Jerusalem – Israeli news service Kikar HaShabbos reports that the Rishon L’Tziyon, Rav Shlomo Moshe Amar said in a pre-Tisha B’av Radio Kol Chai address that it is hatred and discrimination that prevent the coming of Moshiach.
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Rabbi Amar said unequivocally, “The biggest danger we face is ourselves, not terrorism.”
Speaking this past Friday, the Yom Hilula of the Ari Z’L, the Rishon L’Tziyon said, “With the Yom Hilula of the Ari Hakadosh falling out on Erev Shabbos this year, we have the unique opportunity to go from Kedusha to Kedusha, from the Hilula to Shabbos.”
“The very foundation of the Jewish people is achdus, unity. But our love of material possessions is more important to us than our love for each other. We place a higher priority on the material aspects of this world than on the unity of the Jewish people. “
“2,000 years has passed since the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash and we still have not been saved. Our existence now is one of complete bitterness and there is still no end in sight. The same terrible hatred that caused the destruction of our holiest place and burned the Bais Hamikdash still consumes us.”
“Each of us and every member of our families has to wake up and remove from within ourselves all traces of jealousy and hatred. But this can never happen as long as we are immersed in a culture that puts so much emphasis on materialism.”
“Discrimination. Separation. Hatred. Looking down on someone because he is shorter than you. Has less money than you. That is true hatred, terrible discrimination that tears apart our community and our nation. That is our biggest danger. Not terrorists.”
“We are the biggest danger to ourselves. This is our churban.”
Cannot get closer to the truth than this. We should all heed these words of wisdom
and I always thought that Israel is better regarding this Issue. Looks like all humans have their issues…
Too true, unfortunately for us.
thank you vin for bringing this article
i have find myself finding happiness in myself and not in materialistic things
i have a great diference in my life
i understand the value of this way of life,its peacful.and im always happy.
This is the answer for allot of issues going on. In my brain.thanks vin
he is so right, the problem to be diagnosed is important,
yet we have to find a solution, and here the problem is compounded our rabbis are not only not willing to take on the problem head on, but actuly puting oil to the fire, and activly fighting for meterialistic gain and political gain,
heshem help us all.
On the other hand look on the love within klal yisroel to each other like never before. Chevra Hatzolah, jews ready to run any time of the day/night/year, not discriminating between chassidish litvish sfardish modern, etc. Chessed, biur cholim, gmachs for every thing in the world you can think about. Volunteers all over the world are ready to jump up for a fellow Jew to help him with every thing. It was never like this. The hatred & fights going around is small compared to the Ahavas Chinum in today’s world. Please Jews let’s be meilitz tov on Klol Yisroel, look on the good side of us, then the hatred & fights will also disappear, and there we go Moshiach will come. BB”U
Laider, he speaks Emes.
HaRav Shlomo Amar is breath of fresh Torah air in the Chief Rabbinate. He used to live in Bnei Brak, right next door to HaRav Yeshaya Shneiblag zt”l, the Belzer Rosh Beis Din, and they were constantly learning together. That is where HaRav Amar developed his derech in halacha. If one would step back, the realization is plain that HaRav Amar is a true charedi, probably as right-wing, if not more so, that HaRav Elyashiv and HaRav Wosner. As Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, HaRav Amar forced all butcher stores to close on Shabbos and forced all municiple services, i.e. hospitals, schools, jails, etc., to use ONLY Gush Katif vegetables. These were and are major accomplishments and are still in effect. HaRav Amar is a true Torah powerhouse. Every word he says is Toras Emes.
Looking down at someone just because he happened to be born to a Non-Yiddishe mother is wrong. That is our biggest danger.
Of course they’re not M’chuyev in the same Mitzvohs as we are, but they deserve our love and caring, and our worrying for their well-being.
In this Zchus we can beg Hashem, to Never-Again bring on any hatred from the Nations towards us.
He is 100% correct. I heard the same thing from Rav Lau a couple years ago.
soooo how do we correct the jealousy and sinas chinum? what is the way to remove those feelings? part of that is also lashon hara
the most siliest talk ive ever heard, human nature will always be the way it is you cant go without food and you cant exist without interacting with other humans that is a fact and where there is interaction the result is friction. He is trying to tell us to change our materialistic ways but look at him what a beutiful office he has he can do theese things be materialistic but others should not be that is being hypocritica,l the rebbe should start with himself first look at the good side not the bad in life.
reply to #12 it is obvious you never learnt in yeshiva or ever learnt musser you are obviously missing the very foundations of yiddishkeit to say a jew cant overcome his natural desires and jealousy
Yuma Yerushalmi, 1st perek states that by the Bayis Sheini they were yigiyah b’Torah, they were zahir in the mitzvos and they had every good midah (Bavli states they were Gomlei Chessed), yet becuase of the aveira of sinas chinam, the Bais HaMikdash was destroyed to its utter foundation (unlike the 1st Bais HaMikdash which only it’s roof was destroyed) and we are in this bitter galus for so very long (2,000 years).
Yes, the same can be said about today. But as we have no Bais HaMikdash, the same gemara goes on to say that had it been here in our generation it would have been destroyed in our generation.
What a “Maaseh sahtahn” that he still dances among us. We have B”H many Batei Midrashim, many Shuls and schools, much Torah and Chessed, entire libraries of seforim, chumras that could never have been practiced so universally in the past as today, yet sinas chinam remains fully intact. Machlokes in every community, Bobov against Bobov, Satmar against Satmar, Ponevisch against Ponevisch, Ashkenaz against Sefardi, from against chiloni and chiloni against from. Yeshivish against Mizrachi, and the list goes on and on.
How mant seforim are there written about everything in Torah Yiddishkeit, yet how many are written about Sinas Chinam and Ahavas Yisroel? To my knowledge you have Ahavas Chessed and Shemiras HaLashon both by the Chofetz Chaim, yet the former is about the basics of being Gomlei Chessed and the second has still not made the necessary impact. It si clear from the gemara Yuma, that being a gomel chessed is not enough to prevent the aveira of sinas chinam from destroying all that is dear in Klal Yisroel.
Is it not a huge Maaseh Sahtahn that there is mussar shmoozim, seforim, and so many organizations for everything in Yiddishkeit, yet the very cause of our 2,000 year Galus is almost completely unspoken or written about ?!? Thank you Rav Amar for speaking out and please continue this discussion and get other Rabbanim to discuss the greatest problem of Klal Yisroel, the problem that began at the very beginning when Yosef’s brothers sold him into slavery under the rationalization that they were doing this “l’shem shomayim”. When will we learn?
Jews across the spectrum should pay attention to the way they behave to each other, there are so many differences of opinions now days, yet we see that in time of need we have the ability to tear down the walls and get tighter and ignore the divisions between us.
It is so sad that in an age where so much suffering is going on, that people are still so judgemental of other Jews (and non-Jews) and we find it so difficult to tolerate and accept those who behave and act differently.
There are various Jewish outlets that are increasingly addressing this alarming issue which has become such obstacle both in our lives and in the chinch of our kids; mediums like VIN and Mishpacha are doing the right thing to post stories like this one and we posters should also try and find a common approach on how to utilise it for the grater good of Klal Yisrael.
Ba’shomayim Mi-maa’l, Ve’Al Haa’aretz Mi-Tachas = When it comes to Shomayim, Ruchanius, our spiritual standing, we must look up at those that have more then us sprirtually. Ve-Al Haa’aretz, when it comes to Gashmius, physical and mundane items, we must look Mitochas, at those that have less then us, and thank hashem for what we have.
Anonymous, your quote is correct, your application of the concept is wrong. This quote refers to someone who knows better and knowingly chooses to do the wrong thing. This can only apply to a previously successful, frum from birth Ben Torah that goes off the derech. Chilonim are unquestionably considered Tinok Shenishba and this halachah does not apply to them. Rav Shvadron, the Maggid of Yerushalayim use to say it this way, “There are 2 types of Rishoim, a nebech rosho and an emesdik rosho. Chazal teach us that Hashem created the Yetzer Hora and the Torah tavlin, the Torah as the antidote to the yetzer hara. A chiloni has the yetzer hora but does not have the Torah tavlin. By definition he must be a rosho, but he is a nebech rosho becuase he does not know any better. An emedik rosho can only be found in a Jew who learned the Torah, was raised in a frum home and has every reason to have the Torah tavlin. If such a Jew chooses to do wrong, then he is an emesdik rosho!
the biggest danger to Israel,is the criminaly insane leftist self hating,arab loving,traitorous Israeli governments,they are a bigger danger to klall yisroel than Hussein Obama and all of the terrorist organizations combined
Rav Amar learned as a bochur in Kiryat Sanz at the yeshivas Maharshad that the klausenburger Rebbe Zy”a founded for sefardi bochurim in memory of his father-in-law, the Rav of Nitra.