Certainly, the homosexual "Parade of Pride" is a despicable idea that has no place in the Holy Land. It should not have been closeted into a stadium for security reasons; rather, any type of public celebration should have been banned outright for security reasons, as it written in the Torah: "For the L-rd your G-d walks in the midst of your camp to save you, and to conquer your enemy from before you. Therefore, your camp shall be holy, that He see no unchaste thing in thee and turn away from thee." (Devarim 23:15)
The Torah teaches that our security depends on the holiness of our lives. It is not the Israeli army and police that guarantee the security of the Jewish People in Israel - it is the Blessed One, Holy Be He. He has promised us in the Torah that we will live in security as long as we adhere to the laws of sexual chastity. Therefore, in the name of national security, the "Parade of Pride" and all of its deviations and perversions should be permanently banned.
But what about the daily parade of married and single women in Jerusalem and all over the Holy Land, a daily unchaste parade on our streets, shopping malls and buses - holy daughters of Israel parading their nakedness in brazenly immodest attire and tight-fitting garments? It can be argued that this flagrant lack of modesty on a day-to-day basis causes far more moral and spiritual damage than a two-hour "Parade of Pride."
Where are the protest posters, the demonstrations and the outcries of the rabbis against this unholy behavior? Is the silence because we have become accustomed to this state of affairs, or because we feel impotent to extinguish the fire, or because our over-exposure to it has made us spiritually insensitive to the tragedy that immodesty brings to our nation?
In 1927, when world Jewry was gripped in economic hardship and widespread persecution, the famed Chofetz Chaim wrote a letter calling on all of the rabbis to save the situation by publicly decrying the decline of modesty throughout their Jewish communities. He writes:
In case you felt that I was exaggerating in my opening thesis that our national security depends on the holiness of our sexual lives, maybe the words and warnings of the Chofetz Chaim, in his letter to the rabbis, will help convince you. His letter continues:
The Chofetz Chaim concludes:
The Torah teaches that our security depends on the holiness of our lives. It is not the Israeli army and police that guarantee the security of the Jewish People in Israel - it is the Blessed One, Holy Be He. He has promised us in the Torah that we will live in security as long as we adhere to the laws of sexual chastity. Therefore, in the name of national security, the "Parade of Pride" and all of its deviations and perversions should be permanently banned.
But what about the daily parade of married and single women in Jerusalem and all over the Holy Land, a daily unchaste parade on our streets, shopping malls and buses - holy daughters of Israel parading their nakedness in brazenly immodest attire and tight-fitting garments? It can be argued that this flagrant lack of modesty on a day-to-day basis causes far more moral and spiritual damage than a two-hour "Parade of Pride."
Where are the protest posters, the demonstrations and the outcries of the rabbis against this unholy behavior? Is the silence because we have become accustomed to this state of affairs, or because we feel impotent to extinguish the fire, or because our over-exposure to it has made us spiritually insensitive to the tragedy that immodesty brings to our nation?
In 1927, when world Jewry was gripped in economic hardship and widespread persecution, the famed Chofetz Chaim wrote a letter calling on all of the rabbis to save the situation by publicly decrying the decline of modesty throughout their Jewish communities. He writes:
Behold, our sages stated, "A handbreadth exposed in a woman, in a place that is usually covered, constitutes sexual unchastity." (Berachot 24A) And today, due to our many sins, this matter has very greatly spread, and the evil inclination seduces women to walk around without covering their hair, and to go out with their arms exposed, with dresses without sleeves. And many of their garments also expose the chest. Everything is exposed so that in whatever place a man should look, he is confronted with unchastity.This was in 1927. The problem is a thousand times greater today.
In case you felt that I was exaggerating in my opening thesis that our national security depends on the holiness of our sexual lives, maybe the words and warnings of the Chofetz Chaim, in his letter to the rabbis, will help convince you. His letter continues:
It is written, "For the L-rd your G-d walks in the midst of your camp to save you, and to conquer your enemy from before you." (Devarim 23:15) The meaning of "to save you" includes many things, to save you from the sword, and from hunger, from enemy captivity, and from humiliation. The verse continues, "Therefore your camp shall be holy, that He see no unchaste thing in thee and turn away from thee." The Torah explains the matter explicitly, that when we conduct our lives in a holy manner, then He walks in the midst of us to deliver us from every evil thing. However, if He sees in us some unchaste matter, He turns away from us, and this brings upon us all of the tribulations, G-d forbid.This is a quote from the Chofetz Chaim, not from Tzvi Fishman. Just a short time ago, all through the recent war in Lebanon, we learned the hard way that all of the great power of the Israel Defense Forces was unable to stop Hizbullah missiles from falling on communities in the north. And Kassam rockets are still falling on Sederot and Ashkelon every day.
The Chofetz Chaim concludes:
Therefore, every man has the obligation to extinguish this terrible fire, and to rectify the situation in his home so that everything will be according to Torah law, and not to allow licentiousness, G-d forbid. And in doing so, he will merit to have upright and exalted holy children.Perhaps, after eighty years, it is time that we heed the words of the Chofetz Chaim and cry out, not only against the homosexual parade in Jerusalem, but also against the day-to-day parade of immodesty that is polluting the holiness of our nation and threatening the security of our people in our cherished Holy Land.
And more than anyone else, this obligation falls on the rabbis and on all those who are zealous to fulfill G-d's words, that in every city and village, the importance of this matter must be publicly explained, in that it directly affects our survival and our success, both physically and spiritually, in this world and the next. Thus will the verse be fulfilled, "And your camp shall be holy." [Click here for the full length Chofetz Chaim letter]