Today we continue with the topic of Ahavat Yisrael as it pertains to strangers.
When discussing this topic, the Pele Yoetz references the Sefer HaBrit, which was written by Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu of Vilna, who lived before the Pele Yoetz.
The Sefer HaBerit, when discussing this topic, mentions that it was common in his day to dislike people from other countries. He describes this as classic Sinat Hinam/baseless hatred, because in this case, there is truly no reason for the dislike. You do not even know the man, and yet he gets labeled as a stranger from another country or culture- whether Sepharadi, Ashkenazi Hasid- or any of the different types within each of those. You do not even know the fellow, but you give him a general label that his kind are all greedy, all cheap, all flaunty …or any other generalization you might use for a group of people. This is real Sinat Hinam, he says.
He adds that what is amazing is that this is prevalent even among good Torah Jews and leaders (and this was written over 200 years ago!)
This type of Sinat Hinam is worse than simple Sinat Hinam of one man to another, on three accounts:
1- When you dislike your neighbor, you dislike one person. But when you dislike a group, that’s like disliking an entire tribe. It’s tens of thousands of Jews that you dislike now- and tens of thousands of constant sins.
2- When you dislike a fellow, it’s not totally for no reason. There’s some reason- he cut you off, he did something to irk you… there’s a little reason.
But to dislike an entire group of people… it’s impossible to say that an entire group of people or a whole country has a negative flaw. Every group has their good, their bad, and their indifferent.
3- When you dislike a fellow for a reason, you can eventually make up. But if you dislike an entire group of people, in his words, if there is no beginning to the cause of hate, there can be no end as well.
That’s why he says that we have to be extremely careful of this mistake, which comes from disliking people that are different from us.
That is why the Torah stresses to love the convert. It’s not just the convert. It’s anyone that is different than you.
We are twelve tribes, but we all camp around one Mishkan.
Don’t make that mistake.