The petition
Sinat chinam (baseless hatred) is the greatest pitfall of the Jewish people, and the source of much of our problems. Therefore, we hereby take upon ourselves to be extra careful, over and above the halachot of lashon hara, to avoid speech and actions which can be construed as promoting strife among Jews.
Areas we undertake to be specially diligent include the following:
Avoiding discussing the shortcomings of any individuals or sects of people, even if the subject matter is true and well-known. More specifically, we will do our best to avoid saying hinting to anything negative at all about Chareidim, Religious Zionists, Secular Jews, Rightists, Leftists, or any other group.
We will do our best to avoid speaking badly about any individual Jews we disagree with, be they rabbis, or politicians, or anyone else. While our leadership may not be perfect, complaining about it generally does more harm than good.
When a situation arises where criticizing certain people can have a practical or educational benefit, we will speak only after weighing the factors with great respect and trepidation. We will also do our best to distinguish between people and their beliefs, and when the necessity arises, criticize only the beliefs.
When we find ourselves in situations where such conversation cannot be avoided, we will explain to the group that we cannot participate due to the extra stringencies we have accepted. If this is not an option, we will try to change the topic or redirect it toward more positive speech, or simply walk away.
We will work extra hard not to judge people by their clothing, or extrapolate an individual's actions to a larger group of society. We want to train ourselves to purge such thoughts from our minds completely, to be pure of this sin.
We recognize that striving for this higher standard will require extra strength and a lifetime of effort, but we believe the efforts will be worth it for ourselves and all of Clal Yisrael.
Many people in today's believe that speaking out against injustice is a responsibility of upstanding people. While stamping out evil is clearly a religious obligation, we recognize that not all speech is equal, and that the habit of complaining without an action plan to change things can be more harmful than good. We will reserve our criticism only for instances when we feel we can really make a difference. Our silence will give us even greater strength to act at those times.
It goes without saying that we will also take upon ourselves to constantly learn and apply the laws of Bein Adam L'chaveiro. However, with this contract, we are committing ourselves to a higher standard of behavior as well.
“Make a fence for Torah” is one of the great rules that our great sages adhered to when deciding halacha, because certain things in life require a greater level of caution. Given the importance of brotherly love among Jews, and our miserable performance in this area thus far, we hereby take upon ourselves to be as strict as possible in this area.
Please print the following card and keep with you at all times, as a reminder of the importance of this commitment.
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