Friday, Menachem Av 8, 5782 / August 5, 2022

B"H

Friday, Menachem Av 8, 5782 / August 5, 2022

As mentioned yesterday, because Tisha B’Av (9^th of Av) falls on Shabbat, the fast begins Saturday night and ends Sunday night.   

Tisha B'Av is the saddest day in the Hebrew calendar.  On Tisha B'Av, we mourn the destruction of the First & Second Holy Temples.  Both were destroyed on the 9th of Av - 490 years apart. 

The story in Genesis (32:25) about the angel who wrestled with Jacob all night, causing Jacob to limp, occurred on the night of Tisha B’Av. This was a hint of the many unfortunate things which will happen to Jacob’s descendants on that day, throughout the generations. In addition to the destruction of the Temples, many other tragic events took place on this day.  Here are a few:

*  The story with the spies who brought back a negative report after exploring the Promised Land, took place on Tisha B’Av.  As a result, the Jewish people refused to go to Israel.  G-d then decreed that every male, over the age of twenty at that time, would die in the desert and not enter into the Promised Land.  Due to this tragic event Jews spent forty years in the desert.     

* On Tisha B’Av the Romans decreed that the site where the Temple stood be plowed and desecrated.

* The city of Betar, from where Bar Kochba fiercely fought the Romans, fell on Tisha B’Av.  According to the Talmud, many hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed there.

*  On Tisha B’Av, in the year 5252 (1492) Jews were expelled from Spain.

Saturday night in synagogue, after the evening service, we sit on the floor or on a low stool and listen to the reciting of the Book of Lamentations (Eicha), in which the prophet Jeremiah laments the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.

Due to the fast, the Sunday morning prayer is recited without the Tallit and Tefillin.  Instead, we wear the Tallit and Tefillin for the afternoon (Mincha) prayer.

The Talmud says, "Whoever mourns for Jerusalem and the Temples will ultimately merit to partake in its rebuilding and rejoicing!"

Q.  Why is the Book of Lamentations, which is read on Tisha B'Av, not required to be written on parchment like the Megila of Esther (Scroll of Esther), which recalls the miracle of Purim?

A.  Purim is a permanent holiday, which will be celebrated even after the coming of Moshiach. Thus, the story of Purim is recorded on parchment like the rest of the Torah.  However, Tisha B'Av which deals with the destruction of the Temple is only temporary. When Moshiach will come and the Holy Temple will be rebuilt, Tisha B’Av will be transformed into a festive holiday. May it be speedily in our days. AMEN.

SHABBAT SHALOM

 Montreal candle lighting time: 7:59 / Shabbat ends: 9:06

Thursday, Menachem Av 7, 5782 / August 4, 2022

B"H

Thursday, Menachem Av 7, 5782 / August 4, 2022

This Shabbat is the 9th day of Av, which in other years would be a fast day. However, because this year it falls on Shabbat, we push off the fast to Saturday night and Sunday. Jews all over the world will fast and mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temples, which took place on the 9th of Av.

Thank G-d we live today in an era of religious freedom. However, in previous generations, when Jews were second class citizens in many countries, with very little or no rights; with pogroms, looting Jewish homes and businesses. To them, Tisha B’Av was a day of mourning not only for the destruction which took place thousands of years earlier, it was also an expression of mourning for their current sufferings.

Q.  What is the purpose of mourning for the destruction of the Temples which happened over two thousand years ago?

A.   During this time, we reflect and remember the reasons which brought about the destruction of the Temples.  It was due to hatred and strife amongst our people that G-d decreed that the Temple be destroyed. We, today, remember the past in order to learn from it in the present.  It serves as a reminder of the importance of the mitzvah of, “love your fellow as yourself.”

The Talmud tells the following story of five great Talmudic sages. 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 the 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 where the Temple once stood.

Three of the rabbis began to weep, while Rabbi Akiva laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" the others 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, other than 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."

With the words, "Your crying is the reason for my laughing,” Rabbi Akiva was saying to them, “When I see that the Temple was not forgotten and Jews continue to cry for the destruction of the Holy Temples, this gives me the confidence that it is not forever lost and it will eventually be re-built.

May it be speedily in our days. Amen.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

Tuesday, Menachem Av 5, 5782 / August 2, 2022

B"H

Tuesday, Menachem Av 5, 5782 / August 2, 2022

This Shabbat we begin the last Book of the Torah, the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy). 

Devarim begins, "These are the words which Moshe spoke to all of Israel." The entire Book of Devarim are the words which Moshe spoke to the Jewish people before his passing.  He began on Rosh Chodesh Shevat and finished 36 days later, when he passed away on the seventh of Adar.

In Devarim, Moshe reprimands the Jewish people for all their past mistakes, reminding them that when they enter The Promised Land, they shouldn’t make the same mistakes as their parents, which resulted in their staying in the desert for forty years and not being able to come into the land of Israel.

The difference between the Book of Devarim and the rest of the Torah is that previously Moshe spoke to them whatever G-d told him to say.  However, now he spoke, “his own words.” As a true shepherd, he wanted to make sure that when he is gone, they should continue following the ways of the Torah.

The Midrash asks, "How is it that here the Torah says, "These are the words that Moshe spoke," yet, in the Book of Exodus, when G-d tells Moshe to go speak to Pharaoh and to the Jewish people in Egypt, Moshe replies, "Oh G-d, I am not a man of words..." Moshe claims that he cannot speak!

The Midrash replies: "Rabbi Tanchuma said, this is compared to a peddler who was going around selling material.  Wherever he went he would call out, ‘I have special wool to sell.’"

Once he passed by the palace.  The king asked him, "What are you selling?" The peddler replied, "I have nothing to sell."  "But I just heard you announce that you have special wool to sell," asked the king.

The peddler replied: "It is true that I announced I have good wool to sell.  But this is for the ordinary person.  For you, my king, who is so mighty and who has the most expensive materials that can be found,  I have nothing to sell and nothing that you would buy!"

The same says Rabbi Tanchuma was with Moshe.  At The Burning Bush, in the presence of G-d, Moshe claimed that he was not a man of words.  However, now in front of the Jewish people, he was indeed a man of words.  Thus, the Torah says, "These are the words which Moshe spoke to all of Israel."

Parshat Devarim is read on the Shabbat before the fast of the 9th of Av, when we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temples.  The very first words of the Parsha, "These are the words which Moshe spoke to all of Israel," also emphasize an important point, which is very appropriate for this time.

The destruction of the Second Temple came as a result of strife amongst Jews; thus, it is important at this time to correct this and strive for unity amongst us.  The words, "to all of Israel," allude to this point.  It reminds us that especially at this time we  need to remember the importance of Jewish unity.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY