Was the Bais Hamikdash Destroyed Because We Were Too Religious?

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From traditional sources, it certainly doesn't seem that way. Chazal tell us that the first Bais Hamikdash was destroyed because of three sins- idolatry, adultery, and bloodshed. They also explain that it was because the people didn't make a bracha on the Torah, meaning they didn't take it seriously as the word of God, but rather treated it as a mere human document. The exact opposite of too religious.

However, the Reform/secularist interpretation is that they were too meticulous about halacha, didn't engage in enough “Tikkun Olam”, probably also that they didn't teach their children enough secular education, or didn't make enough money. Indeed, one who listens to the haftarah of Shabbos Chazon, especially if he is ignorant of the Neviim in general, can come away with the impression that Chazal were incorrect or misleading, that the Jews at the time of the Churban were actually pious hypocrites who obsessively observed every jot and tittle of the Torah but were monstrously wicked towards fellow men. This is especially if he focuses on only a few lines of the Haftarah, ignoring the rest.

מָּה־לִּ֤י רֹב־זִבְחֵיכֶם֙ יֹאמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה שָׂבַ֛עְתִּי עֹל֥וֹת אֵילִ֖ים וְחֵ֣לֶב מְרִיאִ֑ים וְדַ֨ם פָּרִ֧ים וּכְבָשִׂ֛ים וְעַתּוּדִ֖ים לֹ֥א חָפָֽצְתִּי׃

What need have I of all your sacrifices?” Says GOD. “I am sated with burnt offerings of rams, And suet of fatlings, And blood of bulls; And I have no delightIn lambs and he-goats.

כִּ֣י תָבֹ֔אוּ לֵֽרָא֖וֹת פָּנָ֑י מִֽי־בִקֵּ֥שׁ זֹ֛את מִיֶּדְכֶ֖ם רְמֹ֥ס חֲצֵרָֽי׃

That you come to appear before Me—Who asked that of you? Trample My courts

לֹ֣א תוֹסִ֗יפוּ הָבִיא֙ מִנְחַת־שָׁ֔וְא קְטֹ֧רֶת תּוֹעֵבָ֛ה הִ֖יא לִ֑י חֹ֤דֶשׁ וְשַׁבָּת֙ קְרֹ֣א מִקְרָ֔א לֹא־אוּכַ֥ל אָ֖וֶן וַֽעֲצָרָֽה׃

no more; Bringing oblations is futile, Incense is offensive to Me. New moon and sabbath, Proclaiming of solemnities, Assemblies with iniquity, I cannot abide.

חׇדְשֵׁיכֶ֤ם וּמֽוֹעֲדֵיכֶם֙ שָֽׂנְאָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֔י הָי֥וּ עָלַ֖י לָטֹ֑רַח נִלְאֵ֖יתִי נְשֹֽׂא׃

Your new moons and fixed seasons fill Me with loathing; They are become a burden to Me, I cannot endure them.

וּבְפָרִשְׂכֶ֣ם כַּפֵּיכֶ֗ם אַעְלִ֤ים עֵינַי֙ מִכֶּ֔ם גַּ֛ם כִּֽי־תַרְבּ֥וּ תְפִלָּ֖ה אֵינֶ֣נִּי שֹׁמֵ֑עַ יְדֵיכֶ֖ם דָּמִ֥ים מָלֵֽאוּ׃

And when you lift up your hands, I will turn My eyes away from you; Though you pray at length, I will not listen. Your hands are stained with crime—

רַֽחֲצוּ֙ הִזַּכּ֔וּ הָסִ֛ירוּ רֹ֥עַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֖ם מִנֶּ֣גֶד עֵינָ֑י חִדְל֖וּ הָרֵֽעַ׃

Wash yourselves clean; Put your evil doingsAway from My sight. Cease to do evil;

לִמְד֥וּ הֵיטֵ֛ב דִּרְשׁ֥וּ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט אַשְּׁר֣וּ חָמ֑וֹץ שִׁפְט֣וּ יָת֔וֹם רִ֖יבוּ אַלְמָנָֽה׃ {ס}

Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow.

Now, there is definitely an emphasis on the interpersonal here, and this is probably why the minhag is to read it on Shabbos Chazon. Indeed, in recent times, chareidim have notably used Tisha b’Av “programming” as an opportunity to focus on interpersonal issues, such as Shalom, Kavod Habrius, or helping people in pain, despite the fact that such programming is not always consistent with the mourning aspect of Tisha b’Av. As Chazal say, אין מזרזין אלא למזורזין.

But is there also a swipe at so-called pious hypocrites in these verses? Do they lend credence to the Reform Judaism interpretation of chareidi hypocrisy (despite the fact that this slander is the complete opposite of the current reality), and support the secularist’s almost exclusive emphasis on “Tikkun Olam” issues? The truth is that such an out-of-context reading requires ignoring the first few pesukim of the Haftarah, the pesukim immediately following the Haftarah, and is indicative of an unfortunate cluelessness of the rest of the rest of Neviim as well as the Torah of Moshe. The first lines of the Haftarah are:

יָדַ֥ע שׁוֹר֙ קֹנֵ֔הוּ וַחֲמ֖וֹר אֵב֣וּס בְּעָלָ֑יו יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔ע עַמִּ֖י לֹ֥א הִתְבּוֹנָֽן׃

An ox knows its owner, A donkey its master’s crib: Israel does not know, My people takes no thought.”

ה֣וֹי ׀ גּ֣וֹי חֹטֵ֗א עַ֚ם כֶּ֣בֶד עָוֺ֔ן זֶ֣רַע מְרֵעִ֔ים בָּנִ֖ים מַשְׁחִיתִ֑ים עָזְב֣וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֗ה נִֽאֲצ֛וּ אֶת־קְד֥וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נָזֹ֥רוּ אָחֽוֹר׃

Ah, sinful nation! People laden with iniquity! Brood of evildoers! Depraved children! They have forsaken GOD, Spurned the Holy One of Israel, Turned their backs.

The immediately following lines are

וְשֶׁ֧בֶר פֹּשְׁעִ֛ים וְחַטָּאִ֖ים יַחְדָּ֑ו וְעֹזְבֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה יִכְלֽוּ׃

But rebels and sinners shall all be crushed, And those who forsake GOD shall perish.

כִּ֣י יֵבֹ֔שׁוּ מֵאֵילִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר חֲמַדְתֶּ֑ם וְתַ֨חְפְּר֔וּ מֵהַגַּנּ֖וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּחַרְתֶּֽם׃

Truly, you shall be shamed Because of the terebinths you desired, And you shall be confounded Because of the gardens you coveted.

This is not a description of righteous community that observes the entire Torah except for interpersonal behavior, but of a sinful nation that has abandoned Hashem, has abandoned his Torah, and has turned to idol worship. In other words- Reform, Reconstructionist, secularist, consistent with what countless other parshiyos in the Neviim describe and with the Chazal.

Even regarding the pesukim about the sacrifices, the Malbim explains

למה לי, העם היו רגילים בעת ההיא להביא קרבנות רבים ושמנים וחשבו כי בזה ישיגו התכלית הנרצה יאמר לאיזה תועלת תביאו רוב זבחיכם אלה, אחר שמעשה הריקה מן הכונה היא גויה בלי רוח ונשמה....לא תוסיפו, אחר שגם זאת שתרמסו חצרי איני רוצה בו, והוא נגד רצוני, כ"ש שאין לכם להוסיף עוד על מה שאתם באים שם נגד רצוני להביא עוד מנחת שוא והבל, קרבן החגיגה והראיה שאיני רוצה בו כלל, כי קטרת הקיטור של המנחה היא תועבה לי, כמי שבא אל היכל המלך נגד רצונו ומוסיף חטא על פשע וממלא ביתו קיטור ועשן (המין הד') הם קרבנות מוספים שהביאו הצבור בשבתות וחדשים ומועדות, והיה להם תכלית אחרת מיוחדת מתיחסת עם ענין היום, כי כמו שהימים הקדושים האלה נבחרו, למען יפנו בם מהבלי העולם ויתקדשו לעבודת ה'

He understands that this criticism is not for interpersonal wickedness, but for religious insincerity (although he agrees that other verses are discussing the interpersonal).

This same theme repeats itself all throughout the Latter Prophets. Far from a description of religious hypocrites who keep all the ritual commandments but are otherwise wicked rogues, they paint a picture of a "Reform-movement" sinful nation that has abandoned Hashem, has forsaken His Torah, that engages in idolatry, that doesn't observe any of the Mitzvos, whether those between man and God or those between man and his fellow.

(Regarding the sacrifices, the Radak explains that although the people of Jerusalem were idolaters, they still engaged in Temple sacrifices occasionally on the Holidays. This is consistent with Achaz who completely reorganized the Bais Hamikdash for worship of the idol of Aram, yet still retained the altar of Hashem for periodic sacrifices to Him. Therefore, far from being in contrast to Chazal, the Neviim fit very well with their perspective.)

If so, where does the baseless "pious hypocrite" interpretation of Yeshaya come from? I believe it has its origins in Christianity. The New Testament is chock-full of this slander against the Pharisees, and Christians have used out-of-context, misinterpreted verses from Isaiah and other prophets to attack the Jews for over a thousand years. Indeed, this is perhaps the biggest basis for the many false anti-Semitic tropes that have led to so much hatred and bloodshed of our people.

Thus, it is entirely unsurprising that the Reform movement would latch on to Christian or anti-Semitic interpretation, as a self-hating movement would naturally gravitate towards the rhetoric of its enemies. It is concerning, but unfortunately also unsurprising, that a liberal rabbi who expressed the sentiment "In the course of history, God has spoken to mankind in many languages: through Judaism to Jews, Christianity to Christians, Islam to Muslims" would likewise understand Yeshaya through the Christian lens. But it is nevertheless a terrible perversion of Yeshaya's message. And it goes without saying that Yeshaya would be absolutely horrified at the prospect of somebody abusing his very first perek in the manner of the Christians and even worse- as a cudgel of revenge against the Shomer Torah community that this person has turned away from. There could be nothing further from Yeshaya's message than that.

In any case, none of this means that the focus on Tisha b'Av should be on the Reform or secularists. Among chareidi communities Tisha b'Av has always been about introspection into our own sins, our own problems, and especially the interpersonal (as mentioned above), rather than those of barely-observant communities that we have limited influence on. The Torah has always emphasized focusing one's own faults first, and this goes doubly for Tisha b'Av. May we merit the coming of Mashiach and the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdash soon.