Why We Must Win The War Against Hatred

The War Against Hatred

At the conclusion of the war with Midian, the officers of the army counted the soldiers in their charge,
and found that miraculously, not even one was missing.
The officers said to Moses, “Not one man is missing from us”:

Numbers 31:49

The war against Midian was a war against baseless hatred and strife. G-d commands us to wage this war constantly, in order that hatred, discord, and spite be replaced by loving-kindness, concord, and altruism.

Besides the obvious benefits for us as individuals and as a society, G-d “benefits” from this struggle as well. As the Talmudic sage Rabbi Akiva said, brotherly love is the foundation of the entire Torah.

G-d assures us that in our ongoing war against hatred—just as was the case with the original war against Midian—we will ultimately not suffer any losses: physical, spiritual, or even financial.

—from Daily Wisdom