I am an attorney practicing in Monroe and have read many articles in this publication that portray my fellow Hasidim as confrontational, aggressive and radical, while battling over hosts of issues. Many readers may erroneously assume that the vast majority of Hasidim support and promote this form of contentious behavior — we don’t. I have many friends, relatives and clients, who live in Kiryas Joel and beyond, who are warm, kind, generous, peaceful and compassionate people.

I am writing now because next Tuesday, July 20, is Tisha B’Av, the ninth day in the Hebrew month of Av, the date promulgated by the sages of Israel as the annual fast day to mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples, both of which occurred on this day. The First Temple built by King Solomon in 957 BCE was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the Second Temple, rebuilt under Cyrus the Great in 538 BCE, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.

The Talmud (Yoma) teaches that one who has not merited the rebuilding of the Temple during his lifetime is held responsible, and must mourn for its destruction. Therefore, annually, on Tisha B’Av, observant Jews will fast, observe laws of mourning, and refrain from enjoyable activities. We will sit on low stools and congregate in groups to read the sad text of the Book of Lamentations, where the prophet Jeremiah weeps Jerusalem’s devastation, and we weep with him.

The Talmud (ibid) further explains that the First Temple was destroyed because of the three cardinal sins that were rampant in society: idolatry, licentiousness and murder. However, the Second Temple was destroyed because baseless hatred existed among the Jews.

When I was a young student, my teachers imparted the valuable lesson gleaned, namely, that baseless hatred among Jews is equal in severity to the three cardinal sins. It confounded me that a nation devoted to the Old Testament, and its values of kindness and compassion, could be in such discord and rivalry to have earned the wrath of G-d and the destruction of the holy temples.

During the past two years, I have begun a pro bono child advocacy movement to counsel teens at risk in the Hasidic community. I feel privileged that these teenagers have opened their hearts and shared their challenges with me. While each sect has legitimate claims, it is important that the leadership know the havoc being wreaked on our youth by these litigious activities.

Shia, an 18-year-old Hasidic boy, shared his antipathy toward religion and said to me, “The Torah commands that religious Jews take their grievances to the Beth Din and not secular courts of law.” He then continued, “The Torah also commands that we observe the Sabbath. I have seen what is happening in the courts. So, if that commandment is not important, then perhaps observing the Sabbath is not important either.” Shia eventually experimented in desecrating the Sabbath.

Every challenge we confront, be it misfortune, persecution or discrimination, is divinely ordained. Perhaps, as a people, we Hasidim have failed in overcoming the challenge of our generation, namely, adversity from within. And every Jew who will fast and mourn this Tisha B’Av will validate my position that we all share liability for this malady, a modern form of baseless hatred, thus delaying the Mossiah and rebuilding of the Third Temple.

It is my fervent hope that we find the strength to overcome our contemporary challenge; and may this Tisha B’Av be the last one in which we mourn.

Rachel E. Freier practices law in Monroe.

(Source: Times Herald Record)