Intellectual Dishonesty

In my career as rabbi, I have often been challenged by students who were turned off by their respective schools. Their complaint is that they were not taught subjects that inspire. All they learned were Halachic prohibitions that became very tedious. Sometimes their complaint was worsened by what they thought was hypocrisy on the part of some of their teachers. They may have discovered certain unethical behavior, or great intolerance for those who did not agree with their strict interpretation of Judaism.

I always tried to emphasize that there is a problem of intellectual dishonesty when one is ready to abandon religious observance only because of poor representation or being turned off by a specific individual. One has an obligation to seek truth and not look for excuses to run away from our tradition. Admittedly, it is difficult to get over the trauma of being put down by a so called religious figure, over foolishness. Nevertheless, our desire for truth should override our unfortunate past experiences.

It is helpful to try to connect with a very kind and righteous mentor. Sometimes, when one is able to meet a person who epitomizes goodness, it can put that past trauma to rest. There really are people who love doing Chessed. They selflessly devote their lives to bringing joy to others. It is important to see our religion as one of holy people that both follow the laws but are accepting of others without judging them, and clearly show the love they have for every Jew.

There are real challenges to our religion and there are many issues that need to be addressed. There is so much beauty in being an observant Jew. It is our task to be living examples of this beauty, in the way that we live our lives and interact with others.