A Dangerous Double Standard
Berachos 19a
“It was taught in the Beis Medrash of Rabi Yishmoel: If you see a talmid chochom who has committed a sin at night, do not harbor bad thoughts about him during the day; since perhaps he may have already repented. No! Do not say ‘perhaps’. It is absolutely certain that he repented. This, however, only applies to sexual indiscretions, but if he has embezzled money, he may be criticized until he repays it.”
If you have ever wondered why there are so many in the Charedi kehillos who participate in criminal sexual activity or child molestation, and are never called into Beis Din or into civil court, here is the source for it. Some claim it is a matter of chilul hashem, but it really has a deeper source, that being the elitist attitude of the chachomim. All Jews are NOT created equal it seems.
The Gemara refers to a talmid chochom as ‘chaver’. That is the same as the Aramaic term ‘chavrusa’, which means a study partner. Those who follow the rabbonnim are called friends, and what do we call those that don’t? There is a clear double standard, and though some may say that the talmidei chachomim have earned the right to be treated as an elite class, when one witnesses the disdain that these elitists show for the common man, one wonders if they consider us as Jews at all. The term ‘chaver’ is synonymous with the ‘good ole boys’ network, or maybe more like a fraternity, where the pledges and members have special rights and the protection of their ‘chaverim’.
Ok, am I the only guy who sees a problem here? Here is the scenario. I witness the Rov of my kehilla, a married man, coming out of a massage parlor or beis kurve at
This also means that if there is a known sexual predator among the elite, who does his dirty deeds at ‘night’, meaning b’seyser, that we the people should machen zich nisht visendig. Why? Because, according to the tuchis-lechers who hang out at the Beis Medrash of Rabi Yishmoel, the ‘chaver’ in question would have already, toch k’dei dibur, mestama, done teshuva shleyma for his aveyras! Bullshit!
This sounds a lot like modern Jesusism, where the holy roller preachers like Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton, at least 30 Popes, a host of others get a pass when it comes to their sexual indiscretions and affairs, because they have ‘opened their hearts to Jesus’. It’s just that easy for them, too. Maybe those notzrim are also talmidei chachomim? Just another class of religious elitists who think they have a monopoly on emunah and da’as. They believe themselves above the law that they write for everyone else. Bullshit!
I though that teshuva was a drawn out process of introspection and personal assessment, meant not only to change the behavior, but to change the entire thinking pattern of the person, thus bringing them closer to the ideal mindset and character traits necessary for real deveikus. Maybe that whole cognitive and behavioral recovery program is just for those of us who aren’t members of the Fraternal Order of Chaverim.
It is a twisted and sick world that will tolerate child molestors and other sex offenders in its midst, while those who harbor doubts and even mild heresy are socially and sometimes halachically excommunicated from their communities. Talk to those people about teshuva and being re-accepted wholeheartedly by the kehillos, and you will find there is still no tolerance for keeping an open mind, but plenty for having an open zipper.
If you ever find yourself wondering why this is, remember Berachos 19a. As H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956) said, “A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.” One should not be surprised that these “shoftim” give themselves a pass on their sexual indiscretions.
posted by Shlomo Leib Aronovitz @ 8:00 AM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
Wow, you are really following the daf yomi !
There is no excuse for child molestors or sex offendors, and you are right to point out that there should be no double standard in this area. Jews and non-Jews, frum or not, should be punished for their criminal sexual activities.
But do you really believe that the exclusive source and excuse for such behavior is to be found in these 3 lines in the Talmud ?
Wake up. You will find the same phenomenon everywhere, and I do not believe religious Jews are worse than others.
And those who do it do not need a phony justification based on berachos 19a - they follow their pulsions and that's it.
Finally, why did you translate "Dvarim Shebegufo" by "sexual indiscretions" ?
I think the expression includes much more than that, like kashrus, etc, etc.
A well-founded blog, too bad the stupid mass who should read it keeps far away from blogs like yours.
Chayim,
The issue is that some of us DO think we are beyond such scrutiny. If you read further down in the sugya, you see more examples of how the Holy Order of Fraternal Chaverim allows itself more Divine protection and privelege than would be afforded others.
If I catch a child molestor among my people, even if he has a Rov in front and a Shlita in back of his name, I'm taking an aluminum baseball bat to his beytzim. I don't mind doing time for that.
You are right about impulses, but this little blurb in Berachos EXCUSES the impulses of this person based on the assumption that he must have done teshuva because he is a talmid chochom. And no it is not the exclusive source of the behavior, but it's indicative of the attitude and double standard that occurs when trying to deal with the problem.
To assume the teshuvah, which I believe is possible, can be a spontaneous little decision on the part of anyone is ridiculous. I have my own challenges in the discipline department and there is no possible way to overcome impulses or addictions overnight, talmid chochom or not. It takes more than a few kepitlach tehillim to save oneself from addiction.
What surprises me more is that no one seems to notice what the Chazal are really saying here. Everytime I breezed through this sugya the implication here bothered the shit out of me.
BTW Can anyone show me a posuk in Torah that forbids child molestation?
And how else would you translate devarim she begufo? It would have to be something visible to another person (I could catch you doing it), but not evident to everyone else you meet later on. So what else could fit the picture of being besyeser and begufo? Bowing to Avodah Zara? Maybe. Tattooing? Shaving the Peyos? Those would be visible. Kashrut might be a possible, like you said.
But since sexual ideas are generally couched in cleaner terminologies and analogies all over, the Chazal have most likely done the same thing here, using an admittedly ambiguous term with very definite meaning. If it were kashrus at issue, they just could have said it outright.
I can't think of any other peshat considering the context.
The devarim shebegufo does not have to include another person, but could mean masturbation. But then why say Devarim in the plural? It should say davar (meaning a specific act)if it were only masturbation at issue.
That was a good observation Hayim. Thanks.
Shavua tov Shlomo, I don't recall stuying this in Yeshiva, but at first glance, I don't see "night and day" as literal, but "before and after." Also, I would interpret "devarim shebegufo" as "personal indiscretions" (e.g., "victimless" crimes) and "bemamono" as crimes against other people's property, where proof of "teshuvah" is in the restitution. Going to a brothel would depend on whether rabbi was married, or was being harsh against a constituent for the same indiscretion. Molesting a kid would not be "begufo," might be "bemamono" but more likely be in a separate category "e.g., dinei nefashot" with different standards for assuming teshuvah.
Ben, yeshivah dropout
Ben,
Ok. Let's say you're correct about the nonliteral part. Let's also say you're correct about the rest. The problem here is that it is the Chaverim themselves giving this leeway to themselves, rather than being willing to expose or even chastise their frat buddies for ‘indiscretions’.
Why is it that the 'talmid chochom' receives a greater benefit of the doubt than the common man? Especially in the light of the dictum "A Tzadik is judged by hair's breadth", that the righteous or learned are judged on a much harsher scale because of their learning.
Why shouldn't that same assumption re: instant teshuva apply to anyone else? Are they the only ones who do it?
It still leaves one with the question of how it is that they can make instantaneous teshuva, when the RamBam, in Hilchos Teshuva describes it as an ongoing process. We all this from our own experience, too.
How about a real live instance? There are judges all over the country who get caught drunk driving, cheating on their spouses, embezzlement, and a host of other crimes. Many of these judges, being judged by review boards made up of their fellow judges, never receive the punishments that you and I would, had we been hauled into court. At worst, they are reprimanded (big deal) and suspended with pay. We see it all the time; those who sentence others to long and harsh punishments allow themselves to skirt the law with little consequence, when in fact, based on their position, knowledge, and power, their punishments should be equal or even greater. The result is an erosion in the authority of the judiciary.
Same thing here. The chachomim, who wish to protect themselves from scrutiny are only going to lose face in the eyes of the common man. Hell, take a look at any kehilla and their beis din. How many people really care what their own Beis Din says, especially when they know these dayanim are involved in shady dealings?
And why does the gemara only think that people only care about money and are willing to give this this guy a pass only on a moral indiscretion? Does the Gemara think that people don’t care if their leaders engage in pritzus?
Kol Tuv
Shlomo, Does this Gemara (sorry, don't have one handy, too lazy to look it up) that the assumption that "he must have done tshuvah" only applies "literally" to a talmid chacham (no fair, I agree,) or can it be liberally interpreted as "if you see your fellow human sin at night, assume he's regretted it in the morning?"
I agree, there should be no double standard for so-called saints, certainly not when it deals ben Adam lahavero.
Shabbat shalom
Ben, desperately trying to see poetry where there might not be any.
The Gemara is quoted verbatim at the top of the post and says "talmid chochom". A poshute yid is not assumed to have done teshuva.
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