On Intolerance

Marvin Schick actually wrote something this week over on Cross-Currents that I agree with. Apparently, there was a letter in this week's Yated in which a man extolled the virtues of the trips that were arranged for Chol Hamoed this Pesach. He was evidently very pleased that these trips were of an exclusive nature, with many of the sites closed to anyone who was not of a certain persuasion. In the man's own words: “It comforted me that we were surrounded by Yidden only, and were not exposed to the hashpa’ah of some of the parks and sites that were not open exclusive to Yidden on Chol Hamoed."

Mr. Schick takes this man to task, saying that "We have been on these shores for approximately two generations. We have benefited from the blessings of liberty, from the ideal of tolerance. Do we expect that others will respect us if we can’t show a modicum of respect toward them?"

Unfortunately, the attitude expressed by this letter-writer is all too common in the Orthodox world. In large part, this is a function of the mindset of many of our educators. As a commentor on Mr. Schick's post said: "I’m afraid one would have to be an ostrich to suggest that our boys and girls are not being taught in many subtle and not-so-subtle ways not to fully respect the humanity of non-Jews." But the problem is just as prevalent in our homes. How many times have I sat as a guest at a shabbos table, only to hear the host or another guest make a derogatory joke or remark about a member of another ethnic group. On those occasions, as I sat cringing, I was never sure what was worse, the fact that there were children sitting at the table and overhearing the comment, or the fact that there was non-Jewish household help in the kitchen overhearing the comment. Neither makes us look very good.

Bottom line is, it is absolutely imperative that we cut this mentality off at the pass. We need to show our children by example how important it is to have respect for those around us, Jewish or not.