2008 Woodie Awards
The Search Committee Fails to Find the Truth
Olivia Wiznitzer
Issue date: 8/24/08 Section: Arts and Culture
In "The Search Committee," Rabbi Marc Angel explores dangerous territory. Grappling with the mine-ridden terrain of Orthodox Judaism, Angel attempts to compare and contrast Modern Orthodoxy with its Haredi counterpart. The overarching message must be that of nuance, and one must wonder whether it is possible for him to be successful at so difficult a task. While his book sadly suffers from the flaws of generalization and stereotyping, it is a significant first effort that will allow others to follow in his path.
"The Search Committee" documents the ideological struggle between two individuals, the Haredi Rav Shimshon Grossman and the Modern Orthodox Rav David Mercado. Struggling to succeed the late Rav Yosef Grossman, Shimshon's father, as head of Yeshivas Lita, the two offer extremely different perspectives in terms of their views on education, the pursuit of knowledge and their personal lives. A search committee has convened to appoint the next Rosh Yeshiva, and the two contenders must present themselves and explain why they are the best option. Others, including wealthy donors and students, argue for or against their case as well.
As with any work of this nature, the novel falls prey to depicting extremes rather than nuanced people. Since the characters are symbols, they take the form of philosophical constructs rather than human beings. The Rabbis are not placed on equal footing. The Modern Orthodox Rabbi is married to a geir (convert) who is a college graduate and does not cover her hair, and the implication is that the Haredi world would not be as welcoming of geirim. The Haredi Rabbi is portrayed as overly aggressive and firmly mired in his backward beliefs. He lacks the articulate, relatively soft-spoken demeanor of Mercado. However, Mercado goes too far with his questions and search for innovation within the boundaries of the law. Angel depicts one interchange in which there is a Talmud portion dealing with a discussion about a chicken whom the shochet (ritual slaughterer) killed, which strangely did not seem to have a heart. The Talmud cites two opinions of two sages: either the shochet had mistakenly dropped the heart, or perhaps the heart was very small and so he could not find it. The other rabbi stated that it is possible that God created the chicken without a heart. It is at this point that Mercado laughs because, "I thought it ridiculous to suggest that the chicken had been created without a heart. Obviously the heart was simply lost or misidentified by the shochet" (Angel 31).
"The Search Committee" documents the ideological struggle between two individuals, the Haredi Rav Shimshon Grossman and the Modern Orthodox Rav David Mercado. Struggling to succeed the late Rav Yosef Grossman, Shimshon's father, as head of Yeshivas Lita, the two offer extremely different perspectives in terms of their views on education, the pursuit of knowledge and their personal lives. A search committee has convened to appoint the next Rosh Yeshiva, and the two contenders must present themselves and explain why they are the best option. Others, including wealthy donors and students, argue for or against their case as well.
As with any work of this nature, the novel falls prey to depicting extremes rather than nuanced people. Since the characters are symbols, they take the form of philosophical constructs rather than human beings. The Rabbis are not placed on equal footing. The Modern Orthodox Rabbi is married to a geir (convert) who is a college graduate and does not cover her hair, and the implication is that the Haredi world would not be as welcoming of geirim. The Haredi Rabbi is portrayed as overly aggressive and firmly mired in his backward beliefs. He lacks the articulate, relatively soft-spoken demeanor of Mercado. However, Mercado goes too far with his questions and search for innovation within the boundaries of the law. Angel depicts one interchange in which there is a Talmud portion dealing with a discussion about a chicken whom the shochet (ritual slaughterer) killed, which strangely did not seem to have a heart. The Talmud cites two opinions of two sages: either the shochet had mistakenly dropped the heart, or perhaps the heart was very small and so he could not find it. The other rabbi stated that it is possible that God created the chicken without a heart. It is at this point that Mercado laughs because, "I thought it ridiculous to suggest that the chicken had been created without a heart. Obviously the heart was simply lost or misidentified by the shochet" (Angel 31).
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
Meir B
posted 9/05/08 @ 2:11 AM EST
Rav Soloveitchik was a very rational person and would have laughed at the chicken without a heart story just as Rav Mercado did. Based on what do you presume that Rav Soloveitchik accepted all the words of Chazal found in the gemara?
Chana
posted 9/05/08 @ 2:22 AM EST
Meir,
I disagree with that statement. I don't believe the Rav would have laughed at all. I would suggest reading his article in Light Magazine, Issue 17, Kislev 5736-1976, entitled "Surrendering to the Almighty. (Continued…)
Daniel
posted 9/21/08 @ 4:49 PM EST
I think that this review is delving too critically into the text. While I do not necessarily disagree with her comments and findings, the text should be taken for what it is- an inquiry into the rapidly-expanding chasm between Haredism and Modern Orthodox Judaism. (Continued…)
MindyFriedlander
MindyFriedlander
posted 9/23/08 @ 9:59 AM EST
Olivia, I was there at the presentation in Jerusalem at the OU Israel center where Dr. Rabbi Marc Shapiro presented his book for the first time. The way he did it was to have himself, Rabbi Angel, be the moderator between the two candidates for Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Grossman and Rabbi Mercado, whose cases he both presented. (Continued…)
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