Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Natan (Anatoly) Sharansky spoke this past week at the San Diego Jewish Federation. The theme of the evening was “Heroes,” and a large part of the program paid tribute to the men and women of the armed forces. Needless to say, this show of respect is very important—especially when considering the shabby way Vietnam war veterans were treated after they arrived home.

In addition, Peter Yarrow, member of the famous “Peter, Paul, and Mary” did a little mini-concert focusing on the message of tolerance and peace he is trying to promote to many of the troubled regions of the world. Bravo!

All was fine and good. I noticed a fairly strong show of Orthodox folks at the event. Some were Modern Orthodox, some were Haredi and Chabad. Everyone came to listen to Sharansky. Being a student of human nature, I love to watch their reactions to the message Sharansky prepared. Fortunately, I was among those who heard him speak earlier at 6:00 that evening to the VIP crowd. Surprisingly, not many of the local rabbis were there to hear him, but his message of hope and Jewish unity made it very clear why he was chosen to be the head of Israel’s Jewish Agency. In my opinion, this man would make an excellent Prime Minister. However, I doubt whether Sharansky has the stomach for Israeli politics, which is almost as bad as American politics.

He briefly discussed some points from his famous autobiography, “Fear No Evil,” and his 2006 best-selling book, “The Case For Democracy: The Power Of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny And Terror.” Sharanky’s criticism of autocratic societies of the Middle East ought to be required reading. I only wish he would have written a chapter about religious coercion in Israel in his book. Despite his silence on this important subject, Sharansky has proven to be a tireless fighter for non-Orthodox Jews and announced Israel is ready to bring in the last 10,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel. God bless this man. When the Ultra-Orthodox and Chabad led the campaign to deligitmize any person they did not consider “Jewish” to emigrate to Israel, Sharansky confronted these groups and their retrogressive “halachic” policies.

Sharansky did not speak more than 15 minutes. What a pity! I wished he would have spoken for an hour, while the other segments were limited to a shorter amount of time. While in the middle of his talk, a large group of Haredi Jews walked out. Aside from the total lack of manners, I wondered whether they might have been feeling uncomfortable with Sharansky’s attempt to make Israel a place where ALL Jews can live in peace and harmony.

I also wondered how the Chabad rabbis felt about Sharansky’s promise to bring in the rest of the Ethiopian Jewish community to the Holy Land. After all, Rabbi Schnersohn, their esteemed Rebbe, opposed the rescue of Ethiopian Jews even though they were faced with certain death. Where is the Messiah when we surely need him? He’s definitely not in Brooklyn! To date, no shiliach (emissary of Chabad) has ever worked with the Ethiopian Jewish community—even after their pro-forma conversion in Israel.

Yes, people are very interesting. The thoughts we entertain to ourselves are secrets to the rest of the world. Yet, despite it all—actions speak much louder than words or thoughts. I dare say that Sharansky’s words made a number of the Ultra-Orthodox Jews quake in their boots the night he spoke in San Diego.