Rav Avigdor Miller on Disney’s Immorality 

Q:Is it wrong to allow one’s children to read Disney books like Mickey Mouse and things like that?
A:
Now, whether or not you should be reading Walt Disney to your children is one question.

But I say that you shouldn’t for a different reason.

I say that you should boycott Walt Disney because Disney is an active force in promoting all types of immorality and I don’t want to say what else.

They promote very filthy things like H-O-M [the Rav spelled out the three letters] – I really don’t want to say the rest.

And therefore, we should boycott Walt Disney as much as possible.

And if they hadn’t been promoting immorality then it would just be stam a waste of time.

What do you get out of books that make it that mice talk and other animals are talking? It’s meaningless.

But Walt Disney is worse than meaningless because of the immorality that they are promoting in America.

And therefore we should do everything we can to lend our support to those who are trying to make this world more moral.

We should help the people – even the goyim – who are fighting for morality. 

​We really should do that.

TAPE # E-219 (January 2000)

https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-boycotting-walt-disney/

Could we think Hakodosh Boruch Hu will be silent when He sees that the reshaim are trying to wipe out the Torah in the Eretz Yisroel?

The answer is, He’s not silent.  That’s why there are terrorists. 

It’s a big mistake to read the newspapers and think that it’s the result of them not wanting the peace treaty or because they want to have the Jews out of Eretz Yisroel. 

No. 

The terrorists are sent by Hakodosh Boruch Hu as a puraniyos on the Labor Party, on the apikorsim, on those who are trying to teach Jewish children immorality and atheism in the Israeli public schools.

https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-when-hashem-is-not-silent/

But I have to tell you something. People don’t realize this, but why did this uprising happen right now?

Just before this uprising began, Barak came out with a statement and it was in all the headlines.

He said that he’s going to do everything in his power to change Eretz Yisroel into a secular medinah. What it was up till now, I don’t know.

But he said that he wants to make it, that religion should have no connection to the Medinah at all.

Do you hear this statement from the Prime Minister of the State of Israel?!

He wants that the Am Yisroel in Eretz Yisroel should be a completely secular nation – a nation without any Torah at all.

And he said this openly.

It was all the headlines. And the New York Times was very happy about it. They wrote these headlines with excitement.

But our people were very disturbed.

People protested against such a thing. People wrote letters. I sent him a letter.

And then, just now, immediately after Barak announces his plans, the Intafada erupts.

That’s why they’re suffering through this now. Because they made a public declaration that they’re going to rebel against Hakodosh Boruch Hu and that the Torah will play no role at all in our nation.

That’s what he said, that the Torah will play no role in the life of our nation. We are a secular nation and the Toras Hashem will play no role.

So Hakodosh Boruch Hu said, “I’m going to give you a lesson about my role.”

And now people are crying out to Hashem. “Please help us Hashem.”

And even some choifshim are beginning to think, “Maybe we should also cry out to Hashem.”

​And this is midah ki’neged midah.

https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-terror-in-eretz-yisroel/

Everything that’s taking place in Eretz Yisroel, you should know, is done by Hakodosh Boruch Hu – not by Arabs. 

Arabs are not killing anybody – Hashem is killing.  No question about that.  

Why is He doing it? 

Because the Jews in Eretz Yisrael are going m’dechi el dechi.  

Here they passed a law decriminalizing homosxuality.  It’s kosher now to be a homosxual in Eretz Yisroel. 

Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, “That’s a toevah.  If that’s what Eretz Yisroel is going to be, I’ll take steps.”
​
They passed a law now that you could import treifeh meat now. 

For the first time since the history of the medina you could import treifeh meat in Eretz Yisroel. 

Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, “I’ll show you.  I’ll show you.”
​
And now Tel Aviv has become a place of hefkeirus.  All kinds of wickedness in Tel Aviv.

Hashem says,  “I made Eretz Yisroel for Tel Aviv?!” 

The Israelis, some of them, are so terrible, they’re even worse than goyim in some places.  
​
Why are women in the Israeli army?  You know why they’re there? 

So a man wrote a book about the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force; not a frumme. He said, “The purpose of women is not for fighting.” 

You hear that? The purpose of women in the Israeli army is not for fighting, not for defense. 

You understand that? You understand what that means?  
​
And this great wickedness happened before America had female soldiers. 

America is now no good either. But Israel led the way with this abomination.
​
And therefore, Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, “Pay attention.  הֲיֹסֵר גּוֹיִם הֲלֹא יוֹכִיחַ – The one who is bringing upon the nations adversity, isn’t He showing something? He’s showing something! הַמְלַמֵּד אָדָם דָּעַת – Isn’t He teaching wisdom (Tehillim 94:10)? 

So it’s up to us to understand that we’re being taught. 

We’re getting messages from Hashem.
​
Of course we have to fight back.  Of course, we have to defend ourselves. 

Of course we have to look for ways and means of stopping the terror. 

And yet, fundamentally we have to understand it’s Hashem and the purpose is to teach us that something is very wrong in Eretz Yisroel today – very wrong!  

​In the schools, they teach atheism.

In the schools in Eretz Yisroel they teach Jewish boys and girls atheism!

Children should be taught there’s a Boirei, a Creator. In every school, even not a religious school.

But no, in all the Israeli schools they’re being taught atheism.  
​
So what does Hakodosh Boruch Hu say? “You’re forgetting about Me? I’ll remind you.”
​
https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-investigating-terror-attacks/

Why are many who were killed frum people?

I must explain something here. 

It’s a fundamental principle that Hakodosh Boruch Hu conceals His hand.

He doesn’t want to show that it’s a neis.  

Now suppose only reshaim would be killed; suppose only mechalelei Shabbos and oichlei treifos would be killed.

Then everybody would do teshuva.

Let’s say a man who walked in the street on Shabbos and lit a cigarette, he would fall dead right away; so nobody would smoke on Shabbos. Even the Puerto Ricans would make teshuva. The Mirrer Yeshiva would be filled with Puerto Ricans.
​
So Hakodosh Boruch Hu conceals it. 

In order to leave room for bechira, for free choice, He makes it look camouflaged; so you shouldn’t see His open hand. 

And that’s what it says, כיון שניתן רשות למשחית – when a mashchis has power, שוב אינו מבחין בין צדיק לרשע – he makes no distinction between a tzaddik and a rasha.  
​
Like it says in Mitzrayim; when the malach came to destroy the firstborn in Mitzrayim, אתם לא תצאו איש מפתח ביתו עד בוקר – you shouldn’t walk out in the streets. 

Why not?  We didn’t do anything wrong.  Egyptians oppressed us – why should we be afraid to walk in the streets? 

The answer is no.  Once the mashchis is loose, then he makes no distinction.  
And therefore, Hakodosh Boruch Hu doesn’t make any distinctions. 

People should know that once there’s a tzara, the tzara comes upon the tzaddikim and the reshaim equally – that’s a fundamental principle of how Hashem guides the world in order to leave room for free will; so His hand shouldn’t be so evident.

TAPE # 942 (November 1993)


torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-investigating-terror-attacks/

Look, I’m not saying that the message is that we should therefore walk across the border with outstretched arms to embrace the Arabs and make peace – because most likely they’ll greet us with gunfire.
​
But there is a message from Hashem that we have things to fix inside of Eretz Yisroel. A lot of things. 

Maybe, for instance, we have to start pressing for the observance of Shabbos in the Land of Israel.

The Torah says, “Michalileha mos yumos” – those who profane the Shabbos will be put to death. The Torah says that.

And the Gemara says “Af al pi she’batlu Sanhedrin,” although we do not have a Sanhedrin to execute sinners today, “din arbah misos lo batlu,” the judgement will still be carried out.

So maybe when men fall at the border, or when a hand grenade is thrown into a bus, or when people are gunned down in Tel- Aviv, maybe we should think, maybe we should suspect – and it’s a reasonable suspicion – that maybe Hakodosh Boruch Hu is carrying out what He said He would do.

If buses publicly travel on Shabbos and if the Ministry of Labor is giving out permits to so many factories to allow them to open on Shabbos – so many factories are open in Eretz Yisroel on Shabbos!

A lot of factories, with the explicit permission of the government. In the Land of Israel, it is now accepted to profane the Shabbos!

We should think about this!

* * *
They’re destroying Jewish souls!

So maybe, if you’re destroying Jewish souls, that’s why Jewish bodies are being destroyed.

It’s really not hard, not difficult at all, to look for reasons for why things are happening.

Of course, if you don’t have ears, so you say, “Well, this is nothing. Every new state has troubles. Growing pains. They have battles in the beginning. For the first hundred years they have to battle.”

But the truth is that it’ll never get better.

And it will get worse and worse.

So there are plenty of messages being sent by Hakodosh Boruch Hu that we have to listen to.

https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-the-message-from-the-terrorist/

Mankind is beloved because they were created in the image of Hashem.

The mishna says openly that all human beings have a tzelem Elokim.

The truth is, if you take an Australian bushman, a wild fellow, an Aborigine, and you train him, he can become a mensch; he can become a great man, he can even become a big tzadik.

As long as he is a human being there is no limit to the greatness he possesses within him.

Hashem breathed into him a neshama and he is capable of becoming one of the greatest men that ever lived.

Of course he doesn’t know it and that is why he doesn’t do it.

But that’s the plain truth: חביב אדם – Mankind is great because he was created in the image of Hashem.

* * *

But always we remember that every human being has on his face the image of Hashem.

And so when you look at any person you must have respect.

When I was in Slabodka, they refused to call a goy a sheigetz; a sheigetz means an abomination – they refused to say that.

​We never called a goy a sheigetz because it is a contradiction to the doctrine of the glory of Mankind’s greatness.

And that is what the Mishnah says, חביב אדם שנברא בצלם – Mankind is cherished by Hashem that He created them in His image.

And if we can spread the news to the world, we are doing them a great favor; we are letting them know the message from Hashem, that He looks upon you with a very great affection because you are the image of Hashem. 

The fact that a person can ruin that image by wrong emotions; that he can twist his face in wicked grimaces and make his face the opposite of noble, nevertheless if he would learn, if he would be trained, you can take that savage and you can make out of him a noble personality.

And he can become a Jew too.

But even if he doesn’t become a Jew, he could be become a chassid umos haolam [a righteous person from the nations of the world] and he will become worthy of chayei Olam Haboh [life in the World to Come] – and that is saying a lot. 

Now I want people to listen to that – married couples, families, boys and girls — everybody should listen to this prayerfully because in many homes people are spending their lives doing the opposite.

And that’s a tragedy because the Jewish home is the scene where this great function of encouraging others can be carried out in the best possible way.

There’s no opportunity to be like a Moshe Rabeinu that is as prolific, as fertile in ways of fulfilling this, as the home.

​And therefore the principle of encouragement should be one of the foundations of a Jewish home.

***

Now, how exactly the encouragement is administered, everybody must utilize his or her own judgment.

But there is one simple and an easy form, and that's compliments.

It's not enough if you don't bicker, if you don't recriminate and belittle.

Unfortunately that’s done too – it's done all the time in very many homes, and these people are complete failures.

They might be successes in other things, in other forms of avodah, but if people are belittling each other, it means they're doing the opposite of this great career, this great mission of idud, encouragement, which Hakodosh Boruch Hu requires. 

Encouraging a Wife

Every man who marries must keep in mind that it's not enough that he doesn't transgress this in the negative.

It's so easy to gain Olam Habo if a man would make it a principle once in a while to give his wife a compliment.

***
But because he is begrudging in words so life goes by with lost opportunities, lost opportunities to be an eved Hashem.

***
If your wife once cooked a good meal, make it your business to be profuse, to be lavish in your praise.

Other things too — there’s a lot to praise there. 

There’s nobody in the world who doesn’t have a craving for encouragement.

And why should a housewife be different?

​And so, the Jewish woman who lives successfully in her house – or even not successfully, but she tries – she can be made happy even without any gifts at all.

***
That's what it says in Mishlei when it describes the Woman of Valor. “Her husband and her children arise and praise her enthusiastically.”

Encouraging a Husband

And a woman too, no less, must make it her business always to look for opportunities to drop a word of encouragement to her husband.

Some men when they have some setback and they need consolation they cannot go home and confide in their wives because women sometimes will utilize that to put salt upon his wounds.

But if a woman would learn her role, her role as a confidant, she would become a Moshe Rabeinu.

She has to assume the role of encourager and soothe the things away – to always tell him, “It’s not so bad; you'll forget about it soon.”

“That person didn't mean it the way you thought he meant it,” or “he is wrong and you're right and I know in the end they'll recognize your abilities.”

***
...a wise woman builds up her house [Mishlei/Proverbs] by encouragement and encouragement alone.

And even in those things where there has to be correction, if the husband has to be corrected
and improved, the best way to get results is to give an incentive of encouragement.

If he does something that even looks like what you want him to do, praise him for it, and you'll see that he's going to try his best to do even more.

Encouragement for Children

​It’s a tremendous mitzvah, a tremendous step to greatness, if you’ll encourage your children.

Children also have burdens; they might not be your burdens but in their own eyes they have very big burdens.

And you can put your shoulder under their heavy packages and lighten their load by encouraging them with kind words.

And children who are encouraged in the home learn better.

They are more neat in their habits. They are cooperative if they are encouraged.

***
​...most of the time a glett, a caress, on the cheek is the best option.

A kind glett and words of encouragement can do wonders.

And the children too, among themselves should be reminded to encourage each other.

Of course, usually they’ll look at you like you fell off the moon. “What encourage? We only bicker; we argue and fight.”

But say it anyhow – it goes in, it goes in.

When children are taught to encourage each other, to say compliments to each other, and the parents do it too, then the house becomes a happy place, a place of avodas Hashem.

Encouragement for Students

There are a lot of boys in the yeshivah that would benefit from kind words. So many bochurim could use it.

And so if you're a teacher, look around. Your pupils need encouragement.

There are some who are not getting along well, some are sad, some are broken because of home conditions.

Some have poverty. Some are not well. Some have difficulty keeping up with the studies.

So be a Moshe Rabeinu!

Encouragement for All Kinds of People

Encourage your chaveirim in the yeshiva.

Girls, encourage your friends in the Beis Yaakov.

Not only your friends — there are many who are getting lost; they’re struggling.

You know how much you could accomplish if you would say a few words of encouragement to ease their burden? There’s so much opportunity there.

Your rebbe too. He needs parnasah so make sure not to discourage him.

Honor him and make him feel good.

After the shiur walk over to him and say, “Rebbi, I enjoyed your shiur” – even though you didn’t. It’s a mitzvah to be mi’oded anavim, to encourage the downtrodden.

***
Certainly; even on the street, even on the bus, if you see somebody who is dejected and depressed and you could say a few kind words, there's no question that you have given a big donation.

There isn't a human being who cannot stand a few drops of kindness on his soul – it’s a world where everyone has some problems, some worries and troubles, and every human being appreciates some kind words.

If you put your mind to it, you can always find a few words to say, something to assuage, to soothe, to put some balm on their wounds and to encourage them.

That's the important lesson we're learning from Moshe Rabeinu’s story.

Our job in this world is to leave the comfort of our palace and see what’s doing outside by our brothers, [vayar—and he saw]; and not only to see but to think about what you can say to ease their burdens as much as possible.

​And that great attitude, that’s the first step into greatness in this world and the next.

The Power of a Friendly Smile

It could be somebody was passing by dejected.

Let's say he has been trying to find a decent job for a long time.

And meanwhile the young lady with whom he was going out finally told him that it's all off.

And now he doesn't even have carfare to go to the bay – he's thinking of taking a long hike down to the bay and jumping in.

And as he passes by, here's a man. It’s you. You happen to know him and give him a friendly smile.

And now the whole world becomes illuminated with sunlight.

You have no idea what you have done.

You have given him a new hold on life.

Why Smile at Office People & Grouchy People?

Don't you know how many times – if you lived a long time, you look back how many times in your career a smile was the turning point.

You know how much courage you get from a smile?

It's really important for us to study this subject, to think about it, because it happens all the time – it's so easy to bestow this happiness on people.

You walk into your office in the morning and you have a bright smile for each person.

You don't just walk through haughtily and ignore everybody and just go to your office. 

People think that you don't like them. As you walk through, smile at each person.

And there's no question you'll get a mitzvah. In your own little way, you’re like Moshe Rabeinu.

Now, don’t tell me people are too grouchy.

Look, if somebody is coming toward you with a club, naturally you're not going to encourage him, but if he's passing you with a scowl, you muster enough presence of mind to smile to him.

Like it says in Pirkei Avos hevey mekabel es kol ha’adam besimchah, greet every man with simchah.

Every man means even Mr. Sour Face.

Actually he needs it more than anyone else.

You can bestow happiness in the form of a little sunshine from your face, and that's better than a glass of milk.

People need a lift.

A lot of people are carrying around hurt in their heart and they need this.

​It’s a career that will make a man successful in this world.

When You're Smiling, The Borei Olam Smiles at You

And so, if you'll cause your face to shine upon other people, Hashem will smile on you too.

You hear that? Just think about that when you want to do it. 

When you turn on the sunshine and smile at somebody, you have to know that above Hakodosh Boruch Hu is going to turn the sunshine on you.

He'll smile to you too. And when He smiles, all good things come.

Of course in America, it’s overlooked. It’s ignored today.

Brothers move away from each other and members of the family sometimes have very tenuous connections. They’ll call each other on the phone, they send cards before Rosh Hashana; it’s a very weak connection.

But fundamentally the plan of Hashem was that this should be one of the joys of life.

Family is one of the pleasures of life!

The old time European families who came over to America used to spend time together.

They didn’t have the tendency to go to movies. The old timers didn’t go to movies – even the irreligious ones.

I remember as a child how the families used to come together frequently and they sat for three or four hours together.

​Grandfather, grandmother, the sons and the daughters, the grandchildren, little children crawling on the floor.

The house was swarming with people and that was their fun.

Today it’s boring.

“Let’s go someplace. Let’s do something.”

​People begin to exchange this form of happiness for imitation happiness that you have to pay money for; today you waste money on paid entertainers or traveling; things that are sold to you as forms of happiness instead of the original ways that families used to enjoy themselves.

Remorse, Regret, and Repentance from a Place of Self-Elevation

Questions to ask yourself from Rav Moshe Chaim Luzatto, courtesy of Rav Itamar Schwartz: https://bilvavi.net/english/after-holydays-advice-ramchal

The Importance of Looking at Your Children's Faces in the Right Way

​As you sit at your table on Shabbos and you’re looking around at the faces of your children; maybe everybody is talking, eating, whatever it is, so you remember what we said here.

You look at your child’s face and you’re thinking, “Ah! What a beautiful face! What a beautiful experience this is that Hashem is giving me! I love this child!"

And the next one too. “Such a sweet face – I love this child! Thank You Hashem for this gift!”

You love every one of them tremendously and it should be translated into stimulating your love of Hakodosh Boruch Hu more and more.

There’s a great happiness in seeing your children.

Even if your child is not a gadol ba’torah, but he walks b’derech ha’yashar, he’s a shomer torah u’mitzvos, it’s a tremendous happiness to see his face. If Hashem gives you normal good frum children, you should be so happy; you should enjoy them.

Enjoy them and thank Hashem every time you see them.

You enjoy the child’s face and while you’re doing it you’re thinking, “I’m not doing it merely because I want to have nachas; I’m doing it because I want to love Hakodosh Boruch Hu Who gave me this tremendous experience to see my child’s face."

How to Look at Hashem's Creations for All Their Worth

Last week I had a conversation with the fruit store man.

I said to him, “How did the seeds get inside this fruit?”

He looked at me like I fell off the moon.

I said to him, “Did you ever find a fruit with a nickel inside?”

So he tells me that it never happened.

He’s been selling fruit for thirty years on Kings Highway and he never found a nickel in a fruit.

So I asked him, “If you find a nickel inside the apple would you think that a person put it in there?”

He said, “Yes, I would know somebody put it in there.”

​And you find a seed inside the apple – a seed is a thousand times more complicated than a nickel!

No nickels here! □

Don’t think that! Those are the good old days!

That’s the best time of your life. That's the apex, the summit of your success.

​Your throne in the next world is built on tzaar, on sacrifice and difficulties.

You’ll be sitting on a golden throne because you had to chew the earth with your teeth in order to arrive at even a little bit of success in avodas Hashem.

Chanukah lights on a window sill in Eretz Yisrael by chavahjacobs

So now this poor innocent woman is standing on the street shouting to everybody,
pointing at this dirty fellow who had tried to violate her...

...Potiphar rushed home from work and when she told him the story, all the details about what this wicked Ivri had tried to do, he became full of rage; he seized Yosef and began pummeling him.

And after a good beating, he grabbed Yosef by the ear and she grabbed him by the other ear, and they dragged him to the police station, to come before the judges to be sentenced...

...She and her husband are dragging Yosef through the streets by his ears.

Potiphar was an important official and his servant was well known so this disturbance certainly drew a crowd.

Women and children were staring from the windows; the men were rushing out of their houses to the streets to see what was going on...

And our sages tell us that as Yosef was being dragged through the streets, Potiphar
and his wife were heaping contumely upon his head.

She was shouting accusations, and Potiphar was gnashing his teeth.

“Look what we did for him. We elevated him. We made him the majordomo, the manager of our house, and that's how he tried to pay us back? By acting so lowly?!”

And the Egyptians who witnessed this spectacle, they were looking on and shaking their heads.

“Well, that’s what you get for taking him as a slave in your house. What else could you expect from a Hebrew? Only a dirty Ivri could be that wicked and do such an uncivilized thing.”

Ivri means a Hebrew but for the Egyptians it meant a hated nation, a corrupt people.

And they were kicking Yosef and spitting at him, insulting him as he was being dragged through the street.

There is extensive literature on this subject only that you can't get it.

It's very hard to buy these books that speak about the crimes of the church.

There's a powerful organization that sees to it that this literature is not available and therefore to get books, real works that reveal the deeds of the papacy is almost impossible.

One historical work I wanted to see when I was writing one of my books but it was very hard to get my hands on.

There's one copy in the public library in the main branch and you can't take it out.

​That's what an organization can accomplish.

Look Who's Talking

Fighting the Jewish Inferiority Complex

On Chanukah we’re expected to grow great in combating the yetzer hora that caused the trouble of Chanukah.

It means we have to begin falling in love with the Am Yisroel – that’s what Chanukah is trying to teach us.

And if we don’t get busy studying the emes of the Torah, then sooner or later the yetzer hora will win out and we’re going to fall into that error of the ancient Misyavnim [Hellenists].