LEV557 Maimonides summarizes various Talmudic passages and shows all the deleterious effects of someone who displays his or her anger. He says that the angry person [who] appears to be worshiping a different "God" loses his learning and wisdom at the moment of anger (if he is a prophet, he loses his prophecy), and loses his quality of life itself. Therefore, Maimonides strongly recommends that a person should constantly work on himself not to feel anger and not to react to those things that normally would generate anger. In this way, he becomes a righteous individual by accepting personal attacks without responding at all. In addition, he should strive to react to suffering with joy (Maimonides, Hilchot De'ot 2:3). Nevertheless, the Torah clearly says that a person should not hate another person "in his heart," to which the commentaries (such as Nachmanides) explain that if a person feels wronged and angry, he or she should not harbor that anger and hate inwardly, but rather confront the person (in a courteous manner) asking the offender to explain his or her behavior and letting the person know why one feels wronged [this verse with Nachmanides commentary]. This will ultimately engender more love, peace, and understanding, and remove anger (See chapter "Hatred in Judaism" for an expanded discussion of this issue). Thus, in this case we see that, if done in a civil manner, it is good for a person to express his or her feelings of anger to the one who is the object of that anger, and it is beneficial not to deny or hold these feelings inside of oneself. The Torah then understands that it is sometimes better to express one's angry feelings, but not in an angry way, if the goal is to dissipate them. That is why the Mishna, in describing four types of people, says that the best kind of person is someone who takes a very long time to become angry and then dissipates that anger quickly (and the worst is the opposite-someone who is very easily angered, who takes a very long time to calm down and forget his anger) (Mishna Avot 5:11). Thus, in Judaism, a person is judged by his or her reaction to anger and how he or she displays or does not display it, and not by the feeling itself.

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LEV567 The real voice of Judaism advises us (B.K. 93a; Shabb. 88a; Sanhed. 49a) "to be of those who are persecuted, not of those who persecute others; to be of those who are put to shame, not of those who shame others"; not to hate another even inwardly "in thy heart [this verse; Abot ii. 15]); to believe that all those who are righteous will have a share in the World to Come. Israel claims the distinction of being the "Chosen People" not because it regards the Torah as its exclusive possession but because it chose to accept that which other nations, who according to legend had received the offer first and had rejected it. Judaism prays for the time when the world will accept the Torah and walk along its paths of peace and righteousness (Isa. ii. 2-4; Micah iv. 1-5). "Before Thee, O Lord our God let them bow and fall; and unto Thy glorious name let them give honor; let them all accept the yoke of Thy Kingdom, and do Thou reign over them speedily, and for ever and ever" (Aleinu prayer, Singer's Prayer Book, p. 77).

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LEV570 We are forbidden to hate a fellow Jew. The Talmud (Erchin 16b) and Sifra state that this verse refers only to concealed hatred, for that is the most dangerous. If someone explicitly tells another person that he hates him, although he does not violate this prohibition, he does violate the commandment of "Love your fellow man." (Chinuch 237). A person should not think that only a violent feeling of animosity is prohibited, but a slight feeling of dislike is permitted. The Torah defines hatred in terms of the relation to a brother. Any lack of the feeling of brotherly love constitutes hatred. (Ohr Hachayim, on this verse). The Chofetz Chayim writes even if someone does not say or do anything against another person, but merely refuses to talk to him, he violates the prohibition against hating others. Moreover, for every second that one feels hatred toward another person, one violates this prohibition. (Ahavas Yisroel, ch. 2 and 4). The only way to repent for hating someone is by completely uprooting the feelings of hatred from your heart. (Ahavas Yisrael, ch. 5).

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LEV549 At times, one who speaks lashon hara also violates the prohibition of, לֹֽא־תִשְׂנָ֥א אֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ בִּלְבָבֶ֑ךָ, “Do not hate your brother in your heart" (Vayikra 19:17). For example, if one acts friendly toward a particular person while in his presence, but degrades that person to others behind his back, then speaker has violated this prohibition. All the more so if the speaker explicitly instructs the listeners not to tell the person what he said about him, then the speaker definitely transgresses this prohibition.

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LEV568 The renowned R. Meir had … trouble [with] bandits, outlaws, highwaymen in his neighborhood, and they distressed him greatly. He… reached a point at which he could bear them no more; and he cursed them and prayed for their death. Said his wife B'ruryah, noted in her own right for her piety and learning, "What gives you this idea? -- because it is written, 'Let sinners cease from the earth'? (Psalms 104:35). Is the word then hot'im, sinners? hata'im is written -- sins. Furthermore, go see the rest of the verse: 'and the wicked will no longer be.' Once sins are ended, there are no longer any wicked people. Then you should rather pray for them that they should repent." He besought mercy for them, and they did renounce their wickedness. (T.B. Berakoth 10a, readings in Dikduke Sof'rim). In point of fact, our Written Torah will not grant us the luxury of having personal enemies, people to dislike through mere whim or pique, or for the sake of having some handy targets for hate. "You shall not hate your brother in your heart" [this verse]. The only thing that merits our hate is sinfulness, wickedness that no longer entitles a man to be considered your brother. When someone makes wickedness and evil a permanent part of his character, regard him as an enemy. But then, notes the commentary Ruah Hayyim, we surely have no reason to be happy when such an "enemy" falls. For it may well be our fault that he has remained wicked and this brought about his fall. Why did we make no effort to rehabilitate him, to improve him and bring him to repentance?

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LEV559 See [[EXOD765]] Exodus 23:1 rumors LEHRMAN 39

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LEV572 Within the heart of man the issue is not merely "to love or not to love" but also "to love or to hate," for the repertoire of human feelings includes the very fierce and destructive negative emotion of hatred. Like its opposite, "love," the feeling of hatred has its roots in biology and represents a man's natural response to certain negative aspects of his situation which evoke in him fear or resentment or revulsion. Like the other emotions, hatred is clearly not all of one piece and is experienced as an entire range of feelings of varying intensities and nuances, from a mild dislike to a cold abhorrence to a raging, passionate detestation. But if hatred, like the other emotions, arises naturally in man, and God created man, then the emotion as such must be accepted as part of the grand design and as playing a needed and legitimate role within the life of man. The morality of Judaism does not condemn the emotion of hatred per se as evil but questions the uses to which it is put or who or what becomes the object of hate. Does the prompting of Jewish morality to love one's fellow man, as contained in the overlapping commands to "Love thy fellow man," and "Love the stranger," and "Love humanity," effectively preclude the legitimation of any sort of hatred for any man? It is interesting to note that Christianity imputes to the "Old Dispensation" the actual teaching of hatred of one's enemies: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,'… But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:43. The first point that must be made is that the original command to love one's fellow occurs in a set of sentences to which we are commanded not to hate [this and following verse]. While each of these commands is usually considered a separate injunction, they can be read in sequence as advice on how to approach one's enemy, personal or religious. A person has caused you harm or has offended you and the resentment has built up into hatred. You watch your neighbor mindlessly violate the sancta of Judaism and your indignation turns to hatred. The teaching of the Torah is: Do not permit the hatred to fester in your heart. Hate is toxic and if stored within tends to corrode the entire personality. Work through your hatred by "rebuking your neighbor." Tokhachah (reproof) is a process of confrontation and communication. Confront your neighbor and tell him how you have been hurt. Ask him why he is doing to you what appears to be wrong. Try to get him to see how wrong it is. Perhaps you can get him to change. In any event, "Do not bear sin upon him"; i.e., separate the sin, the evil deed, from the person (See Commentary of Abarbanel). As a result of your own verbalization, in which you clarify the true source of the wrong, the hatred can now be vented upon the evil deed rather than the person or can be confined to the evil within the person. ... Having treated the emotion of hatred, the Torah goes on to say that certainly, in no way, should these feelings be permitted to manifest themselves in overt acts of vengeance. On the contrary, you must treat the person you once hated the way you treat yourself--with forgiveness, with indulgence, and with actions denoting benevolence and love.

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LEV552 But if he sees in him something indecent, it is permitted to hate him. R. Nachman B. Yitzchak said: It is a mitzvah to hate him, as it is written (Proverbs 8:13): "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Pesachim 113b)

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LEV551 Biblical ethics reach their highest level with the commandment "You shall not hate your fellow person in your heart," which concludes with "love your neighbor as yourself" (this and next verse). The general trend of social ethics was summed up by the Jewish prophets who said, "Hate evil and love goodness" and "God has told you what is good, and what is required of you: do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). An excellent summation of biblical ethical teachings is contained in the well-known saying of Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to another" (Talmud Shabbat 31a).

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LEV576 The prohibited hate is the kind which is "in the heart" [this verse]. Hate can find an outlet in violent reactions, or it can remain quiescent in the heart. A prohibition of overt acts is feasible. However, what is the practical effect of a divine prohibition of an emotion? How can one control his heart to exclude from it an instinctive reaction of hate? Hate is part of man's psyche and will not disappear because it is outlawed. The rabbinical answer to these questions amended the scope of the prohibition of hate. In the opinion of the rabbis, the phrase "in my heart" changes the framework of the prohibition. In effect, the principal aim of the verse is to warn against keeping a grudge bottled up "in the heart," i.e., one must not keep his grudge secret. "Thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor." A discussion of one's grievance is therapeutic and desirable. The rabbis regarded as particularly reprehensible any pretense of "business as usual," and needless to say an appearance of friendship, at a time when one bears a grudge in his heart (Bereshit Rabbah 84). The new interpretation stresses the need for purging one's hate rather than prohibiting the initial experience of hate.

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