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Why was Jerusalem destroyed for lack of criticism when sinat chinam suggests people didn't get along well? The Rambam (רמב"ם) redefines tochacha as helping someone understand how their actions harm themselves, with the actual mitzvah (מצוה) being to guide them back to goodness. Jerusalem fell because without genuine care, criticism becomes attack rather than loving guidance.
Rabbi Zweig begins by addressing an apparent contradiction in the Talmud (תלמוד) regarding why Jerusalem was destroyed. Tractate Shabbos (שבת) states it was because people didn't criticize each other properly, while Tractate Yoma attributes it to sinat chinam (baseless hatred). The question arises: if people didn't get along, wouldn't there be plenty of criticism? Rabbi Zweig connects this to Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) and Parshat Devarim, both of which Rashi (רש"י) identifies as books of 'divrei' - words of criticism. The core insight comes from analyzing the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s Laws of Deot (character development). The Rambam defines the mitzvah (מצוה) of tochacha not as telling someone 'God forbids this,' but rather as saying 'Why are you doing something harmful to yourself?' This reframes criticism from a position of religious authority to one of genuine concern and friendship. More importantly, the Rambam states that the actual mitzvah is not to criticize, but 'lehachzir otam l'mutav' - to bring the person back to the good path. Criticism is merely the means, not the end.
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