UTJ MK Yitzchak Pindrus posed several questions to HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein about Chareidi people who feel disgruntled with UTJ and are unsure if they will vote for the party.
Question: “A father whose son didn’t get accepted to the local cheder despite being suitable and he’s upset that the Degel HaTorah representatives aren’t correcting this injustice. What should he do? Right now he says he doesn’t want to vote.”
HaRav Edelstein: “How is it shayach? It’s a Kiddush Sheim Shamayim [to vote for Gimmel]. It’s not for the benefit of the representatives. It’s a Kiddush Hashem. It’s not a private favor. It’s what Hashem demands of us.”
Pindrus: “Why is it a Kiddush Hashem and not a private favor?”
HaRav Edelstein: “That’s the reality here – when we have a large bloc here called the “left” that want to enact gezerios against the Torah, against chinuch, against kashrus, against taharas mispachah, against geyrus – they want to destroy Klal Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael. We vote, not to do any personal favors for the representatives. We do so for their activities. It’s a Kiddush Hashem.”
Question: “Someone doesn’t feel part of the Chareidi tzibur, he doesn’t send his kids to the Chareidi institutions, to cheder. He doesn’t feel part of the Degel HaTorah community. What should he do?”
HaRav Edelstein: “It’s a Kiddush Hashem. It’s what Hashem wants from us. It has nothing to do with the representatives. It’s not a private favor. We vote to make a Kiddush Shem Shamayim and annul these decrees.”
“Anyone who votes for Gimmel is making a Kiddush Shem Shamayim. It’s a great zechus and they’ll be rewarded in this world and the next,” HaRav Edelstein concluded.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
I’m not sure why Pindrus keeps on referring to Gimel as Degel Hatorah???
Isn’t there Shas and Agudah?
The translator (perhaps by mistake) grossly mistranslated the second question! The first question pertained to totally chareidi families, whereas the second pertained to “less” chareidi families… but the translator made it seem as though they both were referring to totally chareidi families… so I would guess that Rav Gershon probably was not truly answering the second question as printed above in English.
And specifically to @Ish_Hashalom: 1) The presumption is that litvishe voters are b’etzem voting for degel, and are simply voting for gimmel because degel is part of gimmel. And this interview was regarded litvishe people (who are the most primary people likely to adhere to the psakim of Rav Gershon). 2) Shas is its own party; it’s not part of gimmel.
Once again, I must remind the dear readers of YWN that Rav Edelstein כבודו במקומו מונח is not the “Godol Hador” of all of Klal Yisroel by any stretch of the imagination. He is a tremendous talmid chochom who is the figurehead of a very specific sector of Ashkenazi Litvaks. There are many sects of Klal Yisrael, including Morroccans, Yemenites, Bukharim, and others that have a completely different kehilla and have nothing to do with Rav Edelstein שליט”א, other than perhaps having his picture on their wall and paying lip service to his being a Godol.
So if you have a Rov who suggests voting for a party other than the Agudah, by all means do so with no compunction whatsoever! And contrary to HaGaon Rav Edelstein שליט”א, the Agudah party has unfortunately been a nonstop Chillul Hashem in so many arenas (just read the articles by Rabbi Berel Wein), but that’s for a different post.
If it is “a Kiddush Sheim Shamayim to vote for Gimmel” then it must not be to vote for Shas.
The best kind of Kiddush Hashem would be if there were just ONE proper orthodox/chareidi party in the knesset instead of several so it would be clear to ALL YIDDEN with Yiras Shamayim exactly who to vote for.
A party that is well-organized, stands strong for the morality of the torah, and is not prone to corruption. This shouldn’t be a tall order for us, as we are the nation with the Torah of Hashem.
Having several competing frum parties with factions and sub-factions in the knesset is a big chilul hashem as is. (not to mention all the yidden that hold it’s Assur to vote at all, and that it is ייהרג ואל יעבור or whatever…)
I’m telling you if we got every Shomer Shabbos Jew in Eretz Yisroel to vote for ONE SINGLE PARTY only, (be it Degel or whatever,) it would be a massive Kiddush Hashem and us yidden would have a solid block of 30 seats in the knesset with religious MKs that stand up for Torah, Tznius, & Moralishkeit.
and yes that includes all the yidden who purposefully don’t vote as well (Toldos Aharon, Satmar, Tosh, Shomer Emunim..etc)
Baby squirrel is our new gadol hador he knows better than Rav Shach did
If i’m not mistaken the reason that Rav Shach himslef initated Shas, encouraging the Sefardim to form their own party, was to get votes from the mesorati who see themselves as Sefardim, but not as Chareidim. A party led by R’ Ovadia would get a lot of votes from people who would not have voted had he been simply one of the leaders of Gimmel. Shas & Gimmel work together a lot, including sharing the excess votes, and there are even some billboard posters encouraging ‘voting for Gimmel or Shas’.
So Baby Squirrel, i agree that it would be a big Kiddush Hashem if every single Shomer Shabbos yid would vote, but personally i dont think it is imperative that they all vote for the same single party.
And if there was not risk of Aguda getting the minimum required votes, then they could have run separately too. It would have the same effect in preventing Chillul Shabbos, Geirus, Kashrus, Marriage, Chinuch issues etc.