B"H
Friday, Menachem Av 5, 5784 / August 9, 2024
This Shabbat we read Parshat Devarim, thus beginning the fifth and last book of the Torah.
Monday night begins the fast of Tisha B’Av – the 9th day of Av. Monday night and Tuesday, Jews all over the world will fast and mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and its crown jewel, the Holy Temple.
In previous generations, when Jews were second class citizens in many countries, with very little or no rights; when pogroms, looting Jewish homes and businesses were the norm, Jews knew exactly what Tisha B’Av meant.
In many communities of the past, Tisha B’Av was more than one day during the year… To them Tisha B’Av was a day of mourning not only for a destruction which took place thousands of years earlier, it was also an expression of mourning for current suffering and oppression. Unfortunately, for many Jews who are held captive in Gaza, by the murderous Hamas terrorists, for the past ten months, EVERY DAY is Tisha B’Av… May they be freed NOW.
Q. What is the purpose of crying for something which happened two thousand years ago?
A. During this time, we reflect and remember the reasons which brought about the destruction. We, today, remember the past in order to learn from it how important is the mitzvah of, “Love your fellow as yourself.”
Another important point in remembering the destruction of the Temples is that our sages say that G-d created human nature to forget with time something which is lost permanently. We couldn’t go on with our daily lives and obligations if we continuously remembered our loved ones who passed away, with the same grief and compassion as when they were taken from us. Thus, G-d gifted us with forgetfulness.
The fact that even 2000 years later, we still mourn for the Holy Temples, is a sign that the Holy Temple is not permanently lost. Our mourning is a sign of hope that the Temple will be here again. May it be very soon.
The Talmud tells that Rabbi Gamliel, Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva were walking to Jerusalem. Upon reaching Mount Tzofim, they saw the site of the destroyed Holy Temple from a distance. At that point, they tore their clothes in mourning, as Jewish law dictates. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox roaming in the exact place where the Holy of Holies was when Temple stood.
Three of the rabbis began to weep, while Rabbi Akiva laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" they protested. "Why are you crying?" Rabbi Akiva replied.
"We see the most holy spot of the Beth Hamikdash (Holy Temple), where at one time no one except the High Priest could enter and only on Yom Kippur, now foxes are roaming there! How can we not cry?"
Rabbi Akiva answered, "Your crying is the reason for my laughing. When I see that the prophecies of destruction were fulfilled to the fullest, I am encouraged and confident that the prophecies which state that good times will come, will surely be fulfilled and come true."
"Your crying is the reason for my laughing,” Rabbi Akiva is saying, “When I see you crying for the destruction of the Holy Temple, this gives me the confidence that it is not forever lost and it will eventually be re-built.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 7:52 / Shabbat ends: 8:54
UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.