Should you care if Rabbi Riskin loses his job?

There is more than one way to look at the battle between Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and Efrat’s rabbi, Shlomo Riskin. The story itself is simple: Riskin is 75 years old. He is also a relatively moderate Orthodox rabbi – that is, if you discount his embarrassing comment comparing President Obama to Haman. That is to say: he is a thorn in the rabbinate’s behind, and his age presents an opportunity for the rabbinate to get rid of him, or so they think. The rabbinate declined to renew Riskin’s appointment and summonned him for a hearing. It made procedural arguments supporting its move, but in almost all other cases of 75 year old rabbis the renewal is automatic. So clearly, something else is going on. The rabbinate wants Riskin the troublemaker out.

Should you care?

On a personal level, of course you should: Rabbi Riskin is at risk of losing his job because he was doing his job the way he understands it. And he is – so say many people – a fine leader of his community. Of course, he would not be the first person to lose his job because of institutional disputes. Riskin, for many years, played the rabbinate’s game. He now seems to be in danger of losing this game. Ugly? of course it is ugly. The rabbinate’s game is ugly, and Riskin still decided to play it.

Should you care?

It really depends how you analyze this story: is it a battle for Israel’s Jewish soul, as some Riskin supporters would like you to think – or is it a battle for political power, for control of funds, jobs, and a rotten establishment?

The Rabbinical Organization Tzohar, a moderate Orthodox organization, reacted with fury to the move against Riskin. “Rabbi Riskin, who has led the community of Efrat with love and dedication and is beloved by so many, is a true symbol of spiritual leadership. And instead of exalting his accomplishments, figures in the Chief Rabbinate are choosing to force the Rabbi into early retirement because of their political considerations or apparently so that they can appoint insiders in his place”, said an announcement from Tzohar.

I must admit, I was not moved. The rabbis of Tzohar are all well-meaning, but it is somewhat disillusioning to see them waging their fiercest war with the rabbinate when one of their own is about to get hurt. They went as far as calling on American Jews to “boycott the chief rabbis” of Israel over Riskin’s fate. “Insulting him is equivalent to insulting all modern Orthodox communities in the United States”, they said.

You did not see Tzohar breaking with the rabbinate over issues of conversion, marriage, Kashrut, rabbinical court – the important things. Only when it comes to jobs – their own jobs – they suddenly understand that this fight is for real. Only then they ratchet up their rhetoric and their threats. So yes, Tzohar is a much better organization than the rabbinate; but like many organizations, it is mostly concerned about organizational survival. And, in this case, in keeping more state-funded rabbinical positions open for like-minded rabbis.

Should you care?

You should only care if the chief rabbinate and the Israeli rabbinate system are to your liking. If you see great value in preserving it and filling it with rabbis that are of the Tzohar type and not of the Haredi type. If you do care, then fighting for Riskin is worthy not just on a personal level, to prevent the firing of a worthy professional, but also as a national fight – to fight for a somewhat better, more moderate wing within the rabbinate system.

I must admit that I am not sure if anyone should care. I must admit that in a somewhat twisted way, I want Riskin to lose this fight – not as a person, as a symbol.

The rabbinate system, long ago, ceased to be an institution of real meaning. It has little impact on the lives of most Israelis. It is losing ground. It is a nuisance, not a menace. One of many wasteful expenditures of the Israeli government. The more it fires Riskins, the more it loses ground. The more it looks kooky, extreme, outdated, the more it becomes irrelevant. Thus, it is much more important to make sure that able people will not be fired from significant offices – the transportation ministry, or the ministry of internal security – rather than waste time on fighting for the jobs of rabbis that were willing to play the rabbinate’s game until their own job security was suddenly threatened.