Fanaticism Destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. Fanaticism Will Rebuild It.
BY RABBI DORON PEREZ
“Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as though the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.”
These are the powerful words that conclude the highly impactful book of social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind. They contain, in my opinion, not only a brilliant insight into the dynamics of political ideological decay, but an exact description of what our Sages saw as the root of the destruction of Jewish collective society.
Sectarianism and sinat chinam
Famously, our Sages see sinat chinam – senseless hatred – as the salient cause for the destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash (Yoma 9b). The Netziv, the famed Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin, argues that ideological sectarianism and demonization of other groups is the root of causeless hatred:
“As a result of the senseless hatred in their hearts that one harbored for the other, they suspected all those who did not follow their path as a G-d-fearing Jew, of being a Sadducee and a heretic” (Ha’amek Davar, Introduction to Bereishit).
Indeed, prior to the destruction, sectarianism reigned supreme. The nation divided itself into many different sects – Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, and Sicarii – and even more sub-factions within these sects. There was scorn, disdain, and hatred one toward the other. Threatened by different values and beliefs, each saw the world in black and white terms; there was no middle road. It was a zero-sum game of ideological truth and intolerance. The hatred and infighting in Jerusalem were so disastrous on the eve of destruction that Josephus described the society as “a great body torn in pieces” (The Jewish War, 5:1).
G-d is a Roman general
According to Josephus, Vespasian – who led the Roman army and would soon become emperor and later replaced by his son Titus – made a striking observation about Jewish internal conflict during the siege of Jerusalem. While his generals wanted to attack the city immediately, Vespasian disagreed. He argued that attacking would unite the divided Jewish factions against their common Roman enemy. Instead, he advocated patience – if the Romans simply waited, the Jews would destroy themselves through infighting without requiring any Roman military action.
“But Vespasian replied, that ‘They were greatly mistaken… without considering what was for their advantage, and for their security. For that if they now go and attack the city immediately, they will unite their enemies… But if they wait they shall have fewer enemies; because they will be consumed in their own sedition. G-d acts as a general of the Romans better than he can do; and is giving the Jews up to them… while their enemies are destroying each other with their own hands… let us sit as spectators… while the Jews are torn to pieces… by their civil wars’” (Wars of the Jews, 4:6).
Between Sinwar and Vespasian
Tragically, Vespasian’s prediction proved correct. Despite facing a desperate situation – a prolonged siege with the threat of starvation – the Jews failed to unite against their true enemy, Rome. Instead, they turned on each other, destroying themselves from within.
Yahya Sinwar ignored the wisdom of Vespasian’s strategy and chose to attack. On October 6, 2023, Israeli society was fracturing over judicial reform – two ideological camps hurtling toward collision. Sinwar could have waited for this internal division to deepen, but his hatred and bloodthirst drove him to act.
His barbaric attack murdered over 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, including our beloved son Daniel. We and countless others are forever broken.
But in their blind hatred, Sinwar, Nasrallah, and Khamenei made the same mistake Vespasian warned against – they united their enemy through attack. The results speak for themselves: Sinwar and Nasrallah are dead, Hamas and Hezbollah’s leadership is decimated, Assad’s Syria has fallen, and Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been severely set back.
Nothing unites the Jewish people more than a murderous enemy bent on our destruction. Tragically, nothing divides us more than internal ideological battles when no existential threat looms.
Fanatical ideologues and radical truth seekers
The root of baseless hatred appears to be rigid ideological purity – absolute commitment to “my version of truth” that blinds us to other perspectives. A Talmudic sage identified this as the cause of Jerusalem’s destruction: “Rabbi Yochanan says that Jerusalem was destroyed because people followed the laws and judgments of the Torah.”
The Talmud objects – this seems contradictory, since following Torah law is what we’re supposed to do. Rabbi Yochanan clarifies: “Jerusalem was destroyed because people followed the letter of the law and did not go beyond the letter of the law” (Bava Metzia 30b).
A shocking truth emerges: even Torah law – clear, absolute truth – can become a source of societal destruction when applied without nuance or compassion.
Truth alone can be destructive rather than constructive. It must be anchored to other foundational Torah values to preserve its spirit. Qualities like derech eretz and shalom – along with goodness, integrity, temperance, and respect for differing views – are essential to prevent truth-seeking from ending in destruction.
The paramount value of truth must not be severed from its moorings in common decency and constructive society-building. As the Midrash teaches, derech eretz must precede Torah (Vayikra Rabbah 9:3), and shalom must keep truth in check.1
Sons of light and sons of darkness
The Second Temple era War Scroll, found in the caves of Qumran by the Dead Sea, highlights the dangers of corrosive ideological purism. The text, likely written by the Essenes, describes its followers as “the sons of light” and all others, including fellow Jews, as “the sons of darkness.”
When we become so bound to our absolute truths, we become blinded to others. Those on our ideological team are enlightened and “good,” bringing spiritual and moral light to the world, while the other ideological teams are “bad” and immoral, the cause of spiritual darkness. When I am absolutely right and you are absolutely wrong, when the other is disqualified and delegitimized as part of “the dark side,” then the abyss of senseless hatred grows ever closer.
If this is the cause of destruction, then what is the cure?
Rav Kook and fanatical unconditional love
The personality and writings of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook zt”l, the inaugural Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel, deeply impacted my worldview and hence my life. In this edition of HaMizrachi, we honor his life and legacy on the approaching 90th yahrzeit since his passing.
No one saw greater spiritual depth and religious significance in the Zionist movement and the burgeoning national Jewish revival than Rav Kook. He became the leading ideologue in formulating Religious Zionism – articulating how to understand the Zionist revolution through a Torah perspective. He was also a person of remarkable dedication to his people and unmatched humility, particularly evident in his attitude toward his political detractors. It is this quality from which I wish to draw inspiration and that I believe is critical in providing a solution to the problem of religious fanaticism.
If zealous ideological fanaticism and causeless hatred are the problem, then, argues Rabbi Kook, a zealous and unconditional causeless love for our fellow Jews must be the solution.
He famously said: “If we were destroyed, and the world with us, due to baseless hatred, then we shall rebuild ourselves, and the world with us, with baseless love, with ahavat chinam” (Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Orot HaKodesh III, 324).
Rav Kook argued that a new type of fanaticism is necessary for rectification – radical unconditional love. Since demonizing and hating others destroyed Jerusalem, judging others favorably and seeing the good in them regardless of circumstances is the path to reconstructing Jewish society, the Beit HaMikdash, and all of humanity.
Rav Kook himself embodied such love for all humanity and demonstrated an almost fanatical love for his fellow Jews. His student Baruch Duvdevani witnessed this remarkable incident:
“The Rav’s heart overflowed with boundless love not only for Klal Yisrael, but for every single Jew. Dozens of students and I once accompanied the Rav home from a brit milah in the Old City. On our way, a group of religious zealots attacked us and threw sewage water all over the Rav. Passions were intense, and tempers flared. Later that day, prominent people came to express their disgust at this disgraceful act. One visitor was Norman Bentwich, Attorney General of the British Mandatory Government. He suggested that the Rav file suit against the perpetrators, and he would see to it that they are banished from the Land. The Rav replied: ‘I have no interest in legal actions, and I love them despite what they did to me. I love them so much that I am even prepared to kiss them. My entire being burns with love for every single Jew.’ This is what he said shortly after that disgraceful incident!”
Four tenets of unconditional love
Rav Kook’s astonishing response to such an insult highlights four critical tenets of unconditional love that he deeply embodied.
- Not taking things personally
We must work at not taking ourselves too seriously. Do we create G-d in our image and bring Him into our world on our terms, or did G-d create us in His image and bring us into His world on His terms? If the former, we become self-important and take our honor and prestige too seriously. We find it hard to forgive others and become wounded and insulted quickly. If the latter, as Rav Kook embodied, we are G-d-centered, focused on His honor and promulgating His values. We are either arrogant and self-centered or humble and self-effacing.
Emulating G-d means emulating His qualities – vehalachta bidrachav, walking in His ways. The most important Divine quality we are called to emulate, according to Rabbi Moshe Cordovero in his seminal work Tomer Devorah, is exactly this: the ability to suffer insults and not respond or avenge our honor. Hashem created human beings with free choice, allowing them to trample on His honor, deny His existence, and contravene His moral and spiritual laws. Yet, maintains Rav Cordovero, He is slow to anger and endlessly patient in meting out retribution, giving us time to repent. So we ought to be able to suffer insults and act with forgiveness and forbearance. The Ramban in his letter of life advice to his son focuses almost exclusively on being forever humble and slow to anger. Nothing is more G-dly than being humble, forgiving, and self-effacing.
Since Rav Kook was a truly G-dly person – with a healthy sense of self, totally self-effacing before G-d and deeply humble – he easily forgave the insult to his honor, dismissed the degrading attack, and forgave the perpetrator.
- A good G-dly eye
Seeing the world through positive eyes means believing that all people are essentially good. Since all are created by a Being who desires good in the world, all human beings created in His image are inherently good – our core is a part of G-d, our soul. Most people see themselves as ultimately wanting what is good for society. If so, then others do too. Just as we are sometimes driven by personal agendas and insecurities, so are others. Just as we see ourselves as having positive motives in general, so we ought to attribute the same positive motives to others. This requires an ayin tova, a good eye, seeing G-d as wanting the best for the world and for us, seeing ourselves and others and indeed all of life in a positive light.
Rav Kook could see that this terrible action stemmed from an ideological opponent who believed he was looking out for the honor of G-d and the Torah, however perversely implemented. Attributing positive intentions to others is a critical part of ahavat Yisrael. This stems from the imperative to judge others favorably.
- Judging others favorably in all situations
Having a good and positive perspective of others is directly connected to our ability to judge others favorably. Almost nothing is more emphasized by our Sages regarding our attitude to others – the almost fanatical demand to judge others in all situations in a favorable light.
None of us has ever truly walked in another person’s shoes. We rarely know all the facts about any incident that we use to judge others unfavorably. Even if we believe we have all the basic facts and evidence for our presumptions, we certainly are not privy to all the life circumstances and challenges they face. We definitely do not have the exact same personality and upbringing as them – we all have different “nature and nurture” from others. If we were them, would we have acted differently? It is impossible to judge – so who are we to judge? Who appointed us as judge, jury, and prosecutor? Love of our fellow demands that we always endeavor to judge others favorably. Most of us in most situations are not the decision makers imbued by society with the authority and responsibility to judge others. We should rather invest our energy into giving others the benefit of the doubt, with a positive eye and a kind and loving disposition.
Rav Kook saw an ideological opponent doing a despicable act. Yet he was somehow able to judge him favorably – not standing up for his own honor, attributing positive intentions to the other person while understanding the other person’s ideological standpoint, fears and concerns, even if executed despicably.
- Distinguishing between a person and their actions
Finally, sometimes we are called upon to judge because we are the decision maker or judge who must issue a verdict. In a mind-boggling insight, our Sages teach that even a judge who must deliver judgment and condemn a perpetrator to punishment is still required thereafter to judge the individual favorably.2 Remarkably, even if an action must be judged and the perpetrator condemned because of their actions, the judge is called upon to distinguish between the person’s actions and the person themselves. Our Sages have taught us to hate sin but embrace the sinner and pray for their repentance. Hate sin and injustice, but love the sinner. Despise the action, embrace the person. People are far more than their particular actions, certain ideas, and some ideologies. A Jew who is part of our same historic community, sharing our common fate and collective destiny, should never be an enemy. Ideological opponents who all seek the good of our people are never enemies.
Rav Kook was able to do this in a remarkable way – to understand the ideological background of other Jews and always distinguish between destructive actions and well-meaning intentions. To discern between the person and their actions.
Very few of us can emulate the magnanimity and largesse of Rav Kook’s example. We can, though, all strive to be much better. So much depends on it.
If the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed because of fanatical hatred, it will be rebuilt through radical love.
1 See Yevamot 14b, which highlights how the many arguments in halacha between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai never prevented them from marrying each other and its relationship to truth and shalom (Zechariah 8:19).
2 Pirkei Avot 1:8.
Rabbi Doron Perez is the Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi.