The Battle of Life and Death 

A man is commanded not to have relations with another man. It is an abomination of Hashem. We are also forbidden to neuter an animal. 

What do the two commands have in common? How do they tie into the statement about the Land of Israel being a land that consumes its inhabitants (Numbers 13:32).  

Rabbi Noach Weinberg, of blessed memory, was the dean of Aish HaTorah. He came up with the concept of “Jewish Drive”, which is what distinguishes a Jew. A Jew is uniquely driven. He is uniquely driven to serve G-d.  

But this drive can go anywhere a Jew steers it.  

It can go to pursuing holiness. It can go to making others holy.  

It can also go to politics, profession, and even protest.  

Throughout our history, Jewish Drive has pushed us in any direction at warp speed. 

Almost all the prophets were Jewish. The tireless advocates for Hashem, who slept little and toiled more than twenty hours a day were our brothers and sisters.  

At the other end, the majority of “founding fathers” of Vladimir Lenin’s non-believing communist regime were also Jewish – including his first in command.  

The Talmud tells us, if you are good with knives, you can become either a murderer or a local butcher.  

You can do good or bad.  

But you have to be driven.  

Jewish Drive for All of Us 

The greatest place for the Jewish Drive in action is in the home. A husband or a wife can be in a non-stop state of kindness, mercy, faith, and action.  

Every time you compromise what you want, what you think, even your opinion for the benefit of person you love, you are performing the mitzvah of bringing peace between two people. Every time you take out the garbage, do the dishes, help your kids with their homework, you are performing an act of kindness.  

These are two mitzvot that we recite daily, directly from the Talmud, for which Hashem gives us reward in both this world and the Next for performing.  

Every time you listen to a member of your family with full intent, turning off your inner voice while they are speaking, not thinking about what to say next as they talk, you are bringing Hashem’s light to the world by raising their spirits and performing the mitzvah of peace in the home.  

Every moment you resist looking at, talking to, even thinking about someone other than whom you have dedicated your life to, you are performing the mitzvah of Shmirat HaBrit, guarding the Covenant that binds us to our King, the Creator and Ruler of the universe.  

Raising children puts you in a state of constant growth. You are teaching Torah to your kids, bringing Jews close to Hashem. You are committing your Jewish Drive to a state of constantly giving, putting you in a state of constantly producing.  

These are the ABCs of life: Always Be Creating. 

All of Creation  

Even the animals instinctively know to be constantly creating.  

They spend their entire time finding a mate and procreating, hunting and providing for their young, and teaching them how to survive, and defending them when duty calls.  

That is why it is forbidden to neuter an animal: We are taking away their capacity to produce.  

This is the deeper reason why it is forbidden to “neuter” a man by allowing, even encouraging, unions that don’t produce: premarital unions, extramarital unions, and sodomite unions.  

Forbidden unions create darkness. They negate the act of doing. They are just not counter-productive, they are anti-productive.  

They are a lethal assault on the foundation of existence: To produce.  

It doesn’t matter if you have a desire for any of these. To fight these urges is productive. To wage a lifelong war against these impulses in the name of a holy union is the pinnacle of producing light in our world.  

Succumbing is the absolute opposite.  

The war we are fighting against lewdness, infidelity, and abomination isn’t simply about progressive versus conservative, reform versus orthodox, secular versus religious, or life versus death.   

The war is about lowering our world into a state of non-being that constantly destroys, versus raising our world into a state of being that always builds.  

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David Ben Horin is the writer and trader for Endurance Investing & Trading Daily. He lives in the Jezreel Valley with his wife and children, lots of Jews, Arabs, and the occasional shepherd.