Hating Evil

The Netivot Shalom discusses the evil of the Midianites and how they were prepared to defile their daughters in order to weaken the Jewish people. There were two stages in dealing with them. In this week’s Parsha, the commandment was צרור את המדינים, despise the Midianim. And in next week’s Parsha, נקום את המדינים, take revenge against the Midianim, by waging war against them. We are taught that we must identify evil and its perpetrators. And then we must hate the evil, and distance ourselves from it. As long as we have any condoning or connection to those who do evil, that negative force will still be capable of attaching itself to us. This is necessary in order that we have true דבקות, cleaving to Hashem. Any evil that attaches to us, will prove to be a hindrance towards achieving this דבקות.