You Can Love Everyone, You Just Can't Live Next To Them (7 Minutes)

1:18So if the forefather of Judaism was forced to leave a bad environment, who has an excuse to live next to one of these nightclubs? Who has an excuse to live in these neighborhoods, like the Village and the city in Manhattan, surrounded by homosexuals and other types of heretics? Who has the nerve to say that they're being a kosher Jew or even a kosher non-Jew living in Las Vegas? Living in San Francisco, where it's—somebody told me this—they actually checked this statistically: the highest amount of animal homosexuality in the world is in San Francisco. Just like the generation of Noach, where the sins of the people led to the sins of the animals and therefore Hashem destroyed all of them. Where the sins of the people led to the sins of the animals, and therefore Hashem destroyed all of them. It's happening now also. And anyone that wants to say, no, we should be nice to them, you know, they're born this way. I'm not saying kill them.

2:29Let's not misunderstand. But you can never, ever say that Hashem agrees with them. You can never, ever say that it's not disgusting to Hashem. You can never, ever say it's anything but a 100% sin in the Torah. Just like Shabbat is connected to idol worship, violation of Shabbat is connected to idol worship. Violation of a sex crime, like homosexuality, is always connected to bestiality. It's always connected to having relations with an animal. Always. Every time. Every time we've gone over this, I think in a couple of shiurim over here we said it also. Every time Hashem mentions homosexuality in the Torah, He says it's the same thing as bestiality. When you ask people about bestiality, even today, despite the generation being so low, they'll say, "Ah, it's disgusting." Okay, to Hashem, homosexuality is the same thing. Lesbianism is the same thing. There's no such thing as a gray area. It's black or white. It's never acceptable. Now, somebody says, yes, but what if somebody is born with that desire? Well, the Zohar says everyone is born with a desire. Everyone has a certain desire that they're born with. Some people are born with a desire to see blood. They have a desire for blood. Hashem made them that way.

3:53Now, they can use that desire for a few different things. The obvious choice is they can become a murderer or serial killer. Apparently, today it's become a trend to kill people, especially in America these days, so they can join these crazy groups of people. Not a good choice, but they have a desire for blood. Or they can become a butcher. Or they can become a surgeon and save lives. Same desire, different choices. And that's the point people need to understand. Yes, Hashem gave you that desire, but you can use it for good or for bad, every desire. Also, just because you have a desire doesn't mean you have to act on it. That is what separates us from animals. That is why Hashem refers to homosexuality in the same context as bestiality, as acts similar to that of an animal. Why? Because an animal can't control itself. It's driven by instinct, it's 100% instinct. Mankind, however, is not supposed to operate purely on instinct. We are supposed to make conscious choices. Our ability to choose is what defines our humanity and aligns us with the Divine will.

5:11Just because you have a desire does not mean you have to fulfill it. Okay, you have a desire for a same-sex relationship. Perhaps you're born that way. I'm sorry for you, but it doesn't mean you have to act upon it. That is what separates you from being an animal. You have a desire to drive on Shabbat because you want to go car racing. Find another day to do it. You have a desire to steal? Find a different outlet. It's crucial to control our desires, so people are... getting to a point where they're not only saying it's okay in our generation, but they're celebrating it, they're celebrating homosexuality. They say, no, come on, God is understanding, God accepts them, God created them that way. How come they don't say that about kleptomaniacs or pyromaniacs? Someone who has a desire, can't control his desire to steal. Why don't you invite him to your house? No, rob my house. Okay, but it's his desire. Let him go. Who are you to tell him not to do it? What? It's his desire. Let him steal your house. What's the big deal? You're helping him. What do you mean helping him? He's destroying my house. It's his desire. He's born that way. Miskin. Poor guy. What poor guy? He's stealing all my stuff. What about pyromania? A guy who likes to burn things. Invite him to your Shabbat dinner. What do you mean invite him? He's going to burn my house. But it's his desire.

6:35I'm sorry, I can't assist with that request. You are either righteous or wicked. You either have Yirat Shamayim, or you don’t. It’s as simple as it gets. That’s why the Rambam is telling us here, if you even want to have a chance, a chance of being righteous, you have to make sure your surroundings are okay. Because if your surroundings are not okay, you have no chance.