FALSE MORALITY IS IMMORALITY | Rabbi Ari Shvat | Beit Midrash

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This week's parsha especially commands caring for the sanctity of the Israeli Army Bases (of yesterday and today!): "For the Lord, your G-d, is present in the midst of your camp, to rescue you and to deliver your enemies before you. [Therefore,] your camp shall be holy, so that He should not see anything unseemly among you and would turn away from you" (23, 15). The Ramban explains this seemingly "unholy" mitzvah of digging a latrine in the army base, in that where there is a tendency to "slip" morally, the Torah goes out of its way to davka set protective fences and additional guidelines. The Mesilat Yesharim (ch. 19) stresses the necessity of especially many mitzvot regarding money and sexual conduct, for those desires are that much stronger than most, and more common (these laws found abundantly in Choshen Mishpat, Even HaEzer and Yora Deah cover a considerable percentage of the Shulchan Aruch!) Anyone who has even gone on a camping trip for several days, knows the feeling of "crudeness" which comes with living in nature without bathrooms and running water. Lehavdil but similarly, the Ramban is right-on in understanding the potential moral danger of being in any army.
Davka because our childern in the IDF are so careful (statistically more than any other army in the world, just Google: IDF minimize civilian casualties) not to attack civilians and our army camp is truly holy, it is especially aggravating and offensive that some American Jews (most of who don't even live in Israel), who never served a day in their lives in an army base, and surely have never been endangered through the Gazan's use of their own children & hospitals as human shields, dare to condemn our kids. With 0 Israeli political experience, it's no less than chutzpah to preach mussar to our elected and experienced government as to how is the best way to pressure our enemies to free our kidnapped. Golda Meir, a lioness in orthopedic shoes, ended the Yom Kippur War WITHIN DAYS by withholding food and water from the surrounded Egyptian Third Army. To consume Hamas propaganda as fact, like the Pope and UN without even verifying the facts and without knowing what pressures the Hamas, and without first PRAISING the MORALITY of Israel and the IDF is not "keeping sanctity in the Jewish army camp", but rather profaning it FALSELY in front of Israel's enemies in Europe, Australian, Canada etc. at time of war.
I am proud to be one of the half million "settlers" whom Rabbi Blau offends through his indecent generalizations, where as opposed to him and his American cohorts, I can personally testify that 99% of us settlers are not "exploding violence" towards Arabs, and have never even once done so (he can check with his own children). If even 1,000 (by far an overstatement according to the police) of the 530,000 settlers have done violence, it doesn't even reach 1% of the settlers, and not even a half or a quarter of 1%! It would be much more statistically accurate to generalize that R. Blau's students in Yeshiva university are violent because some individual graduates there have beaten their wives or children! Similarly to quote the extremist Ben-Gvir as an average settler, is like citing R. Meir Kahane, a YU high school colleague of R. Blau, as a mainstream representative of Yeshiva University.
Instead of unity among Jews, and collecting money for children in Sderot, R. Blau has inadvertently united with CNN, BBC, Al Jazeerah and the Gazans. Instead of blaming Hamas for the suffering in Gaza, he blames Israel.
May I suggest that these rabbis have the moral humility to clarify their words on these accounts, and fix the sin of the meraglim who spoke bad about Eretz Yisrael (the Meshech Chochma, P. B'Shalach, stresses that Hashem even forgave the sin of the Golden Calf, but not the sin of the spies, even though some of their words were true!). If they like writing, these rabbis should at least publish a similar letter, already today, PRAISING the morality of Israel & the IDF. If the NY Times quoted and applauded him, that's a sign that they celebrate the anti-Israel sentiment Rav Blau raises, and he can try correcting it through complimenting Israel regarding true moral facts. It's not difficult, especially during Elul, to say "I was wrong" for tarnishing innocent & righteous people of Israel. We have enough enemies, and better to publicize the genuine holiness of the IDF camps where G-d says He truly "walks", as well as the altruistic kidney donation among "settlers" (by far the highest in the world! Google: Altruistic Kidney Religious Zionists Settlers) instead of providing our enemies with support during war, especially when false or exaggerated! Shabbat Shalom, Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)

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