Q and A with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

By Michael Orbach

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the Chief Rabbi of Efrat and the founding rabbi of the Lincoln Square Synagogue. He will speak at Cong. Beth Sholom in Lawrence this Shabbos.

Michael Orbach: What was the purpose of your visit?

Rabbi Riskin: There’s a meeting we announced — where we would sit in the ground on Capitol Hill and recite Eicha, the book of Lamentations, and the dirges, just as we would in our local synagogues. We invited the members of Congress and the Senate and members of Christians United and we had a very large attendance. We read the five chapters of the Book of Lamentations and there was an explanation about Israel and the relationship to the undivided city of Jerusalem. Pastor [John] Hagee was in attendance and it was for me, a very uplifting and very warm prayer service in which we felt the friendship of the Evangelical community profoundly.

MO: What are your thoughts about the current relationship between Israel and America?

RR: [Israel’s] ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, was with us as well, that was a very important statement. Look, the last meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was much improved and I hope that will continue.

MO: What will you be speaking about in Beth Sholom this week?

RR: On Shabbos morning, I will speak about the portion of the week. It is the Sabbath of comfort, I will speak about Israel and its challenges and where we’re going especially in terms of the settlements and what I believe is the importance of the settlements, and Iran and what it means to the free world. I will also be speaking in the afternoon about a religious legal topic: women in the synagogue and women rabbis and to what extent it is permissible in Jewish law. [Between Mincha and Maariv I will speak about] the great divide between the religious and secular, the effect that has on conversions and divorce in Jewish law and especially the future security of the state of Israel and some solutions as to how we can best bring about some unity.

MO: Can we have your thoughts on the issue of women rabbis?

RR: I’m not going to tell you. I want people to come to my talks.

MO: Are there any thoughts we should have after Tisha B’Av?

RR: I believe we have to understand as Jews that this has been the most marvelous six decade period in our history for the last 2,000 years. We should not be in the motif of mourning. We should be in the motif of gratitude and thankfulness for the Jewish State which is prospering and growing and developing magnificently well. At the same time, we should be aware of the dangers and recognize that the prophets told us that without compassionate righteousness and moral justice on the individual level and the national level, we will not be able to maintain the Jewish State, and we will not be able to lead the world to redemption. The State and especially the IDF acts with tremendous morality and tremendous ethical sensitivity. The IDF, as a matter of practice, does not engage in aerial bombing — it does everything it can do in order to make certain there is no collateral damage — sometimes it can’t be helped. I believe we are the most moral army in the world, as individuals within the state of Israel as well as the Jewish community and even the Orthodox Jewish community in the diaspora. We have a lot of work to do in terms of compassionate righteousness and moral justice and personal ethical conduct, all of these things we believe are interrelated.