Dayton Jewish Observer
DAYTON, Ohio — Tisha B’Av commemorates great calamities in Jewish history — the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem — and also a tragic Jewish weakness.
The Talmud notes that the Second Temple was destroyed because of sinat hinnam, or causeless hatred.
Perhaps this year, Tisha B’Av gives some cause for optimism, some possibility of celebration in the midst of mourning.
Causeless hatred does not really mean hatred without cause. Those who practice this vice are strongly convinced that they are completely correct. Insulated by self-righteousness, the practitioners of conflict come to regard hatred as a virtue.
A talmudic tale illustrates the tragic results of causeless hatred or, better said, hatred without due cause. Let me share this commentary (Gittin 55b) with you.
An inhabitant of Jerusalem once arranged a feast. Living in the city were two men, one called Kamtza, his friend, the other called Bar Kamtza, his enemy.
The host sent his servant to bring Kamtza to the banquet, but in error the servant brought Bar Kamtza.
When the host found his enemy in his home, he insisted that he leave and embarrassed him in public.
Bar Kamtza pleaded to remain, offering to pay for his meal and more, but the host was adamant and the unwanted guest had to leave.
Bar Kamtza, bitterly embarrassed and hurt, said, “since the great rabbis of the city were present and did not protest, it means that they acquiesced in my disgrace.”
He then denounced them to the Romans and reported that the Jews were preparing to rebel. As a result, the Temple was ultimately destroyed.
The rabbis of the Talmud were not so naive as to attribute a major calamity of Jewish history to a personal feud.
By recording this tale in the Talmud they were underscoring the folly of causeless hatred, its powerful grip on individuals and its boundless consequences for evil.
The self-righteous regard every issue as a litmus test of principle. “I am right, therefore you must be wrong” becomes their mantra and causeless hatred is the result.
Responsible Jewish leadership of all groups should take the initiative in educating our people how to differ without rancor and how to disagree without enmity.
On this Tisha B’Av, let us reaffirm that there can be disagreement without disrespect and that there is no truth without humility. Perhaps we should keep this in mind when we reflect upon the failed Camp David summit.
To merely recite the Book of Lamentations and to recall the elegies commemorating the destruction of the Temples without pledging to bridge enough differences to function as one people is to ignore the lessons stated in the Talmud.
Ahavat hinnam — love without limit — is the desperate need of the hour among Jews in Israel and throughout the diaspora.