The head of the Bnei David pre-military preparatory yeshiva, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, was a guest on the podcast of publicist Dr. Gadi Taub. They spoke about the essence of the reform led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud).
Rabbi Levinstein noted that "not everyone is aware of what the struggle is about. In general, some feel that the Supreme Court's rulings oppose Judaism and the settlement movement, so their natural inner response, without a deep legal understanding, is that something here needs to be changed and corrected."
But "I would like to take a moment to explain the purpose of the change," he said. "I think the main point relates to who should make decisions when issues of social values are concerned: does a court have the knowledge and ability, or should it have the right, to decide on issues that are social issues and not legal issues?".
"The question is whose voice is to be the deciding voice? Regarding the definition of a family, are there degrees of families? It is a question of societal values. Human rights are not relevant to the discussion. The matter of values relates to dilemmas between social norms and the freedom of individuals to do as they please."
"I am a liberal in the field of individual freedom in its most radical sense," noted Rabbi Levinstein. "That each person should do whatever is right for him or her. Just as I don't want anyone to tell me what to do in my life, I don't want to tell anyone else in the world what to do. It's a personal matter."
But "there is another question, a public question: what is the value of the family? This involves the public struggle for society's values. Is there an ideal in the concept that a father and a mother equal a family? Is this a social ideal, or is it not an ideal? Are all varieties of families equal? These are ethical, social, and public questions that comprise a struggle within society over its values. Leave it to society to manage its values. Don't impose on society the values of one side in the dispute," which is the case currently in the Supreme Court.