One of the recent initiatives by the chareidi parties to preserve the status of public Shabbos observance in Israel is known as the Supermarket Law. It is a response to a recent High Court decision that allowed supermarkets in Tel Aviv to stay open. 169 stores are now open every Shabbos in Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, the issue has been confined to Tel Aviv.
"The Supermarket Law" initiated by Interior Minister Rabbi Arye Deri, determines that municipal bylaws shall necessitate the approval of the officiating Interior minister. According to this law, the Interior Minister can invalidate a bylaw designed to allow the operation of food stores on Shabbos throughout the country. This bill, as approved so far, will not retroactively apply to Tel Aviv, whose food stores violate the Shabbos, but the Chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee MK Rabbi Gafni has already declared that in the process of legislation, according to the directive which Degel HaTorah received from Torah leadership, he will present reservations regarding the bill so that it include Tel Aviv as well and will also enable the closing of supermarkets there.
An additional bill already passed ensures the Minister of Labor and Welfare with the authority of including in his considerations, upon being presented with the signing of a bill of "Shabbos Work Permits", the value of abiding by "Jewish Tradition". It is a sad state of affairs that the Labor and Welfare Minister be "allowed" to "also" take Jewish tradition into consideration. However up until now that has not been allowed. But at least something has been achieved.
The State of Israel has not approved laws preventing Shabbos desecration because, after all, the State of Israel is not a Jewish State. But it is correct to say that the State of Israel has passed legislation that will at least curtail chillul Shabbos.
This can undoubtedly be chalked up as a major achievement for Torah-true Jewry in its battle to preserve Shabbos sanctity throughout the Holy Land. Nonetheless, the accomplishment is not complete and many holes still remain in the bill. The legislation will surely decrease chillul Shabbos, and per the instructions of our Torah leaders, our representatives in the Knesset will continue to fight so as to rectify as much as remains possible.
The achievement for Shabbos observance is not complete but our chareidi Knesset representatives, guided by gedolei Yisrael who see the broad picture from spiritual panoramic heights, try to salvage as much as possible. They refuse to agree to the present picture and will continue to expand the current success. But they cannot hope for total victory. One must rescue from the lion and leopard, bear and panther, from the tidal force of the sea and the relentless flow of the river, whatever is possible.
The new "dictators of the daily agenda," members of the press and social media, shall not dictate said agenda to Knesset representatives as opposed to our gedolim. We must prevent the poisoned prism of their viewpoint from contaminating the air. They criticize our politicians for now doing more. But it is nonetheless important to recognize the good that has been achieved.
A frequent expression of HaRav Shteinman is a quote from the medrash brought in Chovos Halevovos (Shaar Hakeniya, chap. 6), "And it was said [the reaction] of one of the pious ones who encountered the putrid carcass of a dog. When his disciples said, `How foul is this carcass,' he said to them, `How white are its teeth.' Thereupon, they regretted having seen the negative aspect.
Just as it is repugnant to speak ill of a dead dog, so much more so does this apply to a living human being who is intelligent and understands. And since it is worthy to praise the carcass of a dog for the whiteness of its teeth, so is it an obligation, accordingly, to praise a human being who is intelligent. What a far cry it is from noting the foulness of the odor to regarding the positive feature of nice teeth. Nevertheless, we note the negative side of seeking blemishes instead of looking for positive aspects."
Our Torah leaders have directed that our Torah representatives continue to toil according to daas Torah, while we must pray for their sake that their achievement be complete. As HaRav Eidelstein said, "We must pray for our Jewish brethren who do not know what Shabbos is and don't know the joy and pleasure of Shabbos, that they return in complete repentance."
