Poisoned Lemonade

It’s always an experience hanging out with old friends.   

“Check out that one, Dave. Don’t you wish you weren’t religious anymore?”  

I tried to grin, but he could see I was getting frustrated.   

“Hey, I won’t tell your wife. Just check her out, we’re all human.”  

I looked at him with a stare that could kill.   

“One night with her and you will be on top of the world.”  

Then, I let it out.   

“One night with her and I’m dead.”  

He laughed.   

“What? You think her boyfriend is in the mafia?”  

I said simply:  

“Adultery is a capital offense. If I do it, G-d will kill me.”   

Real Fear

The beginning of wisdom is fear of Hashem. (Tehillim 111:1)  

We talk about the fear of God, but what is it?  

Our Sages call the fear of Hashem the gateway to wisdom.   

To me, fear of God is the absolute knowledge that there will be punishment for sin. It’s the flip side of emuna. Emuna is knowing that Hashem is doing good for us at every moment, even if we don’t see it. At the same time, when we do bad, fear of Hashem is the emuna that, for our benefit, Hashem is punishing us to help us make changes. Ein yissurim llo avon – there is no suffering without sin. The opposite is also true: If you sin, there WILL be suffering!

Fear of God is the acknowledgment that although performing actions like adultery might be decriminalized by human law, Hashem has His set of rules and those rules are all that matter because Hashem does indeed enforce His rules, no matter what changes to “morality” humans attempt to make.  

Fear of man is when we restrain ourselves from doing what the law forbids in fear of retribution in the form of revenge, arrest, fine, or imprisonment.   

Fear of God is when we restrain ourselves from doing what He forbids in fear of suffering the consequences that are spelled out in the Torah.   

Adultery and other forms of debauchery are not criminal offenses under the law of man, but they are capital offenses under the law of God.   

If a Jew commits adultery and does not repent in full, he goes on trial for his life. Hashem can remove him from this world before his time.   

Believing in Hashem’s mastery over every detail of this world and our lives should send chills of fear down our spine.   

Poison is Always Poison 

If fear of God is necessary for a long and healthy life, then we are obligated to fear anyone who tells us that an abomination is ”nothing.”   

It is prudent to fear anyone who tells you that such behavior is okay. It is holy to do everything in your power to push away anyone who wants to legitimize such behaviors.   

What people do in their private lives is between God and them. If they seek help from a Rabbi or other professional, all the better. But anyone who lures you into a conversation in an attempt to justify and legitimize what God calls an abomination is luring you into something that will have terrible, even grave consequences, so it’s good to be afraid!   

In Israel, we just found out that a girl using the identity of a boy has been attending a religious elementary school for two years. According to reports, the staff was aware of the deception but kept the information secret.  

My wife and I were incensed that the school administration would knowingly admit such audacious evil into the school.  

Our “inner Facebook” whispered to our conscience that maybe we are going overboard with our anger. Then, we recalled what could happen if our children were exposed to such behavior in their school – and what Hashem warned that He can do to us if we don’t protect their neshama, their holy soul.   

I fear debauchery and every form of sexual inversion such as homosexuality and transvestites because I am afraid of what God will do if I accept them.   

It is a commandment to fear God. It is wisdom to understand that He gives us life and He can take it away at any time, especially now during the months of Elul and Tishrei.   

In a matter of days, we will all stand trial for capital crimes. If found guilty and unrepentant, we will die. If not cleared of those charges through sincere teshuva, we can lose everything we have. Hashem decides everything. This Rosh Hashanah, He will determine our fate for the next 12 months.   

In Judaism, it is a mitzvah to steer clear of all types of perversion, knowing full well what retribution it could lead to. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and the fact that sexual inversion was “legal” there didn’t help them!   

In fact, that is exactly WHY they were destroyed as a community – because they made such abominations legal and acceptable. The Gemara makes it extremely clear that as long as a society does not accept abominations committed in private, then only the individuals involved are punished. But once a society accepts and even embraces them, then the entire society is liable! Anyone who fears God must distance themselves!  

Let’s stop listening to the world trying to tell us that the poison is lemonade. It’s poison and it will kill us unless we fear God and stand up for life.   

*** 

The Ben Horin family lives in Afula with their children, a new high-tech center, Jewish and Arab neighbors, and Matilda, the local camel. David’s Israeli startup, Center Stage Content, provides content services for startups and small businesses.