In his suicide at his son's grave last week, Haim Velder achieved the exact opposite of what he had planned.
The little that remained of his good name descended with him to the tomb.
But more importantly, suicide is likely to make a huge contribution to eradicating sexual assault in the ultra-Orthodox sector.
why?
Walder was known through his books, in almost every religious and ultra-Orthodox home in Israel.
Nevertheless, from the time his crimes were exposed in the Haaretz investigation until he took his own life, the acts attributed to him did not capture the headlines or sectors.
Somehow - and perhaps unjustly - his exploits, and then his disappearance from the newspaper and radio, still remain of interest to the adult world.
The news of his death, however, could no longer be swept aside.
Even in the ultra-Orthodox sector, educators and parents have had to address and provide answers to questions that have arisen.
And even if in the official publications his actions were covered, then in "Nias" there is no doubt that the truth is the one that was passed on by word of mouth.
The "slander" spoke, and how.
So they all heard why Velder had left the public arena and committed suicide.
Thus his name was tarnished forever.
So while the silencing mechanisms are still working, every ultra-Orthodox criminal now knows that the sector's defensive walls are already shaky, and no longer imprison the contents of such and other sins.
If Velder fell, no one is sure.
It was all a side-opening note, since the really big questions that arise from the affair are really existential, and certainly human and faith-based - for those who believe.
Velder, Yehuda Meshi Zahav, Eliezer Berland, Ezra Sheinberg, Moti Alon, rabbis, psychologists and lesser-known doctors, or Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (allegedly) - all people who have dedicated their lives to helping others and relieving their mental or physical pain.
good people.
An example and role model for others.
In particular the religious among them, were the first and most successful to explain to the public how horrible, wrong, forbidden, horrible, cruel, despicable and the like to do the deeds they themselves did.
Fulfilled that their maker pushed them to risk the good name they bought in the world.
But they, who gave so much of themselves, who deeply understood the pain and distress of those who turned to them, who were so sensitive to others, who extended a helping hand for decades - how could they equally hurt those who begged for their help?
How could they both destroy and rehabilitate?
How were they able to be angels and monsters, righteous and criminal, armor and bombs at the same time?
It is an existential question about the human psyche.
And this is a question of faith that every observant Jew should ask himself.
Of course, the fact that Welder was discovered in all his horror does not invalidate the whole system.
Compared to other living cultures, including the secular one, it cannot be argued that the religious formula has failed.
On the other hand, it is also clear that it does not formulate success, as the ultra-Orthodox public pretends to think.
The proliferation of cases in which prominent religious figures - who still specialize in the healing of the human psyche - fall into the most horrific acts, indicates that something in the conception or method is not working properly.
The home inspection is committed to reality.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
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