A conflicting selection process for the election of the Ashkenazi chief rabbi

After a year of delays, due to conflicts between rabbis and High Court judges over the participation of women in the electoral commission, and an invalid vote due to a misplaced ballot, 70 rabbis and 70 politicians will meet for the second and , hopefully last time, on Thursday, to nominate the next Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel.

Barring a last-minute twist, the choice will be between Micha Halevi, chief rabbi of Petah Tikva, and Kalman Ber, chief rabbi of Netanya. Although both were trained in religious Zionist institutions and served in the Israeli army, religious Zionists remain bitterly divided over the choice of candidate.

“A single Religious Zionist candidate has the support of all the rabbis,” Yaakov Ariel, chief rabbi of Ramat Gan, said of Halevi. “There is nothing else to say. » Ariel, a respected figure in religious Zionism, failed to become Ashkenazi chief rabbi in 2003 in the face of opposition from the Haredim.

Receive our daily edition for free by email so you don’t miss the best news. Free registration!

Shared support and accusations

The president of Tzohar, an influential religious Zionist organization, backed Ber, saying Halevi “lacks morality” for breaking a pledge.

“Someone who has betrayed Torah, morality and what is right cannot become chief rabbi,” said Rabbi David Stav, president of Tzohar. “Rabbi Halevi promised to accept the council’s decision, then recanted. This is neither moral, nor halachic, nor fair. »

Stav was referring to a decision by a council of religious Zionist rabbis led by Ariel who met on June 4, 2023, and chose Rabbi Meir Kahana, 55, head of the Ashkelon rabbinical court, as their consensus candidate for introduce himself as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi.

Halevi, 60, who lost the race to Kahana, then signed a document promising to respect the council’s decision. But soon after, he went back on his promise and announced his intention to run.

Ber, on the other hand, who managed to gain broad support from the Haredi rabbinical establishment, refrained from seeking the approval of Ariel’s council, even though he also has roots in the Religious Zionist camp.

Widespread Haredim support for Ber and his choice not to expressly position himself as a Religious Zionist candidate led Ariel and other influential rabbis to support Halevi.

However, many religious Zionists see Halevi’s change in position as an attack on the Chief Rabbinate.

Credibility of the Chief Rabbinate at stake

“As religious Zionists, we have already lost the race, even though both candidates are technically religious Zionists,” said Rebbetzin Dr. Tirza Kelman of Nishmat, a halakhic authority training institute for Orthodox women.

“The whole process was quite ugly, and the failure to deliver on commitments was very striking,” she added.

Kelman, an academic specializing in Jewish law and head of Nishmat’s Hebrew website, added that the failure was twofold.

“We lost a very good candidate, a man with great experience as a rabbinical judge, who also served as a rabbi and who is also a lieutenant colonel in the IDF,” Kelman said, speaking of Kahana .

“But it is also a political loss, a failure of the idea of ​​a united religious Zionist movement, capable of cooperation and reaching consensus,” she continued. “It also raises questions about the need for a chief rabbinate at all, about the honor of the Torah, about whether this position is just a job or whether it can be something more meaningful, s he can honor the Torah for various people, or not. »

Chief rabbis receive significant media attention and officially represent the State of Israel, both locally and internationally, and sometimes comment on current affairs.

The two chief rabbis – one representing the Sephardic communities and the other the Ashkenazi communities, whose customs are different – ​​also share the management of a vast and lucrative state-run kashrut control apparatus and d ‘a major nationwide system of rabbinical courts, which has broad powers over marriage, divorce, burial and other significant events.

Chief rabbis can use their position to cultivate their relationships and facilitate the appointment of their political friends.

However, the position itself is not necessarily representative of true rabbinic authority, although some past chief rabbis have also been respected rabbinical authorities.

Neither Halevi nor Ber are considered leading rabbinical authorities, although both are respected for their extensive knowledge of Jewish law and devoted their entire lives to the study and teaching of Judaism.

A political process

Elections for chief rabbis, which take place every ten years, have often given rise to political disputes in which a particular strand of Orthodox Judaism with political affiliations demonstrates its power to push through a nomination.

This election is no exception to the rule.

Shas, United Torah Judaism and United Torah Judaism, all members of the ruling government coalition and all representing different segments of the Orthodox populations in Israel, have had varying degrees of success in pushing their own candidates.

Shas managed to secure the post of Sephardic Chief Rabbi for David Yosef, a son of Shas founder the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and a highly regarded halachic authority in his own right. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, brother of David, is the outgoing Sephardic Chief Rabbi.

On the other hand, the candidacy for the position of Ashkenazi chief rabbi has generated much controversy.

The initial consensus around Kahana’s candidacy began to crumble after several influential rabbis expressed concern that Shas and United Torah Judaism would refuse to support him.

Rumors circulated against Kahana, accusing him of favoring more liberal orthodox movements.

Conversely, Halevi was seen as a safer choice, with a better chance of being elected.

Although Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the HaTzionout HaDatit party, said he would respect the council’s decision in favor of Kahana, he backtracked on the eve of the first round of elections which took place on September 29 and shifted his support to Halevi, reportedly fearing that Kahana would not be elected.

As the second and final round of voting approaches, several influential religious Zionists have thrown their support behind Halevi, without necessarily having a personal connection to the candidate.

“I was asked to support a particular candidate and I said I didn’t even know who it was,” said Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, head of the Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva, considered more to the right on the political spectrum. chessboard of religious Zionism and closer to the haredi community.

“I don’t know if they are the most virtuous, if they are truly Torah scholars or if they have the best contact with the people, which are the three most important criteria for choosing a rabbi,” he said. he added.

Aviner nevertheless agreed to support Halevi.

“First of all, I know him a little. And then rabbis more important than me told me to support him. So I trust these rabbis who are all fair, learned and close to the people,” explained Aviner.

He refrained from revealing the identities of these rabbis.

Separately, Kiryat Motzkin Chief Rabbi David Meir Drukman, one of 70 rabbis eligible to vote in Thursday’s election, said he still had not decided who to vote for.

“Both candidates are worthy of interest, but I don’t know which one I will choose,” Drukman said.

Drukman, who is affiliated with Chabad, added that no one tried to pressure him to support either candidate.

“Maybe it’s because everyone knows that I’m not someone who lets himself be influenced,” he remarked.

He also clarified that Chabad, as a movement, does not support any particular candidate.