The complete composition is found at: http://vehashalomvehaemmet.blogspot.com/p/mikveh-situation-summary-and-thoughts.html
Since a condensed version of my "Mikveh and RBS Atmosphere" Composition has been requested a few times, I present the following as the best condensation I could put together:
I present this to you simply as a very caring and honest private citizen concerned for the welfare of our community, who stands upon his integrity, and demands integrity from all of the leaders of communities in our city (as well as from all people everywhere), and who has invested great efforts in clarifying facts, and has exerted himself to "understand where everyone is coming from," without excusing any reprehensible behavior that has become apparent through the efforts to find the truth.
First of all, a condensation of the major lessons to be learned from the Mikveh controversy and the general atmosphere in RBS, as I see it:
1. Let us put our true concerns out in the open. It is only by stating the true concerns explicitly without subterfuge, and with true good will from all sides, TRULY wanting everyone to be comfortable, that the true issues are discussed, and that we can achieve an atmosphere in our neighborhood that is pleasant for each of us.
2. Let us truly respect one another. If the different sides will be willing to understand that, though each of them may consider himself absolutely right, each other side also has the right to think so; they should manage to produce the minimal mutual respect necessary to work out the respectful compromises necessary.
3. Let us make public integrity and basic honesty the norm and demand it from all of our leaders. No one really benefits if one side "wins" a political battle by perverting the truth. The true problems just reappear later because they were covered up by lies! No leader is expected to be perfect, but lying to cover up one's failings should not be accepted from any leader, or any person at all for that matter.
4. Let us not produce excuses for violating the law or practicing violence or intimidation of any kind. If one side uses such excuses to excuse their "hotheads", the other side will also do so; and a vicious cycle of spiraling violence and threats could result. Every community should behave in a truly responsible manner, clearly condemning the "hotheads" from their community who act in a reprehensible manner.
5. Let us truly believe that, even if we don't even like each other too much (though I hope that that will NOT be the case), we can live side by side without causing each other grief. We have a wonderful neighborhood, and a great city; let's not ruin it through spiteful fights against "Apikorsim" and the like.
Next, a quick review of the salient points about Mikvaot:
One disturbing aspect of the Mikveh issue is that it has clearly been demonstrated that several leaders have not displayed integrity on this and other issues confronting our community, and this impedes dealing with these issues in a constructive manner.
It is very perturbing that in almost the entire Jewish world, all women, no matter what their "religious affiliation", can use the same Mikveh, with respect for all customs, without the need for "separate Mikvehs for separate communities"; but that the documented misconduct (such as invalidating a woman's custom) and even mistreatment (such as causing a woman pain) of women at Mikvaot in RBS-Alef shows that this has clearly not always occurred in Mikvaot in RBS-Alef! Irrespective of one's positions on the political issues and on the political agreements which were supposedly obtained by the use of illegitimate coercion; the investigation of improper behavior at a Mikveh, in order to ensure that it NEVER occurs again, should be the first priority of every observant Jew in our neighborhood, and especially of Rabbis who are supposed to run Mikvaot!
As a public service in this regard I must emphasize that any woman who experienced mistreatment at the Mikveh should file a formal complaint.
One way to file such complaints is with Rav David Spector of the local Rabbinate. His phone numbers are: 052-385-9105, and 999-4987; and he meets with people at his home on Reuven StreetAbba Naamat Street
It should be clear to us all that if any person responsible for a Mikveh has allowed such misconduct or mistreatment of women to occur "on his/her watch" at a Mikveh (even if he did not encourage it, but only allowed it and/or tried to cover up the fact of its occurrence), that person has proven his total lack of fitness for such a position.
In the latest controversy, the extremist Rabbis began by claiming that none of the mistreatment and improper behavior occurred, and have given the impression of being adamant in that disbelief. The repeated accusations of "Chareidi-bashing" used against people who simply want to stop the mistreatment seem to indicate that certain leaders feel that avoiding the report of any misconduct by any part of the Chareidi community is more important than honesty and integrity in dealing with abuses of power and mistreatment. However, all decent people clearly must hope that the mistreatment of women at the Mikveh will never recur, and that the extremists' lack of respect for Psak Halachah (other than their own) will cease. The non-extremist Mikvaot provide the "best of both worlds" since there is no coercion of women to go beyond the very minimal requirements (according to the most lenient views), but a woman CAN be as Machmir as she wishes.
The extremists originally were allotted land to build a private Mikveh, which has never even been started, but now the extremists have requested that the land which was originally allocated for this Mikveh be used instead for a Chareidi school.
Finally, some thoughts about relations among the religious communities:
The many communities both in RBS and in Bet Shemesh in general fail to coexist peacefully with mutual respect frequently enough that Bet Shemesh has acquired a reputation as a "trouble spot" where "religious violence and intimidation" occur; but it is clear that the vast majority of us do not support religious violence or intimidation, and are very upset that our truly WONDERFUL city has such a reputation.
A group of extremists (whose statements show that they consider themselves the flagship of Chareidi society, and that they are extreme far beyond normative Chareidi society, and who are relatively few in number, and are largely responsible for Bet Shemesh acquiring a reputation as a "trouble spot"), some of whom are located in RBS-Alef, appear to be almost exclusively focused upon how to keep all outside influences away from their communities, to avoid what they appear to consider "pollution" of their "uniquely pure" community of "the only Jews still practicing pure Judaism as it should be practiced" in this area.
It behooves us all to be VERY CAREFUL to recognize that this group, though they may do things that we do not approve of, are also Hashem's creatures, and that we should do our best to allow them to exercise their lawful right to practice Judaism however they see fit. No matter how any of us feel about other Jews in Bet Shemesh, we all have a responsibility to respect each other and to recognize each other as Hashem's creatures.
No other community in our fair city actually wants to prevent the extremists from exercising their lawful right to practice Judaism however they see fit, and this is something that I have checked out carefully and found to be true; and community leaders, especially in the Chareidi community, should work on reassuring the extremists and their leaders that this is so, since this could, at least potentially, help ease the friction in our community. I reiterate my plea here to Chareidi leaders who do not want other people imposed upon by the actions of a few extremists to take a clear stand condemning the illicit actions of the extremists. The related concern of many non-Chareidi and Chareidi people in our neighborhood has been expressed several times: that the extremists are creating an atmosphere stifling spiritual growth, and invalidating everyone else's approach to Halachah.
If the extremists are indeed very concerned about the purity of their camp, as they indicate, they should be much more active in educating people in their camp about the spiritual benefits of staying away from things which the rest of us (Chareidi as well as non-Chareidi) do not find to be temptations. They certainly should not be trying to impose their own unacceptable practices upon the entire neighborhood.
"Acharon Chaviv" (last and dearest), I close with a Pasuk (verse) which exemplifies the important balance in Middot (character traits), such that truth is not sacrificed for "peace", nor peace sacrificed for "truth": "VeHaEmet VeHaShalom Ehavu" (Zechariah 8:19), which translates as, "And the truth and the peace shall you love."
Bivrachah,
Catriel Lev
Mobile Phone: 050-205-7867
Email: clev@actcom.com
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