Episode 21: Rabbi David Bashevkin "For the Sake of Heaven"

Rabbi Bashevkin explains why stories of tzaddikim are inspiring and beneficial, especially for children. But is this ideal considering that the Torah seems to not hide or sugarcoat the mistakes of our ancestors, while actually making their failures integral to their narratives. If the Torah did not find it beneficial to gloss over the mistakes or flaws of our greatest heroes, why should we employ such thinking today? His answer may surprise you. He also discusses the controversial beliefs of Ishbitz Hassidut. Antinomianism is a very dangerous and paradoxical doctrine which seems to go against the most intuitive notions of free will and personal responsibility. Why didn't this fact negatively affect the Ishbitz community in terms of their approach to Judaism, as some might have expected it to, such as with the Sabbateans? We also talked about a polarizing idea among Orthodox Jews: Zionism. The approach that many Haredim have taken is to reject it as heresy, citing the Aggadah of "The 3 Oaths" as support for their argument. To counter that, religious zionists easily see the modern state of Israel as a clear fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Putting politics aside and just strictly focusing on the miraculous existence of Israel, is either side missing the point and can this divide ever be resolved? Lastly, being that the Rabbi wrote a book on sin, we asked him to give us his take on "separating the art from the artist", a recent example being the Chaim Walder case. We've noticed that some people were torn about what to do with his popular children's books after all the allegations of sexual abuse came to light. Our opinion is to dispose of these books, but we want to know where the line is. For example, one might make the case against singing Carlebach niggunim because his alleged inappropriate behavior, etc. Some might say "why not watch The Cosby Show for its lessons since the rest of the cast didn't deserve to be cancelled", or that Michael Jackson's or R.Kelly's music can still be enjoyed since the studio is a separate domain from domestic life. We asked what he thinks is the proper approach to this issue in general.