Sinat Chinam: Baseless or Inexcusable?

Tisha B'Av is now behind us.  Despite all the hopes when Corona first hit that Mashiach was right around the corner, we mourned once again on Tisha B’Av.  We certainly have – once again – determined to do something about the primary cause of the destruction of the second Bais HaMikdash, i.e., שנאת חינם Sinat Chinam (SC), usually translated as “baseless hatred”.  And yet, I must conclude that the problem of SC is worse than ever.

What is SC?  Why would someone hate another baselessly?  Surely that is something only a psychopath would do. Ordinary people do not hate someone for no reason at all.  Three incidents that our Sages point to help us to understand.

The first occurred about 100 years before the Churban, in 63 BCE.  The evil Hasmonean king ינאי (Alexander Jannaeus)was gone. Righteous Queen Shlomzion Hamalka succeeded him and appointed her eldest son Hyrcanus II to succeed her.  This did not sit well with her younger son Aristobulus II, so he went to war to overthrow his brother. Making a long story short, at one point, Aristobulus had taken refuge in the Bais Hamikdash (Temple), while the forces of Hyrcanus laid siege outside.  Aristobulus pleaded with Hyrcanus to send in animals so that the Korban Tamid (daily offering) which they both saw as vital to Klal Yisrael, could continue.  For a while, they supplied – for an exorbitant price – the daily animals. One day, however, they became so consumed with hatred that they sent a pig up in the bucket that had been lowered with gold payment (on the seventeenth of Tamuz).  In the end, mutual hatred led both brothers to appeal to the Romans to take their side. Once the Romans took control, they never left, ultimately leading to the destruction.

The second incident – the well-known story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza – occurred a year or two before the Churban, around 68 CE.  The anonymous host was so infuriated by Bar Kamtza's presence that – despite being offered sponsorship of the entire expensive feast – he hated Bar Kamtza so much that he ejected and humiliated him instead.

The third incident occurred a year or two later, in the heat of the terrible fighting between the factions of Jews in besieged Jerusalem. The accursed Vespasian ימ "ש wisely decided to hold off attacking the city; he let the Jews kill each other for months and do the dirty work for him. Amid all that - in their hatred of the Perushim and their policy of appeasement of the Romans - the extremists burnt down storehouses that could have fed everyone for years.

Hatred prompting action even against self-interest;

 Total rejection of the legitimacy of the other

I believe that these awful stories have a common thread – of people so consumed with hatred of the other that they (a) strongly act against their self-interest, and (b) are unwilling to grant any possible credence to anything that their opponents say or do, even when it is clearly evident that their opponents may have some legitimate points.

Society around us is bristling with this sort of hatred. In Israel: for his opponents, Netanyahu can do nothing right, while his supporters see a great statesman and only evil on the other side.  In America, it is far worse.  The level of hatred and intolerance for President Trump is beyond insane.  Anything and everything that Trump does is evil, hateful, racist, and idiotic, no matter what.  Conversely, for Trump's supporters, the Left has lost its collective mind, supports lunatic policies, and is motivated only by hatred and power and reverse racism. For each side, nothing that the other does or suggests is worthy of any consideration.  The level of hatred and distrust between the sides is such that former friends do not speak, families have ripped apart, and people are afraid of speaking their mind lest they and their families and their businesses destroyed.

Is this baseless hatred?  Most people are eager to explain, in vivid detail, just why they hate the other side so much.  But is the hatred justified?  Let us see if the same old SC factors are at play.

The first is when they act against their self-interest.  Take what has happened over the past two months in Portland, a place I used to be proud to call home.  The endless riots caused enormous harm and violence and injury and benefitted no one.  But the rioters are so consumed by self-righteous hatred that they are willing to destroy the city and the institutions that might help them, so long as they can vent their hatred.  Nationwide, BLM vandals have caused enormous damage and have hurt the black community far more than the white, just to make their very debatable points.  At the same time, by totally demonizing the activists on the left and saying needlessly provocative and foolish things, President Trump and his supporters have, in many cases, stoked and inflamed instead of trying to defuse and find common ground. In both cases, the sides have acted against their self-interest – which would be to reduce the conflict and address the real problems. All decent people in America were horrified about what happened to George Floyd. What could and should have been a unifying moment, has become the horrible reality of today, due to haters who have twisted the facts to attack their political foes.

The second is the refusal to find any good in the positions of the other side.  To any neutral observer, it should be manifestly evident that President Trump, despite endless hostility and opposition from the Democrats, has managed to rack up many major achievements.  Conversely, despite the presence of many deranged ideas coming from the left, there are some good ideas that could be helpful as public policy.  But partisans on neither side will grant any legitimacy to their opponents, seeking only to attack and to demonize. 

Perhaps this is what SC means.  I think it would be helpful if – instead of translating Sinat Chinam as "Baseless Hatred” – it would be translated as "Inexcusable Hatred.” Hatred beyond the justifiable. Anger that (a) is so intense that it goes against one's self-interest, and/or (b) that refuses to find any redeeming quality in the subject of the hatred.

Is there ever room for hate? On the one hand, the Torah says (Vayikra 19:17) "Thou shall not hate thy brother in thy heart," and hatred is surely to be avoided. On the other hand, "There is a time to hate" (Kohelet 3:8).  Honestly, it is only very pious people that hate no one.  Most people harbor some degree of what they consider to be justified resentment.  But when it devolves to SC, or “Inexcusable Hatred” that goes over and beyond reason, it becomes uniquely destructive.

Let us not kid ourselves.  The hatred today is not limited to the world of politics and the larger society.  Within our Jewish community, righteous indignation leads some groups to resent, dislike, and perhaps even, heaven forfend, to hate.  When the hatred is such that they act to destroy each other even against their self-interest while refusing to see any redeeming quality in the other, we have truly unjustifiable hatred. So long as that goes on, we stand no chance at meriting the Bet HaMikdash's rebuilding.

In these weeks of Nechama, let us consider that the word does not only mean "consolation." In addition, it means "reconsideration", as we find it used to describe Hashem “re-thinking” a former plan, as it were (e.g. Bereishis 6:6, Shmos 32:14).

וַיִּנָּחֶם ה' כִּי־עָשָׂה אֶת־הָאָדָם בָּאָרֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל־לִבּוֹ

And Hashem reconsidered having made man on earth, and His heart was saddened. 

וַיִּנָּחֶם ה' עַל־הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת לְעַמּוֹ

And Hashem renounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon His people.

We need to reexamine how we think about and act towards those with whom we disagree.  To reflect more, hit "send" less, respond less to provocations, and spend more time trying to judge others favorably and giving them the benefit of the doubt.  Perhaps that will allow us to enter from the seven weeks of Nechama effectively to the weeks of Teshuvah soon coming up.  If we do, surely Hashem will have a much easier time bringing Nechama, in the usual sense of the word.

Abridged version published in Jewish Press and the Queens Jewish Link Aug 7, 2020