The following is an article I wrote for a Rabbinical journal – hence it relies on a fair amount of background words – Rectifying Sinas Chinom

A few teachings from Chassidus:

Firstly, what does it mean that the first Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed for sins known to man (Gilui Arayous, Shefichas Domim, etc.) the Second for hidden sins – hence, as the first was known, people could rectify it, the second not!? – We know clearly, the Second – Yidden had Torah and Gemilus Chassadim but Sinas Chinam caused the destruction!

In the famous Mammer of HeichuLtzu the Rebbe Rashab laments the Sinas Chinom amongst Jews and through understanding his point there we can answer the above question.

He teaches – the reason there is Sinas Chinam is not because Rueven hurt Shimoin, so Shimoin is angry at Rueven – that would be sinah with a reason, not chinoim – sinas chinam is in fact jealousy – Rueven is a baal gaaveh – he sees himself as a Gadol, he considers himself as complete, hence he feels that anyone else who exists, is somehow detracting from his kovoid!!!

So as a person is also biased / mishuchnah, hence the subconscious mind does not allow a person to believe that he has sinas chinam, which is absolutely a disgusting characteristic; so what it does is, he begins to believe that there is genuine faults in Shimoin – now, truly, no one is without faults, but to highlight these faults to the extent that one can ignore all of the person’s good, is the ability of subconscious jealousy – often, he IMAGINES faults!

Truth to be told we see sinas chinom from different groups opposing Chassidim, for example…

The reason for this sinah, is not based on a taam, for if a person genuinely cares about another, as Rashi teaches on Hoicheih Toichiech they certainly wouldn’t transgress Lashon Hara and worse, halabanas pnie chavieroi! for which reason the Torah precedes “loi sisnah es achichah bilvavechah” before hoicheh toicheeh; rather, this in fact answers another klotz kasheh…

We know, that the Baal Shem Tov teaches, that every person is a mirror, if we see fault in another, we can only see it, if that VERY SAME fault exists in us! (This is also proven in psychology) this being the case, when can a person actually fulfill the mitzvah of hoichech tochiech, if we know it says kishoit aztmichah before kishoit achierim!

The answer the Rebbe teaches in parshahs noach.

If we are bothered by a fault in another, this means we are jealous, and Hashem shows us this, so WE, not they should rectify the fault! in fact, if we / person lacks ahavas yisroel they have no right and it is an aveirah to do the mitzvah of hocheich toichaich; for loi sisnah as the Baal Shem Tov teaches, is the corollary lo saseh (for every aseh has a loi saseh) of ve-ehavteh lerachah coimacah!

However, if our minds, instead of thinking negatively, feels compassion – and hence we desire only ONLY! to help the other; then it is truly a mitzvah to explain, in the mechanism of Shulchan Aruch to the other, that “for their sake we would like to share something which can be to their benefit!”

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