The Parshiot that we have read over the past few weeks about Yosef and his brothers have many lessons in Ahavat Yisrael, which will be the foundation for our upcoming classes.
The Baal Turim, in Bereshit chapter 49, brings down that Yaakov called in his sons on his final day and, as Rashi tells us, he wanted to reveal the ketz/end of time to them, but it was not revealed. So Yaakov wondered if perhaps there was a sin amongst them, and as it says, he search through the names of the tribes and there was no letter ח or ט - which spells sin amongst them.
After further analysis, Yaakov saw that there was no ק or צ either, which spells קץ- end ( as in, end of the exile)
So although there was no sin, there was also no end.
The way I had always understood this is that they are proud to say there was no sin, but on the other hand there’s also no end.
But there is a different way of looking at this Baal Turim brings down..
The Gemara in Masechet Yoma contrasts the first Bet HaMikdash with the second Bet HaMikdash.
On the first Bet HaMikdash it says. “Their sin was revealed
( the cardinal sins of idolatry, adultery and murder were out in the open) and the end was also revealed.”
It was announced that the Galut would last 70 years.
Whereas with the second Bet HaMikdash, their sins were not revealed, and so therefore, “the end was also not revealed.”
The sin of the Second Bet HaMikdash was under-cover, silent killer of Sinat Hinam. Since the sin was unseen, the end was also not revealed. That is why we are still in Galut.
And that is why, when Yaakov Avinu looked at their names, and he couldn’t see the חט/sin, it was not a good thing.
That meant it was a hidden sin, an undercover sin. Everyone looks good on the outside, but there is a hidden beneath the surface, the sin of Sinat Hinam, and therefore, he could not reveal the end to them, because that sin was there amongst them.
So we go back to the twelve tribes, and see that on his final day, Yaakov Avinu was telling them of their need to fix the sin of Sinat Hinam.