3) The Gemara in Yoma (9b) famously states:
מקדש ראשון מפני מה חרב, מפני שלשה דברים שהיו בו עבודה זרה, וגלוי עריות, ושפיכות דמים וכו' אבל מקדש שני , שהיו עוסקין בתורה ובמצות וגמילות חסדים מפני מה חרב , מפני שהיתה בו שנאת חנם , ללמדך ששקולה שנאת חנם כנגד שלש עבירות, עבודה זרה, גלוי עריות, ושפיכות דמים .
“Why was the First Beis HaMikdash destroyed? For three things: avodah zarah, gilui arayos, and shefichas damim… But the Second Beis HaMikdash, when they engaged in Torah, mitzvos, and gemilus chasadim — why was it destroyed? Because of sin’as chinam. This teaches that sin’as chinam equals the three cardinal sins combined.”
The Chasam Sofer (Yoma 9b) and the Kesav Sofer both raise a sharp question: From the Gemara it seems that specifically because the hatred was chinam – baseless, the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, however, had it come for a good reason then we would still have the Beis HaMikdash, is this possibly true?
i) The Chasam Sofer answers this based on the Gemara in Pesachim (113b). The Gemara teaches that if one witnesses his fellow committing a sin, he is in fact obligated to hate him. Had their hatred been grounded in genuine observed wrongdoing, it would have been mitzvah-hatred — entirely permitted. The transgression was precisely that their hatred was chinam, without any valid basis.
ii) The Kesev Sofer (Likkutim on Eichah) answers: When hatred arises from real grievance, arbitration is possible — the parties can be brought together and a resolution negotiated. However, when hatred arises for no real reason, and hatred is itself the goal, then there is nothing to do, as even if one pretext is removed, another one will appear. Therefore, there was nothing that could be done, and the churban was the only option.
Whilst we are talking about sin’as chinom it is worth mentioning the powerful words of the Chida (Devorim Achodim, Derush 6): All day we mourn about the churban and yearn for geulah — yet we lack the basic clarity to see that the sin that destroyed the Second Beis HaMikdash may still fester among us. If the cause of the churban has not been removed, how can we expect the Beis HaMikdash to be rebuilt? How can we say “לישועתך קוינו כל היום” – “Your salvation we await all day”, when there is still sin’as chinam amongst us. It is like planting a tree with one hand while chopping it down with the other. Is there anything more ridiculous than this? What can we expect when we still have this tomei act of sin’as chinom amongst us.
In Birchas HaChodesh we mention: מי שעשה ניסים לאבותינו וגאל אותם מעבדות לחרות הוא יגאל אותנו חברים כל ישראל ונאמר אמן. The question is, what is “chaverim kol Yisrael” doing in the middle of a tefillah for geulah?
The Divrei Yatziv incredibly explains: We are asking Hashem to redeem us — but since the churban was caused by sin’as chinam, we must first demonstrate that we have repaired that sin. By declaring chaverim kol Yisrael, we are showing that we are all friends once again, and there is no longer sin’as chinam amongst us, therefore, our tefillah for the geulah now has what to stand on.
