Bnos Moav Today

The gemara in Sanhedrin [106] describes how the Bnos Moav seduced the Jewish men in this weeks Parsha:

אמר לו בלעם לבלק: אלהיהם של אלו [של עם ישראל] - שונא זימה הוא והם, [עם ישראל], מתאוים לכלי פשתן!
בוא ואשיאך עצה [כיצד להכשילם]:
עשה להן קלעים [מין אהלים], והושיב בהן זונות, והושב זקינה מבחוץ, וילדה מבפנים, וימכרו להן לישראל כלי פשתן.
עשה להן קלעים מהר שלג עד בית הישימות, והושיב בהן זונות, אשה זקינה [מבוגרת] היתה יושבת מבחוץ, וילדה מבפנים.
ובשעה שישראל אוכלין ושותין ושמחין ויוצאין לטייל בשוק, אומרת לו הזקינה: אי אתה מבקש לקנות כלי פשתן?
וכשהישראל שואל למחיר הבגד, הזקינה אומרת לו בשוה [את מחירו האמיתי], וילדה אומרת לו בפחות.
וכן הן עושות שתים ושלש פעמים.
ואחר כך אומרת לו הצעירה: הרי את אצלי כבן בית, שב ברור לעצמך ככל שתרצה.
וצרצורי [נודות] של יין עמוני מונח אצלה. ובאותו זמן עדיין לא נאסר יין של נכרים על ישראל.
אמרה לו: רצונך שתשתה כוס של יין?
כיון ששתה הישראל מן היין - נשתכר, ובער בו יצר הרע.
אמר לה: השמיעי לי [השמעי לי לתשמיש].
הוציאה יראתה מתוך חיקה, ואמרה לו: עבוד לזה!
אמר לה: הלא יהודי אני, ואסור לנו לעבוד עבודה זרה!
אמרה לו: ומה איכפת לך, אינך צריך לעבדה. כלום מבקשים ממך אלא פיעור [אינני מבקשת ממך - אלא שתוציא רעי בפניה]! שכך היתה עבודתה של עבודה זרה זו, שמוציאין רעי בפניה.
והוא אינו יודע שעבודתה של יראה זו בכך, ולכן עשה כדבריה.
ואותה צעירה מוסיפה אחר כך ואומרת: ולא עוד, אלא שאיני מנחתך - עד שתכפור בתורת משה רבך.
והישראל עושה כדבריה, וכופר בתורת משה.
שנאמר: "המה באו בעל פעור וינזרו לבשת ויהיו שקוצים באהבם".

 He [Balaam] said thus to him [Balak]. 'The God of these hates lewdness, and they are very partial to linen. Come, and I will advise you. Erect for them tents enclosed by hangings, in which place harlots, old women outside, young women inside, to sell them linen garments.' So he erected curtained tents from the snowy mountain [Hermon] as far as Beth ha-Yeshimoth [i.e., right from north to south], and placed harlots in them — old women outside, young women inside. And when an Jew ate, drank, and was merry, and issued forth for a stroll in the market place, the old woman would say to him, 'Do you not desire linen garments?' The old woman offered it at its current value, but the young one for less. This happened two or three times. After that she [the young woman] would say to him, 'You are now like one of the family; sit down and choose for yourself.'

Gourds of Ammonite wine lay near her, and at that time Ammonite and heathen wine had not yet been forbidden. Said she to him, 'Would you like to drink a glass of wine?' Having drunk, [his passion] was inflamed, and he exclaimed to her, 'Yield to me!' Thereupon she brought forth an idol from her bosom and said to him, 'Worship this'! 'But I am a Jew', he 

protested. 'What does that concern you?' she rejoined, 'Nothing is required but that you should remove your feces' — while he did not know that such was its worship so he did so.

'No', [said she,] 'I will not leave here until you have denied the Torah of Moshe your teacher,' as it is written, They went into Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and their abominations were according as they loved".

This is a classic lesson as to how the yetzer hara works. It starts so INNOCENTLY:-). Old ladies selling linen. Nothing forbidden. Men are attracted to women but generally the younger the better. Alte bubbes? C'mon. Great in the kitchen but not what men are searching for in the bedroom. So it is the LINEN that gets them. They like linen garments. Nothing wrong with that:-) [as long as there is no wool mixed in]! THEN, little by little the yetzer hara uses its nefarious psychological mind games to bring the Jews to proposition the young women who request that they first serve their idol [which also seemed innocent because relieving oneself in front of an idol seems a good way to disgrace it], followed by .....

I hear people today saying "What is wrong? It is consensual?? Let them have fun. They are not hurting anyone. Don't be such a fanatic." That is what people believe. Many people. Men with women. Men with men. Women with women. Men who used to be women with women. Women who used to be men with men. And the list goes on. They even have a term for it. "Marriage equality". AHHHHH!!! Who can argue with equality?!! I once read a book by a psychologist who treated a man who was STRONGLY attracted to animals such as bears. He was injured at times but it didn't stop him. Attraction is attraction. Why don't we legalize marriage to animals?? "Arthur, do take your BEAUTIFUL feline friend ["cat" in normal English] as your lawfully wedded wife?" "I do". Where is the equality in a world where one may only marry a human being?? And what about marrying one's sister or mother? Why isn't that acceptable? So many people were up in arms when Woody Allen [who should be the poster child against assimilation because more messed up than him is hard to find] married his step daughter many decades his junior. What is the problem? If they agree it should be fine. And they agreed. She is Chinese? What is wrong with marrying someone of a different culture? Are you racist? Some people today are against marrying into one's own religion because it is SO parochial. You can only love someone who thinks like you? Get with it!

Idol worship? What's the problem?? We, the enlightened believe that anyone can worship as they see fit. Or not worship at all. DEMOCRACY!!! The HOOOLLLYYYY Democracy. 3,300 years of tradition?? Can't hold a candle to democracy!! G-d? He's OK - but not when His values conflict with democracy.

So what happened? 24k died. A plague. The world isn't hefker. There is a price to pay for decadence.

This whole post modern revolution exacts heavy casualties. Lack of personal identity. A complete absence of a value system. Confusion. Meaninglessness leading to depression. The erosion of healthy families. Today a married person can go on line and in a minute can be in touch with married people of the opposite gender interested in "dating" someone other than their spouse. Is this legal? Yes. 

We are told and then tell our children - "Go to college". TORAH U-MADDA. You must get an education. You have to live in the real world. You have to be realistic and plan for the future. ALLLL TRUE!!!! We need to be realistic. We can't be paupers living on food stamps. It costs money to live. Almost nothing is free but breathing and dying [not at the same time though]. What happens on these college campuses? Alright, kids having "fun". There, they don't even have to start with the old ladies. Straight away with the young ones. "My son went to HARVARD/YALE/PRINCETON/ BRANDIES" etc. Is there ANY bigger nachas? Yes, but what is the price we pay?? Is money EVERYTHING??? Is there a point where we can say "VALUES before money". The problem is that our young people are so confused about values because of the mixed messages they receive. On one hand there is tremendous pressure to succeed at their career [i.e. make a lot of money] - even for girls, many of whom would be quite content without a career. On the other hand - there is family, "religion" and other values. There is also our favorite sports team. Many competing values. So when met with the test of stealing money or not so many succumb. It is their fault but they are also the products of  culture where it is not just about having enough to support yourself and your family but that one's value is gauged by his "bottom line". So when they see a way to make millions in a dishonest way they pounce on it like a defensive lineman on a fumble. 

So beloved friends - Make a good living. Be normal and happy. But don't get sucked in by our society whose ideals [and lack thereof] leave so much to be desired. And BEWARE of the wiles of the yetzer hara, called a זקן וכסיל. Old and foolish but very sneaky.