Moral Relativism

17 Adar I 5782

“In truth, even he who is extremely passionate by nature and whose livelihood obliges him to sit all day at the street corners has no excuse whatsoever for his sins, and he is termed a rasha gamur (‘an utter evildoer’) for not having the dread of G-d before his eyes.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 30)

There exists such a thing as actual evil in the world. We do not subscribe to the theory of moral relativism. One who does not conquer his evil inclination and carries out actual evil in the world is termed a wicked person, an utter evildoer. In the heavenly court they take note of all this, and, if he doesn’t repent, the appropriate punishment will be meted out at the appropriate time, as expressed in the eleventh principle of the Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith.

“Beware lest you form a covenant with the inhabitant[s] of the land into which you are coming, lest it become a snare in your midst. But you shall demolish their altars, shatter their monuments, and cut down their sacred trees.” (Shemos 34:12-13)

We are tasked not only not to carry out this evil ourselves, but also to stay as far away from it as we can. It is not enough to only do good, we must also at times actively fight the evil side, with whichever method is most beneficial at that time. It is not enough to tell ourselves that at the time we witnessed evil, we did not participate in it. As the Rashi explains on the verse, “Lest … they [the gentiles] go astray after their gods, and they offer sacrifices to their gods, and they invite you, and you eat of their slaughtering” (Shemos 34:15): “You [may] think that there is no punishment for eating it, but [when you eat it] I consider it for you as if you endorsed its worship.”

“For better one day in Your courtyards than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my G‑d, than dwell [in comfort] in the tents of wickedness.” (Tehillim 84:11)

No matter how difficult it may seem to oppose what we (falsely) perceive as a much bigger and stronger enemy, it is better to never succeed, to never enter the house of G‑d and only stand at its threshold, than to be for one moment at ease with the wickedness around us. We must constantly oppose it in every thing we do, and not give it as much as a foothold in our lives.