Friday, July 06, 2007

Even a broken clock is right twice per day

Chaim G. seconds one of my posts from yesterday:

For a change I agree with DB on this one.

The Steiplers zy"a seforim were all printed with the caveat that
nidfas ahl niyar she-ein bo kh'shash khilul Shabbos khas v'shalom = "Printed on paper without the taint of suspected Shabbat desecration G-d forbid"

Why shouldn't we be able to study Torah in the Artscroll oeuvre with our hearts and minds at ease that these s'forim were "Printed on paper without the taint of suspected, gezel, oshek, ribis and general Khilul HaShem= name-of-G-d desecration... G-d forbid”???

IIRC the Ramban provides the following ta'am for the negative mitzvah of esnan zonah= the prohibition of offering a sacrifice from kosher animals and or flour that was bartered for a prostitutes services: We didn't want to provide the prostitute with a rationalization for her sins and a salve for her conscience. We didn't want her to be able to say "Well I understand that it's not the kosher-ist way to earn a living but at least I'm doing it for a good cause".

There are Mafiosi who use their ill-gotten gains to build Basilicas and put their priest brother through seminary. Shouldn't Jewish philanthropists hew to a higher moral-ethical level?

Honoring these guys at dinners and through naming of buildings and Seforim editions after them sends the completely wrong message to our already under-secular-educated youth. To wit: "You can make it big time as a hustler and wheeler -dealer, even a totally dishonest one. Just as long as you give big money to good causes." What a deal! I can grow up to be a gonif-a BIG one- keep 80-90% of my ill-gotten gains to myself and live large. Just as long as I give 10-20% to the right causes.

Sick and perverse..really.

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