Unbelievable - Save Us Hashem!!

Let me tell you about the life of a certain Rosh Yeshiva/Mekubal.

He was in the Beis Medrash every morning at 4:00am and learned until the vasikin minyan. Afterwards he had a long learning seder when nobody was allowed to disturb him.

He finished Shas Bavli EVERY YEAR and also had a chavrusa in Yerushalmi. Every week he gave six shiurim in the Yeshiva he headed and many more outside the Yeshiva.

He was deeply involved in Kabbalah.

He never cancelled a shiur no matter what.

He encouraged people to keep learning and in his merit people learned into their thirties and more.

He would help them financially with thousands of shekels on a constant basis.

He would host boys in his home for shabbos meals.

He would only allow Thursday night weddings in order to minimize bittul Torah.

HE WAS NEVER SEEN ANGRY. EVER.

He opened a whole chain of schools from nursery all the way up to kollel.

He answered hundreds of questions every day from all types of people from the most poor to the most rich, secular and religious alike, men women and children. Halacha, medicine, personal issues. He was there for everybody.

He led a community filled with Torah and chesed.

People said he had tremendous "kochos" to control and overcome nature.

He sounds like an angel.

WAIT!

He is presently in jail waiting for the justice system to decide what his punishment will be.

He is accused of numerous unspeakable sins involving women over an extended period of time and not just a one time slip. [I wasn't there when he committed these acts but rabbonim have spoken out against him and heard the accusations directly from the abused women].

HOW CAN THIS BE?? THE SAME PERSON???

Half Chofetz Chaim and half Bill Cosby??


Let me make myself clear. I don't believe that he is a faker. I really think that he is a tzadik. I also think he is a rasha. I am not a tzadik on his madreiga - not even close. I am also not close on the other side, I hope. He is a shaatnez of tzadik and rasha.

In a sense - we all are just not to that extreme. We have our more pure side and our more uncouth side. The avoda of a Jew is to be constantly involved in Torah and maasim tovim in order to push away the evil that resides within us.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this tragedy.

One is: ANYBODY CAN FALL BIG TIME. ANYTIME. THAT מלך זקן וכסיל  - the old foolish king called the yetzer hara waits to get us - and he "swings for the fences".

Another: People are complex. A lot of good and a lot of bad. I know a rav who I think is a dangerous person in many ways. I also think he is a tzadik. A sick-tzadik. Both.

Some people learn from this story that you can't trust anybody. I don't believe that. There are people you can trust. You just need siyata di-shmaya to choose the right ones.

אשרי אדם מפחד תמיד - A person always has to be afraid lest he slip.

אל תאמין בעצמך עד יום מותך - You can't trust yourself until your day of death.

May Hashem save us from being associated with evil people and may he save us from falling into the traps of the yetzer.

MOST IMPORTANT: CONSTANTLY DAVEN TO HASHEM TO SAVE YOU FROM FALLING. WE HAVE A TEFILLA WE SAY EVERY DAY THAT WE SHOULD BE MISCHAZEIK IN -

ואל תתננו לא לידי עבירה ועוון ולא לידי ניסיון וכו' ואל תשלט בנו יצר הרע והרחיקנו מאדם רע ומחבר רע