Q&A: [Drops of Sanity] Drops of Sanity 123 Vayera 5779
[Drops of Sanity] Drops of Sanity 123 Vayera 5779
Question
With God's help
Eve of the Sabbath, the portion of Vayera, 5779.
Peace and blessings.
They tell about the Rogatchover, the extraordinary genius of the Hasidim who lived in the city of Dvinsk, that as a prodigy
he would recite the Amidah very quickly, finish, and take three steps back even before all the other worshipers.
The synagogue trustees approached him and said: Rabbi, this is unpleasant and doesn’t look good that the rabbi finishes before everyone else.
It is customary for the rabbi to finish after everyone else, and the prayer leader waits for the rabbi to finish the Amidah. Perhaps, the trustees suggested,
even after the rabbi finishes the Amidah
he should wait, remain standing in his place as if he still hasn’t finished, and only after some time take three steps back.
The Rogatchover replied: That is indeed what I do, and I only step back after I’ve already waited and remained in my place.
What does this have to do with anything? I have taken upon myself, without making it a vow, to moderate and refine my writing; this time I tried very hard,
and this is what came out. Even after the effort, the writing is still far from perfect, but I will try to become more refined
over time,
It will be easier for me to write only about positive topics after the ‘decree of the elections’ is canceled and falsehood
and hypocrisy [not: speaking the truth, and error] lower their voices.
*
Last week attorney Yaakov Weinroth, of blessed memory, passed away. I did not know him, and so I also have
nothing to say about him personally.
Everything I wrote in connection with him in ‘Drops’ refers only to the media festival that took place around
his death in the Haredi media, and certainly not to him personally.
And in today’s Drops:
1. A dispute in costume.
2. Elections as identity-definers.
3. The wonders of creation.
4. Value questions in an election campaign.
5. To amuse ourselves instead of hurting.
6. At long last we have been found worthy of explanations.
Answer
Mr. D., two comments that are really one:
I actually think there are wars over values and worldviews, and not everything is driven by impulses. And even if it finds expression in an ugly and improper way, that is no proof that the motive is invalid. These things matter to people, and therefore they are prepared to fight for them forcefully and intensely, and sometimes even unpleasantly.
On the contrary, the many battles in the Haredi world are because worldviews, including nuances, really do matter to that public. And in my view that is דווקא to its credit. The fact that there are opportunists who exploit this, and that the public is naïve or pretends to be naïve, is of course also true. But the picture is more complex than you described.
Beyond that, in parentheses you listed the usual reasons for wars, among them: religion. I would amend that to: a worldview or ideology. There is nothing unique about religion in this respect, contrary to common atheist propaganda. Religion has not generated more wars than any other worldview. Someone who has no ideology and for whom nothing matters is usually a clear lover of peace (unless his evil impulses cause him to fight for interests or sheer wickedness). I elaborated on this in my book on evolution against Dawkins.
Discussion on Answer
National honor is also an ideology. You can say it is mistaken, but for many people it is certainly ideologically important. National honor.
Beyond that, I am not denying that there are wars because of impulses. What I argued was only that not all of them are like that.
Have a good week.
A. For a person to fight a real war over an ideological nuance, he would have to be a great person in whom truth burns so strongly that he goes out of his mind over it. I don’t know people on that level.
B. It is indeed true that ideology too is a cause of war, but it seems to me [and maybe I’m mistaken] that when the emotions are religious they have extra intensity. But I still think the enthusiasm and devotion do not come from pure ideological or religious righteousness, but from psychological motives of sectoral honor. Were those who were willing to die in war for national honor, as was the cause of quite a number of wars—was that an ideology?