by Douglas Aronin
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
In his Times of Israel blogpost, Viewpoints Contributor Doug Aronin relates some of the qualities of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” to the rabbinic teaching that the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem was brought about by שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם (sinat hinam, baseless hatred):
The Atticus Finch of Mockingbird exemplifies the willingness to stand up for what’s right regardless of what others think, but that’s only part of the story. After all, the individual who stands against the crowd is a fairly common literary theme. What’s extraordinary about Atticus is that he stands against the majority without demonizing his opponents. When he explains to Scout why he’s defending Tom Robinson (a black man wrongly accused raping a white woman), though popular opinion is opposed, he adds the caution that “no matter how bitter things get, they’re still our friends and this is still our home.”
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Douglas Aronin is a retired attorney living in Forest Hills, Queens, who is continuing his lifelong involvement in the Jewish community.
A graduate of Columbia Law School, he practiced law for three decades (including a four-year stint with the New York State Attorney General's office) before retiring.
He served for many years as an officer of the UTJ and was a founding board member of the ITJ (Institute of Traditional Judaism) and editor-in-chief of Cornerstone 2.
Doug’s blog appears regularly on Times of Israel, where he addresses an array of political and religious subjects. His writings have also appeared in a wide range of other print and on-line forums.
Here are some of Doug's blog posts: