There is a Gemara in Masechet Yoma (9b) that tells us that the first Bet Hamikdash was destroyed because of the three cardinal sins, whereas the second Bet Hamikdash didn’t have any of that. They had Torah and they had Gemilut Hasadim, and yet it was destroyed because of Sinat Hinam/ Baseless Hatred. The Gemara tells us that Sinat Hinam weighs in more than the three cardinal sins, and ends off with, “They were wicked in the time of the first Bet Hamikdash, but they relied on Hashem.“ From this Gemara, the Gaon of Vilna proves (in his Sefer Even Shlomo chapter 3) that the main thing is Bitachon. If you are lacking Bitachon, your Torah does not last. He says that a person who is strong in Bitachon, even though he might transgress sins, is better than one who lacks Bitachon. Because the one who lacks Bitachon comes to jealousy and hatred. Even though he is involved in Torah and Hessed, he’s only doing it to get a good name. It is not being done with sincerity. If he really believed, he would not feel hatred and he would not feel jealousy. So obviously, the Mitzvot that he’s doing are being done out of rote. This is an important concept. A person who really believes doesn’t have any hatred or jealousy. As the Sefer Chinuch writes ( in mitzvah 241), When a person realizes that everything that happens is from Hashem directly, and there’s nothing that your friend can do to you, In his words, “From a man or his brother, nothing can happen unless it’s the Will of God.” Therefore, “When a person pains or hurts him, he has to know in his heart that it is his sins that caused it. God decreed it, and “That is why there is no room for hate or jealousy..” Hate and jealousy are indicators that, deep down, full belief is lacking. The Gaon of Vilna reiterates this when he says, “During the time of the first Bet Hamikdash, their hearts were very good.” And Hashem wants our hearts. From the Gaon of Vilna, we see that a healthy heart is a heart full of Bitachon. In the times of the second Bet Hamikdash, they didn’t have bitachon, and that is what caused the Sinat Hinam. He says clearly that the lack of V’Ahavta L’Reecha was a lack of reliance on Hashem, and all hatred and jealousy comes from there. That is all on the negative side. On the positive side, the power of Bitachon, can bring the redemption, as the Yalkut Shemoni says in Tehilim (remez 736) “In the future, we will say on that day, This is our God, and we will point to Him. We hoped to Him, and He saved us.” On that, the Midrash says, “All we need to have is hope to God, that (reward of hoping to Him) is enough. As we say every day, “To you’re salvation we hoped everyday.” The Yalkut Shemoni says in another place, on Eicha (remez 1096), “A generation that is looking forward to God’s kingdom, immediately they’ll be saved, as it says, “There is a hope to your end.” It’s the hope that brings it about. The Midrash Raba on Bereshit (Parasha 98) says, “Rabbi Yitzhak says, Everything comes out through hope.“ On that, the Etz Yosef says, “It’s as if to say that even though a person is not worthy, he can merit to all the gifts of God, in the merit of his hoping to Hashem,” which means, in the zechut of his Emunah and Bitachon. We might not be worthy of redemption, except for in the merit of our hope and reliance on Hashem. The Ben Ish Chai, in his Sefer Ben YoYada, regarding the Gemara in Masechet Yoma quoted above, that they were wicked but they relied on Hashem, says, “Why is it that God didn’t destroy them? We all know that God had mercy and he let out his wrath on the wood and stones. It was because of their reliance on Hashem.“ And the Maharsha says that they should have been wiped out totally, but their Bitachon saved them. In essence, he says, it should have been like Sedom v’Amora, if not for their Bitachon. How far does this go- that Bitachon saves a person? In the three days of darkness in Mitzrayim, the wicked Jews died out. But the Rosh, in his commentary on the Torah (Parashat Bo) asks that if that was the case, why did Datan and Aviram survive? They were Resha’im/wicked. He answers that they were Resha’im, but they didn’t despair from the redemption. They were extremely wicked, but they still relied on Hashem for the geula, and that is why they were saved. How unbelievable are the negative forces of a lack of Bitachon, and the positive effects of having Bitachon. B’Ezrat Hashem, we are working on this midah, and we should be zoche to the Geula, Bimhera.