Which of the following do you feel is the biggest problem:
1. Hatred of non-Jews toward Jews
2. Hatred of Jews toward other kinds of Jews
3. Hatred within the Orthodox community?
As always, comments containing specific negative information, even true, about ANY group of people, or snide remarks, will not be published.
1. Hatred of non-Jews toward Jews
2. Hatred of Jews toward other kinds of Jews
3. Hatred within the Orthodox community?
As always, comments containing specific negative information, even true, about ANY group of people, or snide remarks, will not be published.
Where's the 4th option? Hatred of Jews towards nonJews?
hatred of Jews towards other Jews. That is definitley our biggest problem.
(btw, just found your blog, I am really enjoying! keep up the good work!
#2. Definitely. So much misunderstanding in every direction imaginable!
As a non-observant person (who has close family living in Israel) I see #1 as the biggest threat. There are still many out there who have the goal of ridding the world of Jews. To me that danger is much more immediate than misunderstanding between groups.
Definitely #1.
Anyone who doesn't feel that hatred of non-Jews toward Jews is a BIG problem doesn't read the press from Europe [the news from Arab countries is too frightening to even think about]. And I think that those of us who don't think that hatred of Jews toward other Jews is a VERY big problem aren't listening to our spiritual leaders and the lessons of the past.
I see that number two is the biggest problem because number one is prophesies in the Torah and therefore will not change the problem is when we have baseless hatred towards one another and what brings us closer together than anything unfortunately it's anti-Semitism Rusty this is being done via voice recognition so please feel free to edit and use punctuation thanks bye.
I think there'd be a lot less 1 if we got rid of 2.
Well 2 and 3 are the only ones in our control really..so what's the point of pointing out a problem that we can't control?
I also agree that there is a problem with hatred of Jews toward non Jews which I see all the time..and we might not see as a problem now, but it very harmful. I understand it might have its roots in hundreds of years of persecution but is wrong nonetheless.
Wow.
I think I would say: Hatred of Jews toward other kinds of Jews, because I think this would include Hatred within the Orthodox community.
I don't feel there is much anyone can do to change Hatred of non-Jews toward Jews. There is no rational explanation for it and nothing we as Jews do can change it.
However, I believe Jews can change the way we feel and act towards other Jews. If all Jews stopped judging and hating other kinds of Jews something spiritually profound would occur and Moshiach would arrive.
My problem with this question is the word "hatred". Using that word to define any of these problems suggests that the feeling is utterly intractable and also has no historical or other basis. My view is that much of the negativity both toward and among Jews comes from historical circumstances, and is not an insoluble or eternal condition.
"Animosity" would be the word I would choose to describe any of these problems, because (unlike "hatred") it would suggest to me that there are reasons–not necessarily good or rational ones, but at least historical reasons, or reasons based on misunderstandings–that such feelings have arisen. And thus, perhaps with painstaking and frustrating efforts, that animosity could fall away or be transformed.
If we change it to 'animosity', then in my view #1 is the biggest problem on this list. But another big problem is what others have suggested, namely the problem of Jewish animosity toward others. This is definitely something that Jews CAN work on directly. In fact, insofar as Jewish animosity toward others might have some role to play in animosity toward Jews, it would seem to me that it demands our attention.
Regarding #1 I disagree with several of the previous posters who claim that there is nothing Jews can do to ameliorate "animosity" toward Jews. I am actually surprised at the lack of a positive goal when it comes to working on #1.
From what I have read, it would seem that the prophesies in the Torah and the Tanach suggest that hatred of the Jews by the non-Jews is the direct result of hatred between the Jews. Our best protection against anti-semitism is keeping the Torah and Mitzvos, which include most importantly v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha, loving our neighbours as ourselves and respecting our fellows, not speaking badly of them. When we fail to do that, Hashem empowers the other nations to harm us.
There's also a neat yiddish expression: wenn dee yidden nisht machen kiddush, machen dee goyim havdalah. It literally means when the Jews don't make kiddush, the other nations will make havdallah. Which means if we don't make a distinction between ourselves and the other nations, they will do it for us. I don't think it just means dressing differently and eating our own food and wine, although it does of course mean all that, it means we should act in a way that is distinguished. We should live a sanctified life and making a sanctification of G-d's name by living true to the ethical ideals of a Torah Life. If we don't, the other nations will discriminate us in less elevated ways.
number 2. Why? because the jewish haters give legitimacy to the rest and they happen to be the most hostile. Goldstone is a great example.
In the spirit of "think globally, act locally", I'm picking two answers:
Locally (here in the greater metropolitan area where we live) it's #2 all the way. I've said often that I'd love it if they tore down every single synagogue, and built one big honking building where all Jews had to come and pray. Lots of rooms, lots of entrances, but one building. Would it cause problems? Of course. Might it also foster a level of understanding we don't currently enjoy? I'm naieve enough to believe it would.
Meanwhile, globally I think #1 is the big problem. Whether hidden behind flowery words or false promises, or out in the open, I think the world is still a hostile place for Jews.
Not exclusively hostile to Jews, of course. In many areas, the world is a hostile place to anyone who's a member of the "I don't have a gun and you do" tribe.
I said my piece above with my own response to Ruchi's post, but I have returned to this post a few times to follow the comments because I am so surprised at how many posters think that intra-Jewish hatred/animosity is such a big problem, and such an important one. Is this more an Orthodox thing? Or is the concern more present among Orthodox because they are more focused on the Jewish sphere overall?
From the secular/Reform perspective, perhaps because the investment in Judaism overall is less intense, I just don't see any of this. There might be lack of comprehension of why Orthodox Jews "make things so complicated" (not offering my own view, just an imagined one), or for instance I remember my Reform mother rolling her eyes if someone else's kid married into Orthodoxy, but this is not hatred. I understood this more as the kind of intrafamilial eye-rolling–the way you do it with people who belong to your extended family in some way, so you care about them, but you also think they are odd. (Again, I'm not saying this is my view, but it is my experience.)
I know that Reform/secular Jews sometimes feel like they do not get respect from Orthodox Jews, and it sounds from the comments like Orthodox Jews feel like less observant Jews 'hate' them. And it sounds like there is animosity between certain groups within Orthodoxy (this was news to me!)–the terror of small differences. I guess this might be for Orthodox Jews a very important thing, because they feel they should at least get respect from fellow Jews (although I'm not clear on how marginal they consider Reform Jews to be as Jews).
Sbw: as usual my neurons are on overdrive from your comment and I have much to respond but I'm supposed to be doing homework with a certain 3rd grader… will return later to add my thoughts.
OK. Done with homework. I agree that "hatred" was a very strong word, and intentionally so. I've seen real hatred out there, and my, it is ugly.
That said, I've been taking a backseat observing the comments. It seems that the more similar people get the more they find to pick on each other. Intra-Jewish hatred is not new, as mentioned above: it was the sin that was key in earning us the destruction of the holy temple, the center of spiritual clarity.
I do agree, SBW, with your observations regarding the comments. "Achdus" or "achdut" is a Hebrew word that is used frequently in Orthodox circles. It means unity and notably Jewish unity. It's an important and oft-discussed value, though it seems we're not making enormous headway.
It does seem to me that Reform Jews are more concerned with Jewish/non Jewish relations than with Jewish/Jewish relations, as you implied. I believe that Orthodox Jews KNOW that they are very different from non-Jews, since their very lifestyle highlights those differences, whereas Reform Judaism (correct me if I'm wrong) was formed on the basis of removing obstacles to friendships and understanding with non-Jews. Perhaps that's why Orthodox Jews accept anti-Semitism as a fact of life (and it's mentioned many times in Torah literature) but are more troubled by that which should be in our hands: Jewish unity.
And that brings me full circle to why I started this blog – offering all of you the opportunity to discuss stuff like this with love, not hate.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for making it a reality.
I see #2 and #3 as the same, rampant and ultimately the downfall of our people.