Spiritual Murderers

Spiritual Threats Are More Dangerous 

You need to know your enemies. Understand them and never underestimate their drive to accomplish their mission. 
 

In the physical world, for example, if a person is surrounded by murderers, he needs to keep his guard up, even during periods of relative peace and tranquility. For, these murderers have not changed their ways. They are just waiting for the right time to launch their attack. 
 

This is even more critical in the realm of spirituality. A person must recognize and protect himself vigilantly from people who try to sway him away from Torah and mitzvot. These are “spiritual murderers”, and they are an even greater threat than the physical ones. 
 

As Chazal taught (Sifri, Parshat Tzeitzei 42), that the Ammonites and Moabites who tried to make Bnei Yisroel sin, were worse than the people of Edom who waged a war against them. Our spiritual enemies are a greater threat and can do more damage than our physical enemies. When someone falls in battle, etc., he can still enjoy the eternal experience of the World to Come. However, if someone sins, his fate is worse than death, as he has destroyed the everlasting pleasure of the world to come for a temporary and empty experience in this world. 
 

Napoleon was on a conquest to conquer the Russian nation and he found himself in a difficult and brutal war with the Russians who would not give up so easily. During this war, the Baal HaTanya, zt”l, said that the yidden should pray and do everything they can to help ensure Napoleon’s defeat. For, as the Rebbe explained, even though Czar Nicholas and the Russian presented a very real threat, it was merely physical. Napoleon, on the other hand, would try to destroy the Jews’ spirituality, which is far worse. 
 

When a yid cannot recognize the magnitude of the damage a sin does to a person and this world, it is a sign that he has already fallen into the yetzer harah’s trap. He is held captive by the physical desires of this world, by the impurity of his sins, and his eyes been blinded from seeing the truth. 
 

R’ Simcha Bunim of Pshischa said: “You need to imagine that the Yetzer Harah is like an executioner standing over you with his axe held high just waiting to decapitate you. If that imagery is hard for you, if you cannot see it, then your head has already been chopped off!” 

The Greek Holocaust 

During the time of the Greek occupation, assimilation was rampant. The impure and depraved Greek culture has seeped into Jewish life. The Greeks, more than anything else, wanted to eliminate the defining character traits that defined the Jews spiritually. They brought in their greatest philosophers and professors from Athens to help influence the Jews to abandon their connection to Torah and mitzvot on a spiritual level. 
 

The Greeks had one motivation: the complete destruction of the Jews’ spiritual connection to Hashem. This was a spiritual Holocaust. 
 

The Tanna Nitai, the Arbelite, who lived during the time of the Greeks, warned (Pirkei Avot 1:7): “Distance yourself from a bad neighbor, do not cleave to a wicked person, and do not abandon belief in retribution”. 
 

His intention was clear: do not befriend the Greeks and those who would try to harm you spiritually through their impure influences. Even when it seems benign and harmless, know that in the end, there will inevitably be retribution. 
 

The Greeks were a propaganda machine. They designed marketing campaigns to proliferate their culture and ideas, all aimed at driving evil indulgence and supporting the pursuit of physical pleasure. And it worked. The yidden became unable to recognize the destruction and damage being done to them spiritually. As Chazal taught (Bereishit Rabba 2:4), ” ‘Darkness’ refers to the Greek exile who darkened the eyes of Israel.” 
 

The Zohar (Volume III 279) teaches that this darkness of the Greeks would return to the world in the days before Mashiach’s arrival. 
 

We can see that that darkness has indeed returned. 

The Darkness 

The Greeks invented a culture that was defined by promiscuity, living freely without consequence, and indulgence in every forbidden pleasure. To achieve this, they tried to eradicate the three things that would prevent someone from sinking into such a depraved lifestyle: 

1. Recognizing there is a Creator
2. Respecting the guidance of rabbinic leadership
3. The sense of embarrassment and shame one would feel from their behavior
   

To eradicate these three ideas from the Jewish culture, they attempted to erase three mitzvot: Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and Brit Milah. 

Shabbat 

Shabbat declares that Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Shabbat is an expression of one’s belief that Hashem created the world. 
 

The Greeks did not prescribe to this idea. Instead, they conjured up all kinds of explanations for the world’s creation. 
 

They ignored the fact that despite the efforts of their most brilliant minds, however, they were never able to understand and explain the very first cause, the action that led to every other reaction. They could never explain how such a beautiful and complex world came into existence by chance. 

Rosh Chodesh 

The process of sanctifying the months is dependent on the Jewish judicial system. It is an expression of rabbinic authority. 
 

The Greeks wanted people to think that they could act any way they wanted. They disregarded the authority and guidance of the rabbinate. Greek culture was completely dismissive of authority figures. They believed in a distorted democratization of the judicial process. There was even a period when they instituted a system of governance in Athens, where every civic question was brought before all the people. As a result, the masses who were mostly unaware of the complexities of the case and who lacked the competency would be making these decisions. 
 

They ignored the importance of expertise. Therefore, they wanted the Jews to ignore and neglect the value of rabbinic guidance. The Greeks wanted the Jews to devalue the extensive knowledge of the leaders and rabbis, the “doctors for the soul”. 

Brit Milah 

The Brit Milah weakens physical desires and lust. 
 

The Greeks felt that no desire should be curtailed and suppressed. They were confident that everyone could indulge in their temptations responsibly without harming others. They also argued that these were just desires that a person was born with, and they could not be controlled or changed. A person could not master these desires. This was simply part of being human. Therefore, they encouraged people to pursue these pleasures, but not only in their homes. They wanted to be unashamed. They tried to make people fill the obscenest lusts with arrogance and pride – to do them publicly and without shame. 
 

They denied that Hashem created each person with the power of free will to choose not to indulge in these illicit behaviors. The Greeks wanted people to forget that they can overpower these natural tendencies, to choose pure over impurity, good over evil. 

Today’s Greeks 

This behavior and depraved culture would eventually be the Greeks’ undoing. It would lead to the destruction of their empire. And, over time, the world would reset and never again live as extremely as the Greeks. 
 

However, their darkness has returned. We can see those same ideas and ideals trickling into today’s culture. There are countless organizations that try to uproot religious beliefs. They mislead rabbis and want the Jews to assimilate into a culture that is defined by spiritual starvation. 
 

This is what Chazal taught (Sotah 49b) – that before Mashiach arrives, three things will happen: Firstly, governments will be overtaken by heretics. Secondly, the culture will be brazen. And finally, promiscuity will run rampant. 

Today’s Hasmoneans 

As we once again face the darkness of the Greeks, we need to learn the lessons taught to us by the Hasmoneans. They did not allow themselves to be influenced by the Greeks. They stood firm and proud as they distanced themselves from the Greek culture. 
 

The Hasmoneans repaired the holes that the Greeks made in the latticed wall that was near the Beis HaMikdash. This wall stood as a reminder to everyone that the non-Jews were not allowed to enter beyond that point. The Greeks were trying to infiltrate the Jewish society; to corrupt them with friendship and to inspire them with new and impure ideas. The Hasmoneans rectified these “holes” in the fabric of the Jewish society. 
 

Therefore, the holiday was called “Chanukah”, to remember the consecration of the Beis HaMikdash which was restored, as a reminder and differentiator between the Jewish and nations of the world. 
 

This can also explain why the Greeks decreed that the Jews should write the words “We have no part in the God of Israel” precisely on the bull’s horn. We see that Yosef is represented by an ox (Devarim 33:17). Yosef was challenged beyond measure by Potiphar’s wife. She tried to convince Yosef to sin. Yet, Yosef withstood the temptation, literally fleeing from it. Every Jew must have this trait of Yosef to flee from the influences that are trying to pull him away from Torah and mitzvot. This Greek decree was an effort to separate the Jews from this lesson of Yosef. 
 

Therefore, on Chanukah it is appropriate for everyone to strengthen themselves in this area. They need to distance themselves from evil influences, from associations with people who behave improperly and try to sway them away from Torah and mitzvot, and to make fences and caveats that will protect their soul from the spiritual murderers that are lurking throughout society, and most brazenly on the internet, and especially on social media. 
 

In this merit, you will have an enlightened and blessed life. 

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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. Sign up at www.kaalov.org.