parshablog
Donate to Kupat HaIr, or Hashem may smite your children!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
An advertisement in last week's Five Towns Jewish Times.
Typically they prey on the fears and desperation of the childless or seriously ill, telling them that the path to yeshua is a donation. And for a salvation outside the domain of derech hateva, one needs to give more than the teva would dictate.
Here, it seems as if they are raising the spectre of harm or death to Jewish children, if their parents do not donate to this specific charity. I would like to think that apart for this, the Gedolim care for all of klal Yisrael and pray in general that no Jewish children are harmed this summer.
Besides frightening parents and cynically using that fear to collect money for their cause (however deserving that cause may be), they are influencing the practices and beliefs of Judaism. They are turning Gedolim, and the prayers of Gedolim, into commodities. And it makes tzedaka into a segulah and into a mechanism of getting what one wants.
Now, perhaps this is not the end of the world. After all, the gemara states that
Now, perhaps this is not the end of the world. After all, the gemara states that
האומר סלע זו לצדקה בשביל שיחיו בני ובשביל שאזכה בה לחיי העולם הבא הרי זה צדיק גמור לא קשיא כאן בישראל כאן באומות העולם
But then again, Rashi states that this is because regardless, the Yisrael will intend it leshem shamayim. And perhaps these people will. But it seems that if not for this, the thought-process is one of purchasing favors. (Meanwhile, Daryevesh was considered evil, despite giving gifts to kohanim, with those gifts not being counted as evidence of righteousness because he only gave them such that they would pray for him and his children.)
Regardless, while this answer might exist in the gemara, it seems that tzedaka campaigns featuring Gedolim with this message only serves to increase the thought process of purchasing favors with charity, which the gemara in the end does not seem to consider a positive attitude.
I'll also note that it seems that Iyov took a similar attitude before the deaths of his sons and daughters:
3 comments:
Vito
said...
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:27:00 AM
Now, I'm just sayin'... but if you want to be sure your store doesn't burn down or nothin' next week, you might want to make a small donation to kupat ha'ir. Oh yeah... unmarked bills only.
Anonymous
said...
Thursday, July 09, 2009 11:29:00 AM
R'YBS commented that Iyov's sin was that he only cared about his family as evidenced by the pasuk you quoted.
KT
Joel Rich
Anonymous
said...
Thursday, July 09, 2009 11:29:00 AM
R'YBS commented that Iyov's sin was that he only cared about his family as evidenced by the pasuk you quoted.
KT
Joel Rich
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