Thread by @GREENESJ333

Roger Froikin @rlefraim wrote, "IT IS NOTHING NEW AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

There is a lesson of history that the Jewish People, and the State of Israel need to understand and it is a lesson that our Sages understood and about which they gave warnings.
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This is a lesson that will determine whether Israel will survive or fail, prosper of wither away, and unless there are changes, history will record a failure.
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Our Sages 2000 years or so ago, remarked that the Temple was destroyed because of “needless hatred”. Of couse more was destroyed than a building. Jerusalem was destroyed.
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The forests of Israel were burnt, leaving bare hills that eroded when winter rains came, leaving rocks exposed everywhere. The population was reduced, between those starved, and those murdered, and those taken as slaves, to almost nothing,...
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leaving the land empty for the most part for 2000 years and Jews who lived outside Eretz Yisrael, a majority of our people actually, were so demoralized that most, 3/4ths, ended up as Christians within 300 years.
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You see, all problems can be discussed and solutions found, but not if a society turns on itself with bitterness and hate rather than ideas and communication.
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What is true of a married couple, that chooses to communicate in a caring way is true about a people. What is true about a marriecd couple that chooses to make marriage a contest of wills, where a marriage will be bitter and not last very long, is also true of a nation.
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When speaking of a marriage or a nation, one can paraphrase Lincoln. "A house divided against itself, cannot stand.”, or at least not for long.
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That does not mean everyone needs to agree. What it does mean is that there is a need to communicate, to treat one another well, humane, caring. There is no place for tactics that make for “needless hatred”.
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That makes any form of unity on any issue, impossible as people are too busy trying to tear one another down to solve any real problems.

For more than 70 years, unity was purchased by wars and threat of war.
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The only thing a whole Jewish population seemed to be able to agree on is physicial survival. That’s the reason for the emphasis on the Shoah, as it is a contrast to what we need to ben now to insure it never happens again.
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But what happens when the specter of war is not longer at the top of our list, when it is no longer what binds us together? That day is not too far off. In some ways it has already come when there are some Israelis who prefer Germany to home...
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and when there are Jews in the Diaspora who are so naive or ignorant that they side with those who hate us.
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Take a look at history. If the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel had not split and acted like petty children, how Jewish history may have been very different.
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Think about had the level of needless hatred not been so shrill around 2200 BCE, the victory of the Maccabees might not have led to inviting Roman troops in to settle our childish disputes.
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And as our Sages have said, had there not been “needless hatred” the destruction of the center of our cultural world, the wars with Rome, the decimation of our people, might have not been.
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OK, yes, I know, speculating about what could have been is fruitless. It changes nothing of the past. But if we do not learn from it, from the mistakes, we lose one of our greatest resources,...
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just as if we abandon Torah that defines us as a people, we lose our identity and the key to moral civilization.
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This all has to change and soon. We have to value what we have in common, our Torah, our history, and even the variety of our diaspora experiences that we can all gain from knowing about.
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Sure there can be differences in religious observance, but without hating those who are not 100% in agreement with us. There can be vigorous political debate, without demonizing, without slander, without a who beats who down attitude.
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There can be differences of opinion, without splitting us into warring tribes. You can fight with your brother or sister, or your husband or wife, without trying to demean them or tear them down. Same with your neighbors. Same with national politics.
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It is really simple. If all of us do this right, avoid needless, useless, pointless hatred, avoid destructive language, avoid false accusations, avoid Lashon Hara, well, look at history and learn from it before we lose again.

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