Raboyseyee and Ladies,
Disinformation:
Mamish earlier this week Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, admitted that under pressure from the White House, he was forced to remove certain information regarding Covid-19 and allow for other information -at least some disinformation- to remain posted on the site. Oy vey.
According to high level sources, the term “dezinformatsiya” was reputedly coined by no lesser an evil tyrant than Josef Stalin in the 1920s as the name of the section of the KGB tasked with deceiving enemies and influencing public opinion. In hyntige tzytin (today’s times), disinformation, is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic deceptions and media manipulation tactics to advance political, military, or commercial goals. So happens that our parsha -among many other subject matters- deals with disinformation. Let’s go veyter.
Whereas most parshas are one-and-done until a year later, Parshas Re’ay is one of the few parshas we read from several times during the year. Aside from being rich in mitzvis -a whopping 55 of them and 2nd in mitzva count, it also contains the reading for Pesach and Sukkis. Though these holidays are zicher mentioned elsewhere, for whatever reason, our sages selected Re’ay.
Next: As the Ois has told you many times over these past fourteen years -amazingly enough, we are now in year 15- the RBSO mamish abhors avoido zoro (idol worship); He is indeed a jealous G-d who hates cheating. Not very different in that regard than most spouses. Shoin. So happens that the prohibition against idolatry is mentioned 44 times in the heylige Toirah – more than any other mitzvah. It is one of the Aseres Hadibris (Ten Commandments), and one of the Seven Noahide Laws that even non-Jews are instructed to uphold. It is also one of the Big 3 for which a Jew is expected to give his life, rather than transgress. Finally, it gets a shout out, a rather unusual one in this week’s parsha. Among the 55 -yes, count-em- commandments we find in our parsha, we get yet another reminder about idolatry and its consequences; this one has a twist. We are instructed to avoid and not listen to the false prophet, the one spreading disinformation. The one preaching about the merits of idolatry. Ober, if he’s a prophet, how can s/he be false? More on that below, ober let’s read the words innaveynig (let’s read the text). Says the heylige Toirah (Devorim 13:2), azoy:
דברים יג:ב כִּֽי־יָק֤וּם בְּקִרְבְּךָ֙ נָבִ֔יא א֖וֹ חֹלֵ֣ם חֲל֑וֹם וְנָתַ֥ן אֵלֶ֛יךָ א֖וֹת א֥וֹ מוֹפֵֽת: (ג) וּבָ֤א הָאוֹת֙ וְהַמּוֹפֵ֔ת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ לֵאמֹ֑ר נֵֽלְכָ֞ה אַחֲרֵ֨י אֱלֹהִ֧ים אֲחֵרִ֛ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יְדַעְתָּ֖ם וְנָֽעָבְדֵֽם: (ד) לֹ֣א תִשְׁמַ֗ע אֶל־דִּבְרֵי֙ הַנָּבִ֣יא הַה֔וּא א֛וֹ אֶל־חוֹלֵ֥ם הַחֲל֖וֹם הַה֑וּא כִּ֣י מְנַסֶּ֞ה יְקֹוָ֤ק אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ אֶתְכֶ֔ם לָדַ֗עַת הֲיִשְׁכֶ֤ם אֹֽהֲבִים֙ אֶת־יְקֹוָ֣ק אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֔ם בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁכֶֽם:
When a prophet or dreamer arises among you, and gives you a sign or wonder. (3) And the sign or wonder comes to fruition, that s/he spoke of to say ‘let us go after other gods that you have not known, and worship them.’ (4) Do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer, for Hashem your G-d is testing you, to know whether you love Hashem your G-d with all your hearts and all your souls.
Let’s also read posik 13: 6 which tells us how to deal with that person: “And that prophet or dreamer of dreams shall be put to death for he has spoken to turn you away from the Lord your G-d …”
Just like that? Death mamish? What’s happening here? What is a false prophet? The pisukim seem to be talking about a time when a false prophet comes along, and after performing some kind of supernatural sign to prove his bona fides, tries to get the Yiddin to worship idols. Moishe -in two pisukim- lays this out and warns the Yiddin to not follow this prophet; his information and he are false! You’d think, that the heylige Toirah would give us some rules and tools to figure out if this person is lying, especially since this person successfully carries out a supernatural sign, ober, the heylige Toirah does no such thing. Instead, it tells us only this: “don’t believe the prophet; Hashem is testing you.” Ober, that being stated, how are we humanoids supposed to know it’s a test, if we don’t have the tools to cope with this situation? How is the RBSO testing us, but not giving us the way to understand the test? What’s going on here? And how is this very important topic relevant for us today?
Other than the occasional mikubal (a Kabbalist is one who studies mysticism, theosophy, and thaumaturgy), who for a good sum of money will mamish predict your future, the stock market, the weather, elections, the horses, and anything else you may wish to burden him with, have you ever come across such a person? Who worships idols these days?
The bottom line: If the RBSO mentioned this phenomenon, we have to believe such people were around. The heylige Gemora will dig deeper and teach us that a prophet may not change Toirah law. That being said, he may override them temporarily as the Gemora does elucidate – except, avada- in the case of idolatry. The details of how and when a true prophet can suspend Toirah laws are for another day, ober no prophet may advocate idol worship, no matter the circumstances. If he does, or if he attempts to permanently change Jewish law, he is considered a novee sheker (false prophet) even if he is able to perform miracles.
Ober the shaylis (questions) include these: How can a false prophet have the ability to perform miracles? Why would the RBSO allow this to happen? Why would the RBSO enable this person? If the individual in question is taka a charlatan, why does the heylige Toirah refer to him as a “prophet or a dreamer of dreams?” Shouldn’t the appellation “prophet” be reserved for someone who is telling the truth? Why would the RBSO grant this individual the power to produce “a sign or a wonder?” Shouldn’t such power be divinely granted only to a true prophet? Would the RBSO grant supernatural powers to an imposter, simply to “test” the people’s belief? Given that the RBSO knows from the outset what lies in man’s heart -after all, He did so program man from the get-go- what would be the purpose of such a test? Of course the Yiddin would fail this test!
Says Rebbe Akiva in the heylige Gemora (Sanhedrin 90A) azoy: When the heylige Toirah speaks of a prophet performing miracles, the prophet was then the real thing. A good guy! A true Novee. He was a good man delivering inspirational messages to the Yiddin. A look back at the real prophets confirms that they mostly tried to prod the Yiddin along to become better people, to follow in the ways of the RBSO. Only after defecting to the other side -to the dark side- and becoming a false prophet does he lose the ability to perform miracles. In other words: He started off good but went rogue! And the implication? Notwithstanding one’s achievement or spiritual level, there is always the possibility of going off the derech, and switching teams to the bad guys. Shit happens. Efsher we can kler that Rabbi Akiva, having risen from illiteracy to become the man he was, the rabbis’ rabbi, understood that people can dramatically change – for the better or for the worse. Lesson learned.
Ober, says the Rambam (Mishneh Toirah, Fundamentals of the Toirah 8:3), that the false prophet may perform what appears to be supernatural stuff, but it’s not. What one sees is nothing less than a deception. The practitioner is a fraud to begin with. “We may be sure that those signs [brought about by the false prophets] were performed with trickery and sorcery” Ober, says the Ramban (18:9) who loves to argue on the Rambam, azoy: What one sees may indeed have occurred. Magic is still magic. When considering that most human beings only use a small portion of their brains, it follows that this false prophet may have mastered how to use a slightly larger portion, which allows him to perform the supernatural. The talent to use one’s ability more fully than others is not indicative of being a true prophet. Much more is written on this topic but let’s go veyter in this new shortened version of the Ois’s weekly postings.
The bottom line: The heylige Toirah is warning us against a gentleman referred to -but not actually so named in the text of the heylige Toirah as a novee sheker, a false prophet. He’s the guy who shows up claiming to have spoken to the RBSO and to have received instructions to do that which is contrary to Toirah law. He might even successfully perform a miracle to validate his assumed authority. What are we to do with this fellow? The heylige Toirah says to kill him. Fartig, over and out. The RBSO has little patience for false prophets and charlatans who steer people away from the truth. Who decides on his guilt or innocence? Procedurally, this gentleman would have to be brough up on charges before the Sanhedrin and proven guilty. In very graphic terms, the heylige Toirah instructs that peddlers of lies must be removed. Not physically removed, but killed and eradicated. And if a whole town bought into it? What if all the inhabitants were too progressive and accepted the false prophet? What if they all turned to idiolatry? In the very next posik, the instructions are clearly delignated: Destroy the whole town, all of it, even the cattle. Get rid of disinformation completely because it is a clear and present danger to the future of the Jewish people. Says the heylige Toirah (Devorim 13:13-16) azoy:
דברים יג:יג כִּי תִשְׁמַע בְּאַחַת עָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לָשֶׁבֶת שָׁם לֵאמֹר.יג:יד יָצְאוּ אֲנָשִׁים בְּנֵי בְלִיַּעַל מִקִּרְבֶּךָ וַיַּדִּיחוּ אֶת יֹשְׁבֵי עִירָם לֵאמֹר נֵלְכָה וְנַעַבְדָה אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדַעְתֶּם.
If you hear it said, of one of the towns that Hashem your G-d is giving you to dwell in, that some scoundrels from among you have gone and subverted the inhabitants of their town, saying, “Come let us worship other gods” — whom you have not experienced, you shall investigate and inquire and interrogate thoroughly. If it is true, the fact is established – that abhorrent thing was perpetrated in your midst –put the inhabitants of that town to the sword. Doom it to destruction and all that is in it and put its cattle to the sword.
Ironically, in this case, the people deserve death – so says the heylige Toirah- davka because they were foolish enough to follow the inauthentic false prophets and leaders. Ober (however), what about today’s fake news mongers? The bottom line is azoy: Since the Yiddin have been in exile, we lack a Sanhedrin and any authority to execute anyone. Consequently, “false prophets” spring up everywhere and can say and do whatever they want. They can spread disinformation and act without impunity. The good news: Then again, we don’t have prophecy either. We lost that many generations back. That being the case, it is even harder to be a false prophet than ever before, seemingly ending the entire issue of the novee sheker. Says the heylige Gemora (Buba Basra 12b), azoy:
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מִיּוֹם שֶׁחָרַב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, נִיטְּלָה נְבוּאָה מִן הַנְּבִיאִים וְנִיתְּנָה לַשּׁוֹטִים וְלַתִּינוֹקוֹת. לַשּׁוֹטִים
When the Temple was destroyed, prophecy was taken from the prophets and given to the insane and the children.
What does this mean? Ver veyst but what Rebbe Yoichonon did say was this: Not that prophecy is dead, but that the kind of things once said by the prophets of the Bible will henceforth be said by those with mental illness (שוטים) and children. Well, blow me down. Reb Yoichonon was a trailblazer. He may have been the first to chap a shtikel overlap between mental illness and the kinds of things once said by some of the prophets of the Bible.
In the words of songwriter and singer Bob Dylan -who happened to have spent quality time with Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld, OBM of Yeshiva Shar Yoshuv- from his song False Prophet –
………Well I’m the enemy of treason
Enemy of strife
I’m the enemy of the unlived meaningless life
I ain’t no false prophet
I just know what I know
I go where only the lonely can go……………..
How his words are related to our parsha, ver veyst, but the Ois thought to end with them.
Full song lyrics here: FALSE PROPHET
And if you want to hear him, click here:
The final bottom line: the novee sheker, the false prophet, can only exert the authority others give him. Do not empower him for he is nothing without followers. Should he come along and spew forth disinformation about idol worship, and in today’s times, about other narishkeyt (foolishness), don’t follow him or her.
A gittin Shabbis-
The Heylige Oisvorfer Ruv
Yitz Grossman
