DIN answers a deranged reader

 

On February 20, I posted a story about an Eida Hachreidis protest in support of a guy who burned down a kosher cellphone store with a family of 11 living upstairs barely getting out alive. 

I pointed out in one of my comments that illegal protests that block traffic, inconvenience people and block ambulances from reaching their victims.

One of those who commented on the post, was an individual who wrote as follows:

"Blocking ambulances is a mi'ut and we are not choshesh for mi'ut. Many of our great Gedolim participated in demonstrations that closed the streets including the Brisker Rav."

The comment above is an excerpt of what he scribbled, and if you are a masochist you can read his comment in full in the Feb 20 post.

Even though, this guy is obviously deranged, it is important to point out that this commentor is a product of our Yeshiva/Kollim institutions and can be extremely dangerous! 

(If he is reading this, he should seek immediate medical attention because he is a danger to his wife, children and maybe even to himself.)

Since this sickie decided to schlepp in the Brisker Rav z"l into his bizarre response, allow me to recite a story from R' Chaim Brisker's talmid muvhak, Rav Baruch Ber Leibowitz z"l.

R' Baruch Ber once wondered aloud to his talmidim:

"On what grounds can I expect to gain entry into Olam Habah? Will I be rewarded for my chiddushei Torah in Sefer Birkas Shmuel? No, for how insightful will my ideas be relative to those of the Tannaim, Amoraim, Rishonim, and Achronim?

Will it then be as a reward for my mesiras nefesh for Torah and mitzvos? That too is unlikely, for many generations of Jews have paid the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives al Kiddush Hashem.

Even if not for my learning, or for my sacrifice for mitzvos, what is certain is that I will be rewarded for my ahavas Yisrael, for I love every Jew, exactly as he is. I have never met a Jew in the street and not wished them well with all my heart."

I wonder if R' Baruch Ber z"L would be "choshesh for mi'ut" while a lady is in an ambulance hemorrhaging or an elderly man is clutching his heart in pain having a painful heart attack in one of those protests?

R' Dovid Feinstein z"l insisted:

"When Yidden get up after learning a sugya, they should be more compassionate, kinder, and with more room in their heart for others. If that doesn't happen, then they didn't really learn it, and they should sit down and learn it again."

The sickie that commented may have learned the sugya to be "choshesh for mi'ut" but he certainly didn't become "more compassionate, kinder, and with more room in his heart for others." 

Punkt farkert the sugya turned him into an achzer with no room in his evil heart for others. 

את חטאי אני מזכיר היום 

B'H, Hashem gave me a wonderful opportunity to sit in a kollel most of the day, with about 30 young avraichim, some of them recently married, but most of them with families of many children. I must say that they are indeed the most compassionate, kindest, selfless people that I have ever met. I noticed that this group treats the kollel as lehavdeil a business, hence the blessing we make before we learn, לעסוק בדברי תורה, and  just like a serious businessman would never consider leaving his desk to go out and demonstrate, block traffic, even if the Brisker Rav would be there, so too, these kollel guys would never ever dream of leaving their seider to join a demonstration to support an arsonist. They are very well aware of the sugya of when to be "choshesh for mi'ut"!

I sure hope that this sickie is from a "mi'ut"