Israel as a Religious State

Michal Fromowitz asks:

Ideally, we would all like Israel to be a Jewish religious country - but will it work practically? Can we force the whole country to keep all the Halakhot and Mitzvot? Who will be in charge- the Hasidim or Modern Orthodox people? Would the Rav HaRashi (Chief Rabbi) be a Hasid/Hareidi or a Modern Orthodox rabbi?

Hi Michal- that is a great question! It seems that we pray three times a day for Israel to redeemed so that we can ultimately set up a Halakhic, religious state. Who wouldn't want a country where all the streets are quiet on Shabbat, all the restaurants are kosher and everyone is keeping the Hagim together... this is part of the amazing atmosphere that many of us experience and are attracted to when spending time in Israel today. But, as you mentioned in your question - the issue is much more complex. What would a religious state be like - and would this be something that we would be comfortable with? There are many secular Jews living in Israel - are we going to force them to keep Halakha? Are we going to start executing people and assigning makkot (lashes) for breaking Shabbat? Currently, the only religious states that exist are Saudia Arabia and Iran (and parts of Taliban controlled Afghanistan), where people are often executed for transgressing Shariah (Islamic) law and modesty squads patrol the streets telling people how to dress and behave.... lehavdil, would this be what a religious Jewish state would be like?! Is there any way to combine both our vision and hope of a religious state with our belief in democracy?

I think that there's a lot to discuss with regard to this question, but to start the conversation, I'll share with you two possible models of government where you could still have a religious Halakhic state but perhaps avoid some of these problems.

I. The "Benevolent Theocracy" ("Friendly Religious" Government) Model:
I recommend reading the book "Murderer in the Mikdash" by Gidon Rothstein, which most 10th grade Tanakh classes read this upcoming semester. In this book, the author describes his vision of life in a religious Jewish state after Mashiach has arrived. Without giving too much away, he describes the society as a "benevolent theocracy", which means a very "friendly religious" government. Here, Halakha is enforced but not through punishments and executions, but through Kohanim trying to inspire and educate the people to want to keep Halakha. If someone openly breaks Halakha, they are given the choice either to leave Israel, or to meet with a Kohen to learn more about Halakha and hopefully decide to hold themselves to keeping it on more complete level. The Kohanim are seen as very approachable teachers/counselors who try to bring people closer to Torah through education and "kiruv", instead of handing down makkot or death sentences every time someone breaks Shabbat. So Halakha is still being enforced... but in a "friendly" way. Whether or not this would actually work practically is unclear.

II. Having both Secular and Religious Branches of Government:
Another option could be to adapt the role of the Melekh (the king) to incorporate some aspects of a civil/secular government. In certain situations, the king is granted the power to act "outside of halakha" (see Rambam, Hilkhot Rotzeakh 2:4, Derashot HaRan 11). For example, a king can execute a known murderer whose trial is thrown out due to a Halakhic technicality (for example: due to a problem with the witnesses). Even though on a purely halakhic basis - the murderer cannot be punished, the king is allowed to act in order to bring him to justice and "fill in" any gaps in the Halakhic system. Some modern scholars argue that this power given to the king could be used to create 2 parallel systems of government in Israel running at the same time- a religious government run by the Sanhedrin (based on Halakha) and a secular government, run by the King, with the power to implement certain "secular" laws over and above Halakha. Here you would be able to have a "halakhic" state, but still have a secular branch of the government functioning as part of it.

What about today?
Today, Israel is a complicated situation, since it considers itself both a Jewish and democratic state. On one hand, there is freedom of religion, but the state does enforce certain religious laws. For example, there is currently no secular marriage in Israel, so everyone must get married though the Rabbanut, forcing secular people to go to the Mikvah and pay to have a rabbi at their ceremony (many secular Jews will leave Israel and go to Cyprus to get civilly married instead). As well, religious institutions get government funding and in many places, you cannot open your store on Shabbat or sell Hametz on Pesach without being fined. On one hand, these laws preserve the religious nature of the state and for marriage/divorce situations, ensure that everyone is getting married Halakhically and that their children are considered Jewish. But, if enforcing these laws (especially in cities with an overwhelming secular population) will only cause tension and ill feelings towards religious Jews and Torah, as well as encroach on the civil rights of a large amount of the population, perhaps it is coming at too high a price... this is one of the major debates taking place in Israel today.