Charisma and Its Discontents

In depressingly familiar fashion, another charismatic rabbi is at the center of a scandal involving alleged sexual improprieties. The figure in question, Mordechai Elon, is the scion of a distinguished family who has filled major roles in Israeli public life, directed leading yeshivot and a wide-reaching publishing program, and is revered by tens of thousands of followers. As he continues to assert his innocence, even his accusers take pains to recall his valuable achievements. Meanwhile, Israel's religious Zionists, the people to whom he matters most, are in shock.

Elon's swift fall from grace would have been impossible if not for the stature and integrity of the committee of fellow-rabbis and educators who brought his alleged deviations to light. Indeed, among the elements to this story, one is the increased willingness of the rabbinic fraternity to police itself (seen by some Israeli commentators, however, as an infringement on the prerogatives of law enforcement). Another is the growing candor with which sexuality is discussed in the Orthodox world. Still another, whose implications reach well beyond both Orthodoxy and the state of Israel, is the double-edged sword of charisma.

As many have attested, what makes charisma so powerful—its ability to move and inspire by sheer presence, unhindered by formal structures—is also what makes it so susceptible of abuse. These days, the door is further opened by the cult of subjectivity so central to contemporary experience. The best educators remind us that emotional arousal is no substitute for—at times may be the mortal enemy of—personal growth. But then, many of the best educators, like many of the best rabbis, are largely unknown and unsung.

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