Why Attack Our Schools?

“Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you.” (Devarim 28:10) 
 

Fanatical Fans 

When football began becoming popular in Europe, it attracted fans that were fanatically addicted to the sport. They say that the Chafetz Chaim compared these fans to the words in the Tochacha, “You will go insane,” explaining that it was irrational and insane for someone to commit so much time, money, and energy on an activity that wasn’t personally beneficial. 
 

The Maggid of Yerushalyim, the Gaon Rabbi Shalom Shvadron zt”l, was once attending a banquet dinner in a large city in the diaspora. He noticed that the mood in the room was depressed. When he asked the event’s coordinators why the crowd appeared so down, they explained that one of the national sport heroes had died in an accident earlier that day, and everyone was mourning and making plans to attend the funeral the following day. 

 
R’ Shalom said to the crowd: “Friends! You want to attend a funeral for a sport hero? In my neighborhood in Jerusalem, Shaarei Chesed, there is a cat who climbs a gigantic tree in one second. Today he fell and died. Go to the cat’s funeral!” 
 

Then the Maggid explained: “When a person is gifted with an ability to run or jump, that skill doesn’t have any specific benefit for mankind. Those talents aren’t tied to the virtues of being human. An animal can do the same thing, even better. You shouldn’t admire someone for those talents. We need to admire people who are constantly working on themselves to better their middot tovot, character traits, and to expand their knowledge and wisdom. Those are beneficial skills that help a person achieve his purpose in this world.” 
 

The Maggid’s words are easily understood by anyone who is logical and thinks for a moment, except, of course, for team owners, sport leagues, and marketing firms who have invested countless billions of dollars to keep their industry, their sport, profitable. Their entire industry depends on creating a consumer by convincing them of what they should want and need. They want to create a false sense of belonging, to inspire emotional connectivity to their product. They want you, the consumer, the fan, to keep spending money on their merchandise and to keep buying tickets to their games. 
 

Think for a moment about soccer. A few dozen players are on a field chasing a single ball as thousands of fans – sometimes more than 100,000 people – sit in their seats and watch. If one player happens to have a powerful kick and sends the ball into a net, the entire stadium erupts with excitement; all those thousands of people stand like “one person with one heart” to cheer in admiration. This is completely absurd and unparalleled nonsense.   
 

Mind Over Heart 

This obsession with sports is symbolic of the degradation of today’s culture where people use their “feet” instead of their “heads”. People were created with their heads and minds at the highest point of their body to remind us that our mind should rule over and control the remainder of the body. If people realized that their minds should direct their actions towards the straight and just path, they wouldn’t waste so much time, energy, and money on being a sports fan. 
 

This is an example of how logic and reasoning are being influenced by a select few in society for their own gain. They use all their skills and abilities to convince the world that they need what they are promoting, even if it is to society’s detriment. 
 

In fact, many times, such a select few are trying to lure society into behaviors that fulfill people’s animalistic desires – the worst elements of who they are. 
 

However, the yidden who conduct their lives based on Torah values, which Hashem has given us, are not enticed by the empty, passing cultural trends. Rather, they focus on their minds ruling over their hearts and the rest of their bodies, committing to the righteous and just path that our holy ancestors have followed for thousands of years, avoiding cultural trends and influences that would distance themselves from their purpose in this world. 
 

The mitzvah of Tefillin – which are worn on the head and heart – was given to spiritually strengthen one’s mind over one’s heart. Before we put the Tefillin on, we say, “to subject the desires and designs of the heart to His service.” Chazal taught (Menachot 43b) that one who wears Tefillin on his head and heart will find the strength not to sin.   
 

We Challenge Influencers

The fact the yidden remain committed to a life of Torah and mitzvot, irks the influencers and trend setters. When they see a group of people who are still living their lives according to ancient traditions, finding joy and satisfaction from their “old” culture, it challenges these influencers who are committed to creating a false sense of need among the population, to convince someone that they need something new and different… constantly. People who remain steadfast to tradition present a clear challenge to anyone who wants to convince the world that they cannot live happily without conforming to the newest trend. 
 

Therefore, we are seeing such an aggressive attack on our school systems: they want to control our curriculum so that they can educate our children with their distorted values system. 
 

David HaMelech wrote in Tehillim (2:2-3) that before Mashiach will come: “Kings of lands will stand up, and nobles take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed [And they will say on the Jews:] Let us break their bands and cast off their cords”. Chazal taught that “Let us break their bands” is referring to the Tefillin worn on the arm and “cast off their cords” is referring to the Tefillin worn on the head. 
 

The nations of the world, explained David HaMelech, want to strip us of our mitzvah of Tefillin. They want to take away that mitzvah which strengthens our minds over our hearts, that helps us remain committed and focused on a Torah-centric life and culture. But the next pasuk says, “He Who dwells in Heaven will laugh; the Lord will mock them”. Hashem will send us help to ensure that they are never successful. 
 

This helps us understand the pasuk in our parsha: 
 

“Then all the peoples of the earth will see” – when the non-Jewish trendsetters see, “that the name of the Lord is called upon you” – Chazal taught that these words are referring to Tefillin (Brachot 6a), the mitzvah that empowers the yidden to control their desires and impulses with their intellect and minds. Then, “they will fear you” – They will fear you because you represent a challenge to their very existence, that your lifestyle, Torah, and mitzvot, is an obstacle in the way of their vision of creating a culture that chases trends and not truth. 

 
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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.