I Want Such a Duck - איך וויל אַזאַ קאַטשקע

Rabbi Chaim Boruch Wolpin shlita, the present rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Karlin Stolin, perhaps the greatest mind of any rosh yeshiva alive in America today, said over the following parable when he was a young man.

There was a dispute among scientists in the 1600s whether the attraction of males towards females were inherently innate, or was it learned behavior.

So, this group of scientists put it to the test. They took a male infant from birth, and placed him in a monastery of monks, never to come in contact with any female. They decided that they'd take him out of this environment when he reached 14 years of age.

They first took him to a forest. He asked, what is this big and tall brown thing with green things hanging from it? This is a tree my son. The green things are called leaves.

What are those big roundish heavy-looking grayish things? Those are boulders my son, God's way of expressing Himself that he can create all sizes and shapes in any form He chooses of any material. Some need His water to survive, some are inanimate and just exist upon His choosing.

They walked deeper into the forest; monkeys were swinging from trees, snakes were abound, fruit trees were decorated with their various colors, elephants and rhinos were seeking their food, dogs and cats were playing hide and seek.

Each one was questioned as to what it is, and was subsequently explained.

They reached a lake; what is that on the water? Those are ducks my son.

They continued walking lakeside until they chanced upon a group of maidens bathing. What are those? Hmmm...they are also ducks my son. The Jews call them katchkes.

"I want those katchkes and want to take them home with me!"

There is natural inborn, instinctive behavior, and there is learned behavior. Mammals have both. Following orders of leaders was and is learned and evolved instinctive behavior. Whether one wants to go back to the hunter/gatherer days or to  Adam Ha'Rishon, Noah, Avraham Avinu and the Avos, in each of the aforementioned, there were both. Relying on the male hunter for food and shelter was a matter of survival for the women, children and weaker males with no ability to hunt and protect themselves. Adam's conduct  with Eve was instinctive, which was obviously stronger to him than God's command.

What we as Jews and the world at large face is a confluence of weak leaders and instinctive/learned behavior to follow leaders whether they are true leaders, corrupt, inept or despicable excuses of human beings. One needs to look around the globe, whether leaders of any country or supposed leaders of religions, one is desperate to find a person or persons that deserve anything more than our contempt.

Watching Jordan's American educated monarch on Charlie Rose last week, confronted with a barrage of questions on a nuclear Iran, Syria, Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood etc.; his final thought was, if not for  Israel's degradation of the Palestinians, all the above crisis' in the Mid-East  would be non-existent.

Our own president was elected only because he is an African-American, if he was a Caucasian he would still be on the picket line on the streets of black Chicago. We've never had a shallower or more inept president in our history. He must be tossed out of office!

Looking at the head of some billion Catholics, a former member of Hitler's Nazi Youth Movement, now preaches morality; as under his watch as a Cardinal and now as the Pope, perhaps a million children's lives have been tormented and covered-up for the predators with his perverted mind and position. And more scandals and nightmarish stories are still bursting out daily all over the planet.

And we Jews have nothing to boast about as we look around at the hoodlums that are in charge of our yeshivas, education systems (or lack thereof), organizations,  and our own community organizers aka askanim.

We need to rid ourselves of certain learned and instinctive behavior, to follow religious leaders just because they say so. We have a Torah and a Shulchan Aruch, and the fifth chelek of the Shulchan Aruch, which is basic common sense given to us by our Creator to use, not to surrender to impostors.

Use it or lose it! Get rid of those katchkes!