Chafetz Chayim

Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael

"

Kuntres

Ahavat Yisrael

by the Chafetz Chayim ZTL

English translation entitled
Mazal Elul

Translators note:
The Chafetz Chayim teaches that galut is a kapparah for the
arrogance of Lashon Hara and that Lashon Hara is a result of the
baseless hatred that exists in society. Today it is obvious that the
galut has gone on too long and is much too bitter. Learning the
words of the Chafetz Chayim and practicing what we learn will
demonstrate to HaKadosh Baruch Hu our intense desire to end
the galut and bring the geulah now.


"

In honor of our parents

Mr. and Mrs. Ike Mishan

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Faham
By their children

Mr. and Mrs. Yaakov Mishan

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
Forward and Introduction

Forward and Introduction to the Chafetz

Chayims ZTL Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
Shavuot 5769 marked three years since I visited the grave of the
holy Chafetz Chayim in Radin to pray for the life of our daughter
Mazal AH. The trip was eight days of uninterrupted Chessed
extended by HaKadosh Baruch Hu to me through his agents,
primarily Rabbi Shneor Deutsch in Minsk, Rav Efrayim Babbi
in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Eliyahu Barry in Bayit VeGan and Rabbi
and Mrs. Moshe Dickman in Har Nof. At each step of the trip
no, even before the step was taken there was an outpouring of
unrelenting Tov and Chessed that exemplified the Ahavat Yisrael
that has been the signature of the Jewish people from its very
inception. ' How can I repay for all
of the bounty that He bestows on me (Tehilim 117:12). Thank
you, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, for guiding us throughout our lives
and bestowing on us all of lifes blessings.
This modest pamphlet representing the English translation of
the holy Chafetz Chayims ZTL Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael is
dedicated to the memory of our daughter, Mazal AH bat Yedidya
and Frieda, '' '' ''. Mazal was an oasis in life that
exemplified Ahavat Yisrael. Friends, sometimes strangers would
instinctively turn to her with their anxieties and troubles. She
would listen to them with exuberance and charm, with wit and
an insightful sensitivity that would peel away their sadness and
leave them feeling good about themselves for having confided
in her. Mazal was the embodiment of the unconditional love for
others, the that Hashem asks of all of us.
In this Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael the Chafetz Chayim ZTL
addresses the primary reason for nearly 2,000 years of our
prolonged Galut; an arrogance-driven baseless hatred spawned

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
Forward and Introduction

by jealousy has given rise to the Lashon Hara and Rechilut,

which on a national level has stopped the advent of our Geulah
and the arrival of our righteous Mashiach, and on a personal level
can even cause the death of the speakers young children. This
\ baseless hatred can manifest itself in any one of four
different reasons for hating another Jew, each of which is refuted
by the Chafetz Chayim ZTL. The cure for this sickness is
studying and internalizing the Chafetz Chayims ZTL responses
proving why there is no basis to hatred and then removing all
hatred from ones heart. The outcome of loving ones fellow Jew
and learning Torah is the advent of Geulah and the arrival of our
righteous Mashiach.
Id like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the Chofetz
Chaim Heritage Foundation in combating and fostering
. In particular Id like to express my thanks to Mrs.
Esther Mohr of the CCHF for encouraging us to translate this
Kuntres, to Rabbi Yosef Baraka for his review of the text, to
Rav Efrayim Babbi for his meticulous text rendering and page
layout, to David Benoliel for his tasteful artwork and to our
wonderful and generous supporters who funded this publication.
May Hashem bless us all with the fulfillment of our goal and the
arrival of Mashiach, quickly in our time, Amen.
Yedidya Levy
17 Eyyar 5769
Mazal Elul Congregation
Brooklyn, NY

'
,

.

, ,
( ") : ,
( "
, ,
")" : " .
, .
' . ,
,
[ ] : ?
' , . .
.

( " ') : ,
, . ,
, , .
( " ")" : '
'" , ' .


,

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
1st chapter

Chafetz Chayim

Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael

1st chapter
An explanation of the enormity of the sin of
Baseless Hatred.
Our Authorities have written on the subject of the Lav (the
prohibitive mitzvah) of Do not hate your fellow Jew (secretly)
in your heart as follows (Sefer Mitzvot Hashem, Lav #142): the
prohibitive mitzvah not to secretly hate a Kosher Jew, as the
pasuk states (Vayikrah 19:17) Do not hate your brother in your
heart, is a specific warning not to even secretly hate a fellow Jew.
But one who hits his fellow Jew or curses him does not violate
this specific mitzvah. And if one Jew does something wrongful
to another Jew, he (the victim) should not keep it buried in his
heart and remain quiet. Rather, there is a mitzvah incumbent
upon him to approach him (the aggressor) and say to him (in
a gentle tone) Why did you do such and such to me, and then
erase the incident from his heart as though it never happened.
This halacha applies in all places and at all times. End quote.
Now, within the category of your brother is every Jew, as this
concept is stated in Avot DeRebbe Natan (15th perek): Do not say
I like this Jew and this one I hate; I love Chachamim and hate those
who are ignorant. Rather, love all of them and hate the heretics.
So too does David HaMelech say (Tehilim 139:21) Those who
hate You, Hashem, I hate, etc. The definition of a heretic is one
who repudiates Hashems Torah and His providence.
When one thinks very carefully about this and delves into the
consequences of this bitter sin, he will realize \ conclude that
in secretly fostering hate one invokes a spirit of defilement

. ,
, .
, (
" ')" :
" .
" (
.
' :): ,
. ,
,
.
, .
,
.

, ,
. ,

, . ,
, . ,
, ,
.
,
.

,

8

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
1st chapter

onto oneself. Now, it is commonly known that each limb that

implements a mitzvah has imbued that limb with a force \ a spirit
of sanctity, and so necessarily as one fulfills all of the mitzvot the
entire body of this man becomes sanctified. The pasuk expresses
this as (Bamidbar 15:30) In order that you will remember and
fulfill all of My mitzvot and become sanctified to your G-d. But
in a contrary sense, in committing sins a force of defilement is
invoked on that limb, as Chazal have said (Gemara Ketubot 5b)
Man should not listen with his ears to nonsensical things because
they are the first of him limbs that are burned. Their (Chazals)
intent is that by merely listening to things that are forbidden one
envelops over his ears a spirit of Tumah and at some point in the
future his ears will be the first of his limbs to burn. So too each
individual limb \ organ that implements a sin will be enveloped
by \ in a spirit of defilement. This is not the place to elaborate on
this subject, as we have found that this applies to every limb and
organ of a person.
Now, all of this is relevant to those organs \ limbs that are not
life-critical. Even though their loss is extraordinarily great,
nevertheless, how much even more profound is the loss when
this spirit of impurity envelops an organ that is critical to life,
such as the heart, that a mans life is entirely dependant on his
heart. If the heart is missing from a man, he is considered as
being dead. And so regarding this bitter sin of baseless hatred,
whose essence originates in the feelings of ones heart, one will
instill in his heart a force of defilement, and since it is critical to
his life then necessarily this force of defilement will flow into all
of the organs of his body.
Apart from this being a spiritual punishment imposed on this man,
it is very likely that because of this sin, G-d forbid, this person
will experience horrible punishments in his lifetime. The Gemara
Shabbat (32b) relates that because of the sin of baseless hatred,
conflict \ argumentation, will occur within his own house, and
his wife will miscarry her pregnancy, and his sons and daughters
will die at a young age. We see how many terrible things happen
which are caused by this man to himself as a consequence of this

, (" :): -
, ,
.
. ,
,
, ,
, ,
. ,
, ?!
,
, .

10

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
1st chapter

bitter sin. Now, if someone were to approach this mans young

son and hit him, this man would fight him and battle with him
and hate him with a deadly hatred. But this man himself is the
cause of the death of his son and he does not pay any attention at
all to it and he does not give any thought at all to the far reaching
consequences of his own sin. Woe unto this man! Woe unto
his soul! Where is his mind, and where is his thinking, that he
himself was the cause of all this?!
Therefore, one must be very, very careful to avoid this sin, and
stay distant from it with all of his spirit and soul, and in so doing it
will be good for him here in this world and there in Olam Haba.

11

'
,
,
.

( ' :): ?
: , ,
. ,
, ?
. ,
: , , .
, ,

, ,
,
.
,
,
,
.
, ,
.
,
. ,
.
12

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
2nd chapter

Chafetz Chayim

Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael

2nd chapter
An explanation of the far-reaching consequences
of this sin of baseless hatred and how strict the
Torah is in this regard.
The Gemara Yomah (9b) asks Why was the first Beit HaMikdash
destroyed? (Answer) For three reasons that were prevalent in
that time: The worship of idol gods, illicit forbidden relations
and murder. Yet during the epoch of the second Beit HaMikdash
society learned Torah and fulfilled mitzvot and extended kindness
to each other and so why was it destroyed? (Answer) Because
of the baseless hatred that prevailed in those times. This lesson
comes to instruct us that baseless hatred is equivalent to the three
sins of idol worship, adultery and murder.
In our prayers and requests (supplications), and especially in our
Musaf prayers, we ask for the re-building of the Beit HaMikdash.
Each day we yearn for it, and yet we pay no attention to the
primary barrier to the reconstruction of our Beit HaMikdash. If
this bitter sin of baseless hatred has the power to obliterate our
Beit Mikdash, even though Torah and kindliness were prevalent
in that society, then how so very obvious is it that this sin can
cause the prevention of its being rebuilt in our times, unless we
strengthen ourselves with all of our might to move away from
this sin and remove the hatred that is stored within our hearts,
since because of our many sins, this sin has spread and penetrated
into every nook and corner, in big cities and in small towns, and
unless we dont give careful thought to fixing what we ruined,
then we will, G-d forbid, rot in this Exile and we will yet be

13

, :)
,
[ , ] .
,
.
, .
, ,
, ,
, .
.
, ,
.
) ,
,

. :
, " " ,
( " ")" :
" .
. ,
. ,
. , "
( " :). ? :
14

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
2nd chapter

held accountable for Heavens glory which has become reviled

because of us during this bitter Exile.
We will now explain why this sin is so much more devastating
than any other sin: In regard to all other sins it is uncommon to
find that one is in violation of it at every single moment (unless
this man is completely irreligious, Heaven save us, but regarding
the sin of baseless hatred, one is in violation of it at every single
moment). At a time when hatred is aroused within his heart,
and on occasion this man remains with his hatred for a month
or a year or longer, the Laveen are redoubled and are endlessly
compounded. Just as when a disease is resident within a person,
as long as it has not become entrenched there is hope for the
doctor to cure him. But that is not so if the disease has spread
throughout his body over an extended period of time, then it
would be very, very difficult to affect a cure. So too in regard to
our soul. If this sin of baseless hatred is rooted in his heart, then
G-d forbid there is no cure for him. Man must strive very, very
hard not to allow this sin to take root in his heart.
This sin is much more serious than other sins because it
provokes man to commit many other sins, namely, controversy
\ argumentation, Lashon Hara, Rechilut, abusive language,
embarrassing language, slander and on occasion actual murder.
The Sifri1 expresses this as A man violates the Lav of (Shemot
20:3) Do not murder, as the pasuk states (Devarim 19:11) And
if there is a man who hates his fellow Jew and ambushes him and
rises up against him and hits him with a mortal blow (and he
dies). So too was the murder of Hevel an outcome of Kayins
baseless hatred. The lesson to be learned is that all of the worlds
sufferings begin with and at their core is baseless hatred.
More than this, come and see how stringent the Torah is regarding
the Lav of senseless hatred. In regard to the commandment not
1. The Sifri in commentary on perashat Ki Tehtzeh (Devarim 22:13): A man
who violates the Lav of Do not hate your fellow Jew will ultimately
violate the Lav of (Shemot 20:3) Do not murder.

15

, : . : ,
: , , ,
. ,
, , , ,
, ( ),
.
( " ,):
, ,
, ' , .
,
, .
,
. ,
. " ,
, ,
. ,
, ,
.
,
, .
' ,
, ,
,
,.

16

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
2nd chapter

to hold a grudge about which Chazal have defined not holding

a grudge as If one asks his friend Lend me your shovel and
he responds No. the next day the friend asks him Lend
me your scythe and he responds Here it is, I am not like you
who would not lend it to me (and he proceeds to lend him the
article) this is the definition of begrudging. We see that even
if he does lend him the requested article, if he merely says to him
I am not like you, who would not lend it to me, this person is in
violation of the Lav of Do not hold a grudge since he discloses
the hatred against his fellow Jew that is hidden within his heart.
Moreover, it is brought down in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 27b) that
if as a result of some incident, someone who does not speak to
his fellow Jew for three days out of a sense of animosity is called
an enemy and is disqualified from sitting in judgment of him
(either as a witness or as a judge) and this is the unanimous
opinion of both Chachamim and Rebbe Yehudah. Please study
that reference. Now, it is very common to find among people
that because of some minor incident between them, each will
have a complaint against the other even though actual hatred is
not evident between them; nevertheless, they dont want to meet
together. In the common language of society this is called not
seeing eye to eye. But truthfully from the Gemara cited, as we
see that he (each one of them) is called an enemy and they
are in violation of the Lav of Do not hate your brother in your
heart. Therefore an must think carefully in this regard, since it
is possible that because of a minor incident he can stumble into
this profoundly serious sin which is awesomely frightful.
What concludes from our words is We must very, very much
see to it to remedy this bitter sin which is the main reason for
our prolonged Exile. The Good G-d will instill in our hearts a
mindset to expel this hatred from our hearts so that other people
will not be jealous of us and we should not be jealous of other
people. In so doing we will merit the arrival of our Righteous
Mashiach and the rebuilding of our Beit Mikdash, quickly in our
time, Amen.

17

'
.

.

,
.
, ,
, .
) , '
, ,' .
, .
) , ,
,
,
.
) , ,
.
, , ,
. .

18

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
3rd chapter

Chafetz Chayim

Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael

3rd chapter
The reasons that are the cause of baseless hatred.
Now we will explain the reasons why people develop a baseless
hatred of their fellow Jew. The common hatred among us evolves
from various reasons and we will explain them one by one.
First among these reasons that provoke this sin is jealousy, that
someone is jealous of another person for various reasons, as I
will now explain. There are those people who are jealous of
their fellow Jew because of the wealth and possessions bestowed
on them by G-d, and whatever this man does, G-d makes him
successful. And so these people are jealous of this man and that
jealousy will bring them to hate him.
On occasion one will find that one craftsman who is an expert
in his craft, and is renowned and praised as an expert in his
profession other craftsmen will be jealous of him and will hate
him because they believe he is stealing away their livelihood.
By virtue of his fellow Jew being more honored than he, it is very
hard for him to see his fellow Jew receiving honor. And even if
he also is running after honor, however the honor will run away
from him and in place of honor he will cause himself humiliation;
and so he hates him with the utmost hatred.
On occasion it is common to find that someone possesses very
fine character traits and is respected and praised by all. Even
though this observer knows he lacks those same fine character
traits, nevertheless, he views this person with a jaundiced eye
because of the praise given him and his virtues.

19

)
. ,
,
.
,

, ,
, .
,
; ,
: ,
, , ,
, ,
.
.
. ,
,
,
.
. ,
, .
,
. ,
. ,
,
20

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
3rd chapter

All of these things can bring a person to the point of baseless

hatred. However, here I will explain how all of these reasons are
based completely on lies and that there is no basis for anyone to
hate his fellow Jew for any of these reasons.
In refutation of the first reason, which is the jealousy that one
has for his fellow Jew because of his wealth it is commonly
known by all that HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives man wealth in
one of two ways; either because it is revealed and known before
Him that this person is a good, compassionate man and with the
wealth that is given to him by Hashem Yitbarach he will do good
things and extend kindness to people who are impoverished and
depressed. This person is characterized by the title of Hashems
appointed administrator to manage \ disburse the wealth given
to him by HaKadosh Baruch Hu for the benefit of impoverished
people. This mode of wealth is for the benefit of this person.
However, on occasion, there is a mode of wealth that is retained
by the Reshaim for their detriment, meaning, this person is filled
with sins, both unintentional and intentional, and because he did
a few mitzvot HaKadosh Baruch Hu pays him his reward in his
lifetime in order to exclude him from Olam Haba, and in the
end this mans wealth will perish in some bad way. This type
of wealth is entirely to the detriment of this man. When man
thinks carefully about this matter he will realize by himself that
one should not hate his fellow Jew because of his wealth because
there is no substance to being jealous. The acquisition of wealth
in the framework of a good mode is conditional on ones good
character traits, and this person knows that he does not posses
these good traits and if he would be wealthy, then with absolute
certainty he would not be using his money appropriately in
distributing Tzedakah and kindliness to the poor. And regarding
this alternate bad mode, assuredly there can be no jealousy
when it becomes apparent to him that he is consuming his Olam
Haba here in exchange for this fleeting world. Chazal have since
said in Avot (4:17) One moment of pleasure in Olam Haba is
better than all of the pleasures of life in this world. That being

21

. "
") :
. , ,
.

('

, ,

, " ( "' :):
' ,
, ,
,
, ,
.
,
, ,
, ;
( ' ,' ') " : " ,
, .
, ,
, ,
. ,
.
,
, ,

22

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
3rd chapter

so, then it is clear that this is not a reason to be jealous of ones

fellow Jew.
In refutation of the second argument that this person hates his
fellow Jew because he is a better craftsman than himself, and
because of that he blames his fellow Jew for taking away his
livelihood, our Chazal have since said (Gemara Yomah 38b)
that it is not possible for any person to encroach even one hairs
breadth on the standard of living decreed for him on Rosh
Hashanah. The livelihood that he was to acquire by virtue of
his work will be acquired without difficulty or suffering, since
whatever was decreed for him by HaKadosh Baruch Hu is
impossible for another man to take away from him. When one
recalls this teaching of Chazal his hatred for his fellow Jew will
certainly disappear.
In refutation of the third argument, that on occasion one will
hate his fellow Jew because he is more respected by society than
himself, man must clearly understand that with absolute certainty
this other person earned all of that respect. The pasuk has since
stated (Shemuel 1 2:30) I will give honor to those who honor
Me. If this person was not esteemed in the eyes of G-d, he
would not be esteemed in the eyes of society, and necessarily he
will invoke degradation onto himself if he attempts to degrade
that other person. Everyone respects \ honors this fellow Jew, and
all of the degradation that he attempts to impose on his fellow
Jew will be imposed on himself since Heaven will do to him
precisely what he wanted to do to his fellow Jew.
In refutation of the fourth argument, that he hates his fellow Jew
because he is jealous of his virtues and his good character traits
this is an incomparable foolishness. What harm did his fellow
Jew do to him if Hashem graced him with a pleasant personality,
and most certainly he earned that merit from Heaven. In this
context there is no basis at all for hating him.

23

, , '
, .
.
, ,

" , , ,
.

24

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
3rd chapter

In conclusion, we have reviewed all of the contrived reasons

cited above that would bring a person to hate his fellow Jew,
and if man simply thinks carefully about what weve said and
believes in the words of Chazal, then he himself will realize that
all of the reasons are lies and nonsense, and so there is no basis at
all to hate his fellow Jew.

25

'
,
.

, ( " ') " : '

" . , ( ' ')" :
'" . ( ' ') " :
' " . ( " ') " : '
" .
. ,
' .
. :
,
. ,
, .
. ,
.
, ?
,

26

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
4th chapter

Chafetz Chayim

Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael

4th chapter
An explanation of the extent of careful thought
one must give to remove this hatred from his
heart.
Every Jewish man believes in the thirteen principles of our faith
and is certainly included as being a part of Hashems nation,
and is beloved by G-d, as the pasuk states (Malachi 1:2) I love
you, says G-d. Moreover, it is written (Devarim 7:8) because
of Hashems love for you, and also (Devarim 14:1) you are
the children to Hashem your G-d, and many other expressions
of endearment in comparable pesukim that instruct us in the
enormous love that Hashem Yitbarach has for the Jewish people.
That being so, how can a man consciously turn his soul to hate
someone who is beloved by Hashem? With absolute assurity
HaKadosh Baruch Hu will have complaints against him because
of this. By way of a parable, it is in the personality of every
father to love his son with an intense love, and all of mans
efforts are only for the benefit of his children who follow after
him. And when he encounters someone who hates his children
he will have a great complaint against that man. So too in our
discussion. Whoever harbors hatred against his fellow Jew, with
absolute certainty HaKadosh Baruch Hu has a complaint against
him, and who is the person who is so mindless and foolish as to
want invoked on himself the complaint of Hashem Yitbarach? If
a mortal complaint is difficult to dismiss, how much even more
so is it practically impossible to dismiss it if comes from the

27

,
.
,
. : -
. - . -
. - . - .
, ,
,
, ( " ")" :
" . .
, ,
,
,
.
( " ")" : ",
?
,
.
,
, : ?
.
, ,
.
, ,
28

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
4th chapter

King of kings, HaKadosh Baruch Hu; one has to be very, very

careful to avoid this.
Apart from all of this, it is well known that every single limb
and organ has a purpose which is unique to it. For example,
a mouth to eat food; teeth to chew food; ears to hear; a
tongue to speak; a heart to think thoughts. Now, if it should
happen that someone sees his fellow Jew using his teeth to chew
nonkosher meat from morning until night, most assuredly he
would be disgusted by that, since the text proclaims and states
(Vayikrah 18:24) Do not become defiled by all of these things
and he purposefully defiles himself with these things. How can
he not pay attention at all to his fellow Jew who hates someone
baselessly. The heart was created to think pure and holy thoughts,
and this man is cultivating in his heart evil thoughts against his
fellow Jew from morning to night. This is a hatred that is stored
and festering in his heart \ mind, yet the pasuk protests against
this, saying (Vayikrah 19:17): Do not hate your brother in your
heart; and why is this any different than eating meat that is
nonkosher? Just as by eating forbidden foods one defiles ones
mouth, so too by virtue of hatred one defiles ones heart.
Regarding one who is insightful, if the Yetzer Hara comes to
seduce him to hate his fellow Jew, one must rebuke him to his face
and say to him: What is wrong with you, that you are constantly
running after me, persuading me to hate my fellow Jew. For
every single moment that you are inserting hatred into my heart
against my fellow Jew you are literally putting pig into my mouth.
And despite that fact that you are trying to convince me to hate
him, I will not for any reason be convinced by you to hate him
because it is crystal clear to me that he did nothing wrong to me.
You want to trap me to be suspicious of people who are kosher,
but your provocations have the exact opposite result, and now I
have an enormous complaint against you and in fact it is you that
I hate with a passionate hatred for wanting to instill within me
a hatred for my neighbor, Reuven. You are a bigger enemy of
mine more than you are an enemy of his because you are causing
me to be hated and despised in the esteem of Hashem, since for

29

,
, . ,
,
,
. ,
, ' .
, ,
. ,
' ,
. ,
, ,
,
.
,
.
, ,
, ,
. ( ' ')" :
" , " ,
.
, ' .
,
, , ,
.
30

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
4th chapter

every single moment that I hated him I would be violating the

sin of Do not hate your fellow Jew in your heart which is an
exceedingly profound sin. I know you are a liar and when you
see that that I want to fulfill any mitzvah of Hashem you come
with many different reasons and try to persuade me to abandon
that mitzvah, or in an opposite sense, if I am confronted by a sin
and I dont want to commit it, you also come with many different
reasons and show me leniencies to commit that sin. If not for the
fact of Hashem Yitbarachs kindness in allowing me to overcome
you many times, you could have caused me to become rooted in
an uncountable number of sins.
What evolves from these words is that after being tested over a
long period of time, and after a self-examination of the bad things
I did, I realized that it is you yourself who caused me to do these
things. The text identifies this as (Beresheet 4:7) and to you
(mankind) is his (the Yetzer Haras) desire. Rashi there explains
this as The Yetzer Hara (human nature)2 constantly desires and
tries different ways to trap you. And going forward from today I
have no complaints or hatred for my fellow Jew Hashem should
bless him in all of his matters. Most assuredly, if one focuses on
these words, he can be assured that he will not be caught in the
net of his Yetzer Hara and all hatred will leave his heart. These
words of blessing that he expressed for his fellow Jew will come
and annul his prior thoughts of hatred.

2. Rabbi Yehudah Davis ZTL, as quoted by his son in law, Rabbi Shlomo
Diamond, Shlitah.

31

'
.

, ,
,
. ,
, ,
, .
, ,
, ,
.
.
, ,
, ,
, .
" ( " :): ,
.
" ( ' ') : ,
.
, : ,

32

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
5th chapter

Chafetz Chayim

Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael

5th chapter
Methods by which one will be able to remedy the
sin of baseless hatred.
First and foremost one must remove hatred from his heart, and
with that his soul will be purified of the sin of baseless hatred.
Only then will he be able to make a vidduy and thus he will be
atoned \ forgiven for his sin. Just as in the sin of theft, for as
long as he has not returned to the victim the item stolen the sin is
not atoned and even the day of Kippur will not atone for him, so
too the sin of baseless hatred. As long as he has not completely
removed the hatred from his heart he cannot make a vidduy (he
is disqualified from being able to make a vidduy) and he does
not have atonement for this sin. And even if he verbalizes many
vidduyim, they are all meaningless and it is as if he is immersing
himself in a mikveh (to purifiy himself) while he is still holding a
Sheretz (a dead crawling thing that is an object of defilement)
in his hand (and the immersion is meaningless).
Moreover, a person should accustom himself to judge his fellow
Jew favorably and search for reasons to favorably justify all of the
actions of his fellow Jew; perhaps he did that action accidentally
\ unintentionally, or perhaps he is remorseful for what he did, or
something comparable, then his hatred will automatically leave
his heart. Chazal have said (Gemara Shabbat 127b) One who
judges his friend favorably will in turn be judged favorably by
Heaven.
Chazal have further said (Avot 2:4) Dont judge your fellow
Jew until you are in his position. On occasion someone will

33

,
,
, ,
. ,
,
. ,
, ,
, ,
, ,
,
, ,
.
, ,
, .
" ( ' ')' : ',
, . ,
.

,
, ,

.

, ,
34

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
5th chapter

ask a favor from a friend, for example, to lend him money

and his friend did not grant the request. One should not become
accustomed to judging him unfavorably and conclude his refusal
to grant the favor was an outcome of his bad personality. Rather,
one must inquire of him if he has the resources to extend a loan
since it is very common to find that the conduct of his family is
to live a comfortable lifestyle and so everyone believes that he
is wealthy and prestigious. But truthfully his financial position
is very tenuous yet he is forced to live at that high standard of
living either because he does not want to change the image of his
business by appearing to be stingy, or because his creditors would
pounce on him to get their money if they found out that he lost
his wealth, or because they would not extend any credit to him,
or because his sons and daughters have reached an age when they
must be married off and he does not want them to become known
as being poor, or for any one of various other reasons for which
he would not be able to grant this request. Man must examine
himself introspectively, what would he do in that same situation
and if he would do any better than him. This is the intent of this
statement of Chazal until you are in his position, meaning, in
his position in life. If man continually evaluates his friend with
this thought in mind then he will always judge his fellow Jew
favorably and give him the benefit of the doubt.
With these brief words I have only scratched the surface of this
subject in explaining the enormity of the sin of baseless hatred
and the means for rectifying it. However, the insightful person
who wants to think more carefully about how he conducts his life
will find many more techniques by which he can arouse himself
\ encourage himself to remove baseless hatred from his heart and
love his fellow Jew as he loves himself.
My friends and brothers, now that we know that the sin which
is the primary reason for the destruction of our holy temple and
the cause of our prolonged exile is the baseless hatred that one
person has for another, therefore, when we desire and yearn for
the reconstruction of our Beit HaMikdash we are obligated to
first fix what we ourselves destroyed. With that very same action

35

,
. ,
,
. -
. " ( ") :
, .

, ,
,
. " ",
" " ( ") .
' '' , ( " ') " :
' " .
,
, ,
, '
'.

,

.

"' : , ' ,
. , ,
, ,
36

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
5th chapter

that we sinfully committed, we must now use it to remedy what

we destroyed. Chazal have expressed this concept as (Midrash
Rabbah Vayikrah, 21st perasha) If a man committed bundles of
sins, he should now make bundles of mitzvot to rectify them.
The cure for this sin is that everyone should work to sincerely
love every single Jew, physically by extending kindliness, and
financially, and be respectful of his friends honor, and protect his
friends wealth just as he is careful to protect his own honor and
his own wealth. Regarding this the Torah admonishes us in the
mitzvah of (Vayikrah 19:18) loving your fellow Jew as you love
yourself, as the Rambam ZTL has written (Hilchot DeAut, 6th
perek, 5th halacha). It is not for nothing that we are identified by
the title: a part of Hashem, as the pasuk states (Devarim 32:9)
for Hashems portion is His people, Yaakov is the lot of His
inheritance (meaning, the measure of His bond)3. Apart from
this we must clearly understand that this issue of causing peace
between two contending Jews is one of the qualities that allows
man to enjoy an ancillary reward for that mitzvah in his lifetime
while the primary reward is retained for him in Olam Haba, as
this concept is brought down in the Maschet Peah (1:1).
Now, truthfully, man must be carefully introspective and
understand that his Yetzer Hara is seducing him every day
to obscure from him an understanding of the enormity of the
goodness and kindliness of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and to give
praise to Him for all of that goodness.
Chazal have said (Avot 6:6) Who is a Chacham (meaning, what
is the definition of a Chacham?) One who understands his place,
meaning, his status. The intent of this teaching is that one who
is not wise can be deceived by his Yetzer Hara to convince him
that he is prestigious and that he fulfills the Torah since the world
3. . : The word , which sometimes translates as lot can
also be translated as rope. In this context the Midrash Beresheet
Rabbah (67:12) relates that a rope with three strands cannot be easily
broken. Yaakov, the third of our forefathers, embodies the threefold bond
between Israel and G-d that cannot be broken.

37

,
, , ,
,
. ,
. ,
- ,
,
,
(
. ,
" ")" : " .
, ,
? , ,
, ,
,
.
, ,
, .

38

Chafetz Chayim
Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael
5th chapter

considers him as being a scholar and G-d fearing and as someone

who upholds the Torah and its mitzvot. But if this person himself
is introspective, he will find many mitzvot which he violates
every day and pays no attention to fulfilling them. So too in
the realm of Laveen which he violates and pays no attention to
them to remedy them. A very useful outcome can result from this
introspection, because if he himself understands himself honestly
he will lose his sense of arrogance and he will be pleased with
what HaKadosh Baruch Hu has bestowed on him; whether in the
realm of influence or in the realm of being respected. In all of
his activities he will acknowledge that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is
guiding him with His attribute of Kindliness. With this thought
we can now well understand the pasuk (Tehilim 145:16) Open
your hand and He will satisfy the want of all of Creation. There
are many men who are astounded by this pasuk. How can one
say that He will satisfy the want of all of Creation (Midrash
Kohelet Rabbah 1:34) since we know that man will die without
having attained half of what he wants. But based on what we
have explained the answer is very obvious. The reason being that
man himself does not know himself to know what he wants, and
so it seems to him that based on his actions it is appropriate to be
rewarded with more and more of the materialism of this world
without diminishing the reward he will receive in Olam Haba.
However, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, who knows and understands
man very well knows that this is what is appropriate for him and
not any more than what he and his children received, in order that
they not leave the path of Hashem Yitbarach.

39

In honor of our parents

Martin & Paula Lilker

and

Allan Grossman ZL
& Flora Grossman
from

Bruce & Sandy Lilker