the jews of the second temple periods crime was that they went to court with eachother for the smallest, pettiest reasons. it is called sinnath hinnom, or baseless hatred. this is the reason the temple fell, because you cannot love god without loving your fellow man, for he is the image of god. it is reprehensible to hashem to bring him a sacrifice while mistreating your fellow man. this is outlined first in the narrative of the flood. they were wiped out because it is way worse to act with hatred towards your fellow man than against god. the tower of babel demonstrates this concept as well, men worked together as brothers, for the purpose of fighting god, and only had their languages scattered as punishment.
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