The Talmud concludes that baseless hatred is equal in severity to idolatry, sexual immorality and murder put together. Unfortunately Jews are not immune
Tisha B’Av is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. In addition to the destruction of the first and second Temples, many other tragedies also took place on this day. The Talmud states that, “the first Temple was destroyed because of idolatry, sexual immorality and murder…the second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred.” The Talmud concludes that baseless hatred is equal in severity to idolatry, sexual immorality and murder put together (Yoma 9b).
There is immense wisdom inherent in this conclusion. Whereas the prohibitions against idolatry, sexual immorality and murder are all fundamental to Judaism, the effects of senseless hatred is undoubtedly more far reaching.
There are few things better equipped to ruin a society than senseless or pathological hatred. A society riddled with prejudices and hatred towards others becomes crippled. Witness the downfall and moral degradation to pre WWII Germany – once a bastion of culture and modern civilization – after it was gripped by pathological anti-Semitism.
And now we are witnessing the disintegration of the Arab world from within due to its pathological hatred of Israel and the West.
Jews are not immune
Unfortunately however, it seems we Jews are also not immune to this cancer. I have been writing a weekly column for Ynetnews for over two months now and although as a newspaper writer I knowingly (and happily) open myself up to criticism, I have nonetheless been rather taken aback by the hatred expressed in some of the talkbacks.
This takes me back to the first time I went to Israel to study. I was 16 years old and had just arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport. Some young Yeshiva students were pushing to get onto the minibus service that was going to Jerusalem. Upon seeing this, two secular women standing in line let lose a tirade of anti-Haredi remarks. As a young teenager coming from the UK, I was appalled at the behavior of the students.
However, it was clear to me that the deep-seated hatred coming from those women towards the Haredim was not just a result of this one incident.
Pathological love
Within the religious communities themselves things are almost as bad, as the talkback to my articles from other religious Jews would seem to indicate. Hatred is always bad unless it is directed towards evil itself, and whenever it is indiscriminately directed towards a whole group of people it is pathological. We as Jews must be very careful not to allow ourselves to become intertwined in a culture of hate.
There may indeed be legitimate complaints about the Haredi community in Israel. The Haredi communities in turn may have grievances that should be respected. Diverse religious or political factions may have legitimate ideological differences. However, these should never be allowed to transform into pathological hatred. We must take urgent steps to address pathological hatred, bigotry and prejudice among Jews, so that these burning emotions do not end up consuming us from within.
What we really need is pathological and indiscriminate love. People who love each other do not undermine each other – they work together for their common good. In this kind of homogenous environment much positive can be achieved. This is clearly why tradition tells us that the antidote to the destruction caused by pathological hatred is to introduce its equivalent in love – an important and pertinent lesson indeed.