Parashat Vayelech, the Fast of Gedaliah
„Heresy in its beginning came forth with proclamations of kindness and love, with the question of how one tithes the straw and how one tithes the salt, how one repays good to the wicked, and how one blesses the one who curses. And its end is sword and blood, cruelty and murder, ceaseless wars of bloodshed, and deep hatred between nation and nation, tribe and tribe, and man and man.”From Shemonah Kevatzim V, 107
In Parashat Vayelech a deep understanding of the root of evil is revealed: 'Is it not because my God is not in my midst that these evils have found me?' The Torah, in all its complexity and its entryways, grants us a road map, and when the sages interpret it properly we learn the precise blend by which to act in the world. Against an outer show that waves slogans of love but gives birth to murder and bloodshed, the Torah sets up a true foundation of kindness and justice. Here lies the power to see a full picture and not a partial one, and to build a mended society that is not confused, neither before religious extremism nor before secular extremism.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.