BS"D
Why Rabbis Should Lead the Culture Wars Against Immoral Indoctrination in Public Schools and Elsewhere
16 Teves, 5781/ Dec. 31, '20
Why
is it so crucial to divert so much time to fighting A4454/S2781, NJs
proposed legislation to intensity LGBT indoctrination in public schools,
as well as A2545, the transgenderization/ homosexualization of long
term healthcare? We're urging the public, and in particular the
Orthodox public, to bombard the legislators with emails from now until
the senate and assembly meetings on Jan. 7th and 11th. We must ensure
they feel the heat to kill both of these dangerous bills. (For more
details see http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2020/12/10th-of-teves-alert-making-lgbt.html)
In
this post we focus explaining why it's so crucial to oppose the
education bill, although many points apply to all types of similarly
outrageous LGBT legislation.
The "Education"
bill A4454 seeks to escalate existing LGBT indoctrination in NJ public
schools (see link above regarding specific changes to current law). By
teaching children to respect even flagrant practitioners of LGBT sins,
the schools themselves erode the natural revulsion for such acts, and
even cultivate admiration for them, all under the pretext of
"education." We're not talking about extending compassion to those
struggling with the Evil Inclination. We're discussing the government
forcing schools to teach children to respect those who brazenly flaunt
their abominable conduct.
Clearly, to teach children
such immoral ideas and attitudes is reprehensible, even it would never
affect a single Jew. Furthermore, sodomy is a capitol crime (VaYikra
20:13, Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, Ch.9:6). In fact, that
sin is specifically branded an "abomination" (VaYikra (Lev.) 18:22) - in
the enumerated forbidden relationships in VaYikra 18, all of which are
categorized as "abominations," That is to say that the homosexual act is
"an abomination among abominations," as the renowned sage known as "the
Maharal," (Prague, 1520-1609) explains on the Gemara (Babylonian Talmud tractate) Chullin 92b.
However,
some may still wonder, why the pronounced focus on THIS legislation?
There are several reasons, all of them quite simple. They include,
although may not be limited to the following:
1.
Some [irreligious] Jews (e.g. Bergen County senator Loretta Weinberg)
are prominent among the proponents of this and related legislation. We
must ensure that the broader community understand that Torah Jewry
stands unequivocally and unwavering in our Torah-based opposition to
anything remotely similar to this bill - and the extreme sins it seeks
to legitimize, under the rubric of teaching respect. Our communal
silence stands to be seen by some as acquiescence, even agreement, G-d
forbid. This concern is particularly relevant in light of all of the
anti-Torah, pro-LGBT propaganda circulating, in some cases under the
guise of being somehow "compatible" (sic) with Orthodox Judaism. (The
Baltimore-based "Coalition for Jewish Values" even saw it necessary to
issue a public statement recently to publicly debunk that
misconception.)
2. Secondly, as Torah sages
have publicly articulated since 1982, frum Jews are responsible for the
actions of their pro-LGBT legislative representatives, especially those
for whom they vote. The public Chillul HaShem here is indescribable.
What's
even worse is that some politically active parties within our
communities make sure to publicize their involvement in public advocacy
when it comes to seeking government assistance, but are generally
nowhere to be seen in addressing spiritual threats such as these. This
conveys the terrible and false misimpression that the average Orthodox
person cares more about financial needs than spiritual threats, even
threats of this nature.
In fact, daily we
repeat the Shema, in which we resolve to sacrifice all of our wealth,
even our lives, if necessary, to avoid transgression of any of the
cardinal sins - some of which are germaine here: Avoda Zorah [including
heretical beliefs, such as denying what the Torah tells us about the
sin of sodomy being an abomination (VaYikra 18:22, 20:13)]; forbidden
sexual relationships, including those being whitewashed in said LGBT
curriculum; and bloodshed. However, it's not enough to say Shema, we
must act on it too, even when it requires self-sacrifice. And the
Orthodox community responds exceedingly well when properly alerted to
the facts, and to the proper course of action, as illustrated so
astoundingly by Bnei Torah of Lakewood in the special US Senate race in
NJ in 2012, in which profamily republican Steven Lonegan got well over
99% in the.heavily Orthodox election districts 10 and 26, a state-wide
record.
3. Thirdly, consider how many Jewish
children, and even Orthodox ones, are being victimized by being forced
to sit in a classroom while the teacher waxes eloquent about the
importance of respecting flagrant homosexual advocates, in direct
contradiction to what the Torah emphasizes in multiple places.
4.
Fourthly, allowing this nonsense to be taught in public schools will
ultimately facilitate the push to teach it in Yeshivos and Bais Yaakov
schools, as we've seen in N.Y. In N.Y., years after the Legislature
passed the Dignity for All Students Act in early 2010, then Dept. of
Education Commissioner Elia acknowledged that the "Educational
Equivalency Regulations" she proposed in November 2018 would have
required teaching respect for LGBT conduct in religious schools, in line
with the N.Y. State Education Law requirement to do so in Public
Schools, under section 801(a) [as reported on in the Jewish Press about
two years ago].
5. Lastly, consider what types
of voters we'll have to deal with after several years of LGBT
indoctrination in public schools. One need not recourse to Guided
Imagery; we already got a foretaste, on Nov. 3. How many voters voted
for Mr. Biden in great measure because they erroneously IMAGINED Trump
to be genuinely anti-LGBT?
Why should Orthodox
Rabbis be so involved? In a war for the very souls of our children,
religious leaders must take the lead. They should be most capable of
understanding the stakes, and grasping the true goals of the
adversaries. The LGBT activist agenda is fundamentally an antireligious,
anti-child, anti-parent crusade. It must be fought by those who truly
recognize the depth of the evil operating behind their veneer of
"Tolerance."
May we merit a speedy Redemption in the merit of standing up for children who can't stand up for themselves
