We continue quoting from the Bet HaLevi, who says,
“Heaven forbid, if we arouse hatred in our hearts, beside transgressing the positive commandment, we also transgress the negative of, ‘Do not hate your brother in your heart.’” And this involves no action, just a feeling in your heart.
He adds, “It is from the greatest sins in the Torah.”
That is a little bit scary, as we will soon see.
A person might think that this doesn’t apply to him, because he doesn’t hate any body.
But we look to Rav Yehezkiel Levenstein, the famed Mashgiach of Ponevezh, whose job is to show us that although there are certain things that we might think are okay, we always have to work on ourselves.
In his book on Emunah, when he talks about ways of strengthening Emunah, he asks: Who can actually testify about himself that he does not have Sinat Hinam/baseless hatred?
The reason, he says, is because we do not really understand what baseless hatred includes. He says that if you are not infused with love for your friends, that is already borderline Sina/hatred. If you are not fully engrossed in constant thoughts of trying to do kindness with your friend, that is also borderline Sina. And if you speak Lashon Hara or Rechilut about a person, without question, that is a sign that you don’t love people. Because if you loved him, how would you speak that way?
So this is an indicator that we really do have hatred, although we might not be aware of it.
If a person is cruel, if a person does not look at others in a positive way, these are indications that there is an underlying Sinat Hinam. Furthermore, he says that God Himself says that a man is born, “evil from his birth.”
When it comes to bad Middot,
if we don’t work on ourselves, we are guilty until proven innocent.
People make the mistake of thinking that they are okay. But the pesukim tell us, “Man is born like a donkey.” He is a wild man. He has to work on himself.
If you don’t actively work on Ahavat Yisrael/Loving your fellow Jew, chances are, you are lacking.
We cannot take it for granted that we are okay. We have to work on ourselves constantly. Many people have told me that they never realized how inclusive the Mitzvah of Ahavat Yisrael. Until learning these daily lessons, they never realized that it includes their spouses, their children, wicked people or strangers. This is something to keep on our minds.
As we said yesterday, it is the all-inclusive Mitzvah.
We must constantly work on it says Rav Levenstein. If we don’t work on it, the default is to be lacking.
Have a wonderful day.