However, considering that the people during the Second Temple period were engaged in Torah study, observance of mitzvot, and acts of kindness, and that they did not perform the sinful acts that were performed in the First Temple, why was the Second Temple destroyed? It was destroyed due to the fact that there was wanton hatred during that period. This comes to teach you that the sin of wanton hatred is equivalent to the three severe transgressions: Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations and bloodshed.
הָאוֹמֵר, "אֶחֱטָא וְאָשׁוּב, אֶחֱטָא וְאָשׁוּב" – אֵין מַסְפִּיקִין בְּיָדוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה. "אֶחֱטָא וְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר" – אֵין יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר.
עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם – יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר. עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ – אֵין יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר, עַד שֶׁיְּרַצֶּה אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ.
אֶת זוֹ דָּרַשׁ רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה: מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם לִפְנֵי ה' תִּטְהָרוּ (ויקרא טז). עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם – יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר. עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ – אֵין יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר, עַד שֶׁיְּרַצֶּה אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ...
With regard to one who says: I will sin and then I will repent, I will sin and I will repent, Heaven does not provide him the opportunity to repent, and he will remain a sinner all his days. With regard to one who says: I will sin and Yom Kippur will atone for my sins, Yom Kippur does not atone for his sins.
Furthermore, for transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; however, for transgressions between a person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases the other person.
Similarly, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya taught that point from the verse: “From all your sins you shall be cleansed before God” (Leviticus 16:30). For transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; however, for transgressions between a person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases the other person...
לא תרצח לא תנאף וגו' וכל העם רואים את הקולות. אמרו במכילתא: כיצד נתנו עשרת הדברות?
חמש על לוח זה וה' על לוח זה.
כתיב "אנכי ה' אלקיך", וכנגדו "לא תרצח" - שכל מי ששופך דמים כאלו ממעט את הדמות.
כתיב "לא יהיה לך" וכנגדו "לא תנאף" - מגיד שכל מי שעובד עבודת אלילים מעלה עליו כאלו מנאף אחר המקום.
כתי' "לא תשא" וכנגדו כתיב "לא תגנוב" - מגיד שכל מי שהוא גנב סופו לבוא אל שבועת שוא, שנא' "הגנב רצח ונאף" וגו', וכתיב "אלה וכחש.." וגו'.
כתיב "זכור את יום השבת" וכנגדו כתיב "לא תענה ברעך עד שקר" - מגיד הכתוב שכל מי שהוא מחלל את השבת, מעיד לפני מי שאמר והיה העולם שלא נח בשביעי. וכל מי ששומר את השבת, מעיד בבריאת העולם שנאמר "ואתם עדי נאם ה'".
כתיב "כבד את אביך" וכנגדו כתיב "לא תחמוד" - מגיד שכל מי שהוא חומד לסוף מוליד בן שהוא מקלל אביו ומכבד למי שאינו אביו...
You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery, etc. All the people witnessed the sounds: They said in the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:14) - How were the Ten Commandments given? Five on one tablet and five on the other.
It is written, "I am Adonai your God," and opposite it, "You shall not murder" - since spilling blood is tantamount to diminishing the likeness [of God].
It is written, "There shall not be unto you [any other gods]," and opposite it, "You shall not commit adultery," saying that anyone worshipping idolatry is tantamount to adultery against the Omnipresent.
It is written, "You shall not take [the name of Adonai your God in vain]," and opposite it, "You shall not steal," saying that anyone who steals - in the end - comes to swear in vain, as it is written (Jeremiah 7:9), "Shall one steal, murder, commit adultery, [swear falsely]." And it is written (Hosea 4:2), "swearing, lying, [murdering, stealing]."
It is written, "Remember the Sabbath day," and opposite it, "You shall not testify falsely against your fellow" - Scripture is saying that anyone who desecrates the Sabbath testifies before God who spoke and brought the world into being that God did not rest on the seventh day; and anyone who keeps the Sabbath thereby testifies about [God's] creation of the world, as it is written (Isaiah 43:10), "You are My witnesses, says the Lord."
It is written, "Honor your father [and your mother]," and opposite it, "You shall not covet," saying that anyone who covets - in the end - comes to beget a son who curses his father, and honors one who is not his father....
אַקַּמְצָא וּבַר קַמְצָא חֲרוּב יְרוּשָׁלַיִם: דְּהָהוּא גַּבְרָא דְּרָחֲמֵיהּ קַמְצָא, וּבְעֵל דְּבָבֵיהּ בַּר קַמְצָא. עֲבַד סְעוֹדְתָּא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ לְשַׁמָּעֵיהּ: "זִיל אַיְיתִי לִי קַמְצָא". אֲזַל אַיְיתִי לֵיהּ בַּר קַמְצָא.
אֲתָא אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ דַּהֲוָה יָתֵיב! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "מִכְּדֵי הָהוּא גַּבְרָא בְּעֵל דְּבָבֵאּ דְּהָהוּא גַּבְרָא. הוּא מַאי בָּעֵית הָכָא? קוּם פּוֹק!" אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "הוֹאִיל וַאֲתַאי, שִׁבְקַן וְיָהֵיבְנָא לָךְ דְּמֵי מָה דְּאָכֵילְנָא וְשָׁתֵינָא."
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "לָא!"
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "יָהֵיבְנָא לָךְ דְּמֵי פַּלְגָא דִּסְעוֹדְתָּיךְ."
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "לָא!"
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "יָהֵיבְנָא לָךְ דְּמֵי כּוּלַּהּ סְעוֹדְתָּיךְ."
אֲמַר לֵיהּ" "לָא!"
נַקְטֵיהּ בִּידֵיהּ, וְאוֹקְמֵיהּ וְאַפְּקֵיהּ.
אָמַר: הוֹאִיל וַהֲווֹ יָתְבִי רַבָּנַן וְלָא מַחוֹ בֵּיהּ, שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ קָא נִיחָא לְהוּ. אֵיזִיל אֵיכוֹל בְּהוּ קוּרְצָא בֵּי מַלְכָּא.
אֲזַל, אֲמַר לֵיהּ לְקֵיסָר: "מְרַדוּ בָּךְ יְהוּדָאֵי."
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "מִי יֵימַר?"
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: "שַׁדַּר לְהוּ קוּרְבָּנָא, חָזֵית אִי מַקְרְבִין לֵיהּ"
אֲזַל שַׁדַּר בִּידֵיהּ עִגְלָא תִּלְתָּא. בַּהֲדֵי דְּקָאָתֵי, שְׁדָא בֵּיהּ מוּמָא בְּנִיב שְׂפָתַיִם. וְאָמְרִי לַהּ בְּדוּקִּין, שֶׁבָּעַיִן דּוּכְתָּא דִּלְדִידַן הָוֵה מוּמָא, וּלְדִידְהוּ לָאו מוּמָא הוּא.
סְבוּר רַבָּנַן לְקָרוֹבֵיהּ מִשּׁוּם שְׁלוֹם מַלְכוּת. אֲמַר לְהוּ רַבִּי זְכַרְיָה בֶּן אַבְקוּלָס: "יֹאמְרוּ בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין קְרֵיבִין לְגַבֵּי מִזְבֵּחַ!"
סְבוּר לְמִיקְטְלֵיהּ דְּלָא לֵיזִיל.
וְלֵימָא אֲמַר לְהוּ רַבִּי זְכַרְיָה: "יֹאמְרוּ מֵטִיל מוּם בַּקֳּדָשִׁים יֵהָרֵג!"
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: עִנְוְותָנוּתוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי זְכַרְיָה בֶּן אַבְקוּלָס הֶחְרִיבָה אֶת בֵּיתֵנוּ וְשָׂרְפָה אֶת הֵיכָלֵנוּ וְהִגְלִיתָנוּ מֵאַרְצֵנוּ.
The Gemara explains: Jerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza and bar Kamtza. This is as there was a certain man whose friend was named Kamtza and whose enemy was named bar Kamtza. He once made a large feast and said to his servant: Go bring me my friend Kamtza. The servant went and mistakenly brought him his enemy bar Kamtza.
The man who was hosting the feast came and found bar Kamtza sitting at the feast! The host said to bar Kamtza: "That man is the enemy [ba’al devava] of that man, that is, you are my enemy. What then do you want here? Arise and leave." Bar Kamtza said to him: Since I have already come, let me stay and I will give you money for whatever I eat and drink.
The host said to him: No, you must leave. Bar Kamtza said to him: I will give you money for half of the feast. The host said to him: No, you must leave. Bar Kamtza then said to him: I will give you money for the entire feast. The host said to him: No, you must leave. Finally, the host took bar Kamtza by his hand, stood him up, and took him out.
After having been cast out from the feast, bar Kamtza said to himself: Since the Sages were sitting there and did not protest the actions of the host, although they saw how he humiliated me, learn from it that they were content with what he did. I will therefore go and inform [eikhul kurtza] against them to the king. He went and said to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. The emperor said to him: Who says that this is the case? Bar Kamtza said to him: Go and test them; send them an offering to be brought in honor of the government, and see whether they will sacrifice it.
The emperor went and sent with him a choice three-year-old calf. While bar Kamtza was coming with the calf to the Temple, he made a blemish on the calf’s upper lip. And some say he made the blemish on its eyelids, a place where according to us, i.e., halakha, it is a blemish, but according to them, gentile rules for their offerings, it is not a blemish.
The Sages thought to sacrifice the animal as an offering due to the imperative to maintain peace with the government. Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas said to them: If the priests do that, people will say that blemished animals may be sacrificed as offerings on the altar. The Sages said: If we do not sacrifice it, then we must prevent bar Kamtza from reporting this to the emperor. The Sages thought to kill [bar Kamtza] so that he would not go and speak against them. Rabbi Zekharya said to them: If you kill him, people will say that one who makes a blemish on sacrificial animals is to be killed. As a result, they did nothing, bar Kamtza’s slander was accepted by the authorities, and consequently the war between the Jews and the Romans began.
Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The excessive humility of Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land.