Questions for today:
How does our understanding of loving everyone, no matter what, fit with the strict approach we see often, seemingly denigrating people for sinning?
There is a popular quote from King Solomon, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”
However, this translation is not accurate. King Solomon actually wrote that if you spare the rod, you hate your child.
If we love someone, we want what's best for them. Therefore, if we love someone so much, we have to be willing to help them improve, even if it makes us feel a little uncomfortable.
With that perspective, today the Tanya adds to what we said yesterday about loving everybody regardless of their spiritual level or their level of observance.
The Tanya quotes a Talmud that says that if you see a person sin, you should hate them.
How can this be?
The Tanya explains that we are not only talking about somebody who we know well enough to know his intentions, but also about someone with whom we share such a close relationship that our discomfort will actually help lift them up to improve.
Most importantly, the Tanya says that regardless of the obligation to feel uncomfortable because of someone’s bad deed, the obligation to love them still stands. Not only this, this obligation actually increases because of the sympathy that we have for them as they fight to overcome his struggle.
Tanya book 1, Ch 32, Pt 2
We learned that we must love everyone, regardless of observance - but the Talmud seems to teach us that if we see someone sin, we need to hate them?
When we read carefully, the Talmud is very specific. This is a very focused obligation only for someone that we can lift up through our actions. Regardless, the hating only applies to the bad deed. The obligation to love the full person applies simultaneously.
Study today’s Tanya in full:
https://www.chabadmed.com/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tdate=2/27/2022
See today’s video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgxWcGJeyLU&list=PLFZQPK6u-zSBls9Hwx3P5vKIBRnjBvHe&index=82