Regarding this post: The problem is when people believe that a certain mitzva or value - ANY MITZVA OR VALUE, is more important than the whole Torah. There is no such thing. Even human life much be sacrificed under certain circumstances.
Some say that as long as one lives in Israel, he is greater than any Jew who lives outside of Israel. He can be a מחלל שבת אוכל נבלות וטריפות מומר לכל התורה כולה but he lives in Chaifa or Tel Aviv and not in L.A. or New York? Ahhhh - he is better than every other Jew in Chu"l - even one who keeps all of the mitzvos [except for the mitzva of living in Israel]. Such nonsense [which a lot of people believe - even observant people] is a gross perversion of the entire Torah.
There is no mitzva that one can do that can negate the rest of the Torah. We attempt to keep them all. If we are not perfect - then who is. But it is DANGEROUS to make a philosophy out of this notion that [for example] the mitzva of living in or building Israel makes one a tzadik gamur regardless of his other behaviors. If someone is a pedophile [רח"ל] who lives in Israel and built an amazing business and provided jobs for hundreds of people, it doesn't excuse his evil and sick behavior. If someone learns and teaches a lot of Torah but is dishonest or unkind then his Torah doesn't excuse his poor middos. Torah study isn't everything [and between us, that is about my favorite mitzva]. Without yiras shomayim and good middos it is not worth much at all. I used to be really impressed by smart people. Over the years, as I have observed many such people with all of their foibles and flaws, I have come to the conclusion that intellect is but a very small part of a complete human being. If he lacks other critical attributes, then his intellect is a stain on him because he should no better.
In the sharp words of Chazal about a Talmid Chochom with bad middos - נבילה טובה הימנו!
