Torah learning elevates the learners’ souls and corrects their middot.
ed note--once again, in the interests of getting 'the math' correct on all of this rather than cobbling together theories that sound good in an emotionally gratifying way but which do a serious disservice to the truth, the 'Jewish problem' is not relegated to simply the Talmud/Khazar diagnosis as many, many self-diploma-ed 'experts' like to chirp, but goes back to its root source, which is the Torah, or Old Testament.
Any rational person with the capacity to read and to honestly assess for him/herself the mechanics making up the Apocalyptic machinery that threatens all life and order on earth today cannot escape assigning the cause and effect nature of the toxic teachings found within the Torah to what has been FROM ITS INCEPTION aberrant, obnoxious and violent 'Jewish' behavior as manifested throughout the milleniae, whether those engaging in this behavior have gone by the name Hebrews, Israelites, Judah-ites, Judeans, or whatever. They differ from each other in the same way that 'the mafia' is different from 'the mob', 'the syndicate', the 'black hand' or whatever. Organized crime is organized crime irrespective of the name given to a particular group and the common thread running through all of them is their philosophy and the behavior that said philosophy generates.
Any rational person with the capacity to read and to honestly assess for him/herself the mechanics making up the Apocalyptic machinery that threatens all life and order on earth today cannot escape assigning the cause and effect nature of the toxic teachings found within the Torah to what has been FROM ITS INCEPTION aberrant, obnoxious and violent 'Jewish' behavior as manifested throughout the milleniae, whether those engaging in this behavior have gone by the name Hebrews, Israelites, Judah-ites, Judeans, or whatever. They differ from each other in the same way that 'the mafia' is different from 'the mob', 'the syndicate', the 'black hand' or whatever. Organized crime is organized crime irrespective of the name given to a particular group and the common thread running through all of them is their philosophy and the behavior that said philosophy generates.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Israel National News
From time to time rabbis consult with me, asking what I think the main role of a rabbi is. I respond: to teach Torah, because the greatness of Torah study is that it elevates one’s soul and corrects one’s middot (character traits), making a person honest, dedicated, and diligent in his job, a good friend and neighbor, someone who knows how to contribute his talents to helping others, loves his people and his country, respects every honest and decent person, is faithful to Torah and tradition, observes and beautifies Shabbat joyfully with a significant amount of Torah study, donates maser kesafim to magnify Torah and glorify it and to help the poor. And all this, from Torah study.
Likewise, over the years I have attended several rabbinic meetings, and occasionally in various ways the question comes up about what the main role of a community rabbi should be. The prevailing opinion: to stand firm against destructive attitudes blowing in the winds of society that seek to harm tradition, and accordingly, they see the focus being to strengthen yirat shamayim (awe of God) and adherence to Torah. About a month ago, in a Shabbat sermon in Har Bracha, I shared this with the community. A week later, I received a booklet from one of the members of the community which captures my position on the appropriate influence of a rabbi on his community.
