My theory as to what happened is that these sectarian differences all started with great leaders siphoning followers off of the bulk of Yidden. At that point there was little animosity, because it was just a question of to follow the trailblazing leader or not. Eventually the leader and his vision passed on, and his talmidim who were lifelong followers stepped into the leadership role. This makes it likely that the next leader is always more isolated from the bulk than his predecessor. And this lack of exposure at the top, leads to a lack of tolerance.
Menu