‘Love and Hate Both Have Their Place’
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🥜 In a Nutshell
The Torah commands: love your fellow as yourself.
The Talmud also speaks of a time to hate.
Both are true.
The evil is real. Reject it.
The good is hidden. Love it.
Compassion for the soul in exile
removes hatred
and restores love.
Even when hatred is permitted,
it is directed at the evil,
never at the soul.
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Keep reading for a deeper dive into today’s Tanya…
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1. When Hate Is a Mitzvah
The Talmud teaches that if you see a companion sin, there are situations where hatred is a mitzvah.
But this applies only in a very specific case.
A companion in Torah and mitzvot.
Someone who knows better.
Someone who has already been rebuked properly.
Someone who still refuses to change.
Only then is hatred permitted.
And even then,
the hatred is not for the person.
It is for the evil within.
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2. When Love Is the Only Way
What about someone who is not your equal in Torah and mitzvot?
Someone distant.
Someone who does not fully understand the seriousness of what is being done.
Here, hatred has no place.
Hillel teaches:
Be among the students of Aharon.
Love peace.
Pursue peace.
Love the creatures.
Draw them close to Torah.
Even if the only visible merit is that this person was created by Hashem,
love is required.
Even if nothing changes,
the love itself fulfills the mitzvah.
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3. Both at Once
Can love and hate exist together?
Yes.
Hate is aimed at the evil.
Love is aimed at the good hidden inside.
Every person carries a divine spark.
Even when it is buried.
Even when hatred is permitted,
it is directed only at the evil,
never at the soul.
Both emotions are true.
They are simply aimed at different targets.
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4. Let Compassion Decide
Compassion removes hatred
and awakens love.
When hatred begins to rise,
shift the focus.
See the soul in exile.
Feel compassion for it.
Compassion brings love back to the surface.
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5. The Exception
There is one exception.
Those who openly reject the God of Israel entirely.
About them, David said,
“I hate them with complete hatred.”
But in every other case,
the mitzvah of love remains.
Reject the evil.
Love the soul.
Let compassion lead.
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🔁 A Practical Reset for Today
When someone’s behavior disturbs you:
Pause.
Ask whether this is deliberate rebellion or ignorance.
Separate the act from the person.
Reject the evil.
Have compassion for the soul.
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The Message
Ahavat Yisrael is not blindness.
It is clarity.
You do not have to choose between love and truth.
Reject the evil.
Love the person.
Let compassion determine which one governs you.