Here We Go Again....

Another scandal hits the papers - the New York Times and everyone else who likes reporting this stuff. Salacious, scandalous, well known figure. Everything they like. Somehow - the Jewish Week never reports a shiur - [Headline: "Raavad sharply argues with the Rambam. Ktzos Hachoshen comes to the Rambam's defense. Link to R' Ehrman's shiur inside. Taste and see..."]. But so is journalism and frankly - it serves a purpose. ואכ"מ . And of course the bloggers and pundits who instead of spreading good and Torah instead can be involved in more filth, privately rejoice.

A chillul Hashem? Mammoth.

Rabbi accused of improper behavior. We will obviously not mention the name of the rabbi or the misbehavior. His name or what he is accused of doing is not the point.

What I do want to discuss is why these things happen? I have addressed this issue on these pages in the past and don't intend to present a full length discussion here but to make a point or two. Before I do, I must again make the point that MOST RABBIS are fine upstanding people and those who get involved in scandals are the minority - מיעוטא דמיעוטא.

Some time ago I was talking with one of the officers of a well known shul in the New York area and he was telling me about the shul's previous rabbi [they were searching for a new one]. He said that he was non-stop busy. He was always involved in counseling people, making phone calls to help people, furthering many good causes of chesed and Torah etc. etc. In short - an extremely busy pulpit rabbi. He was busy .... 24/7. Most jobs allow a day off but not the rabbi. His BUSIEST days are the days when others are off from work. This person was a great fan and follower of this rabbi and spoke glowingly of him. He mentioned, inter alia, that although they spent much time together, HE NEVER SAW THIS RABBI OPEN UP A SEFER TO LEARN!!

After serving this congregation and community for many years, he was discovered to have engaged in behavior with women that the Torah forbids and was forced to resign .... and flee.

Many months later I had the following thought. There are many, many complex reasons why otherwise upstanding religious personalities do things that are not only egregious sins against their faith but also destroy their careers and bring indescribable embarrassment upon themselves and their families. One famous psychiatrist [who was a childhood friend of my father shlita] called it "a classic case of disassociation, where one separates the reality of his actions from his belief system. It makes for a particularly strong divide when the person is a public figure with a reputation for good works". But what is the religious angle?

It occurred to me that maybe there is a connection between the sexual crimes and the fact that he wasn't learning. Chazal say בראתי יצר הרע בראתי תורה תבלין - The ONLY real antidote to the yetzer hara is learning. When a person learns properly every available minute, the Torah spiritually elevates him to a point where he won't sin. In addition, when a person is busy learning, he doesn't have TIME to sin. He NEVER has a free minute because he has his "daf-yomi-halacha-yomis-mishna-yomis-shmiras-halashon-yomi-chazara-seder-iyun-seder-mussar-seder etc. etc." The Kotzker told his talmidim that he doesn't want them to refrain from sin only because it is forbidden but because THEY DON'T HAVE THE TIME to sin.

I have known many pulpit rabbis and I am struck by the fact that some [BUT NOT ALL - SOME ARE GREAT PEOPLE AND EVEN READ THE BLOG!!:-)] of them are just religious functionaries. They have a job like anyone else in their community and their job just happens to be attending to religious matters but they long ago stopped learning and growing in any serious way. Some learn less than some of their balabatim.

I was once witness to a rabbi who held and caressed the hand of the women at a shiva home. He initiated the touching and it wasn't at their behest in any way. I would not be surprised if one day he is embroiled in a scandal. He will publicly touch women - what will he do privately when his yetzer gets the better of him? Is this rabbi a learner? No. He is a genius but not a learner [at some point in the past he learned but no more]. When he davens, he spends much of the time playing with his I-phone and when not "davening" is a big TV fan....

I was once traveling with a pulpit rabbi who spent his free time in transit reading the newspaper. He remarked to me ruefully that he WISHES that he was into learning but he is not - so he instead reads the paper.

One rabbi who is quite controversial was once witnessed PUBLICLY HUGGING a number of secretaries [unlike chasidic rebbes - he doesn't have male secretaries....].

Hmmmmm.

Anything he does or says against our mesora doesn't surprise me. 

"If there is no God, everything is permitted" אומרים בשם Dostoyevsky in The Brothers Karamazov.

A rabbi needs a healthy dose of yiras shomayim and intense involvement in Torah study - then he can be a proper leader.

The upshot for all of us is  - for our own yetzer hara the BEST thing to do is to learn, learn and learn yet more. And always with yiras shomayim and a constant awareness of His loving presence.

Also - when choosing a rabbi it is important to choose someone who is not just a religious showman but a genuine servant of Hashem, humble, modest, self aware and willing to admit his faults [the hallmarks of the various personalities who have gotten into trouble in the last few years is that they lacked some or all of the aforementioned qualities].

How sad it is when people are chosen for their fancy advanced degrees or social skills while the most important qualities are overlooked.

May we be spared of any future chilullei Hashem.

Amen!!!