“We live in a generation that hears any and all advice as blaming and triggering”
Reading the responses in this week’s inbox to Rav Kerzner’s article, one might think he had committed some kind of terrible crime with his words. However, when I went back to the article, lo and behold, the central quote in question was from the Steipler ztz”l, not Rav Kerzner!
But I think there is a more fundamental issue at play, as evidenced by the responses.
We live in a generation that hears any and all advice as blaming and triggering. Any prognostic statement (eat healthy to stay thin, maintain good shalom bayis to raise frum children, use a dating mentor to aid your shidduch success) immediately incurs horrified responses (“How can you say it’s my fault I’m X, Y, or Z?!”).
Well, it’s a good thing we have Torah hashkafah to put such advice in perspective! Investing effort in areas where it makes sense to is famously referred to as hishtadlus. No one actually believes (I hope) that our efforts produce surefire results. But neither does this fact absolve us of doing what Hashem has mandated.
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