There is a big mashpia who is a huge Tzadik and Oved Hashem. He has loads more Tzidkus in his little pinky than I have in my entire body.
He often talks about the danger of the "גזירת הגיוס". He repeats again and again the phrase "טרייפע טרייפע מיליטער" - The treif treif army. That for him is the biggest problem on earth. The army, he explains, is a secular establishment dead set on destroying the innocent neshamos of our youth. So we have to daven-daven-daven that Hashem save us from this terrible terrible גזירה of the טרייפע טרייפעע מיליטער.
I get it. The army is indeed a threat to the Charedi-ism of our youth. So in his view we have to daven that they be spared the fate of entering such a spiritually deleterious environment. I can also understand people arguing that despite the spiritual dangers, the boys must serve anyway. That is the שיטה of the entire דתי לאומי world. אלו ואלו דברי יהודים טובים חיים. Both sides of the argument feel passionately about their positions and both deserve respect and understanding. [I have children and raised them based on what I was mekabel from my Rabbeim]. It is important to understand that for most of us, doing an aveirah or having a little bit of קרירות in עבודת השם is not the end of the world. We willingly put ourselves in situations that we know might cause us to fall [such as the vacations we go on to give one example]. For him - an aveirah or קרירות in עבודת השם is just about the end of the world. It is a level of Yiras Shomayim that the vast majority of people have no השגה in.
What troubles me greatly is that I have never seen a word from him [and I haven't read everything so maybe I just didn't see it] about davening for the soldiers and their families. The Tzadik believes in the tremendous potency of Tfilla so why not encourage his devoted followers to daven that Hashem should protect the chayalim who are protecting him and us? Almost 900 soldiers killed in the war. Our Tfillos could have saved many of them. Not to mention the many, many soldiers suffering tremendous physical pain every second of every day. Soldiers who lost limbs, eyesight, mental faculties etc. etc. And what about Tfillos for all of the יתומים and אלמנות???? Are THEY guilty?? All of the little children who will grow up without a father?? All of the women who will have to raise their children alone, not to mention the tremendous grief they feel daily.
We must never let our frumkeit erase our basic humanity.
"מוכרח הוא שיסגל האדם לעצמו את המוסר הטבעי הפשוט, בכל רחבו ועמקו, ואת יראת דבר ד’ ותמצית הטהור של האמונה הפשוטה, וכל מדותיה ברוחב ובעומק, ועל גבי שתי הסגולות הללו יבנה את כל מעלות רוחו העליונות. אסור ליראת שמים שתדחק את המוסר הטבעי של האדם, כי אז אינה עוד יראת שמים טהורה. סימן ליראת שמים טהורה הוא כשהמוסר הטבעי, הנטוע בטבע הישר של האדם, הולך ועולה על פיה במעלות יותר גבוהות ממה שהוא עומד מבלעדה. אבל אם תצוייר יראת שמים בתכונה כזאת שבלא השפעתה על החיים היו החיים יותר נוטים לפעול טוב, ולהוציא אל הפועל דברים מועילים לפרט ולכלל, ועל פי השפעתה מתמעט כח הפועל ההוא, יראת שמים כזאת היא יראה פסולה."
The A-B-C of mussar.
Maybe I am wrong. I am writing either b/c I am right or so that someone should set me straight.
