God Bless the Ba'alei Bayit, Every One

[A few weeks ago, Tzohar's parashat shavua sheet dealt with the touchy subject of integration and the lack thereof in MO Israeli education. I was shocked to read an article by a generally liberal Rabbi singing the praises of elitist religious education and complaining about how mass Jewish education dumbs everything down. The sub-text, of course, is that the only type of Jew that's worth investing in is the intellectual elite, while the rest can be left twisting in the wind. This post is "inspired" by that contempt. – aiwac]

In the yeshiva world (doesn’t matter whether right or left), he is disdained and held in open contempt, his title a common insult. The kibbutz hadati despised his bourgeois values; idealists and intellectuals of all kinds, his laxity and tendency towards compromise. Who is this strange creature whom all disrespect?

He is the Jewish ba'al bayit, or baalabus in yiddish. This species has many forms, but they all have in common the fact that they work for a living and raise Jewish families. Some are more learned, some less; some are more makpid than others on various matters of halacha. You might see him talking in shul about the latest gossip or maybe pouring over a gemara preparing the Daf for his fellow baalabatim.

I wish to sing the praises of this unsung hero of Judaism, the one with the worst PR and the fewest defenders. Talmidim chachamim, radical and conservative philosophers all have books, studies and schools done in their honor. Even the worst of "gadflies" have a loyal flock who trumpet their virtue at every opportunity. At the very least, they have institutions such as the Yeshiva or the Kibbutz to back them up.

The ba'al habayit has none of these. He continues his often thankless task of perpetuating the Jewish world, one generation at a time. He'll send his kid to a religious school even if it means they won't eat in his house. He'll give his Devar Torah at Shabbat meal or in Shul, even if puts everyone to sleep. He'll give money to yeshivot that look down on him. Even when he has doubts and struggles with God, he'll set them aside as best he can for the sake of his children.

If talmidim chachamim are meant to be the "head" of Jewish society, ba'alei batim were and are its material and spiritual backbone. They attended the shuls, filled the coffers of religious institutions and ensured the slow and steady rebuilding of every generation. They did it with no fanfare; simply because it was their duty as Jews.

Perhaps it is time we pay tribute to those simple Jews, those "poshiter yiddin", those silent heroes without whom we might not be here today in such numbers. Maybe we should let them know they are not "second-class Jews", and they are no less deserving of our respect and gratitude. May that come to pass.