Against a background of political and legal disputes that threaten to divide the people in Israel, in the last class delivered by the Admor Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, he called to desist from baseless hatred, saying, “The current hatred among the People of Israel is a hatred that signals destruction.”
He commenced the class, delivered last night in Tel Aviv, by asking a question: “Does anyone know what will happen to their children and grandchildren? Who knows where we will end up tomorrow? These days, we see people healthy and well, and the next day, within an instant, they are sick and dying. How many people enjoy wonderful wealth one day, only to lose everything the next day? God brings everything to justice. If we do not repent and love each other unconditionally, it will become dangerous.”
In tears, Rabbi Pinto cried out, “Enough the arguments. Arguments don’t get us anywhere. They destroy everything, whether in the private realm or the general realm. The hatred that exists among the People of Israel is a hatred that signals destruction.”
Rabbi Pinto alluded to the Megillah, and spoke of Haman who toiled hard to increase baseless hatred among the Jews, since that was how he had hoped to destroy and kill them. The Admor added, “The Gemara says that the first Temple was destroyed and eventually rebuilt because the people were aware of their sins. However, the second Temple was destroyed on account of causeless hatred with no one admitting accountability for it. Therefore, to this day the Temple has not been rebuilt.”
“Baseless hatred and disputes are the greatest cause of ruin and destruction. Success has no chance when there is baseless hatred. Whoever thinks he can achieve something with arguments is making a serious mistake. He will ultimately lose everything he has. No one gained anything from creating disputes; no one will accomplish anything through baseless hatred,” Rabbi Pinto said.
Rabbi Pinto concluded by saying that “No one will ever make a livelihood from arguing. Money that is gained as a result of disputes is ultimately utilized for futile purposes. A person must work and persevere with all his might to accomplish love for no other purpose than to love. The Torah says that there was a period that the people of Israel observed the mitzvot - but they practiced baseless hatred - and they lost every war they fought. But during the periods that they displayed love to one another, despite their many wrongdoings at the time, they won all their wars.
The Admor Rabbi Pinto arrived in Israel for the seventh of Adar, the anniversary of Moses’ death, to conduct a religious reinforcement campaign among the Shuva Israel communities. He held a marathon of dozens of Torah and ethics classes which were attended by thousands.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel