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Apr 7, 2016
Pruz-Bull
A guest post by Rachel Stomel of Chochmat Nashim
this post originally appeared on the Chochmat Nashim website
this post originally appeared on the Chochmat Nashim website
There is nothing new about people sharing vitriol on the internet. Inflammatory language and free-range bigotry seem to be the order of the day, especially when it comes to such charged topics as gender, religion, race or politics. We roll our eyes and click onward.
But what do we do when the person making a particularly nasty display of prejudice holds a position of authority that enables him to directly affect the course of real people’s lives? What happens when words on the screen manifest as policies in real life? And what does it mean for the communities that look to him for leadership?
Recently, Rabbi Steven Pruzansky published a blogpost that was as horrifying as it was logically baffling. In the piece, he argues that rape culture — the ways in which society blames victims of sexual assault and normalizes male sexual violence — does not exist. Instead, he explains, women are simply romantically frustrated liars who invent rape allegations because they’re out of touch with “traditional morality.”
If only women would wait until marriage, stay away from alcohol and just have some self-discipline, he claims, they’d stop getting raped so much. Although, he points out, they’re not actually being raped, as evidenced by the fact that women still attend college. If campus rape statistics were true, he reasons, “no intelligent woman would want to attend college.” This is akin to saying that there cannot be domestic abuse within marriage, because if there were, no woman would be willing to get married. Putting aside the glaring logical fallacy, it seems that in order for Rabbi Pruzansky to take women’s testimony seriously, they should stop surviving so much. He goes on to call rape “unrequited love” and then mocks those who ask for consent as “taking the romance out of romance.”
Going line by line to take apart the absurdity of his arguments, while tempting, has been done and is not the point.
What matters is Rabbi Pruzansky’s position of authority, power, and influence in the Jewish community and how that dangerously takes his views from theoretical to practical. What makes him dangerous is not the misogyny he espouses, but his authority to turn that misogyny into policy, bolstered by the influence he wields with well-respected organizations.
The disclaimer on his blog reads, “The views expressed here are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of family, friends, shul, organizations or any other affiliations.” However, Rabbi Pruzansky has written considerably about rabbinic authority and how it confers credibility and power to those who have it. He often cites it in the context of perceived threats to it by those he deems insufficiently authoritative to hold valid views on religious matters, as in the case of allowing women on administrative committees.
But Rabbi Pruzansky can’t have it both ways. He cannot claim that the unique power granted to his opinions by virtue of his position does not carry any responsibility to the institution he serves, or that it suddenly stops carrying weight when it’s inconvenient for him. He cannot enjoy the power — which he claims is highly significant, even in non-rabbinic roles, such as those administrative committees — without accepting responsibility for it.
So how far does that power reach? According to the “About” page on his blog, Rabbi Pruzansky is the rabbi of the largest synagogue in Teaneck NJ, boasting a congregation of about 800 families. He is a trustee of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), its former vice president and the chair of its convention; he sits on the board of the Beth Din of America; acts as a dayan (judge of a religious court) on the Beth Din itself; and is a member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America.
When the voice expressing bigotry on the internet belongs to a lawmaker and judge, and not just a random blogger, it goes far beyond hate speech. Dayanim and rabbis wield real control over those who are subject to their rulings and decisions. For example, a dayan’s views on domestic abuse can mean the difference between a woman receiving a chiyuv get (determining that she has the right to a divorce and ordering the husband to grant one) and not.
One of the first things a lawyer or to’enet rabbanit (religious court advocate in Israel) does when approaching a new Beit Din case is check the identities of the dayanim who will hear the case, because their views directly impact the way they rule. We must ensure that those who wield judiciary power in our community adhere to views that are within the range of the norm. A community must feel confident in its dayan’s approach, as it informs his decisions on their financial disputes, divorces, conversions, determining who is Jewish and other high-stakes personal cases.
The RCA is not a neutral structure; it is made up people who act as its agents and determine its character. Does the RCA believe that Rabbi Pruzansky’s views reinforce the kind of character they would like to perpetuate? Is his synagogue proud to have him as their religious and communal representative?
If not, then it’s time for the RCA, Beth Din of America, Rabbinical Alliance of America and his synagogue to look inward and consider ending their affiliation with him. It is time for the larger Jewish community to stop accepting avowed bigots as community leaders.
This is not the first time Rabbi Pruzansky has expressed sexism and hate speech, and it likely won’t be his last. But as long as the next time he voices this kind of drivel to the public, his role is that of private citizen, we’ll be able to — thankfully — roll our eyes and click onward.
*Decreed by Hillel the Elder, a pruzbol is an exercise of rabbinic authority that protects the ability of the poor to receive interest-free loans.
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Did you read the original article? All the quotes in the article you quoted when taken from the original were taken out of context. The article was far more nuanced and I imagine you would be nodding along with it far more than you would be shaking your head against it.
ReplyDeleteas mentioned at the top of the post, this is a guest post. I did not write it.
ReplyDeleteBut you posted it. I don't understand how you can post an article that is so out of touch with the one it's critiquing.
DeleteIts completely in line
ReplyDeleteI did not yet read the original, nor do I consider myself knowledgeable on his positions.
ReplyDeleteDespite that, and I have said so many times before, I am happy to host people's posts even on topics I know nothing about and on topics with positions I completely disagree with. Sometimes (rarely) something rubs me the wrong way and I am not willing to post, but usually if a post is written well I am ok with posting it even if I disagree with the content. And that is not the case here, but I admit to not knowing Rabbi Pruzansky's position and that is not a reason for me to not post the post.
Rafi,
DeleteYou don't have to be knowledgeable about a topic for this. Rabbi Pruzansky wrote a blog post. They claim that his blog post says x, y and z. All you need is five minutes to see that this post is totally off base. Opinion pieces still have to be based on facts.
Either that, or you should mark it as a fiction piece.
Hit pieces like this are just going to boomerang against the writer. Disagreeing with points is not good enough and is "not the point", you say. You have to go for the jugular. What unmitigated gall.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Pruzansky Shlit"a is one of the shining lights of the jblogosphere. Any character assassination being done against him on any blog or website is misplaced, foolish, and halachically improper. I wish he would spread his influence more widely. The RCA is wise for keeping such a rabbi among its ranks.
I don't have yaak's high opinion of R. Pruzansky, but reading just a portion of his blog post makes it clear that this guest post has completely misconstrued R. Pruzanksy's writing.
ReplyDeleteThis and other attacks on Rabbi Pruzansky's post highlight the "orthodoxies" of our times.
ReplyDeleteThis is so disappointing. Someone clearly has a personal vendetta against Rabbi Pruzansky, and is hoping that people are too lazy to see the holes in her post, or just has terrible reading comprehension and shouldn't be disseminating her writings just as she feels R. Pruzansky should not. He is NOT a misogynist. He has done countless things for agunot including being one of the earliest proponents of the halachic prenup (He insisted my husband and I sign one in 1999). He's a friend of the cause, and if you truly believe in your cause and your friend writes something that you disagree with or think is embarrassing, ignore it. No one would have read it or noticed it. This post isn't about anything but self-promotion, and I'm really saddened that Rafi would give in to this so easily.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Pruzansky has penned a rebuttal to the articles against him.
ReplyDeleteSorry to come late to the scene, but...
ReplyDeleteI am no fan of Rabbi Pruzansky, and disagree vociferously with much of what he has written, especially re. the current U.S. president. That said, anyone who takes the times to read his blogpost will see that this article is a ridiculous hit job. Excepting one, every single "quote" from R' Pruzansky is taken totally out of context. But don't trust me; read the blogpost for yourself.
And here's a defense of Rabbi Pruzansky by Rabbi Gordimer.
ReplyDelete