Love Your Enemy - The Jewish Perspective according to muman613 - Part I

[muman613]

Shalom JTFers and anyone else reading my post. Over last Shabbat I got to thinking about this topic and have been able to put together some ideas which I would like to share. I had wanted to polish these ideas before posting them but I think I would like to post what I have at this time and see if there is any interest in pursuing it further. This is why I call this post 'Love your Enemy - The Jewish Perspective according to muman613 - Part I' because I expect to write a part II eventually which will tie all the ideas together.

The concept of Loving ones enemies is not believed to be a truly Jewish concept. We have been told that other religions have concepts such as turning the other cheek, and forgiving the sinner even if forgiveness is not warranted. Judaism does not believe in those ideas and Torah provides more practical ways to deal with enemies.

What I am writing is only my opinion based on sources which I have learned. If anyone would like to discuss these concepts and present alternate views I would surely love to hear those ideas.

[muman613]

Love your Enemy
Essay on the reason to Love your Enemy, seeing Hashem in everyone and every thing.

Hashem created everything, even our enemies. Hashem even created the snake in Gan Eden.

There are two kinds of enemies, the physical enemy and the spiritual enemy.

The physical enemy for Jews attempts to kill us, several physical enemies of the Jewish people included Egypt, Rome, Germany, and the Ukrainian cossaks.

The spiritual enemy of the Jew, who often also attempts to kill us, are the Greeks and the West today. Amalek is a Jewish enemy who tries to eliminate the Jewish people using both methods. The spiritual Amalek resides even in the Jewish people in the form of doubt and fear.

There is the belief that Hashem creates every situation for an express purpose, to send signs to those who are able to perceive them. Every good thing, and every bad thing, which happens to us is a part of this communication from Hashem. When an enemy is sent to confront me there is a reason he was sent. I should not get angry at Hashem, nor should my anger be directed toward this enemy, but I should contemplate why this enemy was sent and do what is needed to defeat him. As in any challenge which is presented to us, emotional or physical, we must rise to the occasion in order to overcome this enemy.

Certainly anger is a component of dealing with the enemy, for without anger one will not be motivated to act. But anger is a double edged sword and many of our great sages said that anger and arrogance will lead a soul to destruction. Other sages likened one who gets angry to one who worships idols (Shabbat 105b). As I stated in another thread there is a time and a place for every character trait, and there is a time and a place for anger. So long as the anger is 'righteous anger' in that there is no personal honor involved, for the simple sake of Hashems glory, then the anger is justifiable for the destruction of the enemy. But even in this case anger is dangerous because it often will lead to arrogance.

There is the belief that Hashem will not send a challenge which we are not capable of resolving successfully. We are given the tools which we need in order to accomplish the mission which we were created to fulfill. A man who uses the gifts he was given at birth for a righteous cause will be rewarded in the world to come. A man who squanders gifts which he was born with will just as certainly be punished. The yetzer hara loves a lazy Jew and is able to pursuade him that following the Torah is too hard, and it makes us more hated by the nations... But a Jew whos yetzer tov is strong is capable of realizing that the true strength of the Jew comes directly from the Torah and its Jewish understanding.

Physical enemies serve a purpose in order to keep the Jewish people on the path of Torah. There is the concept that when the Jew does not keep Shabbat, the nations will make Havdalah. Looking at the Megillah Esther we see that some sages even admit that 'The King' which is referred to in the story, who is identified as King Ahashveros, is actually referring to Hashem himself. This concept implies that the 'evil decree' to destroy the Jewish nation originated from Hashem himself and the Persians were only acting as his emissary. I suspect this is one of the reasons one of the commandments of Purim involve drinking to the point where a person doesn't know the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman.

Another important concept is the idea that when we reach the Messianic age we all will know why catastrophe and calamity happened. When the ultimate truth is known by all we will realize that even the apparent 'bad' things which have happened to us were ultimately for the good. When we have this clarity of vision we will know that the pain and suffering which we experienced and observed was really a part of the master plan. Hashems goal of creating a world of kindness and peace will be realized because we will understand that the suffering had meaning and purpose.

A Jew should be thankful for everything that Hashem has given to him in this life. The very word Jew, from the Hebrew Yehuda is from the base word Hoda'ah. Hoda'ah means thanksgiving.r


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NOTES:

http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/vedibarta-bam/049.htm
http://www.kabbalaonline.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/1383792/jewish/Anger-is-D-anger-ous.htm
http://rebshlomo.org/transcriptions/months/adar/purim/saul-and-mordechai-the-holiest-level-of-completely-hating-evil/
http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/550,2211961/Why-do-people-have-to-hate.html
http://www.askmoses.com/article/158,2181233/What-is-the-Jewish-view-on-hate.html
http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/chanukah/vol4no13.html
http://ohr.edu/1309
http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/war_for_jerusalem/

[edu]

Rabbi Kahane brought many Jewish sources in Ohr Haraayon that make it clear that it is a commandment to hate our real enemies. I say real enemies because, sometimes a person has a personal reason to hate his fellow Jew which is not recognized by Halacha as legitimate. This groundless hatred is one of the causes listed by the Sages for the destruction of the 2nd Temple. For those that need a biblical source that there is a commandment to hate real enemies, see Tehillim/Psalms 139 verses 21 and 22.
And indeed Be'ur Halacha to Siman 1 brings those verses as Halacha for all of us:
"But if he is standing in a place that has Apikorsim (heretics) that rise up against the Torah and wish to enact some regulations in the matters of the city, and by means of this they will bring the people to transgress the will of G-d; and he opened in peace, and his words were not obeyed. In such a situation the Beit Yosef did not speak of at all. And it is a mitzvah to hate them and quarrel with them and nullify their plotting with all that he has the ability to do. And King David, peace be unto him said, '' Do I not hate, Hashem, those that hate you and with those that rise up against you , I shall quarrel ! I hate them with an utmost hatred: I count them as my enemies''. (Psalms 139:21,22)

The second issue which you probably meant Muman613 but you just had trouble phrasing it, is that even though we have enemies, we must realize that they fulfill some Divine Purpose.
But that isn't a reason to start loving the enemy. It's just a reason for us, not to complain against G-d that these individuals ever came into existence.

[muman613]

Rabbi Kahane brought many Jewish sources in Ohr Haraayon that make it clear that it is a commandment to hate our real enemies. I say real enemies because, sometimes a person has a personal reason to hate his fellow Jew which is not recognized by Halacha as legitimate. This groundless hatred is one of the causes listed by the Sages for the destruction of the 2nd Temple. For those that need a biblical source that there is a commandment to hate real enemies, see Tehillim/Psalms 139 verses 21 and 22.
And indeed Be'ur Halacha to Siman 1 brings those verses as Halacha for all of us:
"But if he is standing in a place that has Apikorsim (heretics) that rise up against the Torah and wish to enact some regulations in the matters of the city, and by means of this they will bring the people to transgress the will of G-d; and he opened in peace, and his words were not obeyed. In such a situation the Beit Yosef did not speak of at all. And it is a mitzvah to hate them and quarrel with them and nullify their plotting with all that he has the ability to do. And King David, peace be unto him said, '' Do I not hate, Hashem, those that hate you and with those that rise up against you , I shall quarrel ! I hate them with an utmost hatred: I count them as my enemies''. (Psalms 139:21,22)

The second issue which you probably meant Muman613 but you just had trouble phrasing it, is that even though we have enemies, we must realize that they fulfill some Divine Purpose.
But that isn't a reason to start loving the enemy. It's just a reason for us, not to complain against G-d that these individuals ever came into existence.

Indeed the concept of loving the enemy seems odd. But then why do we also bless Hashem when bad things happen? Shouldn't we look at every adversarial relation as a way to get closer?

Blessing before the Shema
Blessed are you Hashem, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all

http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/kindertorah/archives/behaloscha71.htm

PS: I agree that we should not love them to the point where we lose sight of the reason they are our enemies.