Rabbi Sacks on Forgiveness (Hatred Needs to be Gone)

 The late Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has an essay entitled "Forgiveness" in his book "Covenant and Conversation."

We at JewishVaccineStories know nothing of Rabbi Sacks' opinion on vaccination. But based on his comments here, one would think that he would not be in favor of the Sinas Chinum which the disagreement over vaccination engenders. 

Referencing the passage in which Yosef (Joseph) denies any intent to seek vengeance against his brothers after their father's passing, Rabbi Sacks writes:

... the real significance of this passage goes far beyond the story of Joseph and his brothers. It is the essential prelude to the book of Exodus and the birth of Israel as a nation. The book of Genesis is, among other things, a set of variations on the theme of sibling rivalry: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers. The book begins with fratricide and ends with reconciliation. There is a clear pattern to the final scene of each of the four narratives:

1. Cain/Abel            Murder
2. Isaac/Yishmael    The two stand together at Abraham's funeral
3. Jacob/Esau           Meet, embrace, go their separate ways
4. Joseph/brothers    Forgiveness, reconciliation, coexistence

In the development of these four narratives, the Torah is making a statement of the most fundamental kind. Historically and psychologically, families precede society and state. If brothers cannot live together in peace, then they cannot form a stable society or a cohesive nation. Maimonides explains that forgiveness and the associated command not to bear a grudge (Leviticus 19:18) are essential to the survival of society: "For as long as one nurses a grievance and keeps it in mind, one may come to take vengeance. The Torah emphatically warns us not to bear a grudge, so that the impression of the wrong shall be quite obliterated and be no longer remembered. This is the right principle. It alone makes civilization and human relationships possible." (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De'ot 7:8)

Forgiveness is not merely personal, it is also political. It it essential to the life of a nation if it is to maintain its independence for long. There is no greater proof of this than Jewish history itself. Twice Israel suffered defeat and exile. The first - the conquest of the Northern Kingdom, followed a century and a half later by the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile - was a direct consequence of the division of the kingdom into two after the death of Solomon. The second - defeat at the hands of the Romans and the destruction of the Second Temple - was the result of intense factionalism and internal strife, sinat hinam.

When people lack the ability to forgive, they are unable to resolve conflict. The result is division, factionalism, and the fragmentation of a nation into competing groups and sects. That is why Joseph's forgiveness is the bridge between Genesis and Exodus. The first is about the children of Israel as a family, the second is about them as a nation...

Vaccines are political. Make no mistake about it. 

The fact that there has been a law since 1986 granting indemnity from vaccine injury to pharmaceutical companies shows how this is political more than it is medical. The companies couldn't stay in business because they were being sued so much. https://trello.com/c/gav9GMPD/26-1986-law-absolving-vaccine-manufacturers-from-liability   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Childhood_Vaccine_Injury_Act

All the politics and media push behind the experimental, emergency-use-authorized COVID vaccines, are political. That the manufacturers are exempt from liability if you are injured is supported both by the 1986 act and the PREP Act https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/prepact/Pages/default.aspx

So, here we are. In the Jewish community, Rabbi Sacks' words speak volumes.

The hatred towards those who question vaccine safety, and now towards those who are unwilling to be part of the largest human trials of an experimental vaccine, is incomprehensible. While we are happy to follow the path of forgiveness, reconciliation and coexistence, we feel that we are on the receiving end of the divide between Cain/Abel and Isaac/Yishmael as Rabbi Sacks put it. People call us murderers. Family members don't want us around them. We have been maligned and ostracized by a community we were a part of, our children thrown out of schools, and many of us thrown out of our shuls and communities.

Why? Because we don't have blind faith in pharmaceutical products - most notably biologics more commonly known as vaccines. We have done our homework, we've seen the harm they have inflicted on too many. We don't begrudge anyone who wants to take them. But we also believe in choice, not in mandating, and certainly not in the coercive measures that have been taken to redefine being Jewish, a practitioner of Judaism, and being part of the Torah community as being contingent on taking a vaccine.