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8 Av 5762 - July 17, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Opinion & Comment
Misplaced Zeal

by Rabbi Moshe Young

Grizzly bears have a much greater ability to cool down tempers and dampen the spirits of agitators than a police force armed to its teeth.

The recent G8 summit made up of the leaders of the most powerful economic countries in the world decided this year to hold their conference in the remote mountains of Canada surrounded by trees and bears with only one road of access to the venue. They had in the past too much aggravation from the liberals and the Greens ("ecology" people) and the anti- globalization groups at last year's conference in the USA which took place in the heart of civilization in New York City. There was too much violence from protesters and too many confrontations with the police so they decided that grizzly bears were the best protection against unwanted guests.

Wherever you go these days, it is hard to avoid demonstrations. There are so many issues in the world that if you really want to make an impact it has to be made public. Once it is public, it then becomes an incentive for forceful dissent by the opposition.

Demonstrations in support of Israel or the Palestinians always manage to elicit tempestuous opposition, and there are always people who go beyond reasoned disagreement. However, it is always questionable if there ought to be public demonstrations, especially on our part in support of Eretz Yisroel, even if there is no anticipated hostile opposition. If there has to be some demonstration, it must always come with the approval of our gedolei HaTorah. Just to demonstrate or counter-demonstrate because the adrenalin flows more generously through the veins of some more than others is not the way.

There have always been hotheads within our people. There have always been those who have relied upon their own judgment in assessing how to deal with difficult situations, and this has often led to violent acts which they believe are motivated by highly charged spiritual intentions. Towards the end of the first Beis Hamikdosh, there were zealots who did not heed the words of the prophets, including Yirmiyohu, who tried to hold out against the Chaldeans. Even after the Temple was destroyed, the assassination of Gedaliah was counterproductive and further exacerbated the exile of Klal Yisroel.

The second Beis Hamikdosh was also not without its zealots. Rabbi Yochonon ben Zakkai had to contend with violent opposition which did not want to acknowledge defeat by the Romans. The fortress at Massadah was manned by those who had not heeded the words of the chachomim of the time. They fought and died heroically, but it was not with the approval of Torah.

It is not an easy matter to be a zealot, a "kano'i". Young people tend more towards this characteristic than older people. Deliberation before action often requires a deep analysis of the problem, how to tackle the problem, and above all, what the consequences will be. The head is supposed to govern the heart and not the reverse. Where only the heart governs, emotions often cloud over the truth.

Rav Dessler, zt"l, says (Michtav MeEliyahu 5) that generally speaking, all "kano'us," passionate zeal for an issue, has its roots in anger, and anger is not a virtue to be condoned or cultivated. Anger, says the gemora, is akin to idolatry.

The reason is because any anger shown against someone who has offended, or a situation which has caused discomfort, reflects an inner belief that the person or thing was the sole cause of his distress, instead of acknowledging that anything which appears to harm a person is the will of Hashem. There is no reason to be angry or violent against the source of the harm. However, explains Rav Dessler, anger exhibited by excess zeal for "the sake of Hashem" cannot be interpreted as idolatry because of the person's so- called holy intentions. The person does, after all, believe he is acting purely for Hashem's sake. That is a far cry from idolatry. So why is the anger of excess zeal not generally appropriate?

Rav Dessler explains that the genuine zealot acts totally in an objective manner. His whole concern is that there should not be any chilul Hashem. He is not concerned if he lacks anything personally, because he accepts this as the Will of Hashem. So he does not even perceive that anything is missing.

What concerns him is that the world functions, and has been functioning since the original sin of Odom Horishon, with discrepancies and limitations. The world became an imperfect place and we cannot be served everything on a plate without any physical effort, as would have been the case had Odom not sinned. Because of all these limitations such as the need to search the world wearily for commodities, experiencing inconveniences through the lack of availability of many needs, the balance of wealth, and many other restrictions, the power of Hashem seems to be curtailed. This is a chilul Hashem and what is referred to as "golus haShechinah" -- "exile" of the Divine Presence. It is this which disturbs the genuine zealot.

So when he sees how the word of Hashem is disregarded in the world or in Klal Yisroel, and we commit more and more sins, chilul Hashem is further increased and the exile of the Shechinah is perpetuated. This he cannot tolerate and is filled with pain. He, therefore, seeks to redress the situation by making a kiddush Hashem.

It is very difficult to gauge the level of genuine concern in a zealot. Some masquerade as zealots, and transparencies become clearly apparent after some time. The Bnei Yisroel criticized Pinchos when he killed Zimri ben Solu in an act of supreme zeal, believing his zeal to be tainted somewhat by an inappropriate personal anger. It was not until Hashem gave Pinchos the seal of "sheleimus" ("es berisi Sholom"), pure intent, that the Bnei Yisroel accepted the genuine nature of Pinchos' kiddush Hashem.

Unfortunately many of those who generally exhibit piety in violent acts "for the sake of Heaven," are not endowed with an ardent desire to prevent a chilul Hashem. But even those who might have had genuine motivation to do so, if there is some inconsistency in their subsequent actions which contradicts the original perceived aim of their zeal, the "sake of Heaven" is somewhat diminished, and even profaned. We see from Tanach (Melochim II) how consistency is paramount in proving the genuine nature of zealous acts.

*

Yehu ben Nimshi was told by the prophet Elishah that he would become king of the northern kingdom of Yisroel. He was to destroy the House of Achav with all its idolatry. In his zeal to eradicate all idolatry, he killed the king of Yisroel, Yoram ben Achav, and the king of Yehuda, Achaziah, the grandson of Achav, and the whole household of Achav. He killed many of the followers of Baal and destroyed the places of Baal worship.

Yet because he retained two calves in Dan and Bethel which Yerovom had made, his act of kiddush Hashem became tainted. Because of this, the zealous act of the original bloodshed, the killing of Yoram, was shown retrospectively to have not been perfect (Hoshea 1,4). So even with the greatest people, "kano'us" must be perfect.

This is a far cry from our times. Throughout the world, almost all violent demonstrations come from young people. The combination of youth, immaturity and self- assertion does not make for reasoned opinion. It is very difficult to be so impartial as to be genuinely zealous.

There are countries in the world where the government is ruthless and dictatorial, where dissension is suppressed and those who denounce the government are never seen again. The free world needs to take this in hand, but there is not always the will to take on other people's wars because it does not serve one's own purpose. Everyone has a "political agenda." There is no "lishmoh."

We have so many examples of this that we as Torah Jews are not short of lessons on how not to behave. We see within our own community behavior which is not always creating a kiddush Hashem. We should try to change this.

However, "divrei chachomim benachas hem nishmo'im," we should effect change quietly. We are not all so perfect, so "kano'us" has little place among us. As we improve spiritually and practically in our own quiet way, we will make the desired kiddush Hashem. Maybe then it will not be too long before the Shechinah can come back again to Eretz Yisroel and be delivered from the long and inhibiting exile.


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