ISO practical tips to increase ahavas yisroel

amother

Tue, Aug 05 2014, 1:45 pm

I really want to work on this also especially with so many scandals- I feel like I have a very negative eye. I heardin a shiur- I think Rabbi Ginsburg?- michlala rabbi who teaches on naaleh- a recommendation that every day right down things that you saw other pple do that impressed you. I haven't been so good at it but may be you'll be better. Smile

Volunteer

Tue, Aug 05 2014, 5:20 pm

Esther Wein gave an inspirational dvar torah, where she contrasted the ideology of our current enemies to Torah ideology. Both profess to believe in God, that he controls the world, that he gave commandments to mankind, and that one day humanity would all worship God together in peace. What corrupts their mentality is that they believe that this goal must be achieved by violence and oppression against anyone who differs from their specific ideology by one iota. Whereas the Torah's way is to achieve those goals by kindness and repentance.

Our contribution is to create peace by exercising civility and tolerance for each other. If someone from another "group" differs from you, be civil and respectful of them, don't slander and hate. If someone in your family or community has wronged you, you don't need to be best friends, just be cordial. It won't kill you to say hello without gritting your teeth. Create enough peace where you do not feel the need to slander or take revenge. If it's appropriate, you may even consider taking the first step towards reconciliation, but even without that, civility is enough to create enough peace to destroy the hatred.

mandr

Tue, Aug 05 2014, 6:34 pm

I started this a few years ago: Whenever I mentally criticize the way someone looks or the way they are acting (e.g. Her tights has a run, Why is she yelling at her kids like that, Her nose is really big, etc.) I immediately find a way to compliment her mentally (sometimes I'll even tell them directly if it makes sense).