Religion: Orthodox v. Reform in Israel

In searching for a place to celebrate Sukkoth, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, Reform Rabbi Jerome Unger could hardly have picked a less hospitable nation than Israel. The town council of Kfar Shmaryahu, a coastal village north of Tel Aviv, refused to rent the town hall to Unger’s congregation. Nearby resort hotels, threatened with the withdrawal of their vital Kosher certificates by Orthodox rabbis, also turned him down. The congregation was relegated to a tabernacle in an empty lot, and held services by the light of the worshipers’ automobiles. It took an Israeli Supreme Court ruling last week to assure Unger the use of the town hall for Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law).

To U.S.-born Rabbi Unger, 32, such paradoxical problems are familiar, for he represents Reform Judaism in a country that is run by a strange partnership of agnostic secularists and letter-of-the-Talmud Orthodox rabbis. Premier David Ben-Gurion has a persisting intellectual interest in Buddhism, infrequently attends synagogue. But his parliamentary coalition is held together with votes from two religious parties, and he has been unable to prevent Orthodox Judaism from becoming the state religion of a country that is 40% agnostic.

Israeli laws reflect strict Orthodox observance of the dietary rules and of the Sabbath: neither Tel Aviv streetcars nor El Al jetliners begin a journey on Saturday. All religious matters from the location of synagogues to the laws of marriage and divorce are in the hands of the Orthodox rabbinate. In this atmosphere, there was no Reform congregation in Israel until 1957; now Unger assists three. Their services include some features that appall Orthodox rabbis: the seating of men and women is not separate, women participate in the service, organ music is used in violation of the Talmudic dictum against musical instruments. The objective is to practice Judaism in harmony with modern life and unbound by the detailed daily regimen of Talmudic laws.

Rabbi Unger’s congregations usually call themselves Progressive rather than Reform: but the Orthodox rabbinate considers any liberal Judaism a divisive rather than a complementary force, and looks more kindly on Baptist missionaries. Says Minister of Religious Affairs Zerah Wahrhaftig: “Our spiritual mainstays must be maintained in unadulterated form.” Replies Unger: “The old generation had Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish state as their ideal. But to the younger generation, Israel is a fact. They are a generation in search of something. Liberal Judaism can channel that search in a purposeful and meaningful manner.”