A fellow got up in shul and gave a drasha before mussaf. What was good was that he gave the drasha before the Torah was returned to the Aron because afterwards the Mishna Brura says that we should not be מפסיק and daven right away.
Most of what he said was GREAT. He talked about self improvement. What is better than THAT??!!! But one thing he said and even repeated really troubled me. He said that the Rambam says that when one sees a person whom he hates who needs help loading his donkey, he must be helped despite the hatred one feels. So far so good. But he then explained that according to the Rambam, the hatred is not because of anything the person said or did to you but because "you don't agree with his lifestyle".
That is misleading. What does the Rambam actually say?
השונא שנאמר בתורה לא מאומות העולם הוא אלא מישראל והיאך יהיה לישראל שונא מישראל והכתוב אומר לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך. אמרו חכמים כגון שראהו לבדו שעבר עבירה והתרה בו ולא חזר הרי זה מצוה לשונאו עד שיעשה תשובה וישוב מרשעו. ואע"פ שעדיין לא עשה תשובה אם מצאו נבהל במשאו מצוה לטעון ולפרוק עמו ולא יניחנו נוטה למות שמא ישהה בשביל ממונו ויבא לידי סכנה. והתורה הקפידה על נפשות ישראל. בין רשעים בין צדיקים מאחר שהם נלוים אל ה' ומאמינים בעיקר הדת. שנאמר אמור אליהם חי אני נאם ה' אלהים אם אחפוץ במות הרשע כי אם בשוב רשע מדרכו וחיה:
The enemy mentioned in the Torah is not a gentile, but rather a Jew.
One might ask: How is it possible for one Jew to hate another? Is it not written Leviticus 19:17: "Do not hate your brother in your heart"?
Our Sages explained that this is referring to a person who while alone sees a colleague violate a transgression and rebukes him, but the colleague did not cease transgressing. In such an instance, it is a mitzvah to hate the person until he repents and abandons his wickedness.
Even if he did not repent yet, if one sees him in panic because of his cargo, it is a mitzvah to unload and reload with him, instead of leaving him inclined toward death, lest he tarry because of his money and be brought to danger. For the Torah showed concern for the lives of the Jewish people, both the wicked and the righteous, for they are attached to God and believe in the fundamentals of our faith. And Ezekiel 33:11 states: "Say to them, 'As I live,' says God, the Lord, 'Do I desire the death of a wicked man? I desire that the wicked return from his path and live.'
One hates his fellow because he sinned. Such hatred is a mitzva. If one doesn't hate evildoers on some level, he is liable to follow in their ways. Maybe it is not politically correct to say that anymore but that is the Halacha. We certainly don't love Nazis or Arab terrorists. Nor do we forgive them. That is a Christian idea.
One could argue [as many do, such as the Chazon Ish] that sinners today are "תינוקות שנשבו" and thus are not at fault and no hatred may be directed at them. GREAT!! I hope that this is true. But the basic Halacha in the Rambam doesn't change. If people willingly sin and rebel against G-d, they must be hated. We ALSO must help these same people unload their donkey [or car, as is more likely the case]....
It goes without saying that if this hatred is personal and is not completely לשם שמים then it is פסול and dangerous. וד"ל. The hatred is driven by a love of Hashem.
