How an Orphan Generation Must Fight Amalek
There are no quick-fixes
Among the many important points we discussed in part 33 of The Prophetic Teachings of Rav Elchonon Wasserman is the sobering fact that our Torah leadership is seriously deficient. Many people will reflexively react with great negativity to this assertion, but they must contend with the following: Rav Wasserman made the same assertion a hundred years ago, when we had such towering figures as the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, and many others, including Rav Wasserman himself.
He referred to his generation as a dor yasom, an orphan generation.
What does that make us?
We have talmidei chachamim and tzaddikim today, sure, but don’t fool yourself; we are seriously impoverished in the Torah leadership department. The heads of our institutions, the brand-name rabbis, the chief rabbis, the celebrity rabbis on the lecture circuit, and the media darlings, are, with few exceptions at most, sellouts and Erev Rav.
The fact that they are Torah scholars (which, in some cases, is dubious as well) does not make them righteous or fit for leadership. It makes them more dangerous.
The fact that some rosh yeshiva is regularly featured, interviewed, and boosted in the likes of Mishpacha Magazine certainly doesn’t make them a gadol; it makes them a prime suspect.
The fact that they are the son, son-in-law, or student of a genuine gadol does not make them righteous or a worthy successor. In many cases, as the saying goes, it means they were born on third base and think they hit a triple.
The reason why people are such easy prey for the savior of the day — rabbinic or political — is because they want a quick fix. They want Moshiach, they want him now, and they expect him to come because they jump up and down to mindless “Jewish” music and Hashem loves them no matter what.
That’s also why people are such easy prey for vaccine propaganda and other medical disinformation. Want to lose weight? Stressed out? Your child is bored in school? There’s a pill or a shot for that, and more drugs for all the inevitable side effects (which should really be called effects).
People really believe they can make up for a lifetime of bad decisions with a pill, an injection, or elective surgery (which should really be called unnecessary surgery).
Increasingly, doctors are being taught not how to save lives, but how to end them. It’s the ultimate, final solution for people who want to be rid of their problems and suffering, the fastest and most painless way.
The same is true when it comes to knowledge and understanding. My articles are too long, some people have said. My classes are definitely too long. Who has a half hour for a Torah class, even from someone whose perspective they value? Who wants to read 1000 words of authentic Torah, clearly and concisely presented, when they can read a summary of a summary, or 20 social media posts, or view a bunch of viral short videos instead? Just give me the bottom line! I’m busy!
Recently someone contacted me and said she was given the chance to speak for a potentially large audience, and asked for Torah sources against taking vaccines, blindly trusting doctors who have no liability, etc. I sent her several articles of mine filled with sources and concise commentary.
She replied that she doesn’t have time to read them; she just wants sources.
“You want to just rattle off a list of sources to people?” I asked her sarcastically.
“Yes, I want to rattle off sources,” she replied with full seriousness.
So we have someone with a golden opportunity to educate many people, who can potentially educate many more people, but she doesn’t even want to educate herself before speaking with them. She wants me to put more work into preparing her talk than she is willing to do. She wants to confidently tell a bunch of women that there’s a Gemara here, a Shulchan Aruch there, and a Chasam Sofer somewhere — as if they’re going to look up the sources themselves. Furthermore, she expects them to be impressed enough to stop taking vaccines.
The truth is that this method works quite well for the Erev Rav. They trot out their mercenary rabbis in full regalia to sound smart while keeping their followers stupid. It’s the quick fix for stupidity — latch onto a know-it-all and parrot whatever he says. No critical thinking required, no challenging questions allowed.
Even if they totally distort Torah sources or even fabricate them, they can be confident that almost no one will bother to look them up. If a listener does call them out, the masses will reflexively defend the all-knowing guru, if they even bother to examine the critique altogether. In all cases, nothing will come of it.
It is no wonder that a generation that prefers social media posts to essays, pharmaceutical products to healthy living, Jewish pep songs to painstaking spiritual development, memes to wisdom, and sound bites to understanding, has shallow sellouts as influencers, traitors running their land, and Erev Rav as Torah leaders.
More often than not, you get the leaders you deserve.
If you want to grow in Torah, a 5-minute summary of the Daf Yomi isn’t going to cut it. If you want to have knowledge and wisdom, you need to learn — really learn — day after day after day. There are no substitutes or quick fixes, and no one can do this for you. What you learn in this world is what you bring with you to the next world.
Rav Wasserman provided important insights for how an orphan generation can fight Amalek. I’m not going to summarize it for you. I’m not even going to give you the bottom line.
If you believe this is worth knowing, you can listen to the class, and if you still feel that way afterward, you can share it.
Then crack open the books and do some more real learning. Slowly but surely, day after day.
The class is embedded above and on Rumble here.
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