Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Is One Candle At The Door Enough?

An email from a prominent Rabbi and friend:

I disagree with your "light" post. Just stay at the door with a light and evil will disappear. These pedophile monsters will not go away by us just shining a light. It takes askanim, and protests, and public trials until a community says enough is enough. Staying at the door alone will leave hundreds of children vulnerable and scared. Maccabim fought!! Sometimes you have to fight the darkness. Not just light from your home. Sometimes you have to read those papers so you know what's happening, so you know the darkness and can better fight it. One gabbai of a big rebbe told me that they don't show the rebbe the bad news. What!!!? How can help? How can he stop the madness??

If nobody reads a single newspaper they never hear about 1 pedophile, and no pedophile will have any incentive to stop.

What you are saying sounds nice, but it's not the way we contend with darkness, it's only 1/2 way.
 
My response is that I agree 100 percent. We must do everything we can to combat evil acts and the evil people who commit them. I cannot write on the blog how I think child molesters and other such beasts should be punished. OK - maybe the electric chair after first being mercilessly tortured.   
 
My post was directed at those who do nothing about evil other than immerse themselves in it. There is some perverse pleasure people get from reading about the sick acts perpetrated by otherwise sane human beings. That is why blogs that are dedicated to evil are so popular. So people read while continuing to eat their Rice Krispies [snap, crackle and - pop!] and go on with their day as if nothing happened. Well, something happened. This person connected to evil which contaminated his soul. To such people I say - focus on spreading light. Those who need to know about evil in order to stop it are partners with G-d who also wants to eradicate evil from His earth.
 
One pasuk says אמחה את זכר עמלק - I, Hashem, will wipe out Amalek. Another pasuk says תחמה את זכר עמלק - You, the Jews must do it. We must be His partner. But when not busy being a "Pinchas" with all of his holy vengeance - be like his grandfather Aharon, an אוהב שלום