ולא תביא תועבה אל ביתך והיית חרם כמהו שקץ תשקצנו ותעב תתעבנו כי חרם הוא וגו' (ז-כו)
R’ Avigdor Miller ZT”L sincerely loved all Jews from all walks of life, frum or not-yet-frum, and therefore his influence extended to all - and even more so - was accepted by all. People the world over thought of R’ Avigdor Miller as their Rebbi, through his tapes, his books and his speeches.
He would deliver lectures at many forums and venues and never hesitated to speak his mind and what he believed was the absolute truth, no matter what others felt. It is told that he was once asked to speak before an audience of young Jewish college students and give them a message of chizuk that would inspire them to retain their unique Jewishness. R’ Miller agreed and in his speech, he discussed the posuk, “Do not bring abomination into your home ... detest it and abominate it.” (דברים ז-כו) In his slow and lilting style, he provided examples of “abominations” that could adversely affect a Jewish home, including television, which he sharply characterized as an idol about which we are commanded to “detest and abominate.”
The powerful words of R’ Miller greatly affected his listeners, especially one young teenager. He recognized the inherent truth in the words of the venerable rabbi and felt that action was necessary. The youngster rushed home as soon as classes were over and without stopping to think of the consequences, he smashed the family television set into smithereens. When his father returned home later that evening and saw what his son had done, he was furious. Grabbing the teenager by the shoulders, he demanded an explanation.
The boy, nervous but strangely confident, told his father about R’ Miller’s talk. He explained how Rabbi Miller had spoken in front of his college class and denounced television as an “abomination.” The father, incredulous and steaming, went straight to the telephone and called R’ Miller. Ranting and raving, he berated the rabbi in no uncertain terms.
“How can you talk to young impressionable kids like that? How dare you instigate my son to damage property which belongs to me?” he shouted hysterically.
R’ Miller listened to the tirade, to the shouting and cursing, without comment. When the man seemed to have finished, and the steam of his frustration and anger were thoroughly vented, R’ Avigdor spoke up in an enthusiastic and warm tone of voice. “Sir, can you please be so kind as to give me your name and address. I would like to refer to you a group of frustrated parents who are experiencing difficulties in child-rearing. You don’t realize what a valuable talent you possess in this area. Your son proved this to me. Upon hearing a rabbi explain that it is the Torah’s desire that we do a certain act, strange as it may seem by conventional standards, your son immediately fulfilled the Torah’s wish, with no regard at all for his own self. He destroyed an instrument which had given him much pleasure, thereby forfeiting much future enjoyment.”
The father could not believe his ears as the rabbi continued speaking. “This action proves that you, his father, have done wonders in transmitting proper values to him, in teaching him that truth must prevail over one’s own pleasures, and that truth is the ultimate criterion by which we should live our lives. These life-lessons could have only been internalized by your son if he was taught by you, his father, to fundamentally love truth. I congratulate you on this accomplishment and consider you a wonderful educator. Please allow others to meet with you and share your secrets of success!”
Stunned and greatly impressed by the rabbi’s words, the father begged R’ Miller’s forgiveness for his earlier harshness. From then on, he became one of the rabbi’s greatest admirers.