3 True stories that illustrate the deep conflict between the Israeli Supreme Court and halacha.

Story 1: The Supreme Court vs. Chinuch Atzmai (1990s): The Battle Over Religious Education

The Case

In the mid-1990s, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled against the Chinuch Atzmai school system, the independent Charedi education network founded by the Gedolei HaDor under the guidance of the Chazon Ish and Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l.

The case? A petition was brought before the Court arguing that Chinuch Atzmai discriminated by refusing to admit students who came from homes without proper religious observance—homes with television, going to mixed beaches, or lack of Shabbos observance.

The Court ruled that these admissions policies were discriminatory and ordered the schools to change their enrollment procedures, despite the fact that Chinuch Atzmai receives only partial funding and is supposed to operate independently.

The Torah World Reacts

The Charedi world saw this ruling not just as interference—but as a threat to the soul of Torah education.

“How dare they tell us who we can or cannot educate?” thundered Rav Shach zt”l in a public letter. “Do they also tell doctors how to perform surgery? These are nefashos, souls. It is pikuach nefesh to protect the holiness of our schools.” (Michtavim U'Maamarim, Vol. 4)

Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, and others signed a public kol koreh condemning the ruling and calling on every yeshiva and school to stand strong against state coercion.

A Society of Torah, Not Tolerance for Everything

The Charedi position was clear:

• Torah chinuch is not about being inclusive at all costs.
  
• It’s about protecting the environment where Torah can thrive.
  
• The moment secular courts decide who is “religious enough” for a Torah school, the Torah world loses its autonomy—and its integrity.

As Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l stated during this time:

“A Beis Yaakov school is not a train station. We are not here to educate the secular public. We are here to raise bnos Yisrael in purity and kedushah.”

The Legal Outcome

In response to the ruling, the Charedi education networks did not comply with the demands. Instead, they found halachic and legal ways to preserve autonomy, including:

• Creating privately run institutions that do not receive direct government funding.
  
• Using legal protections for religious minorities.
  
• Forming vaadot kabbalah (religious admissions boards) under rabbinic authority.

They also increased pressure on Charedi MKs to ensure that future education legislation would allow for religious standards to be upheld.

The Larger Message

This story is not just about schools.

It reveals the fundamental clash of worldviews:

• The Court believes in democracy, equality, and pluralism—even at the expense of religious identity.
  
• The Torah believes in kedushah, truth, and mesorah—even at the expense of public approval.

And while we pray for peace and understanding, the Charedi world remains committed to one thing above all: Torah fidelity.

We are not anti-people. We are not anti-state. We are anti-coercion and anti-substitution of Hashem’s truth with man’s.

Story 2:The Supreme Court and Giyur — Who Defines a Jew?

The Case: Supreme Court vs. Halachic Conversion

In the early 2000s, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling: that the State of Israel must recognize non-halachic conversions performed abroad by Reform and Conservative movements for the purpose of immigration under the Law of Return.

Later, they ruled that even some non-Orthodox conversions inside Israel must be recognized as granting Jewish status in the eyes of the state. This meant that a person who never kept Shabbos, never accepted the yoke of mitzvos, and was converted under standards that directly contradict halacha—could be officially recognized as a Jew in the State of Israel.

This sent shockwaves through the Torah world.

Gedolei Yisrael Respond

Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l, the leading posek of his generation, called it a “gezera kasheh me'Haman”—a decree more dangerous than Haman’s, because Haman threatened the body, while this was a threat to the soul and purity of Am Yisrael.

He declared:

“A conversion without full kabbalas mitzvos is null and void. Such a person remains a goy. No court—no matter how powerful—can change the truth of the Torah.” (Shiurim and Public Letters, 5765)

Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro zt”l, one of the great roshei yeshiva of Bnei Brak, said:

“The Supreme Court does not recognize the Giver of the Torah. How can it possibly define who is a Jew?”

A Deeper Conflict: Authority vs. Truth

The issue wasn’t just giyur. It was who defines Jewish identity:

• The Torah, through the mesorah from Har Sinai?
  
• Or a group of judges with Western values and secular ideologies?

The Charedi world saw this as a declaration of war on Klal Yisrael’s essence.

They responded by strengthening the private batei din for giyur, ensuring that halachic conversions could not be corrupted by politics. Many major poskim refused to rely on state-sponsored conversions, even when the officiating rabbi was Orthodox, because of pressure from the court to approve unfit candidates.

Chacham Ovadia Yosef zt”l stated publicly in 2004:

“Whoever converts without sincere acceptance of mitzvos is not Jewish. No politician or judge can change this. We follow the Torah, not the courts.”

The Broader Battle for Identity

This case became part of a broader battle:

• Over marriage and divorce (where the Supreme Court pushed to recognize civil marriages).
  
• Over kashrus supervision.
  
• Over autopsies, chillul Shabbos in hospitals, and burial practices.

At the heart of every battle was the same question: Does halacha define Judaism? Or does the secular court?

The Charedi Conclusion

The Torah is not flexible.

It is eternal, divine, and unchanging. The Supreme Court is temporary, political, and man-made.

This doesn’t mean Charedim disrespect the judges as people. But it does mean we reject any claim they make to moral or spiritual authority over Jewish law.

As Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l once said:

“We are not against the Medina because it exists. We are against those who think they can replace the Torah with laws of their own making.”

Story 3: Shabbos, Kavod HaMeis, and the Battle Against Autopsies

The Background: A Tragedy and a Court Order

In the 1980s, a young man tragically died in a suspicious accident in Tel Aviv. The hospital, under pressure from police, planned an immediate autopsy to determine the cause of death.

According to halacha, performing an autopsy without pikuach nefesh (life-saving) justification is a grave violation of kavod haMeis (honoring the deceased), and in many cases is outright issur d’Oraisa.

When the family objected and requested immediate burial, the hospital obtained a court order permitting the autopsy, and forcibly delayed the funeral.

The Charedi community was horrified.

Rav Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss zt”l (Minchas Yitzchak) Steps In

At the time, Rav Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss zt”l, Gaavad of the Eida HaChareidis and one of the leading poskim in Yerushalayim, was informed of the situation.

He immediately sent a delegation of rabbanim and askanim to the hospital to protest and try to halt the autopsy. When they were refused entry, Rav Weiss convened an emergency beis din, and ruled that it was permissible—even necessary—to call public protests and take legal action against the state.

His psak stated:

“The honor of the deceased is not a symbolic value—it is a halachic obligation. The government of Israel must know: their authority ends where Hashem’s law begins.”

A Historic Protest

The Eida Chareidis and many other groups organized a mass protest outside the hospital and government offices. Tens of thousands attended, many holding signs quoting the Gemara:

“Mechalel nefesh achas b’Yisrael k’ilu chilkel olam malei.” (Sanhedrin 37a — “Whoever destroys one Jewish soul, it is as if he destroyed an entire world.”)

The protest made national headlines—and led to a temporary suspension of state-approved autopsies unless authorized by a religious authority.

This was a watershed moment: it showed that the Charedi community was not afraid to confront the state, when it came to defending Torah and kavod haTorah.

Gedolim Speak Out

In the aftermath, many Gedolei Yisrael voiced their strong condemnation of the court's actions.

Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, in a letter from the U.S., wrote:

“The Zionist state must not be allowed to desecrate the dead under the pretense of medical inquiry. The Torah is clear: we bury our dead with dignity—not with knives and cold tables.”

Chacham Ben Zion Abba Shaul zt”l ruled:

“To cut a niftar without halachic justification is murder of the dead. It is a chutzpah against Heaven to think man’s curiosity can override Hashem’s law.”

Halacha vs. Humanism

The Israeli courts, influenced by European secular legal frameworks, often cite “universal human rights” and “the interest of science” to justify autopsies.

But the Torah world responds with emunah and halachah:

• Every Jewish neshama is created b’tzelem Elokim.
  
• The guf must return to the earth untouched, as Hashem commanded.
  
• No one—not a judge, not a doctor—has the right to desecrate a body for bureaucratic or academic gain.
  

A Small Victory—and a Continuing Struggle

Thanks to the outcry of Gedolim and the pressure from askanim and rabbanim, many hospitals in Israel now consult with rabbanim before autopsies. Chevros Kadisha have gained more legal power to intervene.

But the Supreme Court still remains a threat. Even today, it occasionally overrules halachic standards in the name of secular values.

Yet the Charedi world continues to resist—with ahavas Yisrael, with halacha, and with strength.

As Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt”l once told a group of activists:

“Don’t ever be ashamed to stand up for kavod haTorah. We’ve stood before kings and czars and tyrants—and we will not bend for judges who forget that there is a Judge above them.”