“Thou shall not hate thy brother in thy heart.” (Leviticus 19:17). This simple injunction seems to have been entirely forgotten in our culture, and sadly, it is completely absent in the lives of so many secular “Jews in name only.” One has only to look at the recent hatred spouted by a fringe “Jewish” organization called “IfNotNow” at a speech by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), where they attacked the governor both verbally and physically. Truly “baseless hatred,” this fringe group does not reflect the behavior or attitudes of the Jewish people and is antithetical to all people of faith and ethics.
BREAKING: IfNotNow members are confronting Ron DeSantis at a GOP fundraiser in New Hampshire this evening.
We’re making clear that DeSantis is an antisemite whose actions and policies both support Israeli apartheid and put Jews in danger. THREAD pic.twitter.com/SwCUuCAtMb
— IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) April 14, 2023
According to the Talmud, the ancient destruction of both the first and second Temple was caused by “sinat chinam” or “baseless hatred.” It is so heinous that it is considered to be the equivalent of idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and murder combined. Rather than disagreeing with someone, the person committing this grave sin truly hates their opponent.
But why is this type of wanton hatred without boundaries considered so evil?
Larry Elder has been fond of saying that “to a conservative, a liberal is wrong. To a leftist, a conservative is evil.” The moment someone considers their opponent as “evil,” they have justified in their psyches any action, no matter how abhorrent. They have convinced themselves that in their personal fight against evil, they now have the permission to do anything necessary to stop that evil. They no longer have to abide by any boundaries of ethics or morals, and internally justify their horrific actions (which actually are “evil”).
We are seeing this type of baseless hatred everywhere around us. If not, now is merely a new face to it. Often, as we see in the video above, this type of hatred is promulgated by privileged young people who are absent of the wisdom that comes with real-life experience. We can merely look at the American culture of the last few years and see that this habit of acting hatred out is becoming more and more prevalent.
It is not just Gov. DeSantis who has been on the receiving end of this destructive behavior. Justice Brett Kavanaugh and those supporting his confirmation were credibly threatened during his confirmation hearings. The entire Supreme Court was threatened when the Dobbs decision was leaked. And we need only look to the real domestic terrorism of BLM and Antifa riots to see the destruction that baseless hatred causes.
Last week, more baseless hatred was thrown at both Justice Clarence Thomas and a GOP donor named Harlan Crow. This is not a new attack on either man, as attacks on Thomas go all the way back to President Biden attacking him in confirmation hearings in 1991. Seven years ago, Debbie Wasserman Schultz viciously attacked Crow for having less than one percent of his large library dedicated to remembering the villains of history so that their evils are always remembered and never repeated. The vitriolic lies of Wasserman Schultz about Mr. Crow being a Nazi sympathizer are now being repeated by Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and Yahoo. The reality of Jewish theology demanding that we consciously remember the villains of history (we even have a holiday called Tisha b’Av that is specifically a remembrance of past horrors and perpetrators) is lost on all of these and other outlets promulgating Mr. Crow as a Nazi lover. But in their baseless hatred, these “news” organizations don’t care about facts, but only about destroying those they consider an enemy.
Most sadly, the Forward (formerly the Jewish Daily Forward, founded in 1897) has jumped on the baseless hatred bandwagon. For over a century, this was the premiere Jewish periodical in the nation. With writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer, it catered specifically to a Jewish, and often Yiddish-speaking audience. But now, it has entirely abandoned the Jewish value of “never forgetting” in favor of wanton hatred. Perhaps this is why it is now only a digital publication. It has rejected the Jewish practices of both ethical disagreement and remembering the past in favor of kowtowing to the prevalent vitriol that pervades the media and culture.
The results of this type of destructive hatred can be seen not just historically. As sinat chinam becomes the norm, cultural leaders embrace hatred as being exemplary. Kamala Harris is now holding up anti-Semite and hate-monger Al Sharpton (I refuse to honor this embodiment of hate as a “reverend”) as the “conscience of our country.” Let us remember that Sharpton is responsible for the Crown Heights Riots of 1991, which resulted in injuries, deaths, and massive destruction and became a model for the BLM riots. A man who established his career by promoting hate has now been elevated to being an idol for Kamala Harris (and he was even invited to Barak Obama’s 60th birthday party, where he was welcomed by other celebrities including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Beyoncé).
Where baseless hatred is accepted, it soon becomes the norm. When it becomes the norm, it soon becomes exemplary. And when that hate is elevated to exemplary, “the ancient Temple”, society, and a nation can easily be destroyed.
My friend and teacher Rabbi Elijah Schochet is fond of saying that “we can disagree without being disagreeable.” We should openly and passionately express our disagreements when they arise, but we can never succumb to the real evil of wanton hatred. We must fight for what we believe but never cross that line of viewing our opponent as evil, and in so doing become the evil ourselves.
It starts as comments attacking men like Gov. DeSantis, Harlan Crow, and Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh. It progresses to applauding hatemongers like Al Sharpton.
Will we be able to stop this worshipping of baseless hatred before it destroys our nation and world in the same way it did in ancient Jerusalem?
Only if we call it out will it ever be stopped. When an opponent or even an ally promotes this vitriol, we have an ethical and practical obligation to stop that kind of hate-filled speech and actions. We must learn to live by the biblical standard of not hating our brothers in our hearts.
May we fight passionately for what is right and righteous, condemn baseless hatred in every place we see it, have the strength to never hate another and the courage to disagree without being disagreeable.
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