Ne’emanei Torah vaAvodah: Preserving the Original Values of Religious Zionism
The fusion of Torah and Avodah was always a fundamental premise of the Religious Zionist movement whose founders regarded Halacha as dynamic. They believed that Judaism's traditional values provide a basis for the establishment of a modern society in the Land of Israel. Basic to that vision was the integration of religiously observant citizens in all walks of life in the newly established State.
In recent years, elements within the religious community have advocated a policy of isolation and seclusion, particularly in social and educational matters. This policy is often responsible for the widening gaps between traditional and secular communities and, if embraced by our society, could effectively deny religious Jews the possibility of integration into the modern system and threaten the delicate fabric of co-operation and understanding that has been patiently woven between disparate segments of the population.
It was in response to this threat that Ne'emanei Torah vaAvodah was founded in 1978. The orientation of the organization is social and ideological and is distinctively not affiliated with any political party. Its members represent different segments of the population who choose, for the sake of this cause, to put political issues aside. Through Ne'emanei Torah vaAvodah members concentrate on questions of modern observance, on Jewish identity in a modern state, and on other issues that are critical to the internal workings of Israeli society.
Ne’emanei Torah vaAvodah aims to achieve its goals through a wide range of written scholarship. Translated freely from Hebrew, following is a partial list of these publications:
1. Women as Public Figures
2. The Change through Generations in How Halacha Views women
3. How Judaism Views Secular Studies
4. Studying Torah Versus Army Service
5. Adherence to the Authority of Halacha as Represented by the Rabbis Versus the Free Will of an Observant Jew
6. Recruiting Women into the Army
7. A Proper Relationship with Our Arab Neighbours
8. At the end of 2003 we hope to complete publication of “Orthodox Confrontations with Biblical Criticism.”
9. The De’ot journal is issued three times a year and develops topics that have become burning issues within the religious community. While the level of writing is high, it is not academically oriented and represents authors with differing points of view. There are not many other publications of equal standing that offer a platform for such pluralistic opinions. De’ot is mailed to members and subscribers in addition to public personalities including rabbis and authors, and to institutions such as Yeshivot, libraries, institutes of higher learning, etc.
Parlour meetings, day and weekend seminars and study groups are held several times a year, and weekend seminars for older circles as well as separate programs for singles and younger groups provide an opportunity to encourage dialogue on many important topics. Some of the subjects discussed have been: conversion and proselytes, agunot and women refused divorce, Hebrew Law, Judaism and the media, relationships between observant and secular Jews, and morals and ethics in time of war.