Because of hatred for Jews, my four grandparents were gassed at Auschwitz. My surviving parents were very smart about that. They said to their postwar children: That we hate Germans we can’t help. But you have no permission.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach also survived the Holocaust. He picked up the Ashkenazic Jews after WW II, and taught us again to laugh, sing, dance and love. He said: After the Holocaust it’s so easy to be angry at the world …. But we have to continue to love the world. We have to.
He also said: If I had two hearts, I would use one for loving and one for hating. But since I only have one heart, I rather use it for loving.
Hate burdens the hater. If we truly loved ourselves, we’d stop hating.
Top Rabbi Joseph Dweck said: G-d is taking the world towards love. Homosexuals show that there can be love and warmth between men.
(Maybe hence the two first major rabbis to understand homosexuals (Dweck and Riskin) are Cohanim, who bless Jews with G-d’s love!)
How typical of Judaism that it not only teaches that G-d loves us and we should love G-d but that we must love each other. Jewish love is not greedy (I need you) or sentimental (with all my heart) but rather: empathy in action. Ponder what another needs and then provide that.
In the Torah, hatred is not just burning detestation, but often: a small deficiency in the amount of love that should have been displayed.
There are two types of people in the world: people who divide mankind into two types, and people who don’t. If some people would really be evil, they would not be accountable for doing evil. But if you think they are responsible, that implies that they are good people who did wrong.
Hate’s not a lack of love. It’s love gone sour. It’s still a strong emotional connection. The opposite is disinterest. Clean up hate and find love.
We don’t need to hate to condemn wrongs. We don’t need to separate and distance ourselves from people who think or act despicably. Rather, we need to get closer and win them over to be humane again.
This is especially true for allies. Jews don’t need to transform all anti-Semites; Gentiles should. Women do not need to re-educate all men; other men should. Whites, take on racists; snobs, help other snobs regain humbleness; straights, set homophobes straight; etc.
Yet, we should not go after the worst bigots. When contradicting those, our aim should be to reach their followers, to win over the small bigots. When none of them are left, their leaders will be out of a job too.
When we try to soften hearts of haters, we need to come in with love for them. Not love for their hatred but yes love and care for them. No person is born a hater. What happened to them that their attitudes got so distorted? To find out, we need to listen, not scream to them. Love is stronger than hatred. If we can’t help hating, let’s hate in silence.
Don’t pretend not to hate. Research it. Hate is often rooted in fear and sadness. When we can’t let go of our hatred, ask: Did we suffer a loss that hasn’t healed yet? Or: Are we scared because of a fear we didn’t ridicule yet? Are we afraid that their bigotry will rub off on us? It won’t.
Open your heart and love them, because people can best “change” (become themselves) when they are properly loved. When rejected, they will become stubborn and double down. You want to see people change for the better? Love them! (This works for spouses too.)
You don’t need hatred, to oppose bigotry, to chant slogans against bigotry, to stop violent hate-crimes, to dis-empower bigots. Be firm and look mean when you oppose wrong policies. But when you interact with such opponents, don’t forget to let them know that you love them and care. (But if they pose a physical danger, protect yourself, run.)
Listen to them when they share their pain. They may not know why they are in pain but in pain they are. Help them find empathy. Don’t agree with any blame (yes, women are terrible), nor oppose it (I think that women are great) – rather focus on them: It really hurts, doesn’t it? A long time ago, they must have been made to feel terrible about themselves that they resorted to hatred, to feel any good, superficially.
NB: Don’t make bigots look sympathetic in the media. Any glimpse of them looking humane, “just like us,” will be abused to further legitimize and spread their malignant views. Don’t interview them about their lives. Until they changed their minds, their stardom is noxious.
Don’t give haters an open microphone. There is no positive value in being accessory to spreading hatred. Anything said from hate should be challenged immediately. Don’t be a silent push-over in the face of evil. Trash the message – but not the communicator. Counter: This is unbecoming, I expect better from a human being. Don’t legitimize tirades by branding the ranter evil. Not because it’s “not nice,” but rather because it’s incorrect and ineffective if not counter-productive.
Don’t equate hatred from victims of oppression and hatred from people trained to oppress. For the former, empathy will help healing; for the latter, empathy is personal, condemnation of the hate must be general. Do call each evil by it’s specific name, which makes it easier to defeat.
The worst haters and liars (all hate lies, all haters lie) should go to jail, but still be pampered and loved; and not “because they’re human too.” Rather, so that after repentance they may teach all, that hating groups of people is wrong. Who could better propagate this than they could?
Love conquers all, Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil) said already 2000 years ago. Last month 50 years ago, the Beatles released “All you need is love” by John Lennon: “It’s easy.” Just do it.
If you can’t stop your hating, find out why. But in any case, for people, use love. You’ll accomplish more and live better and longer. If your heart’s rusty and you find it hard to love, just for now, respect will do.
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(Don’t miss the great links in the text!)
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1