davidsamual14,
I think strife and judgment between us is what causes us great grief and the darkness that remains all around us.
I agree with you that sinas chinam, strife, and judgmentalism contributes perhaps the most to the darkness of this galus.
I will qualify my agreement, however, with the point that sinas chinam should not be used as a club to squelch dissent or disagreements for the sake of heaven. In last week’s parsha (Mishpatim), the Torah enjoins us lo siyeh acharei rabim l’raos, do not follow the majority for evil.
I hadn’t been to Israel for over 20 years, but when I took my son there for his bar mitzvah, I was awed by the shalom between the Israelis.
That’s amazing, and I am glad to hear that, especially since news from Israel has been so distressing lately.
As you can see from what the Ramchal says, Shalom is a priority.
Again, I agree with you, but shalom alone is not sufficient. The generation that built the tower of Bavel lived in peace – but their mission was not good and ultimately they were scattered across the world.
I think criticisms of how Torah is treated by many in Israel, both within and outside of the government, is legitimate and does not fall under the category of sinas chinam. The state is definitely not acting in accordance with halacha, and I do not think that pointing it out and working to change it or mitigate the consequences is a bad thing.
My goal in this discussion is to understand where HaKatan is coming from, and I believe I have a better understanding of it, and from a conceptual standpoint I don’t think that his views and my views are that different. I think where we may differ is in the approach to it. When a man is sick, he needs a surgeon with the precision to identify and remove exactly what is making the man sick, and to take great caution to injure as little healthy tissue as possible – even if that tissue looks inflamed because of the sickness. What the sick man does not need is someone wielding a club screaming “YOU’RE SICK!! YOU’RE SICK!!” while beating him over the head.