Kiruv Ethics

I am a fan of kiruv. It's true, I'm not kidding. I think that if you have a worldview that you think is correct, then it's perfectly fine to try and convince other people of that, to be 'mekarev' them to your point of view. It's a free world, and the marketplace of ideas should be vibrant and open to all. However, there are certain basic rules and principles that should be obeyed.

1. Free Speech

Debate works when people are allowed to air their ideas and ideologies freely. When people are restricted from speaking or sharing their ideas, persecution, lack of freedom and even atrocities are not far behind. Kiruv organizations and individuals are perfectly welcome to try and persuade other people to become Orthodox Jews, Moslems, Atheists, Jews for Jesus or whatever, using whatever bogus arguments they wish. However all opinions must be allowed to be aired. Shutting someone up with cries of 'kefirah', or issuing Fatwahs, is not allowed. Frum Kiruv organizations might pretend to be non judgemental and tolerant in this regard, but in reality, being Chareidim, they cannot be. Nebuch a kofer is also a kofer as they are wont to say.

2. Honesty about Motives

The second rule is that the kiruv organization must be honest about its motives. It cannot pretend to be pluralistic when it in fact it isn't. It cannot pretend to be offering free trips to Costa Rica when in fact there is an agenda. Frum Kiruv organizations are often guilty of some level of disingenuousness here, as I posted previously.

3. No brainwashing

Even if an organization allows free speech and is honest about its motives, there is a third requirement. The tactics that the organization uses to try and persuade people must be ethical, and not involve any type of brainwashing techniques. The line between intense persuasion and brainwashing is somewhat blurred. Sleep and food deprivation can be considered brainwashing techniques, but they could also just be a natural part of some intense program. For the most part, Frum Kiruv orgs don't use such tactics, though maybe some NCSY weekends come close.

4. Respect for other people's right to have beliefs

You probably thought I was going to say respect for other people's beliefs, but I don't neccessarily agree with that. What if someone has highly objectionable beliefs? Do you have to respect that? I don't think so. Rather, you must respect their right to hold that belief, but you don't have to respect the belief itself. It's a fine line which is difficult to navigate, but you have to try. In my experience, Frum Kiruv Workers pretend to be tolerant of other people's right to have different beliefs but in reality are not tolerant, since at their core they are fundamentalists.

5. No mockery

Persuasion tactics should involve reasoned debate (and experiential activities as long as they don't cross the line into brainwashing), but should not include mockery of opposing positions. Of course I am guilty of this on the blogs, but in real life I fully agree that this is not the best approach. A classic example of what not to do is R Dovid Orlofsky's famous tape on Torah & Science. True, he's very funny, but it's just not appropriate. Orlofsky style tactics are in widespread use by similar Kiruv Clowns, but I think the average Kiruv Kollel guy is more straight up than that.

6. Not in your face

I don't think kiruv should be pushed on anyone. Everyone has the right to privacy, or to be left in peace with their own ideas (unless of course these ideas are clearly dangerous to others). I don't believe in going up to unsuspecting people and haranguing them about my ideas, and neither should Frum Kiruv workers. And for the most part, they don't.

7. Fair Play

If you propose to try and be mekarev others, then you must allow other people to do the same. In general I see some hypocricy here. Kiruv Organizations  perform all sorts of stunts, but if Jews for Jesus try to missionarize they get condemned in the worst possible ways. What's the difference? In a similar vein, a  blog which talks about how terrible Atheism or Conservatie Judaism is gets a free pass, while skeptic blogs are reviled for 'spewing kefirah' and trying to posion the minds of innocent believers. You can't have it both ways.

Anyways, with these guidelines in place, I think kiruv is not only permissible, but actually desirable. Progress comes from the market place of ideas, from vigorous debate and discussion. I therefore plan to increase my own kiruv efforts in this regard. So far I believe I have successfully mekareved quite a few people to my point of view, and be'ezras Hashem will continue to have such hatzlochoh in the future. Based on my experiencesin the kiruv field so far, I believe there are a lot of overly-affiliated uyet vaguely dissatisfied Jews out there who only need a small push and some education to find the true meaning in their lives.