In some way the world of Torah [the world of Yeshivas] was at least in my own mind a kind of representation of heaven. But at a certain point the organization itself lost credibility to me and I think many others. Not in the same way as the Catholic church lost its credibility but in a somewhat similar way.
They can not just make mistakes. But even worse. Do real evil.
I have seen enough to show me the unspoken truth about these things.
religious teachers are home wreckers. The are the most destructive thing for marriages and families.
The Zohar refers to them in this unique language, "Torah scholars that are demons." I have found that to be appropriate and not an exaggeration.
I uphold the Oral and Written Law the Law of Moses and the two Talmuds, but in contrast to the world of yeshiva, I have to do it in opposition to the official Establishment. [Lithuanian yeshivas however I do support as long as I get the impression they are authentic. But that is rare. The best are (as is well known) Ponovitch, and after that Brisk. I would have to say they are probably in fact very good. After them I think the three great NY yeshivas are important, Mir, Chaim Berlin and Torah VeDaat.] [There are offshoots of these great places which are also good. That is people that learned in these places sometimes started small Batei Midrash [study halls] which I would consider to be authentic and good places.]
[The sages of the Talmud were aware of the problem with people that use Torah for making a living. I only quoted the Zohar because it makes the point a lot more clear. I mean to say Torah scholars are doing wrong when they use the Torah to make money is not the same thing as saying they are demons from hell sent on earth to destroy human life. You have to admit the Zohar makes the same point but in a more powerful way. ] But it still does not get to the major problem today which is a bit worse because of worship of people that are assumed to be righteous. This is definitely not in accord with the Torah. And the power they weld is beyond anything that a politician could dream of. They have the kind of power you see only in gurus that command willing followers. These followers will do anything for their guru, die for him or commit murder for him. This problem is largely unspoken. People can criticize gurus all they want. But the kind of worship of humans I have seen in the religious world out shadows that of gurus.
Giving to most yeshivas is not giving to charity. It is giving to parasites. Yes, the poor are mostly parasites, but so are many of the “successful” who knowingly take on useless jobs for the salaries and power. And the religious teachers, self-help instructors, populist priests and psychologists? What they do is parasitic, but thickly disguised.
