What Did Rav Elchanan Wasserman ZT”L Say About Tinok Shenishba?

0:25Really religious. She said, "I saw in one of your videos. You said something crazy." I said, "What did I say? Because usually what I say sounds crazy, but it's true. But what did I say?" She said, "You said that when somebody violates Shabbat, he's considered an idol worshiper." I said, "Well, there's nothing crazy about it. That's actually true." She goes, "What, is that like a Sephardic thing?" tends to tell me, she goes, don't take offense, she goes, is that like a Sephardic thing? Because maybe Sephardics tend to like, you know, scaring you a little more. I said, no, actually it has nothing to do with Sephardic or not. It's Shulchan Aruch. It's the Rambam. It's the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. It's Mishnah Berurah. The entire Torah says it. The Rambam writes it in Hilchot Shabbat, chapter 30, halacha number 15. Someone who drives to shul is considered 100% an idol worshiper. The Gemara writes about it in five different places, and the Zohar mentions it in seven different places, all over. There's an entire section in the Gemara that discusses people who lose their Olam HaBa and what happens to them.

1:47The entire section of Reishit Chochmah of what happens in Gehenom to those Mechalelei Shabbat who don't do Teshuvah has nothing to do with Ashkenazi or Sephardi. In fact, if you look at some of the scariest things that we've discussed over the years, much of it, at least as much if not more, comes from the Chachamim of Ashkenaz and not Sephard. Harav Wasserman, aleihem hashalom. Ashkenazi, Talmid of the Chafetz Chaim, Ashkenazi of Zohar. When someone came to Rav Elchanan Wasserman and said, Kvod Harav, are you really saying that all of these secular people are all going to go to Gehenom? Rav Wasserman looks at them and says, of course they're all going to go to Gehenom. What kind of question is that? Somebody violates Shabbat, he's not going to go to Gehinom. Somebody eats treif, he's not going to go to Gehinom. Somebody marries a non-Jew, he's not going to go to Gehinom. What kind of question is that? Of course they're going to go to Gehinom. Rav Elchonon Wasserman says, what is it like? It's like someone that's stranded in the middle of a desert with no end in sight. In the desert, it doesn't matter whether you're in the middle of it or the end of it, it always looks the same. You go in, and if you don't have navigation, you're not coming out.

3:06But suddenly, this guy that's stranded in the desert sees a huge, massive, and beautiful brand-new palace. He walks in, hopefully thinking there's going to be something inside, someone who's going to offer him a drink, someone who's going to save his life. He sees the place is empty, but it's pristine. It's clean. It's beautiful. It's like it was just built right now. He runs around and sees there are jewels all over the floor. Massive diamonds. Gold everywhere. He goes into the kitchen. All of the food is fresh, like it just came off the trees, as if it was just cooked. He starts grabbing jewels and puts them in his pocket. The steak, the burger, everything—he's eating everything in sight. Then, one second later, some big Amalek grabs him by the shoulder and puts him under arrest. "What are you doing here? Who do you think you are, going into the king's palace and taking stuff?" He starts screaming, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know. Okay, okay, tell that to the judge. He brings him to the judge, Rav Wasserman says. And the judge says, what do you plea? He says, I plead I don't know. I didn't know. I didn't know that anybody owned this castle, this palace. I just thought it was just there. The judge says, I'm going to punish you double.

4:30One for the crime of stealing from the king and two for the stupidity of thinking that the palace was built by itself and no one was in charge of it. Rav Wasserman says there's no such thing as a tinok she'nishbah unless he doesn't know he's Jewish. There's no such thing. He knows there's a Beit Knesset. He knows there's Shabbat. He knows there's Kosher. He knows he's a Jew. He has to follow. If he chooses not to, he's going to go to Gehinnom. Whether he's a Sephardi or he's an Ashkenazi, it doesn't make a difference. Many of the things that we hear in our Torah are scary, but they have no minhag (custom) associated with them. Has nothing to do with Ashkenazi or Sephardi. It's just that, unfortunately, in the English language, the only way you can learn the things I'm saying is either from the sefarim (books) yourself or you watch my shiur (lecture) and Rav Mizrachi's shiur. That's it. Once in a while, another chacham (sage) says something here and there. Sadly, you're stuck. But at least the truth is available.