We are familiar with advertisements about cancer, AIDS, & reckless driving being killers. However, what we do not consider is that there is a worse killer that is spreading at remarkable rates infecting multitudes & causing more pain & sorrow than all other causes put together. This is the plague of hatred.
Hatred is a killer; millions of Jews together with many from other different groups, were murdered during World War II. Today, through out the Arab world, hatred of Jews has reached an unprecedented level & we know that this can kill & if not restrained, it will kill!
Let us ask ourselves the very basic question: What is it that causes people from one area or religion or group to hate people that they have never spoken to, never met, & with whom do not have any interaction?
There is an explanation: Know that there are two basic types of hatred: hatred based on personal grievance & hatred that is based on selfishness.
Hatred that is based on personal grievance is a hatred that is caused directly by an injustice that is done to you by another person. It could be a neighbour or a co-worker who has annoyed you, embarrassed you or harmed your property. You feel that you have been wronged & now you are upset. However if restitution in the proper form is made, the hatred will dissipate. Hatred like this is based on a real cause; erase the cause & the hatred disappears.
The selfish type of hatred appears to come with a 'reason', but the reason which is supplied is not the real reason but rather a justification of the hatred. In this case, the hatred precedes the reason; the reason comes afterwards to justify to others & conceal the real motives of the hatred. This type of hatred is much more difficult to identify, since its source is cleverly concealed with a plausible external rational that justifies the hatred, & even beckons those listening to agree & join in the hatred. Hatred without cause is called in Hebrew Sinat Chinam.
The world is full of this sick type of hatred. Individuals, nations, groups & races are infected with it & it spreads itself like a contagious disease. At the bottom of this hatred is selfishness & suspicion that causes the 'other' to be viewed with disdain & suspicion.
A selfish person is constantly worried about himself, but no one else. He views the other as competition that will reduce down his share of what he desires. This type of person is a coward & uses justification & counterfeit reasons to explain & substantiate his hatred. As an example, a person cannot clearly state that he fears that his co-worker may do a better job than he, & by comparison, will look bad, because it is an admission of his own weakness. Rather he will give a reason to justify hating this person, specifying a personal fault in order that the reason should look authentic.
The same is true of groups. A group can not simply state that they fear another group because of the possibility that the other group will do better than them, rather they conceal their insecurity in a mantle of righteous justifications in order to convince others of the faults of this rival group. Others who secretly share the same insecurities will latch on to this false accusation & continue to spread this hatred.
If a grievance is real, then the parties can work it out honestly & sensibly, since the problem is not the personalities, but the disputed item, i.e. property, honor, etc. In most cases, it is the retribution that is the desired end, not the continuance of hatred. Once restitution has taken place, then the person who was wronged is pacified & the hatred subsides. This is not true with baseless hatred, since any claim made is only to conceal the insecurity & to justify the hatred therefore a settlement will not take away the baseless hatred since the underlying insecurity remains.
Unfortunately, we Jews are living in a time similar to that of our parents. During the 1930's & 40's, Hitler's hate campaign against the Jews & other 'undesirables' convinced millions of Germans of the righteousness of his mission. Chamberlain thought that he could appease Hitler by giving him the Sudetenland. Hitler could not be appeased since his demands were not based on reason, but he used his 'reason' only to justify his hatred.
We see the same thing in the Arab world. How much have the Israeli governments given to the Palestinian Arabs, yet Israel is as far from peace with their neighbours as they were in 1948. The reason is that the Arabs use a 'reason' to justify their claims against the Jews, when in reality no appeasement on the part of any Israeli leader will make them stop hating us. They hate us because they view us with fright, they fear that our energies in building a beautiful society in the Middle East will expose them as the corrupt & lazy politicians that they really are, & that our Jewish success is a affront to the 'truth' of Islam & that by comparison they may feel that they are really lazy indolent people. It is much easier to spread the lie of Israeli atrocities than face the truth that they are responsible for their own destinies & it is not Israel or the Jews that caused them to be in the position in which they find themselves.
What is true with the group is true with the individual. The Torah commands us (Leviticus 19:17, 18) "Thou shall not hate thy brother in thy heart; you shall surely rebuke the neighbour, but not bring sin upon him. You shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge, but you shall love thy neighbour as thyself."
Hatred blinds, & hatred kills. Love draws you closer together, but it requires courage to accept your own failings. Perhaps we cannot correct the world just today, but we can start by avoiding hatred & seeking truth in ourselves. If every one would look into himself & see & accept his own faults & not blame others for his position in life, the world would be a better place.
About Me
- The G-d Sight
- This is an open, religious community gathered with the purpose of sharing G-d's love. We welcome all faiths and encourage participation from anyone that is interested in getting involved (You can find details in the very first blog posted: Intro to the G-d Sight). There is a mix of believers from different faiths and because of this we ask that all comments and blogs show respect for all. So please come check us out, and it's our prayer that you leave with a smile and a feeling of inspiration. Be well and G-d Bless you all!
20 comments:
This is a carefully worded blog, with alot of truth in it. "Hatred" is not easily approached as a subject in such a profound manner. It is your right to use examples and the message you are obviously trying to get across is a very good one. Hatred is evil, unkind and violent and if people like you don't try, there may never be an end to it. Thank you for sharing. Well written.
I pray all the time for the hatred in the world to go away. It makes me sad when I think about it.
Its true that there is way to much hatred. I think that as believers in God we should put aside our differences and stand together against hatred. Good, strong blog. Thanks for sharing.
Hatred does blind us; just as different cultures and religions do; along with that, somewhere in the middle, jealousy steps in and makes matters even worse. There have been religious "wars" for as long as I can remember and many of them fuelled by intense hatred that has grown strong as passed on over the generations.
I teach my children to respect all people, from all walks of life, but to also never forget who they are, where they come from and where G-d wants them to go. I do believe that all people can be friends, but there needs to be a mutual respect in order for this to happen.
I can respect what another man believes and be his friend, but he needs to do the same; some people try and push over the boundries and enforce what they believe on another and on top of it, judge and say that what we believe is wrong, ect. Instead of just saying, I respect you and your way, respect mine. That is what will make the difference! G-d made room for us all and He loves us all the same.
Thanks for another well written blog. You have definitely convinced me that we can start to make a change. G-d Bless.
This blog could be seen as a loaded accusation; on the other hand, it could be and should be seen as a blog of inspiration. A blog against hatred and an inspiration towards love and a better world.
I would recommend that people read this more than once to see the true message you are striving toward, and might I add, an awe inspiring message it is.
Well written.
'Loaded' would be the correct term as others have said, but, you have eloquaintly mastered this piece. Hatred is by far the most loathed subject of discussion. Your message is one of truth, love and inspiration. Thank you for sharing. G-d be with you.
I agree with this blog. It is important to remember that hatred can, and usually does, stem from ignorance. People tend to fear what they do not understand, and that fear will lead to hate. Being a Christian, I was always taught "Love thy neighbor as thy self." And who is thy neighbor? Everyone. This was the the fundamental teaching of Jesus. Even though all of us have different beliefs, the principle remains the same. G-d wants us to care for each other, irrespective of our beliefs. I know how horribly the Jewish people have been persecuted throughout all of history, but also remember they are not the only groups of people to be martyred for their beliefs. When Christianity was in its early stages, the Christians had to hide or be killed for their beliefs. Several of the apostles were brutally slain just because they were preaching about Jesus and love. Even today, we still see genocide. In Sierra Leone, and Guatemala, and even in the Arab world (among different sects of Muslisms), people are being murdered, just because they are different. We must respect each other in order for these crimes to stop. The only way to stop these crimes is to educate our children about equality and teach them to respect other people regardless of their religious beliefs. Only then can we have peace.
Everything written here is true and exactly why I dont belong to any religion - as I stated on a previous blog - it causes conflict. Its never good enough for people to just believe in G-d and live - its always we believe more or better than the next - or you can say something about the history of your people and then its like, "oh but you weren't the only ones" or "you wrong, we're right". The G-d I know doesn't want conflict or hatred, so I got to ask, who do the different religions serve?
Powerful blog. Powerful responses. Well written. :)
I have often wondered if there can ever be peace in the world; with thoughts like yours and the responses of other followers, it almost seems as though there could be a chance. This is a brave blog with a strong message. Thank you for sharing it.
Hatred is definitely a plague. You make a bold statement and it is true. Hatred has been around since the beginning and it spreads like a fire does. One follower said we should educate the next generation, teach our children right from wrong and it is also true. Most of the time it starts at home. Some of us have family members who survived the holocast and some have survived other bad things. We were told about the holocast but were also told that we are not allowed to hate because of it; we were told to instead learn from it and make sure that it never happens again. We were taught to forgive and to make a difference by showing the other cheek. Respect others no matter what. Thanks for sharing. This was very powerful to read.
A very powerful blog. Thanks for sharing.
Exceptionally well worded. Very well written.
Well written! Definitely a heated topic of discussion, but you have approached it with care and consideration. I agree with many of the comments here, but one that stands out, is that "hatred stems from ignorance". This is very true and the fact that we are aware of it tells me that we should do whatever we can to assist the ignorant wherever we can. A very good blog!
A very strong and powerful blog. Everything everyone has said is so fundamentaly important. I do enjoy your blogs so much. What Lisa had to say was very powerful and Tess, the man writing these blogs is very brave and believes that there can be peace. He is a remarkable human being with a beautiful soul. G-d Bless everyone.
Powerful. Well written. Thanks for sharing.
This had me captivated. A very powerful blog of note. Very well written. Thank you so much for sharing. :)
Hatred blinds and kills where I come from. My country can be divided into two religions and it doesn't matter how young or old you are, every person is affected by it. Your blog is powerful; it can really make an impact. I want to copy it and go stick copies on all the lamp posts I can find. Thanks for sharing.
If more people would read blogs like these, the world would be a better place. Thanks for sharing. Great blog.
You believe as I do. This blog is definitely one of your best; very deep and very powerful words. Thank you for your thoughts. I pray that many people will read this. G-d bless you.
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