HATE IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD

“In the third month from the exodus of the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt, on this day they arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai. They journeyed from Refidim and arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the Wilderness; and Israel encamped there, opposite the mountain.” (Shmot 19:1-2)

From Rosh Chodesh Sivan of the first year of the Exodus until the twentieth of Iyar in the second year, the Israelites camped at Mt Sinai. It was there that they received the Ten Commandments and built the Mishkan. Mt Sinai thus became a place of enormous significance in the story of the Jewish People. Another name for the mountain is Chorev (see, for example, Devarim 4:10). What are the meanings of these names? The Talmud (Shabbat 89a-89b) offers a somewhat unexpected explanation: “As Rav Chisda and Rabba, son of Rav Huna, both said: What is the reason it is called Mount Sinai? It is because it is a mountain upon which hatred [sina] for the nations of the world descended. And that is what Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Chanina, said: The desert in which Israel remained for forty years has five names. The Zin Desert, because the Jewish people were commanded [nitztavu] in it; the Kadesh Desert, because the Jewish people were sanctified [nitkadshu] in it. The Kedemot Desert, because the ancient [keduma] Torah, which preceded the world, was given in it. The Paran Desert, because the Jewish people were fruitful [paru] and multiplied in it; the Sinai Desert, because hatred descended upon the nations of the world on it. And what is the mountain’s true name? Chorev is its name. And that disputes the opinion of Rabbi Abbahu, as Rabbi Abbahu said: Mount Sinai is its name. And why is it called Mount Chorev? It is because destruction [churba] of the nations of the world descended upon it.”

It would seem from this passage that some of the hatred that the nations of the world have for the Jews is related to the fact that they failed to accept the Torah at Sinai as the Israelites did. This in turn caused jealousy. They came to view the Jews as a nation who viewed themselves as the “chosen people”. In their hatred they believed – incorrectly – that the Jew felt himself superior to the “goyim”. These feelings of envy and inadequacy led to treating the Jews as a pariah. This, in turn, led to discriminatory practices and ultimately, to violence and even genocide. Unfortunately the old hatred is very much alive and growing since the recent war in Gaza. Social media is full of the most vile anti-Semitic pronouncements, conspiracy theories and downright, unfiltered hatred. I find myself overwhelmed at times by the sheer volume of nastiness that Jew-haters spread on the internet. It is full of hallucinations of Jewish world domination and it is extremely difficult to refute because those who espouse these views are fanatical in their beliefs.

Hatred is a very negative emotion that destroys the object of the hatred and the subject who hates. The Talmud (Yoma 9b) tells us that the principle reason that brought about the destruction of the Second Temple and the subsequent exile of the Nation of Israel to this day was the constant infighting and bickering between Jew and Jew. The Sages labelled this sinat chinam, causeless hatred – fostering ill feelings towards others for very minor reasons. We are further told (Yerushalmi Yoma 1a) that any generation during which the Temple is not rebuilt is held accountable for its destruction. This means that we are obliged to rectify the sin of sinat chinam if we are to merit the rebuilding of the Temple and the ingathering of the Exiles. If the Temple remains in ruins, it is a clear indication that we have failed to bridge the divide and that there is still pointless hatred between Jew and Jew. Faribles continue to fester amongst our people, even here in our own city. They make for some very entertaining jokes and juicy gossip, but they are no laughing matter.

I looked at every appearance of the word “hate” (sina) in the Tanach (I used the Concordance of Avraham Even Shoshan) and, believe me, there are many, but not once did I find that God commands us to hate anyone! True, we find in Tehillim (97:10) that God hates evil and that those who love Him are encouraged to do likewise; He hates and cannot abide theft and corruption, especially if they are used for religious purposes (Isaiah 61:8) and He despises idolatrous practices, specifically human sacrifice (Devarim 12:31). True, we are instructed to hate graft and bribery, especially when appointing judges (Shmot 18:21); we should despise taking undeserved gifts (Mishlei 15:27) and we should hate falsehood and lies (Mishlei 13:5). Although King David tells us that he hates only those who hate God (Tehillim 139:21), he does not refer to any particular person or nation by name. And when his son, Solomon, writes (Kohellet 3:8), “[There is a] time to love and a time to hate”, he likewise does not indicate any specific person, but means only that the emotions of love and hate, even for the same object or concept, are dependent on the vagaries of time and place (see commentaries of Ibn Ezra and Metzudot David).

The only instance I could find where scripture explicitly mentions that G-d hates an individual is in the prophet Malachi (1:3): “But I hated Esau [the ancestor of the Edomite and Roman nations].” And yet in Devarim (23:8), God is very careful to tell us, “You shall not reject an Edomite, for he is your brother.” We would expect that at the very least we could hate the Egyptians for persecuting us for over two centuries, but again, the Torah warns (ibid) “you shall not reject an Egyptian, for you were a sojourner in his land.” Converts from these nations must be accepted and gradually brought into the greater Jewish family. Well, if not the Edomites and Egyptians, then certainly the nation of Amalek, our arch-enemies, those who are described as lacking any fear of God (Devarim 25:18); those cowards who attacked us from the rear and eventually produced Haman who planned the genocide of every Jew. Surely we should be commanded, or at the very least, allowed to hate them? Yet this is not so. Although we certainly do not have to treat them as friends, the Torah does not instruct us explicitly to hate them, but states instead “wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven – you shall not forget.” The Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 5:5) learns that this injunction is indeed intended to provoke hatred of Amalek within us, but we nevertheless see that the Torah is still reluctant to use the word “hate.” In fact, if an individual from Amalek approaches us for conversion, we may be required to assist him. Some of the greatest Sages of Israel were descendants of Amalek (Gittin 57B).

Hatred is an emotion that does not permeate Jewish bones, in spite of our long exile of oppression. If anyone is entitled to feel hatred, it’s the Jews and yet we never thrived on hatred and although we had, and continue to have, many enemies, our hatred for them was never on a par of their hatred of us. We may not like them and we may be extremely angry with them, but I have yet, for example, to experience on the Israeli and Jewish side the tremendous hatred that I see so often portrayed on the Palestinian side. You will not easily find Jewish hate groups on the Internet. You will very seldom, if ever, hear of a victim of a Jewish hate crime. There may very well be Jews who hate, but their number is insignificant. Yes, the Torah demands that we treat an enemy as an enemy mostly for pragmatic reasons: if we naively view them as friends, we will be shocked when we fall into their hands and are treated without compassion or mercy (Rashi from the Tanchuma on Devarim 20:1). As Rashi writes, treat an enemy as an enemy because when they catch you, there will be no mercy and no compassion. But, even then, we distance ourselves from hatred.

We are told, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.” Why “in your heart”? Does this imply that we may hate someone openly? The Midrash (Sifra) explains that one does not transgress this commandment if he expresses his anger against his opponent by cursing, slapping or assaulting him. This is not to say that such behaviour is acceptable. On the contrary, the Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 238) writes clearly that in those instances one would transgress the commandments against taking revenge and failing to love one’s fellow. Rather, the intention of the Torah here is to warn against hatred that is hidden from one’s opponent. This is even more destructive than revealed hatred as one’s opponent has no idea that it exists and he cannot protect himself from it. In Hebrew there is a distinction between an enemy (oyev) and a hater (soneh). The former makes his hatred known, but the latter conceals it in his heart (Ramban, Vayikrah 19:17), proving to be a much more formidable opponent. That’s how faribles begin, when feelings of ill will are kept inside and never properly dealt with, when resentment is allowed to simmer.

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Liebenberg.

For this week’s YouTube message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrI3qczUzVk