A number of years ago ago there were two men who had a chesed organization. A man - we will call him Reuvein - had lost his son tragically to a genetic disease and in his memory he established an organization that would provide food for hungry people!! Wow!! HOOOLLYYY!!!
At some point, Reuvein and his partner "Shimon" got into a dispute about a large sum of money. Somehow, they ended up in court with Reuvein suing Shimon for a LOT of money. Shimon wanted him to drop the suit so he cooked up an evil scheme. He hired a young attractive women to pose as a potential donor of a very large sum of money to the organization. Then, she would lure him up to a hotel room, where she would then seduce him - all of this being filmed with a secret camera in the room. The video would then be used as blackmail to get him to drop the suit....
It took three meetings in a hotel lobby and by the third she lured him up to the room where she managed to get him to commit two serious aveiros - "yichud" and "kirva la-arayos". Before he "completed" the aveira he somehow stopped himself and left. [For that - a congressional medal of honor].
The blackmailer then sent him the pictures, called him some choice names and told him to drop the suit.
Reuveins WIFE encouraged her husband to go public which he did. He said that he failed and did aveiros [although again - he didn't finish it. But aveiros nonetheless]. His partner "Shimon" was arrested for what he did [I think on grounds of encroaching on the privacy of another person]. Shimon denies that it was him. [Right, it was Reuveins wife who hired this harlot...].
This story contains many lessons for life.
1] The two men are bearded, payosed, be-shtreimeled Jews. How LOW a person can sink! A certain type of levush is not guarantee of frumkeit and Yiras Shomayim.
2] Money can make people CRAZZZZZYYY!!! Insane.
3] Don't have Yichud. That is where all such aveiros start.
4] The beginning of the story is a chesed organization. The "בעל דבר" [yetzer hara] sneaks his way even into the BIGGEST MITZVOS!!!
A person starts a Yeshiva. HOW HOLY!! But then the yetzer hara finds his way in there and starts a machlokes in the Yeshiva. They fight and fight until a new Yeshiva is born. GREAT!! MORE YESHIVOS! But about the Chilul Hashem, Machlokes and Lashon Hara that precede the break off?? Sometimes there is no break off and the Machlokes and discord go on for years. Everything started from the greatest mitzva of spreading Torah.
Ditto with shuls - This side loves the rabbi, the other side hates the rabbi. This side wants a lower mechitza, the other side a higher mechitza. Fight-fight-fight.
Like we don't have enough anti-semitism and we need to fight among ourselves....
A couple gets married!! So holy. But then the yetzer gets in there and tells the couple to move the mechitza aside after the first dance and have mixed dancing. From holy matrimony to mid-town disco club in seconds.
Or after a few years things go sour and each side views the other with as much affinity as they would view Hitler ימ"ש. It started out so well, with dreams of building generations of pure Jews and ends up in a court of law with each side flinging mud at the other.
SO BEWARE!!! THE בעל דבר is super-sneaky and one must be cognizant of his ubiquitous presence.
