Understanding the link between irrational arrogance and antisemitism

 

 

Antisemitism can simply be the following equation, if you are arrogant, think you are better than other people, you hate Jews!

 

The Japanese who have absolutely no connection to Jews having never had Jewish communities living in their country unlike most of the world were asked “if you had to hate one group of people, who would it be?” guess what, the Jews.

 

It seems you don’t need to know a Jew to hate him, why?

 

The answer is simple.

 

What is arrogance?

 

Arrogance means you think that you are better than other people.

 

Now as we had occasion to mention the previous Rebbe teaches arrogance stems not from a high self image rather a low one.

 

The better man’s self image, the more certain he is about himself, the less he has the need to feel better than others.

 

However, the inverse is also true.

 

The lower a person’s self esteem, the more he has a need to feel arrogant.

 

In psychological terms this is called narcissistic wounding.

 

The narcissistickly wounded develop into, well, narcissism, an irrational obsession about themselves.

 

The story is told about a man who was blessed to become wealthy, as he was so hospitable.

 

Becoming arrogant, he started to focus on himself, ignoring the poor.

 

The great Rabbi who blessed him, paid him a visit.

 

He took him to his window and asked him “what do you see?”

 

“I see Chaim the tailor, Yitzchok the shoemaker etc. etc.”

 

Then he took him to his mirror and asked him, “what do you see?”

 

He said “I see myself.”

 

“Now, both are glass, how come in one you see others, and in the other you see only yourself.”

 

“Well one has silver behind it.”

 

“Ah” replied the Rabbi, “if you cant see others because of silver it means the silver has changed your vision.”

 

The man forthwith took his mirror and scratched off a corner leaving gone part pure glass to remind himself to always be capable of seeing others.

 

When we God forbid become arrogant we cease to identify with our fellow human beings

 

However.

 

However.

 

However…

 

Just because you don’t identify with someone else doesn’t mean you are not jealous of them.

 

It is only when we identify with another that we are not jealous, because like a brother or sister we wish only for their success as their success is our success, – the family name in a sense; for we are both from the same roots.

 

When people cease to identify with one another, a deep jealousy arises.

 

There are many forms of jealousy, there is jealousy over money, there is jealousy over security, but the greatest jealousy that can possibly exist, is the jealousy over happiness.

 

This is is why Jews are so hated historically.

 

Now that life offers a fairly good existence, people are enamored by the Jewish people.

 

But go to the Muslim countries or even poor African countries and ask the average person what they think of a Jew and they will maybe have never met one but boy do they hate them.

 

Jealousy is the cause of the hatred.

 

Living in South Africa, what is most interesting is the following, jealousy like mentioned is connected to arrogance, for if I see myself as in a different class I will never be jealous – so the commoner is not jealous of the king’s wealth, for he cannot perceive himself to be a king.

 

Similarly, when these blacks rise in wealth and particularly in governmental power they become antisemetic.

 

So what is the equation: if you are arrogant, think you are better than other people, you hate Jews.