Our Gemara on Amud Beis describes the various rules regarding two people eating together, where one is eating meat and the other dairy:

“Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Two unacquainted guests [akhsena’in] may eat together on one table, this one eating meat and that one eating cheese, and they need not be concerned lest they come to violate the prohibition of eating meat and milk by partaking of the food of the other.”

“Rav Ḥanan bar Ami says that Shmuel says: They taught this halakha only in a case where the guests do not know each other, as they will not eat of each other’s food. But in a situation where they know each other, it is prohibited for them to eat together at the same table.”

Rashi (Bereishis 33:4) discusses the apparent but suspicious change of heart that Esav suddenly had, kissing his brother:

“Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: Is it not a well-known halacha that Esau hates Jacob? But at that moment his pity was really aroused and he kissed him with his whole heart. (Sifrei Bamidbar 69.2)”

Why is the word Halacha used in this context? What is it coming to emphasize? Sefer Daf Al Daf says that this hints at the halachic implication, that a Jew and a gentile may eat at the same table, meat and milk, because there is not enough friendliness for there to be automatic sharing. This is a clever quip, showing depth and hints within the words of our sages. But on a more simple level, what did this word choice really mean?

Igros Moshe (CM II:77) states that the implication is that it is a constant, in the long run, and does not change, just as the Halacha is a constant, and in the long run does not change. In the context of that responsum, he was saying that, even if there is a moment in time where it seems that there is a genuine friendliness or affinity between the other nations of the world and the Jewish people, it is important to keep in mind that it is not constant nor stable. In reality, the baseline is that there will be hatred.

This is a painful lesson that unfortunately, we are beginning to see again with the current upswing in antisemitism. An antisemitism that transcends any rationality. After October 7 the narrative quickly turned on the victims, and the Jews were considered the genocidal maniacs, and so much of world sentiment turned against them. This is bewildering, except for the fact that it seems to be the baseline, no matter that we wish otherwise. 

If you came from a different planet, and you wanted to understand the populations of the world, by just looking at the news articles and reading the headlines, you would think that Israel occupied 30% of the planet. This sheer number of news articles, of course mostly critical, and volume of attention devoted to disciplining Israel for its problems and the Jewish people for its problems, transcends anything rational. Why in the world is so much attention being paid to what we do? There is no answer other than this supernatural reality that there is a strong urge to hate us. It’s part of our divine destiny.

And, perhaps that’s what it means by Halacha. Sometimes, we follow a halacha because it is a tradition, even when it doesn’t really make sense to us. This is our tradition; as much as it does not make sense, it seems to be true. It is part of God’s plan, and let us hope that ultimately we see the good in it very soon, instead of more oppression and misery for us, and for the rest of the world as well.