (Applause, tears in their eyes), and in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who founded the emissary enterprise that embraces the world, which breaks out from the west and east to the north and south, and for the glory of the State of Israel! (Roaring applause, possibly even a standing ovation).".
How beautiful. What a blessing from God. What a tribute and recognition to all the Chabad houses in the world.
After all, when Chani Lifshitz stands there, at the heart of the most central and respected ceremony in the State of Israel, and lights a torch, she is not alone. She is the messenger of messengers. She receives respect and recognition and a sea of consensus for everyone. And when? After a long period in which the messengers of the Lubavitcher Rebbe are under attack from "religion." What did they need if not this?
3.
So why did the leaders of Chabad, and as far as I understand, many of its emissaries all over the world, say "no, thank you" to this great honor? What, don't they understand that it would have done them - each with their own Chabad house, each with their own tefillin-laying stand - only good? Well, they do. It's hard to accuse the Chabad movement of lacking understanding of advertising and public relations.
But with all due respect to the great publicity, Chabad Hasidism has a path, a worldview. There is an agenda behind all this wonderful work. And what can we do, this party is not their party. They don't want anyone or anything to stand at the center of it in their name.
Why? Are they not happy about the existence of the State of Israel? Of course they are happy. The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l never stopped being interested in and working for the existence of the State of Israel. He was, of course, concerned about its spiritual needs and Jewish identity, but he was no less concerned about its settlement, its security, and its borders.
Don't the Chabadniks feel connected to the people of Israel? Well, really, none of them are connected to every Jew. Such evil will never let our hearts forget.
Are they influential misogynistic chauvinists? Nonsense. Before many of the feminist organizations, the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged women to act, to manage, to lead. The very fact that one of the most famous Chabad emissaries in the world is a emissary teaches us a lot.
But yes, they have a problem with this Independence Day night status at Herzl's grave. They don't see themselves taking part in an event that symbolizes in their eyes the "power and might" of the State of Israel, secular Zionism.
So it is true that thanks to the singer Miri Regev, alongside "We Carry Torches," which is traditionally played during the lighting of the torches, one of the most serious songs of heresy ever written (yes, to that extent. Google the song, its lyrics, and the circumstances of its writing, and you will see how every line in it is a defiance against another core belief: from apostasy in the creation of the world, through apostasy in the miracles of God, to a foolish defiance against the commandment not to ascend Mount Sinai during the ceremony of receiving the Torah), there have also been other songs in recent years with completely different messages. And in general, in recent Independence Day, the torch lighters and the texts they recite paint this event in a different color, and that is wonderful, as do the ceremony hosts (remember the previous storm surrounding the torch ceremony, exactly a year ago? Not the cancellation of the participation of an ultra-Orthodox torch lighter, but the head covering of an ultra-Orthodox host of the event). And yet, the people of Chabad, a deeply rooted Hasidic movement, do not want to take part in this ceremony. They have every right to. In their opinion, this is even their full duty.
And by the way, no matter how much criticism is leveled at them, they will not change their worldview. They will not come to the torchlight ceremony, but they will not stop contributing to society and the country: Chabad will continue to help an Israeli mother whose son got stuck on a trek in the East, host Israeli businessmen in Hong Kong, visit Israelis who were drug traffickers and imprisoned in Germany, assist in the release of Naama Issachar, and more.
Chabad is deeply involved in the life of Israeli society, in so many areas, without asking for anything. They also do not impose their opinions on others, they simply gave up the honor that the State of Israel wanted to bestow on them at the ceremony. That's all.
4.
If the leaders of Chabad had asked me before the storm, I would have told them that everything written above is true and beautiful, a fascinating lesson in sociology, but after Chani Lifshitz has already been elected, and said yes to the exciting proposal, it would be a bitter mistake to cancel her participation. It wouldn't look good. It wouldn't be understood correctly. It would do damage. And I might have also told them, well, enough with this anachronistic preoccupation with the symbols of Zionism of the past. Do you think anyone today knows the words of "We carry torches"? Does anyone know the details of Herzl's extremist secular doctrine? Come on, we hug you, we salute you, come on. Cheers, cheers.
But they didn't ask me. And you know what? Maybe it's good that they didn't ask me. Because, what can I do, I think about communication, I think about public awareness. I even think about sanctifying God.
But I don't really have any responsibility. I don't have to manage a movement of thousands of emissaries, with tens of thousands of children, with an ancient Hasidic way that needs to be preserved and that is not easy to preserve. After all, the phenomenon of Chabad emissaries is something inconceivable. We may be used to them, as if they have always been here, but think for a moment: a young couple is setting up their home, he is a Hasidic young man from the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva, and she has just graduated from the seminary in Kfar Chabad, and where are they going to live a year after the wedding? In Bnei Brak? In Kiryat Sefer? In Beitar Illit? No. In Paris, California, Bangkok, Mumbai, Nepal. Or even in Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Ramat Hasharon, Givatayim. And their private home there becomes an open house. They let the people who are most different from them into their living room and kitchen (out of a deep belief that on the inside they are exactly like them).
And then children are born. Lots of children, thank God. They grow up in a secular and often non-Jewish environment.
About ten years ago, I was exposed to a hymn from one of the Chabad camps, which tells the whole story: "Somewhere in Asia, in a remote place / There is a Chabad house that has just opened / The Rebbe's emissary arrived here, with his wife and little Mandy / There is no Chabad school in the whole city / On Shabbat and holidays we pray alone / There is no kosher food, and no friends either / And in fact, life is terribly difficult / But the son of an emissary is made of special material / He has a strength that not everyone has / And despite all the difficulties in his path / The decision was made in his heart / To spread the springs is the job / Here the Rebbe is always close to me / When I grow up, I will go on a mission myself / And I will have my own Chabad house.".
In my opinion, some of the children who sang that song back then already have their own Chabad house today.
5.
So how do thousands of messengers endure, and maintain such a high Hasidic standard, generation after generation? It's so not obvious.
Religious Zionism has carved out its banner to influence Israeli society from within. To be the connecting line. And it does do that. But it seems to me that everyone knows the prices. I am not claiming that the Chabad school is perfect. Personally, I am much more of a religious Zionist than a Chabad member. Independence Day moves me religiously. Because eye for eye they will see God's return to Zion. But after all this, and because of all this, the limits that Chabad people set for themselves should be an inspiration to all those in religious Zionism who want to go out and influence. In the media, in the army, in academia.
Chabad emissaries are not just nice people who hand out donuts on the streets (and in some cases even look a bit like donuts). Behind all this great work lies a deep and daily connection to Hasidism, to the Tanya, to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Without this, it simply wouldn't work.
Behind the hospitality, the welcoming light and the free Wi-Fi, stands a clear, defined Hasidic identity. With very clear boundaries. Without it, you very quickly go from influencer to influenced.
6.
So this week Chabad paid a price. A heavy price, even. Not only did it not gain respect and recognition, but it came out bruised, extremist, almost Satmar. And that hurts. Hani Lifshitz's mental anguish is also unfortunate. She didn't deserve to go through this. Truly an unnecessary story, from all sides.
But I hope that in the end, looking inward, into this movement, the saga of the torchlight ceremony will only strengthen the burning Chabad torch, to the glory of the State of Israel, to the glory of the entire Jewish world.
• The column is published in the newspaper 'Bisheva''
