ZD: “What I say now is just my opinion. ”
I’m very impressed that you started with that qualification. There are probably many posters who can learn from you.
“Different Averiahs and Differnet Mitzvahs are not equal. ”
I agree 100%. And I can’t imagine that anyone with any brains would disagree with that. I think it’s a pretty basic concept in Judaism. I believe it says something to that effect in Pirkei Avos or somewhere.
” I belive not all Averiahs are equal. ”
Agreed.
“(I am aware that some say being Mechalel Shabbos is worse) ”
While there may be people who would say that, I don’t think that anyone whose words are worth quoting would say that.
It seems pretty clear to me that according to the Torah, killing is far worse.
For one thing, it’s considered one of the three biggest aveiros.
For another, not killing is a “Mitzva Sichli (logical Mitzva)” which means that it’s something that should be obvious to everyone. On the other hand, if someone was not taught about Shabbos, he is considered a “tinok shenishba” and is not responsible for not keeping Shabbos.
For another, you are hurting another person when you murder, and generally speaking, “bein adam l’chaveiro” is considered worse than “bein adam l’makom” (although, I’m sure there are exceptions).
” I personally think Killing is worse as it requires a certain moral deprativity to do such a thing”
I agree 100%. See above.
” Oskar Schindler certainly had moral issues, but for what he did under almost impossible conditions puts what he did a much greater Mitzvah than any Averiahs he did.
Same with Korzchak, no he didnt keep Shabbos or Kosher (As far as I know), but what he did for those Orphans was a greater Mitzvah (IMO ONLY) than anything he did as an Averiah.”
I personally wouldn’t put them in the same category. I think that committing adultery is way worse than not keeping Shabbos or Kashrus (especially for a tinok shenishba). That is something that even a goy should know is wrong, and it involves hurting others.
When it comes to Korczak, I would think that his Mitzvos outweigh his Aveiros by far. When it comes to Shindler, I have a harder time. I do think that we have to have tremendous hakaras hatov to him, but I would have a hard time respecting him or calling him a Tzaddik. But I do not know that it matters – only Hashem can judge him, and we should just have hakaras hatov for what he did for us.
But as you pointed out, most of this is a matter of opinion (although some of it probably has sources). At the end of the day, we don’t know Hashem’s judgements. There are many factors to take into consideration. And it’s not just about which aveira is worse than which. There are millions of factors besides that. That is why only Hashem can judge.
Our job is (usually – there may be some exceptions) to try to see the good in others.
As for Moshe Rabeinu, I would be very careful about using his as an example of someone who did both Mitzvos and Aveiros. His “aveira” can not possibly be compared to any of ours. It was an aveira on his level, and on his level alone. His aveiros would be Mitzvos for us.