We continue with the Bet Halevi’s words He brings a pasuk in Eicha that says, חֵטְא חָטְאָה יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם עַל־כֵּן לְנִידָה הָיָתָה כׇּל־מְכַבְּדֶיהָ הִזִּילוּהָ כִּי־רָאוּ עֶרְוָתָהּ גַּם־הִיא נֶאֶנְחָה וַתָּשׇׁב אָחוֹר Jerusalem has sinned a sin, Therefore, we treat her like a woman in Niddah. All those that respected her disgraced her, They saw her disgrace. And she groaned and returned The Bet HaLevi explains that there are 613 Mitzvot and Averot in our Torah. But many sins, such as eating unkosher or breaking Shabbat, are not inherently a sin, because there are times where those things are permitted (for example, for matters of life and death). Of the 613 Mitzvot, only three are inherently sins. Those are the cardinal sins for which there are no excuses; a person must die rather than commit them. Therefore, the first pasuk refers to the first Bet HaMikdash, where they, “sinned a sin.” It was one of the three cardinal sins, and it was רָאוּ עֶרְוָתָהּ- out in the open, as we have mentioned many times. Everyone disgraced her. Therefore, she did Teshuva. גַּם־הִיא נֶאֶנְחָה וַתָּשׇׁב אָחוֹר She groaned, which means she felt bad about it and she returned in Teshuva. Furthermore, we compare the sins of the first Bet HaMikdash to a woman in Nidah. A Nidah is impure for seven days, regardless of what she does. So too, for the first Bet HaMikdash, there was a set sentence of seventy years, regardless of what they did. On the other hand, the rebuilding of the Second Bet HaMikdash is dependent only on Teshuva. If there is no Teshuva, then there can be no fixing it. That’s why we are still in this Galut- Because there is no set time for the sin of Sinat Hinam/Baseless Hatred. As we have said before, the sin of Sinat Hinam is harder to fix. It is not out in the open, and we don’t groan about it. That is why we are still here today. The Bet HaLevi contrasts this with the first Bet HaMikdash, in which although the sins were great, it was because they were great that they were noticeable, which made the the people groan, which in turn caused them to do Teshuva. Sinat Hinam, however, is not noticeable, so people don’t groan over or regret it, and therefore we are stuck where we are. B’ezrat Hashem, we will speak more on this concept tomorrow.