Haredi Jewry wants to present itself as the only legitimate continuation of what was once the Torah-observant masses of the Jewish people. But this is not so...
Haredi Judaism is a new, modern phenomenon, and it is only one type of Jew that is an authentic continuation of the old guard of loyal observant, traditional Jewry. Religious nationalists, modern orthodox, hardali etc are all variant expressions of a continuation of that old group - Jews, not perfect, but largely loyal to the Torah and keeping the mitzvot, loyal to the rabbis, to chazal, and to Talmud.
I agree with this. It is true that sometimes Haredim imply that since they study Torah many hours a day and very strictly follow some important halachic rules (modesty for instance), they are "holier" than the other Orthodox groups.
First of all, not all Haredim say so. The one who is truly righteous will not search reasons to feel better than the others. He will quietly study Torah, pray and observe the laws, and be happy in his service to the Creator. Believe me, there are many such Haredim. On the other hand, I noticed that those Haredi people who say they are better are usually not 100% perfect themselves.
Secondly, there are other very important commadments that the Haredim of course perform, but those who excel in them are namely other Orthodox groups.
Yishuv Haaretz (settlement of the Land of Israel) is promoted by the Religious Nationalists. The Modern Orthodox often run successful businesses and give much money for
tzedakah (charity). Both
yishuv haaretz and
tzedakah are cornerstones of Judaism. Moreover, if
yishuv haaretz (which includes defense from the enemies) were not promoted, present-day thriving Haredi community in Israel would have been impossible. Also, many Haredim in Israel rely to charity given by many Modern Orthodox from the US and Canada.
One of the lessons of the Second Lebanon war was that Air Force, even as perfect and excellent as the Israeli one, cannot win the war alone. In the same way Torah study, being so holy and noble, cannot fulfill the Jewish mission alone.
Let alone the situation when air force stuff looks at the others as inferiors. To reach the goal we need the perfect interaction of all the units, which must start from mutual respect.
Only when all Orthodox groups will recognize the common goal, appreciate the advantages of each other, and function as cooperating parts of the greater whole, the
Geulah (salvation) will be closer.
But if they quarrel with each other, this may lead to
sinat hinam (unconditional hatred), G-d forbid. Don't forget that the Second Temple, which destruction we are about to mourn, was destroyed due to
sinat hinam.