Amidst the troubling images of protest, disunity and turmoil coming from Israel this week as the Knesset voted in the first Judicial reform legislation, there was a brief, but quite literally touching, moment captured ​​​​​at Jerusalem's Yitzhak Navon Train Station. The clip quickly went viral on Israeli social media.  

Those who had been at the massive anti-reform demonstration in Tel Aviv were descending the long escalators to the platforms, and those coming from the huge pro-reform rally in Jerusalem were ascending. Each side, adorned with Israeli flags and their own chants, entered the escalators headed in different directions. One group up. The other down.  

As the two sides headed in different directions, something beautiful happened: people began reaching out across the divider and shaking hands of those passing on the opposite escalator.  Their simple gesture of friendship and brotherhood reminds us in the face of disagreement the importance of stepping back and appreciating what we have and what could be lost.

A message just as much relevant here in the United States, than in Israel. A message just as relevant in our own personal lives, than as we react to national and global events.  

Yesterday was Tisha B'Av, a major day of communal mourning on the Jewish calendar where we remember the destruction of both Temples that once stood in Jerusalem as well as other tragedies that have befallen our people over the course of history. Our tradition teaches that the Second Temple was destroyed due to sinat chinam, or baseless hatred.  Our destruction lay not at the hands of the Roman superpower, but rather at the feet of our own internal strife between various factions. We understand that hatred can destroy a temple, can destroy a nation and can destroy a community.  

The first Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook taught that if the Second Temple was destroyed due to sinat chinam, then the Exile will end through the act of ahavat chinam, baseless love.

The antidote to hate is love. Acting out of baseless love would mean that we treat all people with the same respect and deference, equally caring for human needs, listening to those whose perspectives are different with an attitude of humility, seeking understanding. It would mean reaching beyond the escalator divide.    ​​​​​​​

Shabbat Shalom,
Eric Maurer
Executive Director 
emaurer@ujcvp.org