חנניה ווייסמאן Chananya Weissman

Idol Worship in Exile

The Rabbis taught: One should always dwell in Israel, even in a city that is mostly heathen, and not dwell outside of Israel, even in a city that is mostly Jewish – for anyone who dwells in the Land of Israel is likened to one who has a God, and anyone who dwells outside the land is likened to one who has no God, as it states “To give you the land of Canaan, to be for you a God.”

But does anyone who does not dwell in the land not have a God?! Rather, it is coming to tell you that anyone who dwells outside the land is as if he is worshipping idolatry. And so by David it says, “For they have driven me out today from being gathered in the inheritance of Hashem, saying ‘go worship other gods.’” Now who told David to go serve other gods? Rather it is telling you that anyone who dwells outside the land is as if he is worshipping idolatry. (Kesubos 110B)

Contemporary events lend insight into this famous Gemara that, on the surface, is difficult to comprehend.

At the very outset, it must be noted that this teaching is not an allegory or a philosophical remark. It is codified by the Rambam as Jewish law – the same Rambam that some Jews rely on for staying in galus. I have no doubt that clever Jewish minds will split hairs or otherwise explain this away to justify remaining in their steplands until the bitter end, but that is their choice. The Rambam has nothing to do with it.

The Gemara first likens a Jew who dwells outside of Israel to one who has no God. This is extremely difficult; God is everywhere and is with Jews in galus as well. The Gemara therefore likens him to one who worships idolatry, but this too is difficult. We can understand that a Jew in exile may lack some measure of God’s protection and closeness. But how can we say that they are like idol worshipers? Our Talmudists, Geonim, and many of our holiest people lived outside of Israel. How can the Gemara make a blanket statement that seemingly associates even them with any semblance of idolatry? Instead of solving the initial problem, it seems the Gemara only made it worse.

Yet all we need is to look around and we will see how true both comparisons are. The Jew in galus knows deep down how quickly things can change. Even if he lives in a democracy in which all ethnicities have equal rights, the Jew is never secure. On the surface they forget – they drive it out of their consciousness – but the Jew instinctively knows that he is a stranger in a strange land.

He is not like the gentiles, no matter how much he tries to imitate their ways, or even outdo them. Unlike his neighbors of other ethnicities, he must suppress much of his identity, even if he may be outwardly Jewish and proud of it.  Even if the Jew achieves some measure of power, he must always rely on the gentile to safeguard him. Even if the Jew is a wealthy landowner, he is really just a tenant.

Because of this, the Jew will make many accommodations to get along with his gentile neighbors, hoping to be tolerated. His gentile neighbors of other ethnicities do not feel this same instinctive need to ingratiate themselves with Jews or others. It is not built into their psyche.

They do not have to wonder whether their brothers and sisters are “too visible”, have “too much power”, or contribute enough to the community to earn the good graces of their neighbors.

They do not instinctively feel the need to be polite and kind to the doorman, the delivery man, the policeman, or the person they pass every day on the street just in case…just in case if things get bad, maybe that person will remember the Jew was kind and hide him or help him escape. This is something Jews are taught. We should be polite and kind to all people to sanctify God’s name…but also because it might one day save a Jew’s life. He might one day wave you to the right instead of to the left, just because you said good morning. You never know.

The gentile does not have to think like that. Only the Jew.

Rather, only the Jew in galus.

This is what the Gemara means when it says the Jew outside of Israel is like one who serves idols. Of course he does not actually serve idols…but he must ingratiate himself to those who do.

A guest does not criticize the lifestyle of his host, at least not while in his home. A Jew therefore does not criticize the lifestyle of the gentile while in his land. The guest can be thrown out, and so can the Jew. Even if the host is gracious, it is likely to cool the relationship – something the Jew cannot risk.

The Jew cannot even decide when his synagogue may be opened or closed. The Jew must make sure his yeshiva curriculum conforms to standards set by gentiles. The Jew must ensure that his right to kosher meat and circumcision is not challenged. So the Jew doesn’t make a fuss about his host’s, shall we say, idiosyncrasies.

The Jew looks the other way. He engrosses himself in his religious studies and his community, ignoring all that goes on in the society around him, so long as it does not directly pertain to him. He censors his religious texts if necessary. He is both ashamed and fearful of expressing certain Jewish ideas that might not go over well with his gentile neighbors. They can afford to offend the Jew without fear of reprisal. The Jew cannot take the chance.

He is a stranger in a strange land, no matter what.

He does not worship idolatry, but he dare not say boo about it.

Today we see Jews kneeling to show solidarity with people who hate them. They pay homage to a man who was murdered not because they are leaders in social change, but because they must follow. The same rabbis who compose eloquent expositions about the responsibility of the Jew to speak out (after seeing how the winds were blowing) have nothing to say about fifty million abortions in America, nothing to say about gay parades and the war on the nuclear family, nothing to say about religious business owners under attack by the anti-God movement, nothing to say about men dressing up as women and forcing others to play along with their charade.

But a man is murdered thousands of miles away, and suddenly the Jew must speak out!

The Jew in exile is a shmatta. This is what the Gemara is telling us. A Jew who lives in Israel – even if he must live among heathens – is still in his home. His mere presence in Israel is a powerful theological statement that cannot be ignored. Even if he must fear the heathen, the heathen is the stranger.

The initial comparison in the Gemara of a Jew in exile to one who has no God is not inaccurate, either. We see this illustrated in our time as well. The Jew in exile claims that he cannot earn a living in Israel; God cannot and will not support him there. He is afraid that there is not enough water; God will not send enough rain for His people. He claims that there is not enough room in Israel to accommodate all the Jews; God gave them a home that is too small. He fears that one missile could wipe out the entire country; God’s chosen land for His chosen people is a death trap.

Is this not someone who can be likened to one who has no God?

Perhaps the Gemara backed away from this initial comparison only because for thousands of years it was unfair. The land of Israel was closed to the average Jew. He simply had no choice. It would be unfair to liken this Jew to one who has no God, for this Jew devoutly yearned for the day when he could return, and made the best of the curse of exile until then. He is likened “only” to one who worships idols, for he must remain in the good graces of his host.

Today, however, we see that both comparisons of the Gemara ring true. The Jew in exile licks the boot of his gentile host because he must, no matter where he dwells, and he does not speak up about social issues unless it is expected of him.

But the Jew in exile also does not believe that God will sustain him anywhere else. God has already brought back many millions of Jews just like him, defeated their enemies over and over again with miracles, and sustained his people despite their best efforts to sabotage themselves. God has enough water, and food, and money, and land, and protection for all His people. The Jew in Israel knows this, even if he is secular, for he lives it every day of his life.

The Jew in Israel who keeps no mitzvos has a closer connection to God than a devout Jew in exile, for he is home. He can also speak up about any social issue he pleases – and he does so loudly and proudly – because this is his home.

We are long past the stage of arguing over whether a Jew has a religious obligation to live in Israel, or whether God wants the Jews to be here, or whether the right time is now or some distant future. It is time for all the Jews in exile to thank their gentile hosts for their hospitality, let them sort out their own social issues, pack their bags, and return home.

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www.chananyaweissman.com

https://www.facebook.com/etm.shabbatons

endthemadness@gmail.com

The Suffering of the “Progressive” Jew

For all the different categories and stripes of Jews that exist and have existed throughout history, there are really only two that matter when you boil it all down: those who accept the divine origin of the Torah, the divine wisdom of the Sages, and the binding authority of both; and those who don’t. The rest is commentary,

The measure of our commitment to something is what we are willing to sacrifice for its sake. Throughout Jewish history those who belong to the first camp have made every sacrifice imaginable for the sake of Torah-true Judaism. It is their commitment that made it possible not only for the Jewish people to survive, but to flourish throughout thousands of years of exile and persecution.

The primary reason for the existence of the second camp is an unwillingness to commit to life as a Jew. By this I refer not to heroic commitment under the pain of persecution – those who falter under such trials should not be judged – but those who find even the most basic demands of life as a Jew too onerous to accept.

Very few people have studied the Torah thoroughly, compared it to other religions and ways of life, and decided that Judaism is inferior to any of them. It is virtually impossible for someone to study the Torah thoroughly and need any further convincing that God exists and the Torah is His handiwork. Those who draw other conclusions do so almost entirely out of ignorance and personal convenience, often camouflaged by intellectualism.

They want to be free. They want to be up to date. They want to fit in with society’s norms and expectations. They want to “think for themselves”.

They say the Torah is primitive, outdated, no longer relevant. They say the rabbis were power-hungry conspirators who made things up, or at the very least were simply “interpreting” the Torah as they saw fit, with no divine knowledge or authority. We know better now, they say. We have a better way.

Oh, how these people must be suffering right now! Their world is crashing down around them.

They thought that by casting off the Torah they would find freedom, but they have become prisoners of a cruel society that demands more from them with each passing day. They thought they would find acceptance and love, but they are being rejected by their own comrades. They thought they would be safe, but they face the threat of merciless persecution for any word they say, or don’t say, or said decades ago. They cast off religion and mocked believers, but traded it in for a new religion that demands unswerving obedience, unfailing allegiance, and truly perfect faith.

It is true that the Torah is demanding. It holds everyone to high standards and holds us accountable for our actions – no excuses. You traded it in for an ideology in which anything goes and the most barbaric behaviors can always be excused. Now you are reaping what you have sown. Is it better?

You say the Torah has too many laws; it is too burdensome and intrusive. You traded it in for a society that is lawless, yet invents new, mostly unwritten laws so quickly that no one can keep up.

The Torah’s wisdom is infinite, yet its commandments are finite: 613 to be exact. There are many laws that stem from these 613, but they are all clearly derived through a divine process that has held true for thousands of years. In fact, it is explicitly forbidden for anyone, even a prophet, to create a 614^th commandment; this is one of the 613. We have the same 613 commandments our ancestors had from the day they were given. We know there won’t be any new ones. We have a system in place to settle doubts and guide us in all situations, even when we cannot conclusively settle a doubt.

Compare to your new religion. Every day you have new commandments, all of which demand an upheaval of your thinking and lifestyle. What you watched on Netflix today will be declared racist tomorrow, and you will be retroactively guilty. All who came before you are guilty and you must denounce them. You must be ashamed of your ancestors and abhor your elders for being unenlightened.

Your children – if you burden yourself with any and don’t kill them before they are born – will feel the same about you. You will be compelled to teach them that nothing is sacred, that whatever is old is outdated, that they must figure it all out for themselves. Then you are shocked and heartbroken when they scorn you, reject you, rebel against you. If you live long enough to become elderly they will see you as a burden and, if your “quality of life” is not deemed sufficient, facilitate your premature death. You reap what you sow.

In order to appease everyone, you adopted the belief that everything is true, that nothing is true, that people make up their own truths, which much always be respected. This is nothing but a clever way to deny the existence of God, whose seal is Truth, and whose existence mandates objective truth. You thought this would absolve you of the responsibility of seeking objective truth and adhering to it. Instead you must seek endless appeasement of those who make up subjective truths, even when they contradict one another.

You didn’t want rabbis – those supposedly evil, self-centered, power-hungry, racist, sexist, elitist rabbis – telling you what to do. Instead you have truly evil, self-centered, power-hungry, racist, sexist, elitist atheists telling you what to do. Unlike the rabbis, these people have no objective Torah sources on which to base their beliefs. Unlike the rabbis, you cannot question or challenge the legitimacy of their opinions, for there is no basis on which to debate them. Unlike the rabbis, you have no recourse but to blindly accept their authority and obey. Rabbis can teach you, their goal is to make you wiser. The leaders of your new religion have nothing to teach; they can only make demands.

Rabbis consult other scholars and analyze clear legal precedents before issuing rulings. This knowledge is available to everyone, and specious rulings will quickly be challenged by the community. What process did you trade this for in your religion of progress? Activists and social engineers make the rules, in conjunction with the media. There is no debate, no questioning, no analysis of the pros and cons, no comparisons to precedents – and no dissenting opinions. You see which way the wind is blowing, and you follow. Or else.

How open-minded and progressive.

The most devout among us are quiet, private, unassuming, humble, and sacrifice for others. The most devout among your “progressive” religion are loud, brash, arrogant, self-righteous, and only make demands of others.

You must align yourself with extremely bad and scary people if your religion of progress demands it. You must always look the other way and submit in the name of progress.

This just in. It’s not just that Netflix show that now renders you a racist. It’s the Lego set, the joke you told in high school, the children’s show, the movie you watched as a child with your grandparents, the doll you bought for your child, the costume you wore. You protested too much when you were called a racist, or you didn’t protest enough, or you protested too loudly when it was not your place, or you didn’t say anything at all. You thought you understood how someone else felt, or you didn’t try hard enough to understand. Guilty!

You claimed that the Torah is primitive because it has sacrifices, but your new religion has sacrifices, too. Human ones. Constantly. Your mob of moral police hungers for new sacrifices, hoping their frenzied rituals of destroying someone and his family will protect them and their own.

You are horrified by the concept of a death penalty, yet you execute people in so many ways, without even a trial. Do you have trouble sleeping?

You know deep down that one day they will come for you. You are bound to slip eventually, or be turned in by someone seeking approval for finding a villain, or be found retroactively guilty for a sin that has yet to be invented. You must even pay for the crimes of others as if you committed them yourself. You are guilty, always guilty, if not today then tomorrow.

There is no concept of repentance in your “progressive” religion. You will cry, and grovel, and plead for another chance. You will disgrace yourself. No one will have pity on you and no one will come to your defense – the accused stands alone, for he spreads guilt like a virus to all who come near.

The religion you abandoned reaches out to the lowest sinner, embraces him, and raises him up with love. The religion you abandoned does not expect perfect results, only a sincere effort. Look around at your tolerant, loving, slogan-chanting friends, as they look for something and someone to destroy in the name of progress. Will they respect your sincere effort if you stumble? Will they love you when you unwittingly, inevitably sin?

You reap what you sow.

The religion you abandoned will accept you back even now, with true love, despite all the sins you have committed. Your people will embrace you and admire your efforts. They will encourage you when you falter, as inevitably you will, because they have faltered as well in their own way and it’s okay not to be perfect. They will expect great things from you, not because you are fighting for the cause of the day, but because you are fighting for your own greatness.

Your elders know a lot more than you gave them credit for. They have what you need. Knowledge. Wisdom. Character. Morals. Peace. Godliness. Truth. A link to the past and a guide for the future.

Maybe it’s time you humbled yourself, truly opened your mind, listened, and learned.

When you stumble, your repentance will be personal and private. Your dignity is precious to you and to others. What a truly progressive idea.

We won’t get you fired and we won’t boycott your business.

The way of life you embraced has shown you how empty and sinister it is. The religion you abandoned is what you were seeking all along.

It’s time to come home.

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www.chananyaweissman.com

www.facebook.com/etm.shabbatons

The author can be contacted at endthemadness@gmail.com

Should you use scare tactics to encourage aliya?

Many advocates for mass aliya, myself among them, have been hammering galus Jews in recent months that life in exile is going to become increasingly inhospitable, to say the least. This prediction has been on the mark, and it takes a dreamer to argue that the situation will reverse itself. The destabilization of America, the epicenter of galus Jewry, is real. It’s not going back to the way it used to be. The good times are over.

Some people have pushed back that using “scare tactics” to encourage aliya is inappropriate. Purists argue that we should only encourage aliya for idealistic reasons, not to run away from danger. Others claim that this angle is ineffective, because Israelis face their own dangers and difficulties. Still others bristle at being preached to, and believe the only appropriate message for galus Jews in distress is empathy.

All of these arguments have an element of truth, but they are off the mark. Using scare tactics to encourage aliya is entirely appropriate, for the following reasons:

1) It’s pikuach nefesh. Those who have been warning galus Jews cannot be dismissed anymore as fear-mongers. With each passing day they are increasingly being proven to be the voice of reason, while those who pooh-pooh the dangers are demonstrating lack of responsibility. If galus Jews hear more voices of reason from across the spectrum, all coming to the same conclusion independent of one another and without any bias or profit motive, they will start to take the message more seriously. The dangers are real, the warnings are necessary, and lives are at stake. We need to be blunt.

2) Mitoch shelo lishma ba lishma. Of course we should emphasize the idealistic reasons for aliya, independent of what I call the gashmiyus comparison test. Warning about the dangers of remaining in galus is not contradictory to the idealistic reasons, but supplementary. The fact is that the vast majority of Jews who are swayed by the idealistic reasons are already in Israel. The ones who are still in galus, for the most part, think of Israel as “very nice, but not for me.” Continuing to push the idealism button is not going to move them; they are not idealists. It’s time to push different buttons.

3) God is using scare tactics, too. We know this. It is deeply rooted in Torah that when Jews get too comfortable in galus, and thereby lose sight of the big picture, God removes the chesed of sweetening the galus to bring them back to reality. God wants the Jews to pine for Israel and make aliya. He too pushed the idealism button for several generations, and is now turning to other methods to bring out people’s inner Zionist. It’s entirely appropriate to give words to the message God is clearly sending.

4) It doesn’t really matter why they come. Again, in a perfect world, all Jews would pine to make aliya and actively strive to do so regardless of the comforts in galus or lack thereof. So what? The early Zionists did not come with pure Jewish ideals. We’re still glad they came and built the land. The post-Holocaust generation did not come to Israel because the Torah inspired them. We’re still glad they built new lives here while continuing to build the land. If all the Jews in the world decided to come tomorrow to flee danger, we would celebrate the complete return of our people, not mourn their imperfect motives. That’s the bottom line.

For all these reasons, the debate on the merits of scare tactics is not relevant. It might have been relevant before the dangers were clear and present, when it mattered more which buttons we tried to press. Right now, we have to do whatever works. If scare tactics will wake up more Jews who are still in denial, or give that extra push to those who need it, then it behooves us to use them – just as God is using them.

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www.chananyaweissman.com

https://www.facebook.com/etm.shabbatons

The author can be contacted at endthemadness@gmail.com

P.S.

“Will I not on that day, says Hashem, wipe out wise people from Edom and understanding from the mountain of Esav?”