Peace be with you!
I am somewhat new to this forum and yet I am beginning to feel the tension. I am speaking mainly to the Jewish contributors and readers of this forum because our behavior is quite simply atrocious. I have been involved in talkbacks on a variety of blogs and forums and usually there are disagreements and 'flame-wars'. But this is a special place, somewhere where words of Torah may be intermixed with politics.
In general it is not good to mix politics and religion. I believe the intention of those who started this forum was to allow us to find points of similarity so we could organize against our opponents in the political forum. I am fully against Obama and the democrats and am fully for supporting Israel and Jewish education. But something has gone wrong. I find so many words written only for the purpose of insulting or disparaging a fellow Jew.
As we know in Torah it says "Do not be a talebarer against your neighbor". This is the mitzvah which we know as the laws of Lashon Hara. Another important mitzvah we seem to easily forget is Ahavas Yisroel {Love your fellow Jew}. When dealing with our brothers and sisters we should have some empathy and consider how our words will be received by those reading our words. Also Shalom , peace, is a quality which is highly considered by the Torah.
As it is written in Pirkie Avos Chapter 1, Mishnah 12:
"Hillel and Shammai received the transmission from them [the previous generation of scholars, of Mishna 10]. Hillel said: Be of the students of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them closer to Torah."
I realize it is easy to become caught up in the moment. To have machlokes on issues for the sake of heaven are OK, but to have conflict and strife for personal honor is forbidden.
It is not good to use words or phrases which can be taken wrong by the readers. To quote another important wisdom of Pirkie Avos Chapter 2, Mishnah 4:
4.He would also say: Make that His will should be your will, so that He should make your will to be as His will. Nullify your will before His will, so that He should nullify the will of others before your will.
Hillel would say: Do not separate yourself from the community. Do not believe in yourself until the day you die. Do not judge your fellow until you have stood in his place. Do not say something that is not readily understood in the belief that it will ultimately be understood [or: Do not say something that ought not to be heard even in the strictest confidence, for ultimately it will be heard]. And do not say "When I free myself of my concerns, I will study,'' for perhaps you will never free yourself.
We all are in this world together and I know we are together in the world to come.... Let us act like the Jews we should be...
Topic: Shalom Brothers & Sisters (Read 1578 times)