Kiruv XII - Torah mitzva for kiruv

Before getting into the issue of how to do kiruv. The more appropriate question is: Is there a mitzva to do kiruv? What if any is the obligation to make other Jews more observant? All the discussions I have seen recently revolve around relatively superficial issues of whether kiruv is a type of marketing. Is it honest? Is it corrupt? Does it care about the individual? Are the consequences lasting?

In other words the first concern that must be addressed is: What are the sources in Torah, halacha and seforim that talk about the issue of kiruv?

I came across an interesting site devoted to these issues Oz Nidberu. I don't know who is behind it - They seem to acknowledge all Orthodox kiruv organizations as valid. But it does address the issues. In particular they have a 7 pagd pdf by Rav Yitzchok Berkowitz just listing Hebrew sources.

Here are some of the citations in English:

Devarim(6:5): And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might

Rambam (Sefer HaMitzvos #3): To love G‑d…This mitzva also includes that we should seek and reach out to all men that they should serve G‑d and to believe in Him. This is to make G‑d beloved of man and that He should be thought about and praised and man should be encourged to love Him… This also includes without doubt that the heretics and fools should also be approached and encouraged to know the truth that you know. The Sifre says that loving of G‑d is to make Him beloved of mankind just as Avraham did as it says in Bereishis (12:5), “The souls which he made in Charan.” In other words just as Avraham - since he was beloved of G‑d as Yeshaya (41:8): “Avraham My beloved” - wanted to increase awareness of G‑d so he encouraged men to faith and strenghened love of G‑d. You should also love G‑d and therefore encourage men to come close to G‑d.

Chofetz Chaim: The one who truly loves Hashem calls out to those far removed, that they should believe. If we want our words should be accpted we need to bestow onto them kindness for their own needs

Chinuch(#418 Concerning the obligation to love G-d): Sifre (Devarim 33) While it is stated and you shall love, I do not know haw a man is to love G‑d, hence Scripture states, “And these words which I command you this day shall be on your heart (Devarim 6:6) for as a result of this you will “recognize” the One who soke and the world came into existene. In other words, with reflection understanding in the Torah the love of G-d settles perforce in the heart. And the Sages said (Sifre Devarim 32) that this love should impel a man to arouse people about love for Him to serve and worship Him as we find in the instance of Avraham


Seder HaYom(Seder Tisha B'av): One may judged in the World to Come if he was able to be mekarev and didnt, and if one does not have the capabilties he must find someone that does

Ohr HaChaim: The highest form of a Korban is to be mekarev rechokim

Ohr HaChaim: Hashem punishes those who turn a blind eye to rechokim

Zohar: The righteous must pursue the sinners to bring them tachas kanfie H'Shechina

Kiruv XI - Present Judaism as positive? Or scary demanding system?

Chizki said...

garnel ironheart said, "Professional kiruv is ruining Orthodoxy by presenting it to secular customers as something they will benefit from if they adopt the lifestyle."

Perhaps it's ruining Orthodoxy, or perhaps it's not - I don't know. What I do feel is that the type of kiruv that focuses on selling Judaism primarily as a system of living that leads to the "good life" - stable families with low divorce rates, happy children that respect their parents, a strong sense of community and purpose among its adherents, etc., etc. - feeds right into the conundrum that the blogmaster and others have presented here of modern kiruv professionals de facto engaging in the proselytization of non-Jews. Regardless of whether or not non-Jews are attending Eish seminars, presenting Judaism as a lifestyle that any sane, family-oriented person would want to engage in is going to get the attention of non-Jews looking for that sort of message just as surely as it would get the attention of non-practicing Jews.

Perhaps selling Judaism primarily as a powerful, demanding, and sometimes even scary system of ancient teachings that is designed to mold its adherents into servants of the ineffable and inscrutable source of all Existence would be a better way to go.

Kiruv X - Criticism - Appropriate response to real and phoney criticism

In this post RaP overreacts to my rejection of the JPOST article Aish'd. Instead of understanding that not all criticism is a signal for soul searching, he assumes that if there is smoke and mirrors there must be fire. The other article - which I found on the internet and published in "Kiruv IX - Aish HaTorah as viewed by secular Jewis... - does in fact bear serious study and response. In sum, there are legitimate and well founded questions regarding kiruv goals and techniques. However kiruv is not a shameful business that is hostile to criticism - from within or without. Not everyone who shoots off his/her mouth in badmouthing kiruv should be viewed as a bas kol that is delivering a Divine message. I think it is ludicrous to accuse myself or those who participate on this blog or even those just lurking - as being ostriches hiding from reality. I think it is just as legitimate to point out when critics throw stink bombs as it is to acknowledge when they have a point. Finally if you are making these accusations of the kiruv organizations themselves - please cite some evidence that they are in fact hostile or oblivious to criticism.

Recipients and Publicity comment to "Kiruv IX - Aish HaTorah as viewed by secular Jewis...":

WHEN KIRUV JOINS THE WORLD OF OSTRICHES IT BECOMES LIKE THE PROBLEM IT IS TRYING TO CURE!

This "Are young, thinking Jews being targeted by a new Jewish fundamentalism?" is an excellent article and makes valid points because the notion of "making people frum without regard to the costs or at any cost" needs to be understood like a piece of mussar which Aish never gives itself.

Sometimes when one's critics open up and say things that may seem hurtful and with which we disagree they are nevertheless holding up a mirror to us and it behooves us to take note and decide if the criticism is valid or not. And often times while it may not agree with our goals yet it contains many dollops of important truths and lessons to be learned to help us correct our trajectory and goals. Like getting customer feedback from the field, you may not like, and indeed do not expect to like, what you will hear, but you must listen in order to understand how you fit into things or else face greater problems that will keep hitting you in the face -- hopefully not leading to a "Jonestown cool aid" ("...a cult from California led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious in November 1978, when 918 people died in the settlement...") or the results of a "Pied Piper" situation ("The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a legend about the abduction of many children from the town of Hamelin...") .

After all, we are now in the period of the Three Weeks and anyone who has studied the sources of the events of how Nevuchadnezar and Babylon were directed by God Himself in a stage by stage process to tighten the screws and then eventually attack Judah, lay siege to Jerusalem and take it captive let alone destroy it (something never done before and which had previously resulted in the downfall of Assyria) yet Nevuchadenezar could pull it off because he had been given the green light by God to go ahead and pull the plug on corruption and wickedness among the Jewish people (the three cardinal sins of idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder) and it was all part of GOD's plan and not just the outgrowths of Nebuchadnezar's cruel mind. It was God who was sending the message via Nebuchadnezar as his messenger and likewise in our times when Orthodox, Haredi and Hasidic leaders and institutions have cocooned themselves and instituted a "code of silence" (as in the Mafia's code of "omerta" amounting to prohibition of talking out on pain of excommunication bordering on death)and the demand of deference to their corporate will by inventing concepts like "da'as Torah" to suit their own power retention needs and thereby stifle and block all opan and critical debate, much like as if it were a case of "to remain Catholic one cannot criticise the Pope but must rather accept that he is "infallible'" is just plain anti-Torah and is more descriptive of pre-World War Two European TOTALITARIANISM as in Czarism, Fascism and Communism than to a kind and caring and accepting Jewish life that was the hallmark of the shtetles and the kehillas of Europe.

At any rate, rather than freaking out at this well-researched and very trenchant article, as well as the "You've been Aishe'd" article, and by the way, both articles make use of this phrase so it's well-worth noting that it has coinage and has traction out there in the world, there is no need to start jumping up and down and yelling back, but see what it is that they are saying and try to answer POINT BY POINT (that is, categorically) logically and calmly, with counter arguments, proofs and citations, and see if something can be learned here rather than throwing out and ignoring these valuable pieces of unconventional God-sent mussar which your local Orthodox and kiruv rabbi won't give you (how could they when all they want from you is to give them a really huge donation!)

Since when was becoming frum meant to mean that everyone should turn into a colony of ostriches sticking their heads in the sand when told that not everyone loves what they are doing and the way that they are doing it?

To be continued...

Kiruv IX - Aish HaTorah as viewed by secular Jewish critics

The following is an article written by someone who is antagonistic to kiruv and Orthodox Judaism and kiruv in general. Despite that it is well written and researched. It not only concerns itself with making people Orthodox but also the attitude towards science and evolution as well as the right wing political views that Aish supports.

Playing with Fire- published by the Jewish Socialists

October, 2006

by Clifford Singer

Are young, thinking Jews being targeted by a new Jewish fundamentalism?

'What are the key values needed to perfect our world?' asks the voiceover. A good question deserves a good answer, and it is provided by the words that float across the screen: 'Social Responsibility ... Women's Rights ... Environmentalism ... Activism ... Equality ... Freedom of Speech.'

Chanukah: This Is Your Light is one of 20 introductory films on Aish HaTorah's website, and presses all the right buttons for the young progressive Jew. Aish (as it likes to be abbreviated) is a success story of Jewish outreach, with its mission to 'stem assimilation by reaching out and building bridges between Jews of all persuasions'. It boasts 2 million web visits each month, a mailing list of 170,000 subscribers, and offers programmes in 80 cities around the world. Aish is also the inventor of 'speed dating', and hosts popular evenings where Jewish singles meet each other in quickfire succession.

The organisation has been praised by Bill Clinton, Michael Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Al Gore, Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, Elie Weisel, Larry King and Steven Spielberg, who is quoted as saying: 'Thank you Aish HaTorah for the good work you do and the message you put out. I could have used you in my life about 25 years ago.' ^[1]

The breezy prose on Aish's website, with its tales of personal growth and acts of kindness, suggests an organisation that is liberal and broadminded, with a dash of Californian self-help therapy. But the values that guide Aish are not those of Liberal, Reform, or even Modern Orthodox Judaism. Its credo is that of the ultra-Orthodox Haredi movement. Aish HaTorah (Fire of the Torah) insists on the inerrant truth of the Bible, which it believes was dictated by God to Moses.

However, Aish differs from traditional Haredi groups in three ways. Firstly, its outreach work, which aims to convert secular Jews to Orthodoxy, is its overriding priority, not merely a spin-off. Orthodox converts – or ba'alei teshuvah (those who have repented) – make up most of its membership, and its yeshiva programs combine traditional Talmudic studies with intensive training in outreach and leadership skills.

Secondly, it has hitched its social conservatism to an aggressively neoconservative stance on the Middle East. Its donors and well-wishers may include liberals and conservatives, but the political voices on its website extend from the right to the far right: Benjamin Netanyahu, Daniel Pipes, David Horowitz, Alan Dershowitz, Dore Gold, Natan Sharansky, Melanie Phillips and Charles Krauthammer.

Third, it advocates a 'one step at a time' approach to Judaism, allowing members to develop their observance at their own pace. For Aish, this is testimony to its openness and tolerance, and it has certainly succeeded in attracting those who would be otherwise repelled by the 'black hat brigade'. But critics say Aish uses this approach to hide its true aims from prospective recruits. Aish's outreach work is focused mainly on the under-30s, who it attracts with slick advertising and hip graphics that give little hint of its ultra-Orthodox agenda. Some parents have accused it of having a cult-like influence on their children.

How has Aish overcome such controversy to become a multi-million dollar operation, occupying a prominent place in Jewish life? The organisation began life as a small yeshiva in Jerusalem in 1974, founded by US-born Rabbi Noah Weinberg. Weinberg came from a non-Hasidic tradition – known as Lithuanian Judaism or Mitnagdim – but was influenced by the success of the Hasidic Lubavitch leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who pioneered Orthodox outreach in the 1960s.

Schneerson was part of a generation of Orthodox Jews that had fled to the US to escape the Holocaust. At first, the community was inward-looking, keen to insulate itself from the 'treyf' (unkosher) state that was now its home. But as it grew in confidence, Schneerson's followers began to recruit among other Jews. At the same time, there was increasing concern among Jewish leaders over out-marriage and assimilation rates. By the late 1960s approximately one in six US Jews were marrying non-Jews, a three-fold increase on the previous decade. And many Jews were leaving the community, in some cases to join new religious movements like Hare Krishna and the Unification Church (Moonies), which had disproportionately high Jewish memberships.

For some Jews influenced by the counterculture, Schneerson's Hasidism, imbued with celebration and mysticism, provided an alluring alternative to the dreary ritual of mainstream Judaism. Others took their spiritual search to Israel, where they found a welcome in institutions such as those run by the charismatic Weinberg. Four years before founding Aish HaTorah, Weinberg had established the Ohr Somayach yeshiva, which was also dedicated to kiruv (orthodox outreach). But his split from Ohr Somayach heralded a more far-reaching vision. Adam Ferziger, Fellow in Jewish Studies at Bar-Ilan University, writes:

Ohr Somayach felt that success was determined by whether a newly observant student dedicated himself to a life of learning. Rabbi Weinberg, in contrast, hoped that once a student had adjusted to religious life, he would either become a kiruv worker or join the secular workforce. Through his interaction with other Jews, he would have the ability to help the weakly affiliated become observant.

Aish Hatorah has developed an entire ideology and system of outreach. In order to make sure that its approach is properly implemented, its leaders foster an 'Aish culture' among their students, who are viewed as the future of the institution. It is, indeed, this 'Aish culture' that is the most distinctive characteristic of Aish Hatorah’s Rabbinical Ordination/Leadership Program (ROLP). Even the more traditional classes on subjects such as Talmud and Jewish legal codes focus on that which one needs to know in order to become an effective outreach rabbi.

Ferziger adds:

A particularly unique aspect of ROLP is the significant amount of time spent training the students to deal with questions that they will be asked when they are out in the field. The students practice simulation games in which they debate their position against rabbis who assume the roles of non-affiliated Jews, reform rabbis, potential donors, and so on.^[2]

Underlying Weinberg's zeal is his belief that 'if 20,000 Jewish kids were being killed each year, you'd be jolted into action and launch a movement to save them. Today, we're losing 20,000 Jewish kids each year through assimilation.' ^[3] Aish rabbi Daniel Mechanic is even blunter: 'The Jewish people are currently experiencing a spiritual Holocaust. That is why Aish HaTorah stands at the front of the battle against rampant assimilation and intermarriage.' ^[4]

The Aish armoury of tools to reach the uninitiated includes: Discovery seminars (one-day crash courses offering 'scientific' proof of the Torah's divine origins), Shabbatonim (Friday night discussions hosted by a rabbi), subsidised trips abroad (destinations include Israel, Australia and South Africa), and the Aish website (www.aish.com) translated into five languages.

The organisation tailors its message to niche audiences. Its New York website has the slogan 'Adventures in urban Judaism' and is full of attractive, clean-cut twentysomethings who look like a Gap advert. The UK site uses rave-type graphics and music to advertise its summer trips, entitled 'Ozzy Hip Hop', 'Israeli Trance' and 'New York Vibe'. 'Israeli Trance' promises white-water rafting, quad biking and beach barbecues along with an opportunity to 'thrash out' major issues such as 'Judaism meets science', 'Does God exist?' and 'Why do bad things happen to good people?'

Aish Los Angeles targets 18-22 year olds with a $99 'Paradise Adventure Tour' to Costa Rica. It is a tempting offer but the devil is in the small print: 'This program is heavily subsidized. Participants agree to participate fully in all events and activities on the schedule to receive the advertised price... Failure to attend may result in the participant forfeiting his or her subsidy for that day (up to $250 per day).'

Like the evangelical Protestant Alpha Course and Catholic Opus Dei, Aish has a particular penchant for the young and affluent, and restricts many of its activities to 'YJPs' – Young Jewish Professionals. New Yorkers can join the Aish MBA Community, a 'group of Jewish business leaders and students who are exploring their heritage while advancing their business acumen,' while London professionals can attend Aish in the City lunchtime meetings, hosted by media and telecoms corporation IDT.

Aish also offers an Executive Learning Program, providing personal tuition by a rabbi. Participants have included corporate executives and Hollywood stars. 'Learning one-on-one with a rabbi is what's "in" these days in the States,' Rabbi Ephraim Shore, a former Aish HaTorah executive director, told Ma'ariv in 2000. 'Celebrities will come, learn for an hour a week and then visit Israel – and they become our international ambassadors. Some may donate to Aish HaTorah and help the organisation with forming further contacts.' ^[5]

Following a flattering full-page profile of Aish in the Jewish Chronicle in 2003, one mother wrote to complain: 'Aish prides itself on being dedicated to preventing intermarriage, something which I uphold. What I do not uphold is the way in which it attracts young Jewish men and women to take part in a cheap holiday and then, little by little, as they attend their events and educational study groups they become "Aished". My son did exactly that... Aish has completely changed his life and mine.'

She added: 'I agree with [Aish UK joint executive director] Rabbi Schiff that "God would prefer 50,000 proud Jews" to "50 frum [religious] Jews". My son was a proud Jew and has now become a frum Jew. Many would applaud that, but not me. His life is ruled purely by the Torah. He will not eat in my house and adheres to every single mitzvah.'

Another parent wrote: 'Despite Aish’s modern marketing methods, and what Rabbi Schiff claims... in reality Aish has no regard for the 21st century. It takes people born Jewish and turns them into extreme Jews, with no thought for their families. Aish would argue that its mission is to stop assimilation, but the reality is that it creates fanatical Jews, with little regard for the fallout effect.'

Similar views are expressed by a mother on Rick Ross's cult-watch website: 'Although I am resigned to my son choosing a very different lifestyle than mine, I feel it is a loss. My child can never travel with me, eat in my home – or really be a part of the rest of our family and friends. The hardest part is now I know that this is not what my son actually planned for himself, but rather the direct result of how he was influenced through what began as a vacation trip to Israel.' ^[6]

In his 2002 paper for the Jewish Journal of Sociology, Aaron Tapper concluded that Aish exhibited each of the characteristics of a new religious movement (a term he preferred to 'cult'). He defined these characteristics as:

a charismatic leader; submission to authority; a rigid ideology, including a fundamentalist approach to theology; a promotion of apocalyptic beliefs; a communal lifestyle; isolation from one's family; hate and/or fear of outsiders; active missionary work, including attempts to convert outsiders to its way of religious life; an an excessive focus on fundraising.

Noting the contrast between the organisation's public and private face he added:

Aish HaTorah is much more open and candid about its ultra-Orthodox perspective in the environment of its yeshiva, whereas in other venues – such as in its outreach centers and the programmes offered there – Aish HaTorah advertises itself as a pluralistic, all-inclusive environment.^[7]

In Aish's defence, many former members testify to having benefited from their time in the organisation, and Tapper possibly overstates his case when he compares the Unification Church's strategy of 'love-bombing' (enveloping recruits in feigned love) to the 'extremely warm environment, in both [Aish's] outreach centers and its yeshiva'. However, Tapper should be commended for asking the right questions when so few others have. Mainstream Jewish institutions and media outlets have fawned over Aish HaTorah while failing to offer any scrutiny of its outreach methods. Even if Aish's activities have divided only a minority of families, that is a troubling record for a 'pro-family' organisation, and at the very least community newspapers like the Jewish Chronicle have a responsibility to follow their readers' concerns.

One reason Aish is given such an easy ride is that many Jews share its obsession with 'marrying out'. Even the mother who despaired of her son's transformation felt compelled to preface her letter by proclaiming her opposition to intermarriage.[...]

Kiruv VIII - Kiruv's corporate culture & soul

The following article of RaP's is too extreme - though I agree with the essence. However the article in JPOST was not concerned with these issues - it is not even clear that she attended any Aish program - but attacked kiruv in general in the name of Aish HaTorah. I think RaP is projecting his own views on the author of that embarrassingly bad piece of writing.

I also don't think Aish is a monolithic corporate culture - especially in recent years. My initial impression was that Aish was initially set up as a form of chassidus with Rav Noach as Rebbe and there was an attempt to develop a cult of personality. It is clear that most rebbeim there did not accept him as such - but that is another story. For the Baalei Teshuva who became lifers it is different. Perhaps it is time for someone to do a dissertation on Aish HaTorah. An important preliminary work "Returning to Tradition: The contemporary revival of Orthodox Judaism" by Herbert Danziger Yale Press 1989 is a good start.

Recipients and Publicity comment to "Jewish institutions & money - the critical role of...":

AISH and CHABAD (and NJOP): KIRUV GONE CORPORATE!

Presumably you have posted this article about Talanksy and his fundraising work as some kind of response and "counterbalance" to the comments in the previous post of "Kiruv VII - Aish HaTorah - what makes it tick?" http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2008/07/kiruv-vii-aish-hatorah-what-makes-it.html that notes Aish HaTorah's huge success in fundraising.

However, the point of the previous post was not to negate the importance of fundraising, as it is a beneficiary of the key mitzvas of tzedaka and ma'aser, and Jews are per capita the most philanthropic people in the world giving to all sorts of causes with wide open hands and bank accounts.

The secular leftist Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor George Soros donated a BILLION dollars to various Russian institutions to help that land become "more democratic" and he continues to spend billions on all sorts of causes through his Soros Foundation http://www.soros.org/ so this kind of awesome generosity is nothing new especially for Israel that has long had a tradition, in its Haredi communities especially on relying on the foreign "chaluka" and no one begrudges Aish HaTorah because at one time or another most Jews living in Israel or in any Jewish community have and still do benefit from the tzedaka and generosity of many gevirim who help to support local yeshivas, medical facilities, social organizations, gemachs and much, much. much more.

But let's try to remain focused in our discussion, and we are talking about kiruv, the Baal teshuva movement and its mission of bringing Jews back to authentic Torah Judaism, and try to "keep your eye on the ball" (a favorite saying of Rav Noach Weinberg) like in any game, and ask yourself, are the big Orthodox run outreach movements like Aish (conncted to the Yeshiva world), Chabad (of the Chasidic world) and NJOP (a Modern Orthodox project) acting in a manner that no matter where you stop to look at them, or to be a little dramatic, no matter where you cut and puncture it, DOES IT RELEASE WARM HUMAN BLOOD OR DO COLD IMPERSONAL DOLLAR SIGNS COME OUT?

What is this "kiruv machine or behemoth" all about?

Mass kiruv, somehow also tied in with mass conversions if need be, are something new and there must always be an awareness, like Tip O'Neal of the US congress used to say, that "all politics is local" and similarly "all kiruv is local AND personal" and it should NEVER just be about "empire building" or "power-mongering" or "access to big money" while the real needs of individuals are ignored.

The beauty of the Golden Age of Kiruv from the 1950s to the 1980s was that it was a spontaneous movement in many ways, there was not a lot of planning by Orthodox organizations in fact there was even hostility from the hard-core yeshvish velt to kiruv as the Lubavitcher Rebbe sent out his new Chabad shluchim starting with his ascendancy to being Rebbe in 1950. Rav Hutner of Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn and Rav Ruderman of Ner Israel in Baltimore encouraged and supported the creation and work of NCSY under Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, but it was all pioneering and revolutionary work, of how to turn the tide of mass assimilation and bring back secular Jews to Torah observance.

Hippies and counter-culture people rejected money and materialism and they were searching for SPIRITUALTY and GODLINESS, but with the turning of the times and the advent of the second era of Kiruv from the 1980s until the present it was a more business-like and materialistic attitude that set it.

Chabad adapted to that as they do to all circumstances, but it was Rav Noach Weinberg, who had been in business ventures before turning to kiruv who grasped the new set of circumstances from the 1980s onwards and set out to produce a different breed of kiruv workers who had their roots in banking and capitalism and not in the counterculture that was a thing of the past.

That was all good and well. But when Aish became smitten with its own success in narcissistic fashion and operating like a huge corporate machine, there is the legitimate fear that it has lost its soul meaning a deeper connection to Yiddishkeit.

That is why the girl who writes the "You've been Aish'ed" article in the JP talks of the process she experienced as being mechanical and PROGRAMMED and by instinct she is rejecting that and making her own individualized statements which are all valid and that any reasonable kiruv worker would deal with rather than dump and reject her.

She does not wish to feel like a cog in a huge machine and that when she has her doubts she is spat out like a piece of garbage in an impersonal manner.

Helping a secular Jew become religious is like giving birth to a new soul, and a mother can only give birth to one baby at a time, and likewise in kiruv, if an organization becomes too big for its boots and loses sight of what it stands for, that the individual is king/queen, then it loses its soul and reveals itself for the "mass kiruv" machine that is somewhat akin to the "mass conversion" aparati that were recently shot down and God-forbid should not be the spiritual equivalents of "mass killing" instruments that cause more harm than good if for every two people mekarevd ten are lost to bitterness and more rebellion than they would have resorted to previously.

To be continued...

Jewish institutions & money - the critical role of the professional shnorrer

_{Haaretz published:}

_{Uncle Moish, the man in the middle
By Joseph Cedar}

Morris Talansky was my uncle until he and my aunt divorced more than 10 years ago. Since then, I saw him only briefly at family gatherings once every few years. But before the divorce, Uncle Moish, as we called him, was a dominant and significant figure in my life. I even thought about making a movie based on his character, which I would call "Middleman."

It would be a story about a professional fund-raiser forced to live between the wealthy Jews, the big philanthropists who cleanse their conscience by donating to organizations with lofty goals, and the altruistic visionaries who use the donations to further their noble life projects, which eventually earn them the Israel Prize. Between these extremes is the middleman, the schnorrer - the macher, as Nahum Barnea insists on calling him - but primarily the charismatic man who manages to bring people together and make everyone feel good. This is the man who doesn't get any glory, respect or appreciation, who is forced to do the grunt work that ultimately benefits everyone.

When my former uncle's name was raised in connection to the scandal involving the prime minister, I assumed the media would home in on his colorful personality. I never thought that the prime minister, through his representatives, would try to prove his innocence by cruelly and offensively slandering a man who spent years helping him and donating to him, and became his close friend.

I'm no expert on the nature of the financial relationship between Talansky and the prime minister, and I don't pretend to understand the legal significance of their relationship, if any. But the various media reports about Talansky's cross-examination make it difficult to avoid concluding that even if our prime minister is not a criminal, he is at least an ingrate.

To somewhat counter the national effort to destroy Talansky's name, I would
like to put the fund-raising profession in a different, less shady light, along with the unique talent that made Talansky one of the leading fund-raisers in the Jewish world.

There is almost no institution in Israel that does not subsist, to some degree or another, on donations. Schools, universities, research institutions, yeshivas, hospitals, museums, social projects, cultural centers, public buildings, memorial sites, ideological and political movements, and even the Israel Defense Forces, are at least partly funded by donors who ¬ setting aside generosity, and a desire to improve things for Israel and the Jewish people ¬ get honored for their contributions. They also (mum's the word!) get significant tax benefits.

Behind the scenes of these donations is usually someone who made the match between the philanthropist and the cause. My understanding is that a successful fund-raiser is essentially a talented storyteller who can plumb the depths of the potential donor's soul and understand what will motivate him to open up his checkbook. In other words, a fund-raiser uses a well-told story and his own captivating personality to convince experienced businessmen to hand over their money, by getting them to feel a sense of shared fate with a goal that's bigger and more deserving than their routine business deals.

This appears to be a basic need of people who have money, and apparently, it turns out, a financial compulsion of the society in which we live. Everyone ends up happy. Everyone benefits. And our reality in Israel is a direct result of this relationship.

Morris Talansky dedicated his life to raising money, primarily, though not solely, for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He spent nearly his entire life matching up ideas with the money to implement them, matching up the conscience-cleansing of those who give with the missionary zeal of those who receive. Along the way, he has become an expert on the complex relationship between American Jews and Zionism. And he is one of the most interesting, charismatic and generous people I have ever met.

In the Frank Capra movie "It's a Wonderful Life," Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a banker who gets into trouble and, right before he tries to commit suicide, gets a glimpse of how the world would have looked if he didn't exist.

I would have liked to conduct an imaginary tour like this in Jerusalem to demonstrate Morris Talansky's importance in the daily lives of tens of thousands of Israeli citizens, without them being aware of it. The buildings aren't named after him and he's not the one handing out scholarships, but without him, Israel would have been a different place. [...]