"Sinah" (Psalms 139:22) is the opposite of "ahava." We would like to believe that when we hate something or someone, there is a logical reason behind our hate. The truth is that there will always be people, objects, or ideas which raise strong feelings of "anti." (Keep in mind that hatred as an emotion is not necessarily something bad - for example, hatred of evil or hatred of our bad traits.) The worst kind of hatred, however, is hatred just for its own sake. According to the Talmud, the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed because of evil deeds; the second was destroyed because we just couldn't get along, due to "sinat chinam." The rule? Thinking or saying "I hate…" is generally negative - unless you happen to be a muppet.

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