Tisha B'Av 5781

So here we are, commemorating our 3rd Tisha B'av in Israel. Tisha B'Av is the first of our holidays following our aliyah anniversary so, it always gives me a good opportunity to reflect on things. 

As I usually do, I try to cram in as much of Rabbi Weinreb's Kinnot presentation as I can during the course of the day. This year I got in about a third of it, and it included two eulogies for those we have lost this year, one for Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and the other for Rabbi Abraham Twersky. His overarching theme was that while Tisha B'av may never be an easy day to approach, it also teaches us never to despair. 

I started the holiday with a poll on one of my Facebook groups: Are we closer or farther than ever to rebuilding the Beit Hamikdash? Surprisingly, no one answered “farther”! But someone did add the following option: Will we actually build a Beit Hamikdash or is this just being used as a metaphor for hope and endurance? This option got almost as many votes as “closer”, but as of this writing, “closer” is winning.

It is an interesting premise, but I think perhaps the author of this answer is falling into the trap that Rabbi Weinreb is warning us about. Believing that the Beit Hamikdash will never be rebuilt to me causes a litany of theological issues. Why then we’re the first two ever built? Why is almost almost a majority of our commandments partly reliant on there being a Beit Hamikdash? And finally, if it is a done deal, then why invest so much effort in creating the day of Tisha B’av and all that surrounds it, including to some extent the yamim noraim in their current format? 

One of the first pieces that Rabbi Weinreb brought were the words of the Breslov rebbe, who said that “if you can imagine it destroyed, you can imagine it fixed.”  Those are powerful words and they epitomize the requirement not to despair. As such we must also imagine imagine that if the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed we must also imagine it built. 

So where are we in 2021 in terms of being closer to having it built? It is hard to say, but I think there are stirrings. One of the supposed causes of the violence here earlier this year was because of changes planned to take place on the Temple Mount. I’m not aware of any, and even if there were plans or calls to do something, it was by a small minority of people and certainly nothing took place. What is happening now is lots of Arab groups stating loudly that there should be no changes to the “status quo” on the Temple Mount. Well don’t speak of things you don’t wish for! 

It is no secret that many of the popular movements today are not friendly to Israel or the Jews. But while they fight for freedom for their own causes or for the Palestinians they fail to realize the “status quo” on the Temple Mount. The status quo currently prohibits Jews from even uttering a short prayer while on the Temple Mount. It restricts Jews to entering at specific times, and those who control the Temple Mount are even doing what they can to prevent the State of Israel from rebuilding an access ramp to the Temple Mount saying that is a violation of the status quo. The ramp is by definition not on the Temple Mount! How is this an example of the equality other groups are fighting for? 

So what is an example of equality? The temple we strive every day to build is an example of that equality. “For my Temple is a Temple for all the nations!” proclaims Isaiah. A nation which responds to tragedies all over the world whether or not it affects Jews is an example of that equality! We don’t despair, we do what we can to instill hope into the masses in a peaceful and ethical way. 

Another idea which crossed my mind is how uncomfortable a day like today is. We are essentially forced to come in contact with feelings we don’t enjoy over a building and concept that os foreign to everyone around us. But to my knowledge, we are the only religion to have such a holiday. Only through accessing our emotions good and bad can we form an ethical approach to life and humanity. One emotion though that we not allowed to access is that of despair. Despair means there is no turning back and by the end of the day, we have all started to turn around. Today is the turning point of the entire Jewish calendar and hopefully will also be the turning point of all of Jewish history. Next year from the rebuilt Beit Hamikdash in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh!