To yittish
Thank you for your scholarly response to rescue’s misguided ode to humanism. You’re a welcome addition to the thread.
To R.D.
I’m glad that we’re on the same side.
To pekak
Since you introduced Da Mah Shetashiv, I’d like to elaborate. Rabbi Miller said that the Apikorus, which the aphorism addresses, is not the person who speaks heresy, in our case rescue, but the one who hears what was said. I think he meant that we must be able to respond to those who spout ideas which are antithetical to the Torah lest such ideas gain a foothold in our psyches. Rescue has repeatedly said that G-d gave us laws that He knew we couldn’t keep and so He expects us to use our “free-will” and reject them. In fact, this is rescue’s “big lie.” Rabbi Dessler, in his classic Mussar sefer Michtav Mieliyahu expounds a principle which he called “Bechirah point.” He explained that there are Mitzvohs that we find challenging and those which aren’t. Let’s start with the second group. No Jew has any desire to wear Shaatnez. No observant Jew gets up in the morning and struggles to put on his Tallis and Tefilin. There are many Mitzvohs that we perform in a rote manner. Yes, it’s better if we infuse them with enthusiasm, but even if done perfunctorily one is Yotzi. So, we see that rescue’s thesis to wit the Torah demands that we obey rules which run counter to our nature is simply a canard. But then we have those Mitzvohs which touch on our Bechirah point, meaning that we do have to overcome certain barriers or hurdles to perform them. What must be understood is that such Mitzvohs differ from person to person. There are those who have difficulty giving charity despite being well off, others who are ready to “drop their gloves” at the slightest provocation. As Rabbi Dessler explained, each person must assess himself to discern which Mitzvohs go against “his” particular grain, and then he must devise strategies, generally in concert with his Rabbonim, to deal with these Yetzer horas. We won’t always succeed, but Hashem desires that we put in effort. To that point, the Vilna Gaon said that if someone restrains himself, even one time, from speaking Loshon Hora, he merits worlds of treasures. Hashem knows who we are, all He wants is that we make sincere efforts to improve ourselves.