30. The fifth of Av is the yahrtzeit of the Arizal, and he very much encouraged ahavas Yisrael. Before one davens, the Arizal said that one should accept on himself the mitzvah of כמוך לרעך ואהבת, to love his fellow man as himself.
Towards the end of the Arizal's short life, the Arizal created a hesger, an exclusive compound in Tzfas for his ten primary students, where he taught them the secrets of the Torah. He warned them to be very cautious to avoid machlokes. But one Friday, two women got into a fight about something, and then their husbands got involved. Their shouts were heard from a distance.
Before Shabbos, the Arizal, with his students, walked out of Tzfas to be mekabel Shabbos in the fields (as was their weekly custom). The Arizal was usually extremely happy at this time, but this week, he appeared sad. Reb Chaim Vital zt'l asked him why, and the Arizal replied, "I heard the samach mem (Satan) say, אתם גם תספו מלככם גם, 'Also you and your king will die' (Shmuel 12:25), and I understand this to mean that I am going to die together with some of my students. And it's all because of the machlokes that occurred today. As long as there was peace among you, the Satan couldn't enter our secluded compound." Less than a week later, on the fifth of Av, the Arizal and five of his students were niftar.
It states in this week's parashah (1:12), וריבכם משאכם טרחכם לבדי אשא איכה. The Imrei Noam explains, איכה, Moshe told the nation that for matters related to the Churban and redemption, לבדי אשא, I will take full responsibility. I will arrange that the geulah will come. Your job is וריבכם משאכם טרחכם, to avoid sinas chinam.
Also, in this week's parashah, the trop over the words לבבינו המסו אחינו (Devarim 1:28) are ואזלא קדמא קטנה תלישה. The Beis Aharon zy'a explains: If there is a קטנה תלישה, a minor breach, אחינו, in the friendship, ואזלא קדמה, the dispute will grow greater and larger, and לבבינו המסו, our hearts melt. Therefore, the solution is to avoid even the smallest conflict.
31. Reb Elyah Lopian zt'l teaches the following: Fish are caught in two ways, either in a net or with a hook. When caught in a net, the fish know that they've been captured. But when a hook catches them, they think they are still free and that only their mouth has a problem. The nimshal refers to the two ways the yetzer hara catches people. There are times when the yetzer hara snares people into his net. The people in his net know that they've been caught. But there are times when the person thinks he is free; he believes that he only has a problem with his mouth (because he isn't careful not to speak lashon hara). He doesn't realize that he is also trapped and captured by the yetzer hara. Lashon hara might seem minor to you, but if you are caught, you are in the hands of the yetzer hara.
