The war the militant secular Jews and heretic so-called
religious movements are waging against the Torah observant
has in the last few years taken on a new and threatening
form. They have decided that instead of defending their own
ground they should attack ours. Although once they were
content to ignore the warnings of the Torah-true to the
Jewish Nation that they are jokers, forgers of Judaism and
uprooters of Torah, now they audaciously dare to slander
Torah Jewry.
Maybe you will ask how is that possible. How can they portray
themselves as being more "kosher" than yirei Shomayim
and Jews meticulous in fulfilling mitzvos? At the best they
can try to present their perversion of the Torah as an
"option within legitimate Judaism," but how can they even try
to delegitimize traditional Judaism? Even according to their
school of thought Torah Judaism should have a "right to
survive" at least as a "movement" or an "option."
The answer to this is that they discredit the Torah observant
with the despicable argument that we are causing division and
dissension in am Yisroel in that we disqualify and
reject outright the Reform, Conservative, and various secular
deceptions.
In a discussion at the Annual Conference of Agudath Yisroel
of America, HaRav Nosson Scherman told the following story:
"Not long ago several Jewish newspapers in English published
a large advertisement signed by twelve Jewish billionaires
who run large charity funds. These philanthropists announced
that henceforth they would support only Jewish institutions
that "help strengthen unity." HaRav Sherman said that it was
superfluous to indicate what this "unity" was: It meant
recognizing spurious Reform conversions and the legitimacy of
the Reform and Conservative Movements in Eretz Yisroel. It
also meant agreeing to a list of demands. The problem was
these demands endanger Judaism's future and we must fight
against them.
One of the grave matters, as HaRav Scherman pointed out, was
that one of these funds is, surprisingly, Orthodox and
distributes millions of dollars for charity purposes. Two
years ago this fund sent out circulars to all the
institutions including yeshivos announcing its new policy:
strengthening "Jewish unity." Only those enterprises
following this "lofty principle" will be recognized as
deserving of assistance and all others will receive either
decreased funding or nothing at all. One of the results of
this new "policy" was that support for the eminent Yeshivas
Ner Yisroel of Baltimore and the American nation- wide
network of Torah schools of Torah Umesorah was reduced some
80-90%. We can presume that even this little support will
soon be stopped.
The attempt to portray the campaign against
those uprooting Torah as "making a machlokes" and as
"harming unity" is not at all new. All falsifiers of the
Torah have used this demagogic means in their attempt to
protect themselves from the criticism of those who follow the
Torah loyally.
They knew that what they needed was a temporary state of
peace allowing them to imbue their heretic poison within the
hearts of innocent Jews. They therefore told the masses while
feigning righteousness: "Take a look. We only want to be
considered a legitimate movement. No more. Not we but they
are causing a controversy, shooting arrows at us, stabbing us
with their swords, and harming Jewish unity."
We have on other occasions quoted the Maharam Chagiz in his
war against the Shabtai Tzvi and other false Messianic
movements, explaining that these demagogic arguments repeat
themselves throughout history. In Elu Hamitzvos (ch.
547) he explains at length the fallacy in presenting the
struggle of the Torah-true against those trying to destroy
Yiddishkeit as being a machlokes. Because of
the relevant importance of the sanctions the Reform are
making against those "harming the strengthening of unity," we
will quote once again what he wrote.
Many parshiyos in the Torah come to teach us that
"anyone involved in a machlokes or dissension
lesheim Shomayim and protesting against those doing
aveiros is not called a baal machlokes,
although the crude masses unaware of Hashem's ways may think
so and mistakenly interpret the just as being unjust.
Whenever and wherever these people want to do any evil they
use the same method as the people of Anosos. These simple
people verbally attack those trying to help and protect them
from sin and charge them as being baalei machlokes,
and as intervening in an affair that has nothing to do with
them.
"I have seen this but cannot understand. How can it possibly
be that those trying to protect the Jewish masses from sin
and guide them in the way of truth, attempting to distance
them from physical and spiritual dangers will be called
shotim and baalei machlokes? I would like to
ask these people something and am interested in hearing an
answer. Perhaps this [mitzvah of preventing others from sin]
is something new? Is it not an inheritance from our Patriarch
of Patriarchs, Avrohom Ovinu? Did not Avrohom Ovinu place
himself in grave danger and provoke Nimrod and all those
living in his time?
"Avrohom traveled to Canaan where he was a stranger. He did
not decide to remain in his homeland among his fellow
citizens. Undoubtedly if Avrohom would have followed their
ways and agreed with them or at least remained silent he
would have been considered an eminent person since his father
was one of their leaders. In any event, Avrohom Ovinu chose
to act differently. He decided to live in poverty and danger,
departed from his homeland, and went to call in the name of
Hashem. He wrote books about the foundations of
emunah, gathered people and let them know the truth of
Hashem's oneness and His ways, as is written `For I know him
that he will command his children and his household after him
and they shall keep the way of Hashem to do justice and
judgment' (Bereishis 18:19).
"Eventually this holy nation, the nation of Hashem, was
created. From whom can we learn how to behave if not from
Avrohom who disregarded his family's honor?
"He was also not biased in favor of Lot, his nephew, and when
he saw that Lot became a judge in Sedom, and that he departed
from Hashem and desired benefits and pleasures from those
evil in monetary affairs and wretched sinners with their
bodies to Hashem, Avrohom separated from him, and did not ask
rachamim for him. Hashem pitied Lot only because of
two reasons: First, in the zechus of Avrohom, as is
written, `Elokim remembered Avrohom and sent Lot out of the
midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which
Lot dwelt' (Bereishis 19:29). Second, because Ruth the
Moabite and Naomo the Amonit would descend from Lot. If not
for these two reasons Lot would have been trapped and
destroyed together with the people of Sedom. Avrohom for his
part did not care what would happen to Lot. This is not
because, cholila, Avrohom was cruel, a shoteh,
or a baal machlokes, since we know that Avrohom
followed the midda of chesed.
"Moshe Rabbenu learned from Avrohom how to act in the
machlokes with Korach and his community. Pinchas and
Eliyahu in their kano'us, Daniel, Chananya, Mishoel
and Azarya, and Mordechai who did not bow down to the
scoundrel Homon, all learned from Avrohom Ovinu. Many similar
incidents have occurred. Would it have been proper for even
one of these people to be discredited or considered a
shoteh or baal machlokes? On the contrary, it
is logical that the reverse is true.
"I am well aware of the source of this popular mistake. They
have listened to the hypocrites who have lost the Torah's
splendor and darken its radiance. They present Toras Hashem
contrary to the commentaries' explanations and tell their
perverted version to the masses who are not proficient in
Torah. Since they neither understood nor could they protest,
they should have remained silent, as is written, `O that you
would altogether keep silent and it should be your wisdom'
(Iyov 13:5). The hypocrites told them that Rebbe
praised effusively the virtue of peace and said that even if
Yisroel worship avoda zorah but peace exists between
them, it is as if Hashem says I cannot rule over them, as is
written, `Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone'
(Hoshea 4:17).
"The masses rely on this. They justify themselves by saying
that they want peace and not trouble. They say that if we
want to clarify the truth, instead of peace we will have only
dissension. One party would blackball the other and since
there are so many, the bickering would be enormous. Peace is
preeminent and it is preferable to remain silent. `It is
better they remain unintentional sinners than intentional
ones' (Beitzah 30b).
"I have seen much in life and will tell you what the
nevi'im say explicitly. `There is no peace, says
Hashem, for the wicked' (Yeshaya 48:22) and further
(58:1) the posuk reads, `Cry aloud, spare not, lift up
your voice like the shofar, and show My people their
transgressions and the house of Yaakov their sins.' They are
not embarrassed to `say Peace, peace, when there is no peace'
(Yirmiyahu 8:12). Anyone to whom Hashem has given
intelligence understands that we neither know Hashem's
thoughts nor understand His plan. Truth and peace
together are the foundation for the whole Torah and
mitzvos."
The trenchant message of the Maharam Chagiz
speaks for itself. It is, however, worthwhile to point out
the background of my first publication of it. This reminder
is necessary since ever-so-often secular elements and the
media repeat this argument in their attempt to silence us.
As everyone surely remembers such demagogic arguments were
voiced several times in the past against Maran verabonon
zt"l vyblct'a. We will mention one example that stands
out and is well known. When Maran the Rosh Yeshiva
shlita fought valiantly against spurious ideologies
and false Messianic and nationalist approaches found also
among the fringes of our camp, among Jews who wear
yarmulkes and put on tefillin, you could hear
them complain that this is factionalism and machlokes.
Instead of dealing with the topic itself some tried to
discredit the criticism, which came from the depths of an
aching heart.
The war against the baalei machlokes was made in every
possible way. Some are reminiscent of what HaRav Sherman's
revelation of the recent attempts to harm Torah institutions
of America. At that time Maran shlita told me about a
certain donor who used to investigate the institutions asking
him for financial assistance to find out whether they were
among "Rabbi Shach's yeshivos." He had decided "not to
support baalei machlokes." Maran told me that he sees
how widespread this argument is. In the country where that
philanthropist lives there are almost no chareidim or yeshiva
students. It is far away from the boiling pot of the polemics
of Eretz Yisroel. Nonetheless that philanthropist decided to
join the "war against baalei machlokes."
As mentioned, Maran the Rosh Yeshiva shlita compared
this in a speech at the Ponevezh Yarchei Kallah to a thief
trying to steal from another person. When the victim attempts
to stop him the thief yells out: "Leave me alone! Don't be
such a big baal machlokes!" Everyone realizes the
absurdity of these cries when trying to stop a thief.
Nonetheless, the public at large has difficulties making the
comparison since spiritual matters and hashkofos do
not seem to him as something we should fight for and be
moseir nefesh for. Our spiritual leaders, however,
feel strongly that a war against our religion is "a personal
matter" for every Torah-observant Jew, much more so than
stopping another from stealing his personal property.
We are living immediately before the coming of the Moshiach.
Yeshaya writes concerning this period (59:15), "Truth is
absent and he that departs from evil makes himself
ridiculous." Chazal explain that in this period "whoever
departs from evil appears insane to others" (Sanhedrin
97, see Rashi, ibid.). This has indeed occurred in the
last generation. Anyone who departs from evil is considered
as having lost his mind. Any campaign for sacred values is
considered insanity and "an outburst from baalei
machlokes."
But the Torah truth interwoven within the history of the
Torah Nation teaches us, as the Maharam Chagiz writes, that
every machlokes that is lesheim Shomayim, where
we protest against those who sin, against attempts to uproot
and pervert the Torah, is guarding the Torah. This, he
writes, we have in tradition from our Ovos who did not
agree with the masses who said "If we would want to clarify
what is true there would be no peace but only dissension."
We are walking in the way transmitted to us throughout the
generations: every believing Jew is obligated to protest
against those who try to uproot the Torah and halocho.
"There is no peace, says Hashem, for the wicked." "Truth and
peace together are the foundation for the whole Torah
and mitzvos." This is the answer to all the demagogic
arguments of the heretic "movements" who try to harm Torah
organizations by complaining they are not "helping unity."
They consider everyone who departs from evil as insane, but
we know that this is really what guards true
Yiddishkeit.
