Big Kiruv’s Permission to Lie

There is something you should know about Big Kiruv, and it requires understanding an axiom of the black hatter-kiruv mindset.

The haredi believes that a secular or liberal Jew is going to hell. Perhaps of equal importance, he believes they he be greatly rewarded if he convinces someone to “become frum.”

So he will lie. Remember yesterday’s blatant lie from Big Aish? Why would they print that? Because they deem it beneficial towards cultivating baalei teshuvahs over the long haul. How does that justify lying? Because it is “pakuach nefesh” — saving a life or a soul. Just as you are allowed to save someone from the czar’s army, so too you are allowed to lie in order to get someone to wear a black hat on shabbos. And so too, places like Neve Yerushalayim and Ohr Somayach will lie to their students and to their families. So and so “just needs a few more months” in yeshiva/seminary.

Modern Orthodox Jews do not generally accept this mentality. But you should understand why Big Aish and other ultra-Orthodox kiruv-institutions are so frequently dishonest and deceptive. They believe that they are permitted to lie to you. At least, they pretend to themselves and each other that they believe that. And they are just smart enough to know that naked ultra-Orthodoxy is not an easy sell. Not at all.

If you were in their shoes, you would also be tempted to lie, deceive, and mislead. A lot. The only difference is, you might not actually do it.