Solutions have been provided by the Sephardic Hachamim of the past two hundred years who were confronted by the political, economic, social, cultural and technological revolutions that occurred throughout Europe from the 18th to the 20th centuries. In the midst of these upheavals, the Sephardic Hachamim had to grapple with questions that arose from the attraction of modernity and in response promoted communal cohesion by understanding that Torah’s dual nature advances the religious and halachic precepts on one hand, and on the other hand promotes more broadly a social, ethical, political, and national ethos. To address this it is essential to consider questions such as how Judaism informs what is social responsibility in a modern democratic society? How do these values in turn affect Jewish law?
To this end, the Rabbis not only taught Torah, but were concerned with the social life, economic status and the unity of the community despite different levels of observance by communal members along with their different occupations or cultural and intellectual approaches. This was expressed via communal obligation towards the weak and acts of tzedek to redress various sources of injustice. The Mizrachi heritage also promotes the social values of Judaism that can infuse social issues ranging from poverty, immigrants, the unemployed and pensioners. This has the effect of strengthening the sense of responsibility for community and society. The Rabbis expounded that serving G-D goes beyond observing commandments to more broadly doing “that which is straight and good in the eyes of G-D” which applies to the social concern of all of humanity.
In Islamic countries there were Jewish communities that had a united form of Judaism with many components existing in tension or even in contradiction to one another. This encouraged diversity where Jews were able to hold a variety of beliefs and values, with approaches of faithfulness living alongside intellectualism. Together they encouraged openness coupled with a clear Jewish identity.
Today, Social Judaism advances an inclusivist approach that social cohesion underpins and contributes to Torah authenticity. This is in contrast to the exclusivist approach of perceiving the Jewish people through the prism of maintaining the authenticity of the Torah which leads to widening polarization within Israeli society.
Social Judaism aspires that the State of Israel be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Shemot 18,6) by promoting humane and ethical values. This is as opposed to an exclusivist attitude that seeks to impose Halacha in a standardized manner on the different sectors of society with different levels and approaches of religiosity.
To this end, the Mizrachi heritage can make a positive contribution by emphasizing traditionalism that treasures the continuity of heritage and fosters a sense of belonging to the community and responsibility to the general public. Traditionalism can serve as a basis for identity and interim stage between Haredism and secularism and more fundamentally as a source of civic identity as Social Judaism causes Israel’s democracy and Judaism not to be merely complementary, but synonymous with one another.
In this respect, all of Kiah’s programs are aimed at fostering civic identity by reinforcing Jewish identity and advancing social mobility, both of which embody Social Judaism.