The Debased Origins of Baseless Hatred
Once again, Tisha B’Av approaches. As we have done so often, we will mourn the Churban, and lament how Sinat Chinam (baseless hatred) caused so much pain and suffering. And yet, the problem of baseless hatred is still with us, seemingly growing by the day. (Baseless? See my essay from last year Sinat Chinam: Baseless or Inexcusable? ) There is so much anger and division in our communities. So many people harbor hatred for others, simply because they disagree sharply with their political or religious views. We suffer on national, communal, and personal levels. In America, the nation is divided as perhaps no time since the Civil War. In Israel, the disparate factions of the new government are bound together only by hatred of Netanyahu. As for Netanyahu and the opposition, they are interested only in causing the new government to fall, no matter the issue. Communities are rent apart; former friends and relatives barely speak to each other because of political differences ...