Just Politics? 

Oct 30-31, 2026 • 20 Mar Cheshvan 5787 • Vayeira (Gen 18-22)

Someone I don’t know (in my Contacts because I connected with him one time long ago) posted something on his Whatsapp “Status” that bothered me. I’d be very interested to hear your opinion—am I over-reacting?

He wrote about one of the losing parties in this week’s election:

“Their effort was utterly worthless stupidity! But….we need a real communal effort to support everyone, respect other people, and make space for all types of Jews in a real way. IT’S A HARD WORLD, AND EVERYONE NEEDS RESPECT AND ACCEPTANCE.”

What do you think? Is there a contradiction here? To me, “utterly worthless stupidity” fails the respect test.

How about the entire concept of “ranting”—is that a quality of character one should admire?

Or do you agree with a friend who told me, “People say things and it’s not really a big deal and certainly criticizing the other party is very fair game in politics”…?

This kind of rhetoric is obviously nothing new, and maybe that’s his point.

But it always makes me bristle when it’s between MOTs. It has a very strong fragrance of the “Chanukah” civil war of 165 BCE and the infighting that caused the loss of Jerusalem to Rome in 70 CE—weren’t those events  also “just politics”….?

How does politics justify unkind rhetoric? Maybe someone reading this can explain it to me.

Our first role model of human greatness is Avraham, who literally runs to greet strangers—whom he takes to be idolaters—to offer them hospitality. Look at how he speaks to them (click on the parasha link above).

Shabbat Shalom