Building Tomorrow

Sinas Chinam-How it starts, spreads, and how to get rid of it for good. It would be hard to put into words the suffering the Jewish people have experienced during this terrible exile without repeating clichés like "rivers of tears" or "seas of blood" As Rabbi Y. Y. Rubinstein reminds in his new book, hatred of the Jewish people began when we first allowed ourselves to hate other Jews. I have known my friend Rabbi Rubinstein for many decades. We learned many classic Torah works together when he lived in Manchester. The words of many of those classics appear in these pages. Additionally, each chapter concludes with real stories that bring the message of that chapter to life. Building Tomorrow recalls the words of the Jerusalem Talmud that if you live in a generation that did not see the Temple rebuilt, it is because you and your generation are behaving toward one another in precisely the same way as the generation that caused its destruction. This book offers practical advice on how to combat the scourge of sinas chinam. It provides an analysis of how it starts and how it can be stopped for good. In addition, Building Tomorrow contains new translations of two essential works that address this topic, the Chafetz Chaim's Ahavas Yisrael and the first chapter of Rav Moshe Cordovero's Tomer Devorah. As Rabbi Rubinstein points out, my late father-in-law, the saintly Manchester Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Yehudah Zev Segal zt"l, did so much during his lifetime to make sure the message and mission of the Chafetz Chaim was not forgotten. Instead he strengthened it and made it grow. Building Tomorrow is an important tool for any Jew who is committed to playing his or her part to building a tomorrow where the curse of sinas chinam is gone for good and the Third Temple returns forever to stand shining in Yerushalayim, Hashem's golden city. Rabbi Moshe Kupetz