I am listening to a shiur on the Machon Meir website. The speaker related that a certain religious Zionist rabbinic leader would go out yearly to watch the Yom Ha-atzmaut celebrations after the birth of the State. This rabbinic leader said that he would watch the boys and girls, who were dancing TOGETHER and - hold on tight - the שכינה was dancing. But lamented that it was a חילול השם b/c - hold on tight again if you already haven't fallen off your seat [if you have grab on to the carpet!!] - other rabbonim did not attend. Where are the rabbonim בשמחת העם??!!
This was related as a PRAISE of this rabbi.
If it was an individual citizen following his own distorted narrative then I can swallow it it - somehow. But this is a rabbinic leader venerated to this day longafter his passing by tens of thousands of Torah observant Jews.
Again - the שכינה was dancing with the boys-girls men-women who were dancing together. The חילול השם part was that all the other rabbis didn't attend this "holy" celebration. So was the perspective of a man with a long beard who looked and dressed EXACTLY liked he was a big rabbi who walked out of a Polish shtetl in the 1800's and who knew far more Torah than I will ever know.
קדושים תהיו
הוו פרושים מן העריות ומן העברה (ויקרא רבה) שכל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה אתה מוצא קדושה [רש"י] .
