In the previous Halacha we have discussed the Torah’s general outlook regarding an individual who is not Torah and Mitzvot observant with regards to the prohibitions of cursing or hating a fellow Jew and with regards to the Mitzvah of rebuking a fellow Jew. In our discussion we had mentioned that whatever we had written applies only to those who blatantly and deliberately ignore the Mitzvot of the Torah or denounce the Torah and harass those who learn it; however, many times this is not the case nowadays and there are several halachic ramifications that emerge as a result of this.
It is well-known that nowadays, most individuals who are not Torah observant are not this way because they are wicked, G-d-forbid; rather, they act this way as a result of their secular upbringing since they were children by people who were not knowledgeable in Torah at all since their parents sent them to such schools. Not only does this kind of secular education not teach these children how to observe the Mitzvot of the Torah but, on the contrary, these children have actually been taught to mock Torah scholars and to look down at the Torah disparagingly as though it were primitive, illogical, and repulsive. Indeed, this form of education began with rise of the accursed “Enlightenment Movement” in Europe in the decades preceding the Holocaust.
The Gemara (Shabbat 28a) explains that if a child is taken into captivity by non-Jews (such as Jewish children given over to the Church to raise) and transgressed many prohibitions, he is not judged as if he has performed these sins intentionally; rather, because this individual does not know any better, he is not held as accountable and his sins are considered to have been performed unintentionally. Nevertheless, Rashi and other commentaries (ibid.) explain that this individual is only judged on an unintentional level if he has never heard about the Jewish nation and its commandments; however, if he knows that there is a Jewish nation and this nation has the Torah, he would be judged on an intentional level, for the root of all of Hashem’s commandments is for one to think as deeply and delve as much as possible until one reaches complete faith in Hashem and in His Torah. Since this individual has heard about the nation of Hashem and has seen Jews observing Torah and Mitzvot (just as his forefathers have) and he has not delved deeply and investigated whether the truth lies with them, he is considered an intentional sinner. Based on this, it would seem that one cannot compare those who are not Torah and Mitzvot observant nowadays to a child taken into non-Jewish captivity, for they are required to seek out the truth from those wiser than them regarding the essence of Torah and to reach the correct conclusion of keeping its Mitzvot, for Hashem has only created us in order to heed His commandments.
Nevertheless, there is a disagreement regarding this issue, for the Rambam is of the opinion that as long as the individual was educated in a non-Jewish path and not in accordance with the Torah’s path, although he has heard about the Jewish nation and their Torah, his lack of Mitzvah observance should not be judged on an intentional level, for he is only acting the way he is as a result of his distorted upbringing and not because he wishes to rid himself of the yoke of Torah. Other Rishonim rule likewise. Indeed, Maran Ha’Bet Yosef rules likewise (Yoreh De’ah, Chapter 159) regarding the law that one may not loan money on interest to children of Karaites (a group of Jews who deny the validity of the Oral Torah). Although there are certain circumstances where one may loan money on interest to a wicked Jew, nevertheless, children of Karaites cannot be considered wicked, for, as the Rambam writes (in his commentary on the Mishnah), “these individuals who were born into these ideologies and were raised based on them are considered being forced to do so and their law is similar to a child taken into non-Jewish captivity whose sins are all considered unintentional.”
Thus, regarding non-religious individuals among us nowadays who were educated in non-religious schools and have never been properly taught the wisdom and fear of Hashem, they should not be judged on an intentional level and we are all obligated to care for their welfare, love them, and bring them closer to Hashem and His Torah. This is especially true nowadays since today’s non-religious society were raised in a way that scorns those who are Torah observant, Yeshiva students, and religious society as a whole. We must therefore not judge them as wicked individuals, G-d-forbid, provided that they do not blatantly berate or attack the Jewish religion, for is this becomes the case, it becomes permissible to hate them, curse them, and not pray for their well-being. About such individuals does the verse state, “When the wicked are destroyed, rejoice.”
It is quite upsetting that several segments of the religious public completely ignore the plight of our wayward brethren and forget that we are indeed responsible for them as well, as the Gemara (Sanhedrin 27a) states, “All members of the Jewish nation are responsible for one another.” We must therefore put forth our maximum effort to endear the Torah to these individuals in order for the entire Jewish nation to serve Hashem whole-heartedly amid much love and camaraderie and create a great sanctification of Hashem’s name.
To conclude, let us recount an incident that has occurred recently. Not long ago, one of the heads of the Catholic Church in France (who was a candidate for papacy) passed away. This individual was actually a Jew whose parent’s gave him over to the Church during the Holocaust. This child was raised with the best in Catholic education and eventually rose to a truly high position in the Church, the top priest in France, in fact. Before he passed away, the former Chief Rabbi of France, Hagaon Harav Yosef Sitruk, came to visit him. The priest requested of the rabbi that after he died, someone should please recite Kaddish for him, for he was indeed a Jew by the name of Aaron Levy. After the priest passed away, the Chief Rabbi of France posed this issue to Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef zt”l. Upon hearing this story, Maran zt”l began to cry and he ruled that the request of the priest should certainly be heeded, for even when a Jew sins, he is still a Jew. This is especially true since his situation came about as a result of his parents hiding him in a Church during the war; clearly, he should not be judged like an apostate Jew for whom Kaddish is not recited. Indeed, during the funeral procession, the priest’s coffin was taken out of the Church for several minutes and was accompanied by ten Jewish men along with former President Nicholas Sarkozy, at which point Kaddish was recited and a sanctification of Hashem’s name ensued.
