Our Sages teach that every generation in which the Temple is not rebuilt is as wicked as the generation in which it was destroyed; for, had we been worthy, the Temple would have been rebuilt in our days.
Our Sages also teach that the Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred of man towards his neighbor. I don't think they meant baseless hatred on the part of the irreligious, for the wicked have always acted wickedly. Rather, I believe they meant baseless hatred on the part of the righteous.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that we are seldom able to have sensible debates on controversial issues without the debates' degenerating into shouting matches. Well-thought-out dialogue has been replaced by sloganeering and sound bites designed not so much to win over the other side as to rally the troops. For instance, on the abortion issue, the pro-choice camp labels the pro-life camp as "anti-woman", while the pro-life camp labels the pro-choice camp as "pro-death".
I expect this from the Gentiles, but we are supposed to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42). There is nothing wrong with trying to convince others of one's point of view - indeed, this is generally meritorious - but we must not accuse them of lies, blasphemy, etc. (unless, of course, one has reason to believe that one's ideological opponent is being deliberately deceptive and is not simply in error). A case in point is the controversy over Reform Judaism and other liberal strains. It is all well and good to present the internal contradictions inherent in these liberal strains, but we must not accuse them of consigning Judaism to the trash heap (or any of the myriad other things we often accuse the Reform of doing). The same holds true of debates about the peace process or any other controversial topic.
Our Sages teach us that God has associated spiritual forces with each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet; indeed, this is one of the reasons they give for urging us to pray in Hebrew rather than in some other language, even if Hebrew is not our native tongue. It should be self-evident, therefore, that evil speech spoken in the holy language can have disastrous consequences. The problem of evil speech, or "lashon hara", has grown markedly worse in Israel since the peace process began, with the almost predictable result that Israel has been suffering a terrible drought for several years now.
A student once asked Rabbi Hillel to teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel replied, "That which is hurtful to you, do not do it to your neighbor. Do this, and you have fulfilled the Torah. The rest is commentary." If, in our zeal to uphold Judaism, we lose sight of this most basic precept, our zeal is worthless. If we forget to love our neighbors, even perfect adherence to the other 612 mitzvot is no better than idolatry.
I have been told by two people who seemed knowledgeable that the prohibition of lashon hara does not apply if the person in question is a wicked person. But it is written, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." (Leviticus 19:17) When we criticize wrongdoers, we must do so out of love and compassion, never out of hate.
Moreover, sloganeering and sound bites seldom accomplish the intended task, which is presumably to convince your opponent of the correctness of your position. Even bystanders who read or hear your comments will be turned off by too high a level of acrimony. My mother has always told me that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Always bear in mind that the people you are insulting are your potential converts.
The Church recognizes this. After persecuting us for centuries, the Church has taken to "loving us to death", and it has worked like a charm. Time after time, the one thing that strikes Jews most about Messianic Judaism and other evangelical Christian denominations is the love they show toward one another and the compassion they show toward outsiders. With few exceptions, the Church believes that we reject Jesus not because we hate G-d or that we are intrinsically evil, but because we simply haven't been shown the "truth". Acting on this belief, they present their "truth" in a calm and straightforward manner, taking pains not to offend our sensibilities. Meanwhile, our response has been mainly to charge them with polytheism or to poke fun at such things as the "mystery" of the trinity. Not surprisingly, we are getting our butts kicked.
I used to be a Messianic Jew. While I was in the movement, I read "You Take Jesus, I'll Take God", by Samuel L. Levine. The one thing that struck me most about the book was the vitriol which Levine hurled at the Church. He made many strong points, but these were lost on me because of the acrimony. I was finally brought to the truth through the ministry of Rabbi Tovia Singer, whose "Let's Get Biblical" tape series is infused with compassion toward the Jews for Jesus and an understanding of why they do the things they do. (For instance, he points out that their efforts at converting the Jews are not antisemitic in the slightest; rather, since they believe that faith in Jesus is essential to salvation, withholding the Gospel from the Jews would be an act of spiritual genocide and the most antisemitic thing they could possibly do.)
By all means, we should expose ideological and doctrinal error wherever we find it. However, we must avoid lashon hara at all costs. Sloganeering and sound bites may feel good to the person who uses them, but they are ultimately self-defeating. Surely God's chosen people are capable of having ideological debates without shouting at each other.
