"Who is the man that desires life? He who turns from evil and
does good." Repeatedly, our holy ancestors were taught that
to come closer to Hashem requires an initial rejection of
those aspects of the surrounding cultures that are alien and
contrary to Torah values. This was what was expected from
Noach, Avrohom Ovinu, Moshe Rabbenu, the Jewish people in the
desert -- and in the present day.
The Vilna Gaon and HaRav Eliyahu Dessler explain the same
principle on a more individual level. Rav Dessler wrote that
each and every person has within him an aspect of Mitzrayim --
some attribute which is "foreign" and separates him from
Hashem. He explains that man's task in this world is to
bridge that exile-factor. (Tisha B'Av, Michtav
Me'Eliyahu).
The Vilna Gaon, along the same lines, states that the entire
purpose of a man's life is to break those parts of his
character that create obstacles in his relationship with
Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
The nobility of the Jewish people has traditionally been
illustrated with examples of self-sacrifice, through removing
oneself from being self-centered in order to get closer to
Hashem. Noach got on an ark and left the world behind.
Avrohom Ovinu was told to leave his country and his ways and
chart a whole new course. Yitzchok Ovinu was prepared to make
the ultimate sacrifice of his very existence to satisfy the
will of Hashem. Hashem fondly remembers the generation of the
Exodus as, "Following after Me in a desert, a land with no
sustenance" (Yirmiyohu 2:2).
It was at Har Sinai that the Jewish people said, "We will do
and we will hear." There was no need to hear extensive
lectures about how Torah would instantly solve our problems,
nor to hear reasons for all of the laws and how they would
benefit us. There was no promise of instantly obtaining a
life composed of continual stimulating spiritual
encounters.
On the contrary, a mitzvah that cannot be postponed takes
precedence even over Divine visitation, as learned from this
week's parsha when Avrohom Ovinu took his leave of the
Shechinah in order to greet the simple travelers.
All that was asked of us is complete trust in Hashem. And
yet, we did not ask questions. The Jewish people accepted the
yoke.
Kiruv in our times is a very important effort. People
are thirsty for the truth, and each and every soul that is
saved is an incalculable good. The forces of Western culture
hold many thousands in their powerful grip and they cannot
get to the truth.
However, some seem to think that for kiruv, events
resembling the basest of gentile customs and ways that are
now commonplace in the world at large -- parties, bands,
dancing, celebrations of non-Jewish events -- may be used to
try to bring in wayward Jews.
This approach appears, to those still on the outside, to
affirm and even to glorify the non-Jewish culture. Even
though the ultimate goal is to bring people to Torah values,
the enticements are events which are advertised as giving
participants help in fulfilling the goals they already have
that they learned from the non-Jewish world.
The effects are lamentable. The non-religious are honored by
the religious and thereby their lifestyle is validated,
something they desperately crave from the authentic Torah
world.
Such means cannot produce long-run positive results for
Torah, regardless of any short-term success they may
bring.
This approach implies that Torah will pander and compromise
itself to any extent, and it falsifies the very idea of what
success means and inevitably distorts Torah teachings in the
process.
The misunderstanding of mitoch shelo lishmoh that is
consistent with this approach is an example of such a
distortion of a true Torah principle. Some argue that any
means that will bring someone in the door for kiruv is
justified by this principle.
The true meaning of mitoch shelo lishmoh, on the
contrary, assumes a sincere individual who desires
authenticity from the beginning but whose intentions are not
pure. The fact that additional considerations are mixed into
his consciousness, the Torah teaches, should not be
considered a hindrance.
The idea of "saving a soul" is meaningless unless you teach
that individual, honestly and sincerely, what it means to be
a Jew. Frum Jews have no reason to encourage those who
are ignorant to adopt a false view of what the Torah stands
for. Otherwise, the alternative is actually to have played a
part in allowing someone to accept a lower level, a false
level, as an appropriate one.
The approach of such camouflaged kiruv is based on
entirely false assumptions.
There is only one Torah and one truth and there is no
separate one for the ba'alei teshuvoh.
The first blessing we make in the morning praises our ability
to distinguish. Havdoloh on motzei Shabbos
begins the week with the same blessing. Chonein Hado'as
plays the same role in the daily Shemoneh Esrei.
Today there are great temptations around us. No one can deny
this.
But the Torah has to be taught with complete honesty and
should not hesitate to distinguish itself rather than to
assimilate and blend in. It is precisely only when a young
person believes that being a Jew is different and that the
difference is genuine that he might consider why he should
hold on so tight to his own mesorah.
Without this, the next generation, chas vesholom, may
not see the value of being moser nefesh against the
temptations around us, as the value will have disappeared.
Of course, the Torah teaches, "Its ways are ways of
pleasantness" (Mishlei 3:17). No one is advocating
that the joy of Torah should not be evident and transmitted.
The entire Torah is a living document promising life itself
and all good things -- and it can and does deliver!
However, its joy is one that is enumerated in the Torah
itself and not a mere replication of the "good time" that the
gentiles appear to be having. The Torah speaks for itself in
this regard. "The Torah of Hashem is pure, awakening the
soul" (Tehillim 19:8).
It works the way it is. And every Jew still has within him a
soul that can hear it just the way it is.
