Weekly Commentary: Leviticus 19:14 - Undermining Israeli Haredi Society
Dr. Aaron Lerner, 5 June 2025

"Do not put a stumbling block before the blind."
Leviticus 19:14

Years from now, Haredim, surveying the condition of their society, will no
doubt speculate whether the secular Israeli leadership conspired to cause
their collapse via "stumbling blocks."

It is all there to be seen today.

Generous programs to encourage Haredi families to choose a life of
government-subsidized poverty.

Government policies resulting in Haredi men failing to acquire the skills to
make a decent living.

The "stumbling blocks" go far beyond this.

A consistent no-serious-financial-oversight policy toward Haredi
institutions receiving government funding may be the biggest "stumbling
block" of all.

I'm not even going to go into the question of army service, because if these
other "stumbling blocks" weren't out there, I suspect that, along with
learning skills and not choosing poverty, most young Haredi men would find
it only natural to join their brothers in serving the nation.

The Haredi politicians have a vested interest in these "stumbling blocks."

Politicians prefer to hand out fish rather than fishing rods.

And I'm not able to speculate what portion of Haredi society today wants the
"stumbling blocks," and how many qualify as a kind of tinok shenishba
(Shabbat 68a) - having grown up in a society that inculcates a rejection of
basic values.

I daresay that the next elections, whether this year or next, will provide
the Israeli electorate with the opportunity to facilitate the formation of a
coalition government that can, via a series of dramatic reforms which remove
the "stumbling blocks," free Haredi society.

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