"It is customary to blame science, secularism and anti-religious philosophy for the dimming of light that clouds religion in modern society. But it would be more correct to blame religion itself for its own defeats. Religion's prestige has declined not because it was disproved, but because it has become irrelevant, boring, oppressive and bland. When faith is completely replaced by a declaration of faith, worship by meaning, love by habit; when the crisis of the present is ignored because of the glory of the past; when faith becomes an inheritance and not a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority and not in the voice of compassion - its message becomes meaningless."
This week I was reminded of Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Hashel's words about faith, due to the statements of Knesset members Orit Struck and Simcha Rothman, who in the name of "Judaism" want to legally allow a religious person not to provide his non-religious services to another person at all, solely because this is contrary to his faith.
As much as it stings liberal and sane secular ears, I understand Struck and Rothman's position.
I grew up in the religious camp, and I know the feeling that they are good people but that absolute justice is with us, and that God "is the most true and good" is only ours.
And so, according to the Struckmans of the world, "our" religion is "Ober Iles", meaning above all.
That's why God is on their side, all the justice in the world is with them, and all the rest are either babies who have been captured, at best, or unbelieving heretics who should be beaten to death.
Now let's assume that the Strockmans will get what they want, and the law will be passed that a person is not obliged to do anything that is contrary to his faith.
What will the Strockmans do when they ask to see a doctor, and he will tell them that he believes with complete faith in our mother in heaven, the flying spaghetti monster, and according to his faith and according to Rabbi Yuli's words, people who do not put a pasta strainer on their head but wear a kippah or a shibis are acting contrary to his faith, and therefore he is not interested serve them?
Isn't it clear, the Struckmans will say, everyone knows that the belief in the flying spaghetti monster is nothing but a modern craze, and how do you compare a religion of sophisticated Stalinists to a religion that is thousands of years old, which is absolutely clear that it is the absolute truth and there is no erasure.
But who decides?
Who knows what the truest religion will ever be?
Thousands of years of religious wars have not been able to reach a decision, so who will determine who is the most significant God - the court in The Hague?
The Intergalactic High Court? "High Court? Lol, God forbid," the Struckmans will say, "These infidels will not decide, and there is no need either. After all, the majority of the people are kosher Jews and cut off their limbs as usual, and not suffocating spaghetti priests! Therefore, the majority decides... please , Na, Na Na! Our God is the strongest and He won."
So the majority decides?
With about 2.3 billion believers in Christianity in the world and Islam with 1.9 billion?
With all due respect to the noisy flea that we are on the back of the world turtle, Judaism occupies a total of 0.18 percent of all religions.
This fraction of a percentage includes the Strockmans and the rest of the Jews in the world, including ultra-Orthodox, non-Nachman, reformists, conservatives, and heaven forbid, all the LGBTQs and unbelievers that are included. Even for traditional African religions (you know, "bola-bola" ), ACM, etc. There are five times more believers than Judaism.
Which means that every Eritrean, no matter what religion, will be entitled not to dethrone the tools of the Strockmans, just because a fraction of a percentage of these delusional Jews live contrary to their faith.
Come on, seriously, the Struckmans will say, it is clear to any sane person that our laws are not meant for blacks anyway.
First of all let's blend their skin like snow, then we'll talk about their legal option not to serve us as members of the upper race.
Oops, sorry, the chosen race, meaning the chosen people.
Besides, take worry out of your heart, soon you won't find any blacks outside of concentration and immigration camps.
And heaven forbid not compare to what they are named after, since our camps will be built on a lot of love for Israel, hatred of foreigners and racial purity.
Oops, sorry, family purity, that's what we meant.
We understand that it sounds like a mouthful, but, oops, sorry again, we don't know what happened to us, it's probably the Inquisition medicine we swallowed against the throat.
But why stop only at LGBTQ people, I wonder, what about vegetable eaters who do not fall? Is it also permissible for the doctor not to serve them because they live contrary to his faith? Or is the mitzvot of abhorring LGBTQ people and expelling them from the camp more important than Shmita stratagems?
And what about the Yom Kippur hollows from the bicycle pedals?
Is the doctor also allowed not to serve them?
And oh and the Rebbe's brochchek from Kotzak, how did we forget the cheeseburger eaters, and what will we do with the Shabbat violators?
And are the Strockmans so sure that they themselves are as strict about Kleah as Amorrah, and are not afraid that some doctor will decide not to serve them since they did not observe the mitzvot of sending the nest and confusing eggs as usual?
"Leave it, come on, you're arguing and salting in vain," the Struckmen would say, "we didn't really mean all the mitzvot. We are pragmatic Jews, and for us the love of Israel is above all else. Except for the love of the land and the Law of Settlements. Don't take this law so seriously. That's all Against all these disgusting things, well, those who should not be called animals because our vegan brothers will be harmed, this is a law only against the L, H, T, B, K of the world. We promise you in the name of garlic, and in a clean and pure Jewish heart , that as soon as we get rid of the repulsive people of letters, and the blacks, and the Arabs, and the leftists who embrace these olives, and all the Russians who celebrate Novy God, and the hi-techists who travel on Shabbat, and the traditionalists who love football, and trans-loving Mizrahi, and guava lovers in Sinai, and the majority of the Jewish people, they are the iPhone 14 users, separatists with cameras Mega-damned, then, finally, our benefactor will be holy and pure. And peace come upon Israel, and when we say peace come upon Israel, we don't mean the part about the Jewish people, yes?"
But if I may, there is a simpler solution to your method: lock yourself in some room and sit there alone in the dark, and thus it is guaranteed that your education will be completely kosher and pure.
And peace will come upon Israel in whatever way it pleases.
"are you mad?"
The Struckmen will say, "And what will we do with all the love of Israel that we have within us? But not in the LGBT section, yes?
Where will we send all this love to discord, strife, division and hatred, in the name of love?
And besides, the only reason we don't rule each other out is because we have a common enemy, and even God doesn't know what we would do without him."
Maybe read Rabbi Hashel?
He once said that "faith is not clinging to the temple, but an eternal pilgrimage of the heart."
"What? Who? Heshel? A Jewish rabbi? American? Lover of blacks and people? Tapu, probably a leftist reformer... and we, the pure Strockmen, no longer read from right to left, we only read from right to right."
***
Rabbi Hashel passed away 50 years ago this week.
In Israel his name is known because of the sustainability center named after him, and less because of his moral thought.
Heschel, a scion of an illustrious line of rabbis from Baal Shem Tov and Rabbi Yitzchak of Berdychev, was born in 1907 in Warsaw.
At the age of 16 he was ordained a rabbi, then completed his matriculation and went to study at the University of Berlin.
He wrote his doctorate on the morality of the prophets.
In 1936 Heshel replaced Martin Buber in the management of the Jewish seminary in Frankfurt.
A year later he was present at a concert when Adolf Hitler entered the hall.
Heschel looked shocked at the crowd that stood and cheered for the torturer, including his friends, and ran away from the scene.
He later fled to Poland and from there to the US, where he supported the civil rights movement and marched arm in arm with Reverend Martin Luther King.
It is recommended to see the wonderful show "Heschel's Seder Night", about his life story, and to get to know the special Jew who said "Our purpose in life is to live in radical amazement. To get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is a miracle, don't take life for granted. Be human "Spiritual is to be amazed by the universe."
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