I know a lot of nice people. Really nice people. Some of them have expressed anger that the barbarism and cruelty of Hamas has made them hate – and they do not want to hate.
Most of us were taught to be kind. To love. Not to hate. In some of our families even expressing anger was considered inappropriate. Being raised this way creates people who are very gentle and nice.
The problem is, what do you do when you are confronted with evil?
Many of us end up having difficulty recognizing the situations when it is necessary to destroy evil – because we do not want to recognize them. The violence and harshness necessary to destroy evil is repugnant to people who were taught to be nice. We are “nice”. “We don’t do things like that.”
And this conditioning is so deep that we forget that if evil is ignored, it grows. That letting evil slide because the actions necessary to stop it aren’t “nice” creates evil that is stronger and more dangerous.
That is what righteous anger is all about. It’s not anger for the sake of being angry. It’s anger, even rage, evoked from the recognition of injustice and evil.
Like the anger we felt at seeing men of Israel starved, as Nazis starved Jews when there was no Israel to protect them.
Like the anger we felt at the look of terror in Shiri Bibas’s eyes when she was ripped from her home with her two babies in her arms.
The question is, do we have enough love for our own in order to set aside our fear of harsh emotions, feel the rage, and put it to use?
Turning the other cheek is not a Jewish idea. Jews believe in justice and that God helps those who help themselves.
Turning the other cheek is an idea that can work when confronting people who come from the same cultural and ethical background and can be shamed into setting aside cruelty and violence. That was how Mahatma Gandhi shamed the British Empire.
IT DOES NOT WORK WHEN BATTLING EVIL THAT IS COMING TO DESTROY YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN.
Rage is the difference between the IDF soldiers on the battlefield and the highest ranks of IDF Command (who are now being replaced for their failure to attain victory). Our soldiers saw the results of the October 7th invasion. They saw their sisters defiled and thrown aside like rag dolls. They saw homes destroyed, babies burned, and fathers who couldn’t save their wives and children. They felt the rage and they knew what was necessary. That is why they fought on when friends were killed. That is why when injured in battle, many of them went to the hospital, recuperated and RETURNED TO THE BATTLEFIELD.
Our soldiers do not love war. They love us enough to do what it takes to make sure this doesn’t happen again. They love us enough to sacrifice themselves to rescue hostages and redeem the dignity stolen from our nation.
They saw what happened and they understood that Amalek must be destroyed. Those who did not see with their own eyes could pretend that they did not know. That the perpetrators are not Amalek. That it is ok to allow them to live – and fight another day.
Those who were there, and saw, know better – and frankly, I don’t think we are anywhere near angry enough.
When confronted with evil it is necessary to feel anger. Even rage. That is the energy that must be channelled, to create justice. To make sure that NEVER AGAIN is more than an empty slogan.
Dear nice people, you are lovely. But it isn’t “nice” to let evil survive.
Ignoring evil because confronting it necessitates violence, harshness, or unpleasantness means that you are not just allowing it to grow, you are excusing it, strengthening it.
And that isn’t nice at all.
