In regard to the increasing hatred directed towards the chareidi tzibur in Eretz Yisrael, Maran HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita is quoted saying
“עליית מפלס השנאה בתקופתנו, הוא גזירה משמים”, אמר, “פעולת השתדלנות וההסברה – מאמצי סרק”
(“The increase in hatred in our time is a gezeira from Shomayim. Lobbying and advocacy on our behalf is futile).
It is explained that this unwanted and difficult phenomenon did not begin today, but it has been increasing during recent years.
The gadol hador continues, instructing us to increase our tefilos and limud Torah, stating this is the only response in a time of gezeira. The rav explains all the explanations will not be successful for a fire is extinguished with water and the ‘water’ required against his gezeira is Torah and tefilos.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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15 Responses
Over the last 250 years, the majority of Jews (definied halachically) made a conscious and deliberate decision to become secular. They adopted as a principle of faith that the orthodox (frum, hareidi, litvish, hasidic, etc.) interpretation of Judaism was obsolete and wrong, and the people holding that interpretation were backwards, confused and doomed to failure because of their primitiveness and unwillingness to accept the true way of secularism. According to their “religion” we should be extinct – and yet we thrive and increase in numbers and show no signs that we are about to reject Torah. They resent this. A few frummies would be quaint and cute and a tourist attraction. A vibrant Torah community is a daily proof that the secular worldview is wrong.
One should note that Christian and Muslim prejudice against Jews has a similar basis. We were present at the events described in the “New Testament” and the “Koran”, and we by our continued existence reject them and by our continued belief in Torah are stating that the events described in those “scriptures” were falsified, with the implications that the goyim believing in them are following false prophets or worshipping false dieties.
TORAH, TEFILLAH & what about GEMILUS CHASADIM?
The increased hatred is a gazeira but as all gezairos, it comes from a lack of focus on our yiddishkeit. I’m not a godol so I can’t see what’s missing. The truth is that each of us knows what’s missing by ourselves in our lives.m So besides just torah and tefiloh, lets go and make each of us better in some way. and Hashem yazor.
On the other hand, le’choyrah there is also a beracha because of the sinah towards us. Just like the Bais Halevi says that the sinas ha’mitzrim towards klal yisroel stopped shmad, hu ha’din nami the sinas ha’tzionim to us can will help prevent the shmad ha’tzioni.
the hatred from the chilonum towards cheridum is older than sliced bread, what prompts the belatedly outcry against it, is the fact that the economical ‘umblical cord’ connecting the religious parties to the gov. was cut, so now they becoming more clear eyed.
Its beyond me why people feel the need to “explain” the words of the Gadol Hador…….
You R Tsu Dreit and do not understand what Rav Shteinman is talking about
“A vibrant Torah community is a daily proof that the secular worldview is wrong”
Clearly, Mr. Kuperman, your definition of a vibrant Torah community is one that comments on internet articles all day. I can assure you that is not what Rav Steinman has in mind.
What Rav SHteinmann SHLITA wrote is what I have been writing over the past few months/years as I watch the situation get worse & grow R”L cause we won’t wake ourselves up to face reality & admit/confess to ourselves that its time we finally woke up & did teshuva together as a nation so mashiach can come.
Does this sound familiar to you? how many times do you think have you read it? how much longer will it take before the tzaros in klal yisroel stops growing? THE CHOICE IS OURS, Hashem gave us free will & choice. i.e. we can do teshuva & say goodbye to horrific tragedies or we can continue the way were living & watch the situation get worse C”V.
Hope we finally wake up like Rav Shteinman SHLITA said
I would also recommend that the Charadim have one Shiur a day on mitzvot bein adam l’chavero.
If the Charadim showed a little HaKarot HaTov (appreciation) and tolerance toward the IDF (and State of Israel) most Israelis would tolerate the charadim.
EXCHANGE ALREADY SINAAS CHINAM FOR AHAVAS CHINAM!
Good question bklyn mom. The answer may be that Torah and Tefillah can nearly always be improved with more focus and effort. As far as chesed people incorporate chesed into their lives in ways that are possible for them and halachically required. If you have chesed to do you do it, if you don’t you don’t, but chesed is not something that can generally be upgraded with more focus, and as far as volume of chesed if it was something you were supposed to do: helping old lady across the street, mes mitzvah etc. You should already be doing it, otherwise it’s probably not correct to say that someone who learns/works full time plus familial responsiblities should add hours of the day that are not there to go visit hospitals.
It stands out, what The Rav is saying, there is nothing to be done to stop the hatred. He also did not call it sinat hinam.
Ahavat hinam is also not at all a jewish concept, and can be more damaging than sinat hinam.
The haredim are the jews of the jews. It is so two-faced for secular jews to decry biased and slanted media, dirrected against the jews and Israel, while they routinely shecht jewish jews in their media day in day out.
The secular jews if they understood, that the hatred towards jews and Israel is not a result of anything we do, will also come to the realisation that lobbying and advocacy on our behalf is similarly futile!
The jew needs to stop trying to win favour in the eyes of the world, and go out and earn the respect they can earn if they do as they must do, protect their people, execute terrorist murderers, stop negotiating and start making demands.
The religious jew needs to stop trying to win favour or legitimacy in the eyes of the media and media-poisoned public, and do as they must. Start speaking out unrestricted truth, and start making demands.
The national religious jew, needs to stop playing the fence, stop buying into the anti-haredi media, stop enabling the state and doing nothing to enhance it, and make demands. Boycott army service until as such time as the government and army bring terrorist murderers to justice through execution, and until as such time as they turn the idf into an army again and not the worlds biggest jewish summer camp, a secular cultural institution, and allow jewish soldiers to fight to win, allow them to fire, allow them to protect themselves and punish arab violence on the spot. Modern orthodox national religious world, get some backbone, realise what is in your hands to do, and stop being small and pathetic! It is in your hands to accomplish much good!
i know this is a dumb think to comment on but it always irks me when someone post on the internet a complaint about someone posting on the internet. it strikes me as slightly hypocratic. sorry yanky55.
@PinhasErez: “Ahavat hinam is also not at all a jewish concept, and can be more damaging than sinat hinam.”
Rav Kook, who said,
“If we were destroyed, and the world with us, due to baseless hatred, then we shall rebuild ourselves, and the world with us, with baseless love — ahavat chinam.” (Orot HaKodesh vol. III, p. 324)
and
“Better I should err on the side of baseless love, than I should err on the side of baseless hatred.”
would have disagreed with you – but I’m sure you’re a greater gadol than he was.