Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Unity

Now that the time when Moshiach will reveal himself is approaching, the yetzer hara is doing its utmost to sow dissension among brothers and to separate us from G-d...

I implore you not to malign any group of chassidim; do not follow in the path of fools who do this. All the Baal Shem Tov ever wanted to achieve was to bring unity to our people, and they should be close to one another. For even if you see that people are not going in the right direction, all your talking is of no avail anyway. Do not hate even those who hate our way of life. On the contrary, love them and bring them closer. Try to find an excuse for their actions, and pray for compassion for them so that they are not punished.

No Jew wants to commit evil; it is only his yetzer hara that leads him astray. What is the holy Jewish people to do, living in a dark age, surrounded by abominations from all sides? Therefore, even if it appears that a Jew committed a sin, do not hold this against him. Because the Jewish people are full of kedusha and mitzvos. Therefore, we should strive to love every Jew, and bring nearer all those who come to us.


("Reb Ahrele" - Rabbi Aharon Roth of Jerusalem)