A little story about the pious that I have told here before, but it was a powerful lesson for me.

The last time I was in Israel, I saw a graduation ceremony for the IDF at night at the Kotel.

The young soldiers were glorious in their uniforms arrayed in neat ranks. They had formed a square. For those who do not know, the Kotel is the plaza of the Wailing Wall.

Martial music was played and flaming braziers were lit. The officers were on one side of the square conducting the ceremony and the non coms formed the sides of the square. This was in the plaza just outside of the prayer area.

The families of the young soldiers were behind them. My heart was overflowing with pride for them all.

As the ceremony progressed, three fat, wheezing black and white wearing Jews, in a fit of displaying how holy they were, pushed their way through the ranks of the soldiers, walked brazenly across the square, and then pushed through the officers on there way to wash their hands and pray.

They have the ability to pray there because of the sacrifices of those they just disrespected. I was appalled. I was appalled not just for the disrespect, but for the stain this put on the name of G-d and those of us who are observant everywhere.

I was so furious I had to leave. My rabbi told me something very important. He said, reflecting on it, that it is the sins of those who profess righteousness that turn the most people away from G-d.

When I go and say I believe in G-d, I am always confronted with the sins and hypocrisy of the so called righteous. It is a difficult argument to counter. Who wants to hear that you can not blame the religion or G-d for the defective people who claim to represent?

This applies to all faiths.