Daf TB Sukkah 52 answered a question that has been bothering me the longest time. Over 201 powerful or famous men have lost their jobs or major roles because of inappropriate sexual behavior[1]. They include Senators, House of Representatives, state senators and representatives, actors, and TV personalities. We even had a presidential candidate paying hush money to a porn star with whom he had relations while his wife was recovering the birth of their son! What’s the matter with them? They are intelligent men who should know better. How could they behave in such an abominable way?!
The Gemara explains in his own
way how people can rationalize bad behavior over a period of time. “Rav Asi
said: Initially,
when it begins to entice someone, the evil inclination (yetzer hara) is like a strand of a spider’s web [bukhya];
and ultimately it is like the thick ropes of a wagon, as it is stated: “Woe
unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if it were with a
wagon rope” (Isaiah 5:18).
Initially, the enticement is almost imperceptible, like a thin strand; however,
after one sins, it is like wagon ropes tied tightly around him.” (Sefarai.org translation) Anybody can
rationalize anything away.
The Gemara explains why people who
have power like the 201 men mentioned above can be ensnared more easily than anybody
else. “Abaye said: And it the (yetzer
hara-gg) provokes Torah scholars more than it provokes everyone
else. The Gemara illustrates that point. It is like this incident, as
Abaye once heard a certain man say to a certain woman: Let us rise early and go
on the road. Upon hearing this, Abaye said to himself: I will go
and accompany them and prevent them from violating the prohibition
that they certainly intend to violate. He went after them for a distance
of three parasangs in a marsh among the reeds, while they walked on the
road, and they did not engage in any wrongful activity. When they were
taking leave of each other, he heard that they were saying: We traveled a
long distance together, and the company was pleasant company.
“Abaye said: In that situation, if instead of that man it
had been one whom I hate, a euphemism for himself, he would not have
been able to restrain himself from sinning. After becoming aware of so
great a shortcoming he went and leaned against the doorpost, thinking and
feeling regret. A certain Elder came and taught him: Anyone who is
greater than another, his evil inclination is greater than his.
Therefore, Abaye should not feel regret, as his realization is a consequence of
his greatness.” (Sefarai.org translation) I think that the powerful person has
a large and unrestrained ego. He thinks he can get away with anything because
of who is.
“The school of Rabbi
Yishmael taught: If this scoundrel, the evil inclination, accosted you,
seeking to tempt you to sin, drag it to the study hall and study Torah. If
it is like a stone, it will be dissolved by the Torah. If it is
like iron, it will be shattered. The Gemara elaborates: If it is
like stone, it will be dissolved, as it is written: “Ho, everyone who is
thirsty, come you for the water” (Isaiah 55:1), water in this context meaning Torah; and
it is written: “Stones were worn by water” (Job 14:19). If it is like iron, it will be
shattered, as it is written: “Is not My word like fire, says the Lord; and like
a hammer that shatters rock” (Jeremiah 23:29).” (Sefarai.org translation)
I would like to believe that studying Torah would be
antidote for this type of bad behavior; however, I know that is not true. Rabbis
and other Jewish leaders from all the streams from the ultra-Orthodox to the
most liberal have been removed from their positions, and/or convicted of crimes
of inappropriate sexual behavior. Rabbis and other Jewish leaders are just like
every other person in a position of power whose ego seduces him to act in such
a vile way. Everybody needs to keep his ego in check before it leads him down a
destructive path.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/23/us/metoo-replacements.html
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