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Why was Jerusalem destroyed for 'not criticizing each other' when hatred typically increases criticism? The mitzvah (מצוה) of tochecha isn't about criticizing but about l'hachziro l'musar — bringing someone back to the right path. True constructive criticism says 'you're hurting yourself' rather than 'you're a sinner.'
This shiur explores the proper understanding of the mitzvah (מצוה) of tochecha (constructive criticism) through the lens of a contradiction in the reasons given for the destruction of Jerusalem. The Gemara (גמרא) provides multiple explanations for why Jerusalem was destroyed, including sinas chinam (baseless hatred) mentioned in Yoma, failure to go lifnim mishuras hadin (beyond the letter of the law) in Bava Metzia, and sh'lo hochichu zeh es zeh (they didn't criticize each other) in Shabbos (שבת). Tosafos (תוספות) addresses the apparent contradiction between sinas chinam and not going beyond the letter of the law by explaining that when people hate each other, they won't go out of their way to help. However, Rabbi Zweig points out that this doesn't resolve the contradiction with the reason of 'not criticizing each other,' since people who hate each other typically criticize more, not less.
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Why did three great Jewish cities fall to Rome despite their righteousness? The Talmud in Gittin reveals that all three tragedies shared a common flaw: the inability to see consequences (ro'eh es hanolad). This means failing to consider how others view your actions, focusing only on your own perspective rather than living with objective wisdom in God's unified world.
Why were three major Jewish cities destroyed despite their high levels of righteousness and scholarship? The shiur explains that true wisdom (chochmah) isn't intelligence but the moral quality of seeing consequences - understanding how others perceive our actions. The lack of this perspective led to the destruction.
Bava Metzia (referenced), Shabbos (referenced), Yoma (referenced)
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