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World War. But agreeing to something by only those who paid a certain level of ment and that might possibly legislate
and actually implementing it are two taxes to the kehila should have the right matters of Jewish life and culture. This
different things. Interestingly, most of to vote and hold office.9 Since it would council would have the right to tax the
the rabbonim opposed this approach of be the actual taxpayers who would have Jews for Jewish purposes, and the Jewish
banging the table and demanding rights to fund any new program, it is they who public would have the right to vote them
and privileges; they preferred a more should have the deciding voice. You see, in or out of office. It seemed that the glo-
modest, behind-the-scenes approach, re- if a poor person held office, he would rious old days of the Vaad Arba Aratzos,
questing respectfully and politely yet per- vote for all kinds of programs. After all, it when East European Jewry indeed gov-
sistently. The Zionists branded the rab- was not he who would foot the bill. (This erned itself to a remarkable degree, were
bonim as Uncle Toms, and the tone was is indeed a leading cause of our U.S. na- about to return in an improved, genuine-
set for tempestuous intra-Jewish politics. tional debt of $20 trillion.) ly democratic fashion. Those were heady
times indeed for Lithuania’s Jews.
uuu On the other hand, oligarchies are self-
ish, concerned about their own econom- Problem was you can’t bring back the
This is actually a fascinating though ic interests and not the public’s interests, old days. In the old days, everyone was
relatively-unknown chapter in Jewish and Jewish oligarchies over the centuries frum. By 1920, Lithuanian Jewry was
history: the politics of the Jews in the did much harm to broad Jewish inter- split on many lines, including religious
Republic of Lithuania. Here, during the ests. After the First World War, the spir- vs. secular lines. At the very beginning
interwar years, you had something that it of genuine democracy swept Europe. of the state (here I go again, trying to
never existed before: a genuine Jewish de- Hadn’t American President Woodrow simplify complex matters), there weren’t
mocracy, with all the tumult that accom- Wilson proclaimed the war as “A war to Jewish democratic elections, just rough-
panies it. You see, in the past, the Jewish make the world safe for democracy?” ly democratic ones. These revealed the
people always governed themselves by a interesting religious contours of Lithu-
kind of aristocratic oligarchy. The rich Lithuania passed a law calling for na- anian Jewry. Three big parties emerged.
did all the voting and office holding, oc- tional Jewish elections to a nationalrat, a Out of 101 Jewish deputies, the Secular
casionally with a few scholars. It was the national Jewish council that would repre- Zionists won 61, the Achdut (Agudah
old conservative theory of voting, where- sent the Jews to the Lithuanian govern-
9 Indeed, this was the concept of voting instituted by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.
60 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
and actually implementing it are two taxes to the kehila should have the right matters of Jewish life and culture. This
different things. Interestingly, most of to vote and hold office.9 Since it would council would have the right to tax the
the rabbonim opposed this approach of be the actual taxpayers who would have Jews for Jewish purposes, and the Jewish
banging the table and demanding rights to fund any new program, it is they who public would have the right to vote them
and privileges; they preferred a more should have the deciding voice. You see, in or out of office. It seemed that the glo-
modest, behind-the-scenes approach, re- if a poor person held office, he would rious old days of the Vaad Arba Aratzos,
questing respectfully and politely yet per- vote for all kinds of programs. After all, it when East European Jewry indeed gov-
sistently. The Zionists branded the rab- was not he who would foot the bill. (This erned itself to a remarkable degree, were
bonim as Uncle Toms, and the tone was is indeed a leading cause of our U.S. na- about to return in an improved, genuine-
set for tempestuous intra-Jewish politics. tional debt of $20 trillion.) ly democratic fashion. Those were heady
times indeed for Lithuania’s Jews.
uuu On the other hand, oligarchies are self-
ish, concerned about their own econom- Problem was you can’t bring back the
This is actually a fascinating though ic interests and not the public’s interests, old days. In the old days, everyone was
relatively-unknown chapter in Jewish and Jewish oligarchies over the centuries frum. By 1920, Lithuanian Jewry was
history: the politics of the Jews in the did much harm to broad Jewish inter- split on many lines, including religious
Republic of Lithuania. Here, during the ests. After the First World War, the spir- vs. secular lines. At the very beginning
interwar years, you had something that it of genuine democracy swept Europe. of the state (here I go again, trying to
never existed before: a genuine Jewish de- Hadn’t American President Woodrow simplify complex matters), there weren’t
mocracy, with all the tumult that accom- Wilson proclaimed the war as “A war to Jewish democratic elections, just rough-
panies it. You see, in the past, the Jewish make the world safe for democracy?” ly democratic ones. These revealed the
people always governed themselves by a interesting religious contours of Lithu-
kind of aristocratic oligarchy. The rich Lithuania passed a law calling for na- anian Jewry. Three big parties emerged.
did all the voting and office holding, oc- tional Jewish elections to a nationalrat, a Out of 101 Jewish deputies, the Secular
casionally with a few scholars. It was the national Jewish council that would repre- Zionists won 61, the Achdut (Agudah
old conservative theory of voting, where- sent the Jews to the Lithuanian govern-
9 Indeed, this was the concept of voting instituted by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.
60 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
