VOLUME 117 NUMBER 1
Av 7, 5785
August 1, 2025
Parshas Devarim/Special Tisha B’Av Edition
Candlelighting Time 7:54
We are well aware that this Sunday, the ninth day of Av, Tisha B’Av is the saddest day of the year. We sit on the floor until noon of that day and we recite Kinnos, special prayers evoking the tragedies of yesteryear which actually remind us of the calamities that have befallen us in every generation. We mourn the loss of the Beis HaMikdash which was destroyed a couple of thousand years ago. Can we envision the pain of that generation as they witnessed that holy palace of Hashem burning to the ground as the ashes scattered in every direction? Probably not yet we cry and shed bitter tears recalling that terrible event! If their pain is not shared by us then indeed why do we cry? Perhaps we remember all the trials and tribulations of the many generations since that horrible time. Maybe we cry because we really can’t cry as they did when they saw the horrible scene of the fires raging and demolishing that holy place of Hashem’s Presence.
Rav Yaakov Emden writes in his Siddur that all the tragedies that have occurred to our nation are a result of our not mourning the loss of Jerusalem and the Beis HaMikdash. We are not concerned that the crown of our glory, the Beis HaMikdash no longer graces our presence. Our lives are comfortable with many of us living in beautiful homes with lavish surroundings. And even if our monetary reach is limited, we still have comfortable homes, we eat three meals daily and we also nosh many kinds of cakes, cookies and candies on a daily basis. And this is in full view of the ruins of the Beis HaMikdash. Many of us have travelled to Eretz Yisroel and visited the Kosel Ma’aravi, the remaining outer wall of the area surrounding the Beis HaMikdash and we tear our clothing responding to the utter dismay that we feel upon seeing the ruins. Yet, are we shaking, are we shivering and are we crying tears that reach the very essence of our being?
It is not unusual that we hear of the political dealings that are transpiring between our President and Netanyahu and we feel that if only they would conclude and make the ceasefire with Hamas all of our troubles would subside. However, as Rav Emden writes that is precisely the cause of our problems. We blame external factors for creating the havoc within which we live when truthfully, our internal confusion is the key element for all of our devastation.
Our hearts are devoid of feeling and therefore, just as a dearly departed member of our family is eventually forgotten so too, we have truly forgotten what the Beis HaMikdash meant to us. The tremendous influence that the Beis HaMikdash had upon our lives and the entire world is not even a fleeting memory. How awe-inspiring it was to observe the Kohanim as they blessed the throngs of people as they convened upon the Beis HaMikdash during the holidays. During the offering of the Paschal lamb the crowds congregated in the outer sanctum of the Beis HaMikdash and recited Hallel in three different groups echoing through the confines of that incredible domain. On Yom Kippur when the pressed attendees in the Beis HaMikdash bent over, there was enough room despite the hundreds of thousands of people that came from all over Eretz Yisroel. And yet, we recite three times daily in our prayers that Hashem should rebuild Jerusalem and we don’t visualize in our minds what it looked like and what it will be! This is indeed the biggest and worst destruction that we have the opportunity to realize our loss but do not become emotionally charged. We hope and pray that this will be our last Tisha B’Av and next year at this time we will celebrate the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Beis HaMikdash with a delicious meat meal.
A BYTE FOR TISHA B’AV
We recite during Kinnos that we recall that the Beis HaMikdash is dashed and crushed and every year we say a new eulogy upon our pain. Every year we grow further and further away from the reality of what the Beis HaMikdash was and that is the eulogy of that agony.
GOOD SHABB0S
