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<font size=3>Redirected at the suggestion of an areivim moderator to
avodah. YL<br><br>
At 04:32 PM 11/15/2011, Zev Sero wrote:<br><br>
>And that is precisely where I am coming from. But of
course anyone can<br>
>claim that the "fifth chelek" supports him!
What test is there? The<br>
>fifth chelek cannot contradict the first four. And what
is the fifth<br>
>chelek anyway? It is mesoras yisroel. In this case,
our mesorah is<br>
>precisely what these people are doing, while those who object
are all<br>
>coming from an alien perspective.<br><br>
Your mesorah may be "precisely what these people are
doing," but it<br>
is certainly not the mesorah of RSRH, ZT"L, and many, many
other<br>
Jews. It was certainly not the mesorah of Rav Shimon Schwab,<br>
ZT"L. In his essay Chillul Hashem that I have posted
at<br><br>
<a href="http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/chillul_hashem_r_schwab.pdf" eudora="autourl">
http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/chillul_hashem_r_schwab.pdf<br>
<br>
</a>he wrote<br><br>
The second sentence of Sh'ma Yisroel begins with the<br>
command: "You shall love Hashem", which is interpreted by<br>
our Sages: "Let the name of Hashem become beloved through<br>
you." In other words, we are supposed to lead the kind of<br>
exemplary life which would contribute to the universal<br>
adoration of G-d and which would, in turn, enhance the glory<br>
and lustre of the Torah, adding respect for the dignity of the<br>
Jewish people as a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.<br>
The very opposite of the sanctification is the desecration<br>
of the Name as condemned by the Prophet with the scathing<br>
words (Yechezkel 36): "They came to the nations and<br>
desecrated my Holy Name, so that one said to them, is this<br>
the people of G-d who came from His land?"<br><br>
Every form of Chillul Hashem lowers the awareness of<br>
the Divine Presence in the world. But if the desecrator<br>
happens to be a professed Torah observer or, even worse, a<br>
so-called scholar of the Torah, then the Chillul Hashem not<br>
only weakens the respect for Torah on one hand, but<br>
strengthens on the other hand the defiance of the non observer<br>
and adds fuel to the scoffers, fanning the fires of<br>
religious insurrection all around. Chillul Hashem is<br>
responsible, directly or indirectly, for the increase of frivolity,<br>
not be surprised reading the harsh words of condemnation<br>
we find in the Talmud: "He who has committed Chillul<br>
Hashem, even Teshuvoh, Yom Kippur and suffering cannot<br>
fully atone for his sin until the day of his death (Yoma 86)."<br>
"Better to commit a sin in secrecy than to commit Chillul<br>
Hashem in public (Kiddushin 40).<br><br>
"There is no delay in the Divine punishment for Chillul<br>
Hashem, whether committed knowingly or unknowingly<br>
(ibid.)".<br><br>
"If one steals from a non-Jew, swears falsely and dies, his<br>
death is no atonement for his sin because of Chillul Hashem"<br>
(Tosefta B. Kamma, 10).<br><br>
<br><br>
At 04:32 PM 11/15/2011, Zev Sero wrote:<br><br>
>And that is precisely where I am coming from. But of course
anyone can<br>
>claim that the "fifth chelek" supports him! What test
is there? The<br>
>fifth chelek cannot contradict the first four. And what is the
fifth<br>
>chelek anyway? It is mesoras yisroel. In this case, our
mesorah is<br>
>precisely what these people are doing, while those who object are
all<br>
>coming from an alien perspective.<br><br>
Your mesorah may be "precisely what these people are
doing," but it <br>
is certainly not the mesorah of RSRH, ZT"L, and many, many
other <br>
Jews. It was certainly not the mesorah of Rav Shimon Schwab, <br>
ZT"L. In his essay Chillul Hashem that I have posted
at<br><br>
<a href="http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/chillul_hashem_r_schwab.pdf" eudora="autourl">
http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/chillul_hashem_r_schwab.pdf<br>
<br>
</a>he wrote<br><br>
The second sentence of Sh'ma Yisroel begins with the<br>
command: "You shall love Hashem", which is interpreted by<br>
our Sages: "Let the name of Hashem become beloved through<br>
you." In other words, we are supposed to lead the kind of<br>
exemplary life which would contribute to the universal<br>
adoration of G-d and which would, in turn, enhance the glory<br>
a<br>
Redirected at the suggestion of an areivim moderator to avodah.
YL<br><br>
At 04:32 PM 11/15/2011, Zev Sero wrote:<br><br>
>And that is precisely where I am coming from. But of course
anyone can<br>
>claim that the "fifth chelek" supports him! </font></body>
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