The natural order is such that when a person becomes ill, chas veshalom, and consults a doctor to determine the appropriate course of action, the first step the doctor takes is to investigate the causes of the illness. The doctor inquires about the patient’s diet, activities, and recent habits. Only after forming a clear picture can the doctor provide a proper diagnosis, understand the origin and nature of the illness, and prescribe an appropriate remedy. This principle applies universally to all healing and rectification: one cannot address or heal a problem without first understanding its nature and cause.
The destruction of our Beis Hamikdash and its glory is a profound and enduring affliction. Every Jew who yearns for its healing must first understand what they must do to facilitate its repair. Therefore, it is imperative to thoroughly investigate the underlying causes of this calamity so that we may determine the appropriate remedy.
Chazal explicitly taught us that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed due to the sin of sinas chinam—baseless hatred. Consequently, it follows that the fitting remedy to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash is ahavas Yisrael—love for one’s fellow Jew. This is what the Almighty seeks from us. When we rectify this failing, we bring the redemption closer.
The beginning of rectifying ahavas Yisrael starts within a person’s own home. Unfortunately, many stumble in this regard. A person might appear outwardly kind, upright, and pleasant to others, but within the confines of their home, they may transform into someone entirely different. There, their true character is revealed: whether they can yield and restrain themselves, whether they receive their family with a pleasant demeanor, or whether they manage their household with peace, joy, and patience. This is the essence of rectifying baseless hate. Through this internal work, we can address the root of the sin that caused the Beis Hamikdash’s destruction, and may we soon merit witnessing the rebuilding of our Beis Hamikdash and the consolation of Tzion and Yerushalayim in our days. Amen.
The holy Rebbe, the Beis Yisrael of Gur, zt”l, once heard people praising a Jew, saying he was a man of kindness, good-heartedness, and fine character traits. The Beis Yisrael responded: “To determine whether someone truly possesses good middos, one must ask his wife. She alone knows the secret of his character.”
Indeed, it is specifically within the home that a person’s inner essence is revealed. Outside, in the presence of strangers, it is easy to present a facade of kindness and virtue. The true test lies in one’s conduct with his spouse and household.
In the shul of the holy Rav Yechezkel Abramsky, author of Chazon Yechezkel, a Torah reader once approached the bimah to read from the Torah. However, his reading was evidently unprepared, resulting in numerous mistakes. The kehillah, as was customary, followed along and corrected him at every turn, pointing out error after error, causing frequent interruptions as the reader repeatedly had to revise his reading.
Throughout this episode, Rav Abramsky stood quietly to the side. He did not comment on the reader’s mistakes nor did he join the kehillah in correcting him. After davening, someone asked him why he had remained silent. Surely he too noticed the multitude of errors in the Torah reading—why had he refrained from correcting them?
Rav Abramsky responded with wisdom: “The Almighty has granted me the merit to author some twenty-five sefarim, including the Chazon Yechezkel series on the Tosefta. I have also been privileged to serve as a Rav and head of a beis din in London and here in the Holy Land as the head of the Slabodka Yeshivah. Would it be proper to forfeit all of this—everything I have achieved in my lifetime—just to humiliate and embarrass the Torah reader? After all, one who publicly shames their fellow has no share in the World to Come!” (Sanhedrin 107a).
At a family celebration, an unfortunate incident occurred. Two brothers-in-law who had a deep-seated conflict met at the event. The old quarrel reignited, a spark of contention was lit, and
Chazal teach us (Yoma 9b): “Why was the Second Beis Hamikdash — during whose era they were engaged in Torah study, mitzvos, and acts of kindness—destroyed? Because there was baseless hatred among them. This teaches us that baseless hatred is equivalent to the three [cardinal] sins.”
