The Vigilante

Do you remember Yosemite Sam, the Napoleonic sheriff that's forever giving Bugs Bunny a hard time? I put a black hat on him and call him Vigilante Velvel – he reminds me exactly of those sour pusses who position themselves at the entrance of the synagogue as if they had a pair of pistols waiting to shoot whoever doesn't meet their standards.

Every community or synagogue has a Vigilante Velvel. He's the self-appointed zealot that keeps an eye on other people. He’s the stone-thrower that’s critical of everybody. The smoking guns of his wrath are always aimed at somebody’s nose. Velvel yells at the men for looking at the women, yet he knows what each lady in the community is wearing. Velvel shakes an angry finger at the violators who talk during the services, but gives himself license to talk whenever he wants to. He chastises the little children for dropping a potato chip, yet he'll spit on the floor. In some communities, Velvel throws rocks at passing cars on Shabbat.

If Velvel only knew how many Torah transgressions he was violating every time he picked up a rock…

Velvel wears a big round hat and sports a long beard, but his form of hellfire and brimstone frumkeit (observance) isn't exactly the religion that the Torah has in mind. Not only that, but it’s the opposite of everything Rebbe Nachman ever taught us. For that reason, you can’t be a Breslever and a zealot or a vigilante at the same time. In Rebbe Nachman’s famous teaching (see Likutei Moharan II:8) that we refer to as “The Will,” since it is in effect the Rebbe’s last will and testament to his followers, he tells us that there is no one in this generation that is capable of chastising anyone else.

Hafatza, Breslever outreach and spreading Rebbe Nachman’s teachings across the globe, is built on the lovely foundations of love, soul, and joy, our motto here at Breslev Israel. I hereby inform the zealots around the world that they’ll never succeed in bringing people closer to Hashem by throwing rocks at them.

We are commanded to love our neighbors like we love ourselves. Vigilantes like Velvel categorically do not love their neighbors. In fact, they don’t even like themselves, otherwise, they’d have a smile on their face rather than the frown of a grizzly bear.

I know of one female vigilante that positions herself at the entrance of the women's section of a particular synagogue, and gives each woman a full dress inspection that any Marine drill sergeant would be proud of. If an offender's hem line or sleeve is a millimeter too short, look out! On one occasion, after six months of tedious outreach work when I had finally convinced a young Russian couple to attend synagogue services, the female vigilante "on duty" at the time threw the young Russian lady out for failing to meet the dress code. Spiritually, that was a bullet in the head. Since then, the young couple doesn't want to hear anything further about synagogues or religious observance.

True, talking during services is a serious offense; so is an immodest appearance. But, according to religious law, one must fulfill the following criteria before reprimanding a fellow human:

1. Can you honestly say that you love this person and truly care about his/her welfare?

2. Are you totally devoid of glee, smug satisfaction, or revenge in reprimanding this person?

3. Are you 100% sure that you are correct in your reprimand?

4. Will you reprimand this person quietly and privately, with every effort of avoiding embarrassment and needless pain?

5. Are you sure that the long-range results of your reprimand will be positive?

6. Are you reprimanding this person for his or her benefit and for Hashem’s sake?

If you can't say an absolute yes to all six of the above questions, then don't reprimand your fellow human, otherwise you’re getting yourself into major-league trouble. There are more than enough accusing angels "upstairs"; we don't need more vigilantes "downstairs".