Does Judaism teach hate
Executive summary
Judaism does not teach blanket hatred of people; its core texts repeatedly forbid harboring secret hatred and enjoin respect for others while also carving out space to “hate the wicked” and to resist influences seen as morally corrosive [1] [2]. Contemporary Jewish institutions and educators overwhelmingly frame Judaism as a tradition committed to countering hate speech and protecting dignity, even as rabbinic sources and some religious leaders debate when intolerance or opposition is required [3] [4] [5].
1. What the Torah and rabbinic texts actually say about hatred
The Torah explicitly commands against hating a fellow in one’s heart and teaches obligations to one’s neighbor, while Biblical and rabbinic passages also include injunctions to “hate evil” and to oppose wickedness, a tension the rabbis treat as substantively important (Leviticus and Leviticus 19:17 referenced in rabbinic discussion) [6] [1] [2]. Sefaria’s curated sources show that Jewish law discusses limits on hatred, its legal consequences (e.g., disqualification of a hater as judge or witness), and contexts where hostility is morally relevant—so the tradition is neither naïvely pacifist nor a blanket endorsement of hate [2] [1].
2. Lashon hara, speech ethics, and institutional responses to hate
A central Jewish ethic is the prohibition of lashon hara—derogatory speech that harms others—which classical sources describe as spiritually and socially lethal and which modern communal organizations interpret as a duty to combat hate speech in public life (Talmud Arachin 15b cited in contemporary CEJI writing; CEJI argues Jews have a duty to act against hate speech) [3]. Jewish community groups and movements—Reform, Conservative, and others—actively promote education and legal responses to antisemitic incidents and hate crimes, emphasizing tolerance grounded in the idea that all humans are created b’tzelem Elohim (in God’s image) [4] [7].
3. “Hate the wicked” — a permitted and debated category
Jewish textual tradition contains explicit statements that it is “proper to hate the wicked” and that pious hatred of evil has scriptural precedent, a stance developed in medieval and rabbinic commentaries and summarized in resources like the Jewish Virtual Library [1]. Some authorities and modern commentators interpret those passages narrowly—as moral condemnation of actions and injustices rather than ethnic or wholesale animus—while others use them to justify firm communal boundaries and even public intolerance toward ideologies seen as dangerous [1] [8].
4. Tension between universalism and communal protection
Several modern voices stress universalist obligations — charity, visiting the sick, and respect for non-Jews appear repeatedly in texts and popular teaching—while other sources emphasize the need for guardedness to preserve communal identity and religious law, sometimes advocating “intolerance” toward particularly destructive movements (Aish and Reform statements highlight respect for non-Jews and duties to others; JewishAction and Torah.org pieces argue for principled intolerance in defence of Torah values) [9] [4] [5] [8]. This duality produces divergent emphases across denominations and leaders: some foreground outreach and pluralism, others prioritize boundary-maintenance.
5. Historical misuse and modern misinformation to watch for
Claims that Judaism as a whole teaches hatred have often been conflated with antisemitic polemics or with specific medieval/modern texts taken out of context; historians and Holocaust educators caution that hostility toward Jews has usually arisen from external theological and racial doctrines rather than from Jewish teaching itself (USHMM; Wikipedia on antisemitism) [10] [11]. Reporting and online exchanges can amplify selective quotations; authoritative communal materials and source collections (Sefaria, Jewish Virtual Library) help trace context but do not erase debates over interpretation [2] [1].
6. Bottom line: doctrine, practice, and contested lines
Doctrinally, Judaism forbids harboring secret hatred and commands respect and legal frameworks to limit harm, yet it simultaneously allows moral hatred of wickedness and sets conditions for communal intolerance when necessary, a balance that leaves room for differing emphases across texts and Jewish movements [1] [6] [12]. Contemporary Jewish institutions present their role as opposing hate—both by condemning antisemitism and by teaching speech ethics—while internal debates about when to “be intolerant” reveal that Judaism’s stance on hate is legal, ethical, and contested rather than categorically hateful [3] [4] [5].