2008 Woodie Awards
To Understand Is Not To Condone
Olivia Wiznitzer
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Thoughts of Student Leaders
To understand is not to condone.
Unfortunately, this is difficult for some to comprehend. Some prefer to operate under the assumption that all things are equal, and nuance does not exist. In their minds, to write about a topic is to legitimize it, to discuss something forbidden is suddenly to claim it is permitted. This is not the case. We exist under God's law, and what He has forbidden, we keep. But that has never meant we cannot discuss the situation of those who are caught within a difficulty, who desire to serve God and nevertheless may sin. Who is there in this world who can claim he has not sinned? Every man knows that his desire appears to him in a different form. The yetzer hara [evil inclination] is wily. He does not approach every man in the same way. There are some who might long to do what we would all find horrible, and murder or rape or steal. But then there are those of us who would like to do something much less socially questionable, and our yetzer hara appears to us in the guise of an angel. Brimming with light and compassion, how is it possible to defy this angel?
There are many of us who struggle with our Judaism. Perhaps some of you have been blessed so that you do not have any such struggle, and the tenets of Judaism and its laws are as clear as day. But there are many of us who lack such clarity. And there are many of us who sin, whether it is knowingly or unknowingly. And yet, despite our sin, we struggle and strive to remain part of the Jewish community, to be better, or at least to focus on everything that we can do, everything that is in our ability. There are those of us who have gossiped about our peers, engaging in lashon hara [evil speech.] There are those of us who have broken the parameters of shomer negiah [not touching a member of the opposite sex.] There are doubtless those of us who have lied or have stolen. There are those of us who have embarrassed others in public, who have hurt others' feelings, or who have cruelly manipulated others for our own personal gain. And indeed, there are those of us who are homosexuals who practice mishkav zachar [lying with a male] and there are those of us who are transsexuals who transition.
Unfortunately, this is difficult for some to comprehend. Some prefer to operate under the assumption that all things are equal, and nuance does not exist. In their minds, to write about a topic is to legitimize it, to discuss something forbidden is suddenly to claim it is permitted. This is not the case. We exist under God's law, and what He has forbidden, we keep. But that has never meant we cannot discuss the situation of those who are caught within a difficulty, who desire to serve God and nevertheless may sin. Who is there in this world who can claim he has not sinned? Every man knows that his desire appears to him in a different form. The yetzer hara [evil inclination] is wily. He does not approach every man in the same way. There are some who might long to do what we would all find horrible, and murder or rape or steal. But then there are those of us who would like to do something much less socially questionable, and our yetzer hara appears to us in the guise of an angel. Brimming with light and compassion, how is it possible to defy this angel?
There are many of us who struggle with our Judaism. Perhaps some of you have been blessed so that you do not have any such struggle, and the tenets of Judaism and its laws are as clear as day. But there are many of us who lack such clarity. And there are many of us who sin, whether it is knowingly or unknowingly. And yet, despite our sin, we struggle and strive to remain part of the Jewish community, to be better, or at least to focus on everything that we can do, everything that is in our ability. There are those of us who have gossiped about our peers, engaging in lashon hara [evil speech.] There are those of us who have broken the parameters of shomer negiah [not touching a member of the opposite sex.] There are doubtless those of us who have lied or have stolen. There are those of us who have embarrassed others in public, who have hurt others' feelings, or who have cruelly manipulated others for our own personal gain. And indeed, there are those of us who are homosexuals who practice mishkav zachar [lying with a male] and there are those of us who are transsexuals who transition.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 33
Gloria
posted 10/03/08 @ 6:06 PM EST
Chana,this is so well done!
The entire issue is absolutely spectacular.
Dani
posted 10/04/08 @ 11:37 PM EST
Olivia,this article is a nice intro to the rest of the series. Your sensitivity and the careful way you chose to deal with issues pertaining to transsexuals are to be commended. (Continued…)
InTruth
Anonymous
posted 10/05/08 @ 9:11 AM EST
"To understand is not to condone. Unfortunately, this is difficult for some to comprehend. Some prefer to operate under the assumption that all things are equal, and nuance does not exist. (Continued…)
Simcha Gross
posted 10/05/08 @ 10:43 AM EST
Anonymous,
Perhaps your passion overcame you when writing your response, but you seem to have omitted any form of coherent argument. Are you implying that a newspaper should only publish articles when the entire student body unanimously expresses their interest in each story? I don't believe there is a single newspaper in the world that follows such a reckless vision. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 10/05/08 @ 11:13 AM EST
Simcha,
Thanks for your response. As you may have discerned from the brevity of my response, I did not intend my comment to be a thorough critique of this issue. (Continued…)
DL
posted 10/05/08 @ 11:46 AM EST
Anonymous,where exactly do you see that "the editor dismisses any disagreement as small-minded."? I read the entire issue including the series about the transsexuals and found it well -researched,well written informative, extremely timely and engaging . (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 10/05/08 @ 8:21 PM EST
DL,
"To understand is not to condone. Unfortunately, this is difficult for some to comprehend. Some prefer to operate under the assumption that all things are equal, and nuance does not exist. (Continued…)
DL
posted 10/05/08 @ 9:28 PM EST
Anonymous,
you are very welcome.
We agree to disagree.
Simcha Gross
posted 10/05/08 @ 11:14 PM EST
Anonymous,
Unfortunately,once again, issues are not decided based on whether or not you personally believe it deserves the fanfare it has received. You may not believe that blogs, newspapers and websites should have covered the issue as extensively as they have, but clearly they all disagree. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 10/06/08 @ 9:19 PM EST
Simcha,
Thank you for your attempt at candor. I disagree with the fact that newspapers and blogs feel the need to sensationalize certain issues, as is my current right as an American citizen. (Continued…)
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