From the 1964 book “Alt Un Nei In Yisroel.†Translated from the Yiddish by Victor Cohen.
The worst kind of luck that can happen for a political leader of a party is to be pushed into the corner for being in opposition and away from the prestigious “government table.†This also means being further away from the various opportunities which are at the disposal of a party sitting at the helm or near it.
A small party must hold onto the horns of the coalition at the helm—it is truly a matter of life and death for them. This is especially true when the party chooses its destiny to be in the opposition and forgoes all the possibilities that would come with being in partnership and the responsibilities it brings. Of the three religious parties in Israel—Mizrachi, Agudas Yisroel, and Poalei Agudas Yisroel—the Agudas Yisroel is the only one which is outside the present coalition. She is outside, not because the Mapai does not want her in the government. On the contrary, even before Ben Gurion and now Eshkol, the government has often stretched out its hand to the Agudah with an invitation to join them. However, the Agudah, in principle, is against being represented in the government as long as its main demand for improving the condition of religion in the state is not met. It is even possible that the political leaders of Agudah would, no matter what, work it out with Mapai. But the political leaders have above them the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, who are thoroughly against being in the government under the present circumstances. Why the Torah giants, the Chasidic Rebbes, and roshei yeshivos are against being in the government is a chapter unto itself. Perhaps they maintain that being in the government sometimes binds them “hand and foot†and does not allow them to express their appropriate opposition to the demands of a government whose majority are secularists. Perhaps, another aspect is that the Torah world of the Rebbes and roshei yeshivos has not come to a clear conclusion about what Israel is. What place does Israel have in the Torah view?
We cannot accuse the party leaders of Agudah of circumventing the pressure of the Torah Giants’ ruling against being in the government. One can agree or disagree with the isolation of the Torah greats. Whatever the opinion, one must recognize that the Agudah is the only religious party which sacrifices her everyday party interests for a principle which it maintains as holy and dear—the principle of obeying a Rebbe or a rosh yeshiva.
If the Agudah would have been in the government, her number one minister would definitely have been R’ Itche Mayer Levin. He was already a minister in the first government which Ben Gurion had put together immediately when the state was established. Minister number two would probably have been the middle-aged member of the Knesset, R’ Menachem Porush. He is a frequent guest in America and carries, so to speak, the burden of the movement in the land.
Officially, R’ Menachem Porush is the political secretary of the Agudah in Israel and his office is on Yeshayahu Pras #2 in Yerushalayim. I received the impression that he is more than a political secretary and his officialdom is much bigger than the room in which he has his desk.
R’ Menachem Porush impressed me as a person who wants to make up for lost time and find out what was lost. He is an outstanding sociable person who, in the Knesset, has the ability to be on friendly terms with the very same person with whom he had recently sharply debated. He also knows and feels the hardship of being a latecomer and moreover being in the corner of the opposition. He hastens to close the gap that exists. Today’s Mizrachi movement in Israel is better known as the Religious National Party. It has, ke’ayin ha’ra, a tremendous wealth of kibbutzim and settlements, people and institutions, banks and housing developments—the result of many years of pioneering work which is as old as modern Zionism. Today it is represented by three ministers in the government (Moshe Shapiro, Dr. Yosef Berg, and R’ Zorach Wahrhaftig) and twelve members in the Knesset.
The Agudas Yisroel, taking in account the beautiful wealth of exemplary kibbutzim and settlements of the Poealey Agudas Yisroel, (which today are completely separated from the Agudas Yisroel), were late coming on the scene by many years. Why Agudah came late on the scene is a chapter unto itself and belongs to another question for which many give a lot of reasons. It is in essence a part of the mystique of the Jewish lot, which gives validity to the saying, “Why is there speculation about what the Master of the Universe conceals?†Though it came late, Agudah is today a completely prominent power and particularly so in Eretz Yisrael. It now finds itself in the main center in all its universal activities. Plans are now being formulated for a K’nesiyah Gedolah this coming summer in Yerushalayim. Today, Agudah has four members in the Knesset and the Poelei Agudas Yisroel has two members. If the religious people would have united in the elections, they would have received more votes. Even today, the religious parties together have 18 members in the Knesset and have the power to present itself as the second largest power after the Mapai. R’ Menachem Porush appears to be the dynamic power of the Agudah whose goal is to consolidate its ranks after the great destruction of Europe where its strength, leaders, and soldiers were unequaled and concentrated. He carries, in great measure, the responsibilities of the maintaining of the “Chinuch Atsmai†the educational system of the Agudas Yisroel. He is mindful that a member of the movement and an ordinary student of Torah should be able to provide a “roof over his head†without first mortgaging more than “over the head.â€
On the left side of the mountain immediately leaving Yerushalayim to Tel Aviv, Agudah erected accommodations of 120 apartments with capital from investors whom Porush had interested to invest in Israel. Instead of having to speculate and make dealings, religious couples first starting out to build a home would have these apartments with reasonable rents and not be burdened with the tremendous sum of “key-money†required in Israel to rent or buy an apartment. It was refreshing to see the apartment of such a young couple. The new apartment was beautified with a bookcase from which radiated the backs of the new Shas and other newly acquired books. Porush is acquainted with Jewish life and with the outlook of Jewish homes. He looks at the filled bookcases of the new home of the young couple in Yerushalayim. From his look, one sees the joy of the “Jerusalem otherness.†Porush is a seventh generation Jerusalemite.
If a movement in Israel wants to hold its membership and get new ones, it must give something besides “the other world.†After a Jew has an apartment, he must have a place where he can quickly receive gemilas chesed. On his trips abroad, Porush had to interest many individuals to sponsor a gemilas chesed under their names. Eighty four such gemilas chasadim were established with separate accounts in the bank under the names of the founders, distributing weekly loans in the thousands of pounds. With no less pride, he shows a “Monos Yeladimâ€â€”one of the thirteen such children homes where lonely and homeless children from the age of two to six years old are brought up. Arnonah is a section in Yerushalayim south of Talpiot. There we find a building upon which there is a sign “Beis Devorah,†where little children, about four or five years old, run around playing inside and outside. All the games are played in Hebrew, however, from their appearance it seems that they come from various homes or more correctly from various broken homes. Here in “Beis Devorah†is their home for all year round for they have no other home.
Several overseers take care of the little children with motherly love. In Israel, taking care of homeless children is more than a job. It is an extraordinary privilege which comes, unfortunately, as a result of broken families that cannot get accustomed to the environment of a new home or for other tragic reasons.
Inside lies a young child on a clean bed who explains in Hebrew that he is not outside because he has a fever. This “Beis Devorah†children’s home in Arnonah and another similar home in the Zichron Yosef neighborhood in Yerushalayim were built by a Jew from Los Angeles and Nevada—Jack Entratar in memory of his mother, Devorah. HaRav Porush informs me that HaRav Moshe Sherer of the American Agudas Yisroel played a major role in establishing these homes.
In all of these Monos Yeladim which I visited, I noticed the names of generous Jews from America, South Africa, Mexico, and other countries, where R’ Menachem Porush spends considerable time with his extraordinary persistence and energy. He mentions he wants to give American Jewry a regards. They should be proud of the work that is now going on in Israel with their help. We can start with the “United Jewish Appeal†including even the smallest modest institution. At the crossroads to every new settlement, there is a sign with the name “United Jewish Appeal†and Keren HaYesod, and the names of American Jews shine out from the walls of the glorious buildings of many yeshivos, institutions, and hospitals, which I saw during my short visit.
R’ Menachem Porush appears many times at mass gatherings discussing the ideology of the Agudas Yisroel. What impressed me the most was Menachem Porush, the practical person, the person of action. Today there is no time for speeches in Israel, only action of concrete work. Porush maintains that if Agudah wants to have a presence on the morrow in Israel, then it must put in a great deal of work today by expanding the “Chinuch Atzmai.†It must build more housing and other economic facilities, and through them be a more participating factor in everything that is in the land.
Agudah definitely is in the opposition but is not “making Shabbos for itself.†It is an integral part of the building block and is working and striving with all its strength that the spirit of the new state of Israel remain true to the old Eretz Yisrael.
From the 1964 book Alt Un Nei In Yisroel; translated from the Yiddish by Victor Cohen.
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