Jealousy of a Torah Lifestyle

We are living in disturbing times. There are people all around the world who despise those who live a Torah-centric lifestyle, and they are actively trying to persuade Jewish children and teenagers to abandon Torah study in pursuit of other secular subjects. They use peer pressure. They try to convince these students that they would have more opportunities to earn a better living in the future if they would focus solely on secular studies.  
 

Once, a man who converted to Judaism came to see me. He had been a priest in Los Angeles. As a young man, he was sent as a missionary to Eretz Yisrael where his sole mission was to convert Jews to Christianity. While there, he was introduced to gemara, Talmud. As he studied, he was awed by the depth and brilliance of the Torah. Eventually, he converted to Judaism. He concluded his story by letting me know, that they had sent over 5,000 missionaries just like him to Israel, and they specifically targeted the schools, because children are vulnerable and susceptible to persuasion.  
 

Now, they are implementing a new strategy, a new tactic. They are entering our schools as teachers and instructors. We are opening the doors of our schools to these teachers who specifically want to introduce ideas and studies that are crafted to sway our children away from a life of Torah and mitzvot, which is just as dangerous as missionaries who are sent to convince Jews to convert.  
 

We have mentioned in the past the interpretation of the Ateres Tzvi from Ziditchov, who explained, that the war of Gog U’Magog that precedes the era of Mashiach, is referring to the battle of ideas, to wage war against those ideas that are saturated with atheism, whose sole purpose is to pull the yidden away from the Torah and mitzvot. This is the battle of our generation.  
 

It is imperative that you understand that the reason so many non-Jews try to infiltrate our Torah institutions, to destroy the future of our precious students, is because they have a deep jealousy that was born at Har Sinai when the yidden received the Torah. This jealousy is at the core of their hatred.  
 

In a famous letter written to the Yemenite community, the Rambam explained that the gentiles do not know why they hate the Jews since they do not see the preciousness of the Torah. The hatred comes subconsciously from a jealousy of the life of Jews who learn Torah. The jealousy drives them to pull Jews away from studying Torah.  
 

This envy and jealousy have only increased over time, especially since the rise of freedom and liberalization of ideas that place shackles on the moral compass of mankind. Only those who commit themselves to studying Torah are safe from these threats to our religion that brings us a happy life.  
 

After the French Revolution, Napoleon introduced a system of government rooted in individual freedoms and democracy, which spread throughout Western Europe as a hope for a better life, a better society for the citizens. This should have ushered in an era of happiness and joy. However, we see the opposite was true. There was more despair, sadness, and depression. The reason for this was that the people confused “freedom” for “lawlessness” – a “free-for-all” society that was void of any accountability. Morals were compromised. Societal norms were brushed aside and replaced with a new culture of vile and depraved behaviors that destroyed these societies from within.  
 

About 50 years ago, the spirit of “freedom” spread forth, introducing a wave of depraved desires and behavior, not just being done privately but out in the open for all to see. It removed all the partitions that kept men and women separate; a tradition that had existed for hundreds upon hundreds of years. From there, people become entrenched in animalistic desires and lusts that compromise and eradicate their morals.  
 

In our times, this sense of “freedom” is creeping its way into the public school system. While in school, children are being exposed to lethal drugs, bullying, and violence, may Hashem protect us. The situation is deteriorating so quickly.  
 

And, with the proliferation of technology, smart devices, etc. children have access to the vilest content, exposing them to “immorality, bloodshed and atheism”. Children today stare at their devices for most of the day. They are constantly distracted, continuously experiencing the empty pursuits of these temptations impacting their ability to focus and concentrate. Their entire being is impacted and they are quickly drawn away from purity and into the darkness of sin and immoral behavior. This also brings them to lose their will and ability to go to work when they grow up, adding to the current job crisis.  
 

However, the children who are in Jewish schools where they are exposed to the precious values and virtues of Yiddishkeit through learning the Torah, are taught to build safeguards for themselves. They are empowered to withstand the worst of society’s temptations. They merit a safe, wholesome, and happy life. As Chazal teaches in Succah (52b) the more someone denies their desires the weaker the desires become. On the other hand, when someone indulges, G-d forbid, that desire only grows and becomes insatiable, regardless of the consequence.  
 

Over the decades, I have met with tens of thousands of students, young children, and teenagers alike. In recent years, the differences – physically, psychologically, and spiritually- between the children who attend Jewish schools and those who are in public schools have become even more stark.  
 

In these last few years, there has been an increasing effort to pull children away from learning Torah, and place them in environments where they are exposed to deprived morals and behaviors. Removing them from all that has made them precious. The evil forces in the world are focused on pulling Jewish children, Bochurim and Yungeleit, away from learning Torah.  
 

We must remain diligent to always create educational institutions that provide an authentic Torah education, one that infuses the children with wisdom and good morals, and teaches them how to behave properly.  
 

We must realize that the efforts of the gentiles to pull the yidden away from the Torah is coming from jealousy. And the more jealous they are, the more we know that we are being successful at creating Torah-centric Jews. And, we must do everything we can to ensure every Jewish child has access to these schools.  
 

According to this we can understand what Chazal explains, that Mt. Chorev was named “Sinai“, because the word Sinai is rooted in the same Hebrew word for hatred, “sinah”, to remind us that the hatred of Jews came down on this mountain. The gentiles are jealous of the life that the Torah can provide; from that jealousy is born a hatred.  
 

It was so important to change the name of the mountain to this name because every yid must internalize this message. The Torah and what it can provide for you and your family is the real reason that the gentiles try to pull the yidden away from the Torah. They are envious and jealous of this precious gift that Hashem gave us at Har Sinai. Therefore, how much more so should a yid strive to connect to and learn the Torah, to grow into the morals and behaviors the Torah teaches, and to allow the light of Torah and the mitzvot to illuminate his life with goodness and blessings. 

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The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years, and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. You can sign up at www.kaalov.org.