The Talmud tells us the Second Temple was destroyed because of sinat chinam, baseless hatred between siblings (Yoma 9b). Anyone who knows the history has to ask the obvious question: didn’t the rabbis know Rome destroyed the Temple? Of course they knew. Legions did the burning. But the rabbis made a choice, and it was a wise one. Rome was not something they could fix. What was happening between us was.

This wasn’t naive history. Later voices in the tradition, the Netziv and the Chafetz Chaim among them, kept complicating the picture, insisting sinat chinam alone doesn’t account for the fall. They knew it was partial. They taught it anyway, because a partial truth you can act on beats a complete truth that leaves you helpless. If we ever wanted a home again, dwelling on Rome’s responsibility wouldn’t get us there. Looking at our own fractures........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)