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Photo: Merav Boksheetsky
Rabbi Shapira (Archive photo)
Photo: Merav Boksheetsky

No successor

Religious Zionism much too divided to name successor to Avraham Shapira

No one will be able to follow in the footsteps of Avraham Shapira, who died last Thursday. The former chief rabbi left behind a significant void in religious Zionism's leadership, as he was, more or else, accepted by the entire movement.

 

Religious Zionism is much too divided to name a successor, and perhaps this is a good thing; it is a sign of maturity and independent thinking, a process that began during the rabbi's days, when his call for insubordination was not heeded by the majority of the movement's members.

 

His son, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, who will apparently be named head of the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem (I suppose he will not assume all of the responsibilities the job entails), does not have the mental capacity to influence anyone outside the yeshiva's walls. The late rabbi's place will be taken by a number of rabbis, not by a single successor.

 

Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba, is considered to be almost as knowledgeable as Shapira was, but his political extremism will prevent him from having any influence the movement's moderate branch. He will lead the nationalist faction.

 

Rabbi Zalman Melamed, who heads the yeshiva in Beit El, will continue to carry weight among religious Zionism's more traditional members with the use of the various media outlets he has established.

 

Rabbi Tzvi Tau, along with Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, will continue to influence the national-religious sector, which adheres to State law and opposes insubordination. Rabbi Tzefania Drori of Kiryat Shmona will continue to exert his influence in the North, while the Tzohar rabbis will continue to lead the modern revolution.

 

Some will consider this process an indication of the decline of the Da'at Torah (Knowledge of Torah) concept, but it is actually an important sign of openness, liberalization and faith in the individual's ability to choose his or her own way in the world without relying on one specific Torah luminary. 

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.30.07, 11:12
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