Elazar Shach

Elazar Menachem Man Shach (Hi-pek-lâi-gí: אלעזר מנחם מן שך , Elazar Shach ; January 1 , 1899 O .S . – November 2, 2001) was a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi, heading the non - Hasidic Litvak Orthodox from the early 1970s until his death . He served as chair of the Council of Sages, and as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, along with Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky. Due to his differences with the Hasidic leadership of the Agudat Yisrael political party , he allied with Ovadia Yosef, with whom he founded the Shas party in 1984 . Later , in 1988, Shach sharply criticized Ovadia Yosef , saying that, " Sepharadim are not yet ready for leadership positions" and subsequently founded the Degel HaTorah political party representing the Litvaks in the Israeli Knesset,.

The Holocaust

Shach taught that the Holocaust was a divine punishment for the sins of the Jewish people, and for the abandoning of religious observance for the enlightenment. He caused outrage in the secular Israeli media when he stated that "the Holy One , blessed be He , kept score for hundreds of years until it added up to six million Jews" . In his defence, Haredi MKs said his comments had been misconstrued , and were not meant to justify Nazi atrocities. Shach believed that the secularism of some Israelis would cause another Holocaust , and he once said that if the Education Ministry were to be placed in the hands of Meretz MK Shulamit Aloni, it would result in" over a million Israeli children being forced into apostasy, and that would be worse than what had happened to Jewish children during the Holocaust" ,. Wishing to prevent deviation from the established order of prayers, he opposed the composition of new prayers to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.,

Position on serving in the Israeli military

In May 1998, following talk of a political compromise which would allow Haredim to perform national service by guarding holy places , Shach told his followers in a public statement that it is forbidden to serve in the army, and that" it is necessary to die for this" . This is a case , Shach said, in which , halachically, one must" be killed, rather than transgress" . This position was expressed in large ads placed in all three of Israel's daily newspapers on May 22 , 1998. Shach is quoted as saying that," Any yeshiva student who cheats the authorities and uses the exemption from service for anything other than real engagement in Torah study is a rodef ( someone who threatens the lives of others )", and that" those who are not learning jeopardize the position of those who are learning as they should",.

Position on territorial compromise

Shach supported the withdrawal from land under Israeli control , basing it upon the halakhic principle of pikuach nefesh ("[the] saving [of a] life"), in which the preservation of lives takes precedence over nearly all other obligations in the Torah , including those pertaining to the sanctity of laND .

Chabad and the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Shach was undoubtedly the greatest antagonist of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn and the only major Lithuanian rabbi to come out in force against the Chabad movement and its leader. From the 1970s onwards , Shach was publicly critical of Schneerson , accusing Chabad of false Messianism by claiming Schneerson had created a cult of crypto - messianism around himself . He objected to Schneerson's calling upon the Messiah to appear , and when some of Schneerson's followers proclaimed him the Messiah, Shach called for a boycott of Chabad and its institutions. In 1988 , Shach denounced Schneerson as a meshiach sheker ( false messiah ) , and compared Chabad Hasidim to the followers of the 17th century Sabbatai Zevi , branding as idolatrous Schneerson's statement that a rebbe is " the essence and being of God clothed in a body " . Followers of Shach refused to eat meat slaughtered by Chabad Hasidim , refusing to recognize them as adherents of authentic Judaism. Shach also opposed Chabad's Tefillin Campaign , and once described Schneerson as " the madman who sits in New York and drives the whole world crazy " . He nevertheless prayed for his recovery , explaining that" I pray for the rebbe's recovery , and simultaneously also pray that he abandon his invalid way " .

Schneerson , citing case law in the Shulchan Aruch , strongly opposed both peace talks with the Palestinians and relinquishing territory to them under any circumstances, while Shach supported the " land for peace " approach .

Death

Shach's grave in Bnei Brak

Shach died on November 2 , 2001 , two months short of his 103rd birthday ( although other reports put his age at 108 ) . His funeral in Bnei Brak was attended by up to 400,000 people .

Works

Avi Ezri – Insights and expositions on various concepts in the Yad HaChazaka of the Rambam
Michtavim u'Maamarim – a collection of Shach's letters published in various editions of 4–6 volumes.