The Gemara concludes, "Reb Zecharyah ben Avkulas's humility destroyed our house, burned the heichal, and exiled us from our land."
The Meor Einayim (Gittin) asks:
- Was it Reb Zecharyah ben Avkulas's humility that caused the destruction? It seems that it was his excessive caution in halachah that caused the Churban.
- It is permitted to transgress most halachos of the Torah to save a Jew's life. So why didn’t they offer the korban with the mum or kill Bar Kamtza to save the Jewish nation?
The Meor Einayim answers that Reb Zecharyah ben Avkulas was the gadol hador. This is obvious from the Gemara, because all the scholars accepted his ruling. Being a gadol hador, he also had ruach hakodesh. With his ruach hakodesh, he knew that the Churban was imminent and that nothing could be done to change that decree. This is the reason Reb Zecharyah didn't allow them to sacrifice the korban with the mum, and he didn't allow them to kill Bar Kamtza. Logically, it made sense to do one of these options, to protect the Jewish nation from the king's wrath, but he knew with his ruach hakodesh that the Churban was decreed and finalized in heaven, and couldn't be avoided. So, even if they brought the korban, and even if they killed Bar Kamtza, the Churban would occur regardless. He therefore decided that we should at least preserve the halachos of the Torah.
Reb Zecharyah didn't tell the chachamim that he had ruach hakodesh, and he didn't tell them that his halachos are based on his awareness that the Churban was imminent. But why didn't he? He should have told them, "You're right, it's pikuach nefesh, and we should do whatever we can to avoid the king's wrath, but I know with my ruach hakodesh that it anyway won't help. The Churban will occur no matter what we do. Therefore, let us at least preserve the halachos." Why didn't Reb Zecharyah tell them this?
This was because of Reb Zecharyah's humility. He didn't want to reveal to them that he had ruach hakodesh. The Meor Einayim writes, "This is the meaning of החריבה אביקילוס בן זכריה רבי של ענותנותו, 'The humility of Reb Zecharyah ben Avkulas destroyed...' If it weren't for his humility, he would have told them about the Churban, they would have davened, done teshuvah, beseeched Hashem to have compassion on them, and the decree would be rescinded. Thus, it was Reb Zecharyah's humility that caused the destruction."
For our purposes, we see from this another source that the Churban could have been prevented with tefillos. Teshuvah and tefillah are always effective. They would have prevented the Churban.
Following a slightly different approach, we can explain that Reb Zecharyah didn't believe he had the power of tefillah. He also didn't believe that others have the power of tefillah, which is the reason he didn't feel it was necessary to tell them about the upcoming Churban. This is an example of a negative form of humility. It is when one doesn't believe in his strengths. This misplaced humility resulted in the Churban.
