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7 Shevat 5761 - January 31, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Opinion & Comment
How Will We Vote?

We try to live our lives as good Jews. We try to do what Hashem wants, to increase kevod malchus Shomayim. For the most part this involves performing our daily duties, taking care of our families, learning, chesed, teaching, raising ourselves and our surroundings closer to Hashem.

The modern world is not interested in what Hashem wants. Generally, what we want from the modern world is to leave us alone and to allow us to do Hashem's will.

From time to time, the world intrudes on our lives. One of the regular intrusions, in Israel, is the elections.

Up until the election scheduled for next week, all voting in Israeli elections has been an opportunity to stand up and be counted for Torah Judaism. Upon the horo'oh of our rabbonim, we have gone to the polls to show that we are to be counted among those who support Hashem and follow His Torah. Even after it was cast, by adding to the permanent tally of Torah Judaism visible to the entire world, our vote for the Torah party caused a continuing kiddush Hashem.

For the first time, in the coming election there will be no vote to cast for Torah. Neither Prime Minister Barak nor Ariel Sharon is associated with Hashem and His Torah.

As always, we expect no more than to do what the rabbonim say. So far, a week before the elections, there is no hint of what they will say.

There is, of course, no rush for them to say anything. There is no question of working for either candidate during the campaign. The yeshivas and kollelim are continuing their affairs as usual, with no sign that elections are only a few days away.

The selection of the gedolei haTorah is unlikely to be the current prime minister. "It is clear that one cannot rely on Ehud Barak. We are talking about a man without any responsibility, who is far from level-headedness and caution. We were very happy to support any proposal to limit his options," according to MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, referring to the past few months.

Many bnei Torah will be glad if they do not have to vote for Ariel Sharon. He is a person who is far from Torah, in both style and substance. Last summer he voted against the Tal law, and in favor of drafting yeshiva students, though he later qualified his vote. Although he remains more respectful of Jewish tradition and of rabbonim than the Left is, he is an alternative that is far from being truly desirable. In short, though voting for Barak is almost certainly ruled out, it cannot be assumed that we will vote for Sharon. The gedolei haTorah may not issue any recommendation, or they may recommend that we should not vote altogether.

As we go to press, some important rabbonim have announced their decision to support the candidate of the Likud, but there is no decision of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah or the rabbonim of Degel HaTorah. The party has published announcements asking its supporters to ensure that their documents are in order, "for when and if [maranan verabonon gedolei haTorah shlita] rule for us to vote, so that we will be prepared to fulfill their will."


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