Tisha B'Av is just around the corner. At this time, we should try to understand what caused the Exile, because the only way to solve any problem is to understand its root cause. How can we bring the end of the Exile (not just the physical one but the spiritual Exile as well)?

We learn that the Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred.

So, you might think, that means I'm clear. The only person I hate is sitting in the dark in his destroyed lair in Rammallah.

No, you're not fine. Every Jew is expected to make a contribution to the Redemption. Every generation which does not build the Beis HaMikdash is considered to have destroyed it.

So what contribution can you make?

First, it's vital to understand what the baseless hatred at the time of the Destruction consisted of.

If you learn about the period of the Churban, you will see that there was a rift in Jewish society between the Pharisees, who clung to their traditions, and the Hellenists, who admired the Roman/Greek way of life. This was the source of the baseless hatred.

There is a famous gemara, known as the story of Kamtsa and Bar Kamtsa(two men). A certain man invited Kamtsa, a good friend, to a party, but Bar Kamtsa, someone he couldn't stand, got the invitation. When Bar Kamtsa showed up, the man told him to leave. Bar Kamtsa pleaded with the man, and even offered to pay for the entire party, if the man would only spare him the embarrassment of being thrown out. The man grabbed him, and physically threw him out. So far, so bad. But it's not over yet. Kamtsa said to himself, "There were Rabbis at the party, but they didn't say anything. They must have enjoyed what happened." Bar Kamtsa then went and arranged a plot against the Pharisees, which I won't go into now (and which worked).

Who knows what the Rabbis were thinking? They might have seen it as something they shouldn't get involved in. In the end, noone escaped blame.

Now for the truly rotten news. It's not over. It's not finished. Today, the Jews are still divided by the same baseless hatred. The spiritual heirs of the Pharisees, the Orthodox, see Conservative and Reform Jews, and, of course, chilonim, as outside their sphere. No need to come close to them, thank G-d. They might not know or intend it, but they're complete heretics. We should just concentrate on our own community. If the chilonim can't stand us, it's their big problem. This attitude is what allows the enmity between religious and secular Jews to find a foundation. We need to realize that Kol Yisrael Arevim applies to them too. We should care about and for them, and bring them close.

I have two brothers who make a great moshal for the problem in Jewish society. The younger one resists davening, putting on tzitzis, etc. The other tries to get him to do these things. They are constantly fighting (when they're not watching TV). What is the real issue? Why won't the problem reach a solution? The reason is that they can't give up their fighting attitude. When the older brother tells the younger to daven, the younger feels that he has to "win" by refusing. The only way for the older brother to actually get the younger to change is for him to stop telling the younger that he's wrong. Instead, the older must try to come close to the younger, and to make him realize that what he, the older, tells him to do is out of concern. But he doesn't realize that he wants to win the fight more than he actually wants the younger brother to change for his own sake.

Until you respect someone, anything they say goes in one ear and out the other, and in between is twisted to mean something that was never said. We must pick up the shattered pieces of the image of the religious Jew. Our fellow Jews must realize that Orthodox Judaism is not in and of itself hateful and self-serving. True, there are corrupt Charedim, but we cannot let them be the face of Orthodoxy. It is our job to show our Jewish brothers what Judaism really teaches about the unity and brotherhood of the Jewish people. Until we come to respect each other, we can never meld into the unified whole that G-d wants us to be.

Let me conclude with a quote from vidui- "for we and our fathers have sinned..." We are punished for our fathers' sins when we repeat them. Instead, let us correct ourselves where they went wrong. When you meet a Jew of any color, greet him with a smile. Want to get to know the person, more than you want to be more right than him. Respect him and care about him, because he is your brother. In that merit, may Hashem remove the punishment that He has placed on us and our fathers, and bring the final Redemption.