Tisha B’Av falls on July 26 this year. This is actually the tenth rather than the ninth day of the Jewish month Av, as the observance is moved when the actual ninth falls on a Sabbath.
Many Jews outside the Orthodox community do not fast or mourn on this day, the traditional anniversary of the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem — by the Babylonian Empire in 586 B.C.E. and the Roman Empire in 70 C.E. — and the consequent end of Jewish sovereignty over the land of Israel.
In fact, some Jews say this mourning is no longer necessary now that the State of Israel has been established. Other Jews might say that sovereignty is incomplete without rebuilding the Temple; and until that happens, Jews still have a reason to mourn on Tisha B’Av.
But perhaps there is an additional reason, one many sermonizing rabbis and Jewish opinion article writers have noted. The Babylonian Talmud contains a passage, Tractate Yoma 9b, saying that Jerusalem and the Second Temple were destroyed because the Jewish community was infected by sinat chinom, “causeless hatred” of different groups of Jews for each other.
This claim raises a question: When is hatred truly “causeless” and therefore unjustified? Almost everyone who hates someone, some group or some opponent or enemy thinks their hatred is justified for some reason.
Within our community, those intensely concerned about Israel’s fate, both Israelis and Diaspora Jews, too often outright hate their opponents.
I recently finished my second reading of Yossi Klein Halevi’s superb 2013 non-fiction book about Israel since the 1967 Six Day War, “Like Dreamers,” and it contains many descriptions of this phenomenon.
Those who believe Israel must rule the whole land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and those who believe there must be a completely independent Palestinian Arab state within the lands Israel captured in 1967 — many members of these groups do not have nice things to say about each other; and Halevi shows some members of both justifying hateful actions, from terrorism to treason.
And what is the cause of this? As Halevi wrote, “How were Israelis” — and pro-Israel people outside Israel — “to argue with restraint when both right and left were convinced that if their opponents prevailed, the state would be not merely diminished but destroyed?”
So the cause of this “causeless hatred” is fear. Some fear that Israel will eventually rule a majority of non-Jews, betray its highest moral and democratic values and alienate the world unless Israel allows the Palestinian Arabs to have a state. Others fear that Israel will be vulnerable to terrorism and war if it does not retain Judea and Samaria, to say nothing of losing the historical and religious Jewish heartland.
And both fear that there is no “margin for error.” The Jewish population and Israel’s land area are tiny, so recovery might be impossible should one of these policies be tried and fail.
Unfortunately, this rational fear has led too many Jews to slander and demonize those who disagree. “Fanatics,” “fascists,” “self-hating Jews,” “traitors” — too many Jews throw these names at other Jews, and on such grounds want to ban each other from community activities, whether participating in pro-Israel parades or expressing their opinions in such publications as The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.
It appears that many Jews don’t accept a concept of “loyal opposition” — people who truly want the same things for the Jewish community and Israel, but reasonably and honestly disagree on how to achieve them.
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin devotes a chapter of his 2006 “A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 1: You Shall be Holy” to what he calls “The Ignored Commandment.” He says this commandment is “In justice shall you judge your fellow” (Leviticus 19:15).
“Throughout the day,” he continues, “almost all of us make judgments about others, many of which are harsh and unfair.” Moreover, “One reason many of us have a higher regard for our own character than that of others is that we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their acts, especially those acts we find annoying.”
“Therefore,” he suggests, “in the future make an effort to judge others by their intentions when their actions upset you, in the same way most of us judge ourselves… Don’t rush to reach a negative conclusion about another… For at least one day each month — perhaps the first day of the month — try to see only the good in all those you meet.”
The Chronicle strives to follow Telushkin’s suggestions. We try to assume, absent powerful evidence otherwise, that most members of the Jewish community have constructive intentions and seek in good faith the survival and prosperity of the community; and therefore most deserve a place in this publication’s portrayal of the Jewish world.
And we hope such an attitude will spread. As Tisha B’Av reminds us, failure to follow Telushkin’s advice could lead to a Jewish community spending energy fighting against itself rather than working for the community’s betterment and defense. Whether you will fast and mourn or not on this day, this lesson is well worth pondering then and through the year.
Viewpoints expressed in Chronicle opinion articles are solely those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, its leaders and employees.
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