To Illuminate Rather Than Condemn: The Legacy of Rabbi Moshe Hauer
I have not yet found words to convey the depth of my personal bereavement with the passing of Rabbi Moshe Hauer. I can, however, more readily reflect upon and discern the gifts he bestowed upon Klal Yisrael.
Much has already been said and written about the tragic and immeasurable loss our community has endured, not least being Rabbi Hauer’s rare constellation of personal virtues that defined him. Yet to me, his most significant and enduring communal legacy lies in the way his extraordinary success in public life resolved one of Orthodox leadership’s most persistent dilemmas: how to defend Torah values with vigor and conviction while remaining faithful to Torah’s call for love and respect.
Experience teaches that casting stones, whether literal or figurative, at those who espouse offensive ideas rarely changes their hearts or minds. On the contrary, such gestures tend only to deepen resistance. The true aim of public condemnation and denigration is seldom reform but rather to sway the uncommitted and fortify the convictions of those already aligned—not to change the views of adversaries but rather to signal to one’s own community that the positions or behavior being attacked are beyond the bounds of consideration.
This strategy of militant contentiousness may at times be justified as necessary for the preservation of Torah Judaism. This is particularly true when confronting deviant views that include elements that may appear persuasive to the unguarded ear.
Yet, Torah values themselves call us to speak with love and understanding, and to engage one another with dignity and respect. Moreover, those who assail theological or political adversaries through disparagement and vilification risk appearing sanctimonious and vitriolic, often alienating those who might otherwise sympathize with their position.
On the other hand, those who approach antagonists with warmth and camaraderie risk inadvertently conferring legitimacy upon indefensible ideas or conduct that ought to remain beyond the pale.
Rabbi Hauer revealed this supposed paradox to be illusory. He resolved this enduring tension for communal leaders by illustrating that principled and unyielding advocacy and sincere warmth and respect are not antithetical virtues, but complementary expressions of Torah integrity.
Experience teaches that casting stones, whether literal or figurative, at those who espouse offensive ideas rarely changes their hearts or minds.
I accompanied Rabbi Hauer through countless meetings, conferences and conversations with those holding views we vehemently opposed. He composed hundreds of letters, essays and articles championing authentic Torah values at moments when those values were under challenge. At times, he also entered the fray of controversies within Orthodoxy itself, articulating his views with clarity and conviction.
Never once, however, did his words descend into disparagement, nor his tone into vilification. He would voice conviction with the quiet strength of humility. He listened attentively and would seek to understand the reasoning behind positions he knew were misguided. And he would respond firmly but never convey self-righteousness. Adversaries were transformed into friends, and Torah Judaism earned the respect of even its harshest detractors.
Simultaneously, his engaging and respectful manner with those asserting diametrically opposing views was never mistaken by his supporters for compromise or even modest endorsement of the views he unequivocally rejected. Those in the camp he represented, who shared his convictions, understood that Rabbi Hauer’s graciousness toward others was not a softening of principle but an expression of his ahavas Yisrael. He harbored a genuine love for every Jew, untouched by how fallacious or offensive their religious or political views, or even conduct, might have been. Even his more combative allies and their supporters never doubted Rabbi Hauer’s passion or his unwavering fidelity to Torah-true values.
In shaping the Orthodox Union’s institutional culture, Rabbi Hauer would often invoke a teaching of the Chafetz Chaim: that the most powerful refutation of error is not condemnation and denigration, but the clear and consistent example of the right path. When an organization challenges the practices of other movements or institutions, there is a tendency to denounce their flaws and failures. Rabbi Hauer, though acknowledging how difficult restraint can be, consistently urged the OU to act otherwise. Human nature often falls short of the ideal, but this ethic has become a guiding standard at the OU.
In an era of increasingly destructive polarization, Rabbi Hauer’s legacy offers a desperately needed model: that we can hold firm to Torah truth while treating every person with dignity, that we can unequivocally reject ideas without rejecting people, and that the most compelling defense of our values is not the force of condemnation but the integrity of our conduct.
May we find within ourselves the passion, courage and ahavas Yisrael to make Rabbi Hauer’s example the standard by which we guide both our personal lives and our communities.
Moishe Bane, president emeritus of the Orthodox Union, serves as a contributing editor of Jewish Action.
In This Section
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l: The Loss of a Leader
Man of G-d: Remembering Rabbi Moshe Hauer by Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph
A Guiding Light for Klal Yisrael by Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Ber
“His Life Was a Continuous Ascent” by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb
To Illuminate Rather Than Condemn: The Legacy of Rabbi Moshe Hauer by Moishe Bane
Photos:
Rabbi Hauer with Moishe Bane
With NCSY teens by the Kotel