Part 2 – Silence Burns, Anger Saves

From a banquet that destroyed the Temple to a Rebbe who rebuked his own, the choice before every community remains the same.

In my last post, I wrote about the Talmudic story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. A banquet where humiliation was tolerated, silence reigned, and the Second Temple ultimately burned. You can read that piece here.

But there’s another side to the story of leadership. Not silence, but anger. Not humiliation, but holy indignation.

When My Anger Rose

I was having a perfectly good day. Deals, Partners, purpose. And then suddenly it shattered. Someone close to me was being scapegoated, beaten up, bullied and not for the first time.

Something fierce rose in me: anger, ego, even hatred. But instead of letting it boil, I wrote. That’s what I do now.

Better out than in.

And the response came fast. People from all backgrounds. One even asked if they could “steal” my words. I told him: say it in my name, that’s not theft, that’s redemption. Attribution redeems. Words repeated honestly bring healing into the world.

Then a message landed on WhatsApp: “Loved your latest article. You and Roza are so inspiring for us. Life is hard, but easier when you see others being their best selves.”

I sent it to Roza, because sometimes people say the very thing you didn’t even know you needed to hear.

And I realized: this isn’t weakness. This isn’t being lost. This is strength. This is calling things out, not to shame, but so they can be heard.

When the Rebbe Was Angry

There’s a story told about the Lubavitcher Rebbe that always moves me.

It was during the Didan Natzach victory, when Chabad won the court case to reclaim its stolen books. Spirits were high. Some bochurim gathered outside 770, singing and celebrating.

When the Rebbe arrived, instead of smiling, his face was described as livid.

Eyewitnesses say he rebuked the students sharply, his voice full of fire. He could not tolerate wasted time, gossip, or hollow celebration when every moment of Torah was precious. The boys scattered instantly before his gaze.

The Rebbe had time for everyone. The great and the small, the powerful and the broken. But what he did not have time for was bitul Torah, perversion masquerading as joy, or anything ungodly dressed in holy clothing.

For him, victory was never about noise. It was about discipline. It was about living the values we claimed to fight for.

Two Stories, One Warning

Bar Kamtza teaches us what happens when leaders sit silently as humiliation unfolds.

The Rebbe teaches us what happens when a leader refuses silence and lets righteous anger speak.

One banquet burned the Temple.

One rebuke saved the soul of a community.

Warts and All

This is me, warts and all, living by the Hachlata I made at 49, to go for broke.

To be fearless. To aim at the highest levels. To be the best I can be. To build the Business of Soul.

To name things honestly. To put words on paper instead of letting poison fester. To choose anger when silence corrodes.

Communities today face the same choice. Sit politely while scapegoating and cruelty fester, or rebuke, even if it stings. Dance and say “we won” while the floorboards smolder, or defend truth before the fire spreads.

Better to lose your seat at the banquet than to watch the house collapse in flames.

Better to be accused of anger than to be guilty of silence.

Because silence burns Temples.

And holy anger rebuilds them.

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series.

• Part 1: Kamtza & Bar Kamtza: When Silence Burns a Temple →

• Part 3: The Backyard Hunt: When Communities Eat Their Own → publishing soon.

  
  

Glossary

• Kamtza and Bar Kamtza – A Talmudic story (Gittin 55b–56a) about how humiliation and silence led to the destruction of the Second Temple.

• Didan Natzach – Hebrew for “ours is the victory,” the phrase Chabad used after winning the U.S. federal court case in the 1980s that confirmed the ownership of the Chabad library.

• 770 – The headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch, located at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York.

• Bochurim – Yeshiva students (usually unmarried young men).

• Bitul Torah – Wasting or neglecting Torah study when one has the opportunity and obligation to learn.

• Lubavitcher Rebbe – Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), the seventh leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, widely considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.

• Hachlata – A firm personal resolution or commitment to improve spiritually or practically.

• Business of Soul – A values-driven model of leadership and business that aligns discipline, honesty, and holiness with impact and growth.