We have been talking about the principle that a sin that is not recognized is a more difficult sin to fix.
The Sinat Hinam that was going on in the times of the Second Bet HaMikdash, and the Sinat Hinam that goes on today, is difficult to fix, because we don’t realize our sin.
There is a pasuk in Yirmiyah (chapter 2, pasuk 35) where God says,
הִנְנִי נִשְׁפָּט אוֹתָךְ עַל־אׇמְרֵךְ לֹא חָטָאתִי
I am judging you for saying, “I have not sinned.”
The Yalkut Shemoni says that God is different than a flesh and blood king. When a flesh and blood king asks a person whether they have killed or not, if the man admits that he killed, he gets the death penalty. But Hashem does not work that way. When you sin to God, He has mercy on you, as it says, ‘When you admit and forsake your sin, God will have mercy and compassion on you,’ and it quotes this pasuk.
It’s important to understand that God likes when we realize and admit our sins. It brings kapara/atonement, so it’s worthwhile to appreciate this. Hashem likes when we look into ourselves, and when we are honest with ourselves.
Rav Chaim Palagi, in his sefer Moed Kol Chai (chapter 15), quotes this pasuk, that says that God judges people for saying that they did not sin, and adds that those for kinds of sins, you need special Divine Providence in order to overcome those obstacles, because it is so difficult.
So what do you do?
The Chafetz Chaim, in the introduction to to his sefer on Hilchot Lashon Hara, says that
the best thing to do is learn the topic, because then it’s not hefker/boundless.
He says that once you have learned the laws of Lashon Hara, even if you’ve sinned, you aren’t considered a Baal Lashon Hara. It’s not your way. Otherwise, it would be very severe. And he explains that all the severities written about a sin are only applicable when a person becomes entrenched in that sin. But when a person realizes that something is a sin, it’s a whole different story.
That is the advantage of learning the laws. And that is our purpose. We may not be free from baseless hatred, but at least we are putting it on the radar. It’s not something that we’ll fail to recognize.
We won’t be so easily swayed to say, “Oh, I don’t talk to that guy,” because we realize it’s not that simple.
Recognizing that something is a sin is the first step, and it is a great step.