Tisha B'Av - 013 Reason to Mourn

There Is New Reason To Mourn Each Year

It is written [in sefer Eichah], “On this, our hearts are sick…on the mount of Zion which has become desolate…” The destruction of the Beis HaMikdash causes us to mourn, which is the old mourning that has accompanied us throughout the generations, ever since the time of the destruction. But in addition to what we always have mourned, the further we are from that period of history when we had a Beis HaMikdash, the further we are from the spiritual light that the Beis HaMikdash gave us.

Thus, as we grow further and further away from that time, we become even further distanced from the great spiritual benefits that the Beis HaMikdash provided which creates a new reason each year to mourn.

Further Into The Concealment

The Beis HaMikdash was destroyed at the time in history when it was destroyed, but at least that generation was close to the time when it stood, so they were able to still have some access to its spiritual light. But as the generations continue, we are further and further from that light; it becomes more and more concealed from us.

The Sages say that “Any generation in which the Beis HaMikdash wasn’t built in, is considered to be a generation in which it was destroyed”. The concept of “destruction” essentially means that the spiritual light of the Beis HaMikdash is concealed from us. In every generation where it wasn’t rebuilt, the light of the Beis HaMikdash became further from us, and it continues to become more concealed. The Sages also say that as our exile continues, especially as we are draw closer to the end, “Each day is more cursed than the day before it”, and this is because we grow further and further from the spiritual light that existed with the Beis HaMikdash.

Two Aspects of Mourning The Beis HaMikdash

Thus, there are two parts to [recognizing the ramifications of] the destruction.

One part of it is to realize what it means that we don’t have the Beis HaMikdash. This part is hard for us to relate to, however, because we did not actually see the Beis HaMikdash.[1]

The second part is, to realize what is meant by the words “Every day is more cursed than the day before it” - the troubles continue to increase, not only in the physical areas of our life, but mainly in our spiritual areas. The situation of the Jewish people continues to descend further into spiritual oblivion. As long as the state of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash continues to remain, Jewish souls are burning.

Lamenting the Spiritual Destruction of The Souls In This Generation

There are individual and private troubles we all face, as well as broader issues that affect our communities as a whole.

Anyone who has a little bit of heart can feel what others are going through and he can feel pained at the problems of today. His heart can cry inside for others. There are souls today who have become so confused and bewildered, from all of the suffering that is increasing. If someone today just opens his eyes to see what is taking is place and he has even a little bit of a pure heart, it’s impossible for him not to feel the destruction that has taken place, since last year and until now.

The Tisha B’Av of this year, 5776, is not the same Tisha B’Av of last year, 5775. It is the not the same world anymore.

The verse in Eichah says, “On these I weep, my eyes, my eyes, flow with water.” Our eyes weep over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, which happened long ago, which is far from our perception. But it is easier for us to weep over the current destruction that takes place before our eyes. Anyone can identify it as long as he is not entirely self-absorbed in his private life. Anyone who searches even a little for the truth, whose heart is even minimally alive to the spiritual, can feel the dire situation of the Jewish people today.

How many Jewish families since last year have left a Torah life since last year?? How many souls have gone lost in the twelve months?? How many people have gone lost, both from This World and from the Next World, all at once??

There is no generation that is going lost as much as today’s generation, not only in their physical lives, but mainly from their spirituality. Even people who remained “sheltered” since last year from the foreign influences, by now, have now “gone out into the world” – leaving behind their once spiritually sheltered situation.

When we deeply reflect on the situation taking place today, we can feel great pain over it. It can make us truly cry, from a deep place in our souls, when we realize the situation in front of us today. When the pain gets so strong, it spills over from our heart, which can no longer contain it, and then our eyes flow with tears: “My eyes, my eyes, flow with water.”

Anyone who can feel a little bit of this pain has both fear for our future, as well as pain over what has happened in the past. There is pain that fills one’s entire heart, if he is sensitive to the situation today. Who can live in a place such as today, where everything is deemed ‘kosher’, rachmana litzlan?

When you walk in the streets today, you can see flocks of people who have thrown off the yoke of Torah, who, just three days ago, were regular. They look so empty! How much pain their fathers have over them! How much pain their mothers have for them! How much pain their families have over them! Who can endure the depth of all of this awesome pain?? Who can endure the pain this generation has, which is immeasurable and which doesn’t end??[2]

It is illogical for a person who takes a look at the surroundings today and not to feel pained. This pain is a simple feeling for the spiritual. It is not only a feeling for the spiritual, but a simple feeling of pain that comes from the heart which bothers a person, to feel the pain of what others are going through today. Maybe there are a few people today who can’t feel the pain of others, because they have so much pain in their lives, which fills their minds; but anyone who is able to come out of himself just a little bit can feel pain for others, to feel a bit of the enormous pain that exists today in Klal Yisrael.

The first aspect of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash [being in pain over the fact that we are missing the Beis HaMikdash] is far from us to feel, but it is possible to feel it, if we work hard to feel it. But as for the second aspect of the destruction [feeling the painful situation of the generation today] - if a person doesn’t see it, he is like a person who is stumbling in the dark. If someone can’t feel the pain of the generation today, his heart is blocked.

1: Feeling The Painful Situation of Klal Yisrael Today

The first part of our avodah is to feel the pain of the situation today. One should reflect a little with his thoughts into the situation today, and then reflect a little more, and then some more, until he awakens his feelings. As for one whose heart is already open to feeling the pain in the generation today, there is no need for him to reflect deeply; he is already aware.

2: Praying To Hashem For The Rebuilding of Jerusalem

The second part of our avodah on Tisha B’Av is, after awakening yourself to feel the pain of the generation today, and after moving yourself to earnest tears over it, from that point onward, you can turn to Hashem in prayer, from this new depth in your heart that you have reached, and daven to Hashem: “Rebuild Jerusalem, the Holy City, speedily, in our days.”

“Jerusalem Your city, with mercy, return it.” It will definitely return to us, but we pray that it return with Hashem’s mercy! Who will be left by then?? Who will be able to go through all of the suffering until then?? Woe to us if we have to go through another year in This World as it is! The pain today is like an illness, and chas v’shalom if it continues, we cannot handle it, because it only gets worse, it doesn’t get better with time. Hashem is running the world according to His plan, and not according to our thinking, but from our limited human perspective, by our own natural means, we cannot handle another year of continuing pain.

We pray in Shemoneh Esrei that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that Hashem’s Presence be returned to it. The greater one’s pain, the stronger and more truthful it is and it comes from the purity of the neshamah, from the simple truth, the prayer to rebuild Jerusalem then comes naturally to a person, forthe truth demands it. It wants to end all of the pain today, the physical pain and even more so, the spiritual pain. If a person has become purer, he feels the pain of Hashem, so to speak.

The Shechinah says: “Woe to the children who have become exiled from the table of their Father.” There is awesome pain on High, so to speak, which Hashem has over the situation of His children.

There is a verse, “You are a hidden Almighty”. The presence of Hashem is concealed from us, for the most part, on this world.

That is the second part of our avodah on Tisha B’Av [praying to Hashem to rebuild Jerusalem, earnestly and truthfully, from the depths of the heart], which is a result of the first part of the avodah. After working on the first part – feeling the pain of the situation today and really letting it bother you – you will have an easier time with the second part, and be able to pray earnestly to Hashem, from the depths of the heart, from a truthful and pure place in yourself.

It is written, “Hashem is close to all who call out to Him, to those who call out to Him in truth.” One needs to truly, truly call out to Him. One should pray to Hashem to end the suffering of the Jewish people, both their physical suffering as well as their spiritual suffering, and to be pained over the fact that Hashem, so to speak, is also in pain. If one is truthfully pained from this and he prays to Hashem to end all the pain, he merit “Hashem is close to all who call out to Him”, because he has called out to Him “in truth”.

When we pray to Hashem for this, it needs to stem from this truthful place in our soul. “From the narrow straits, I called out to Hashem.” The more your feel trapped by the narrow confines, the more you pray to come out of it. The more a person grasps the simply reality today – not the unknown hidden dimension of reality which is only grasped by a few individuals, but the simple reality in front of us which we can all see – the more his heart can bleed over the situation of the Jewish people today in this world.

In Summary of Parts 1-2 of Our Avodah On Tisha B’Av

It has been explained here two parts to our avodah on Tisha B’Av – pain which can awaken us to crying, and to then pray to Hashem from the depths of the heart, earnestly, and truthfully.

3: Building Our Own “Mini Sanctuary”

There is also a third part to our avodah on Tisha B’Av.

If our prayers to Hashem are indeed earnest and truthful and Hashem answers our prayers, and He builds the Beis HaMikdash this year, that shows that our pain was truthful and that our tefillos were true. But if, chas v’shalom, we don’t merit this coming year the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash, then we have a personal avodah to do in the meantime.

Although “Anyone who mourns over Jerusalem, merits to see its rebuilding” in the present, if the third Beis HaMikdash does not actually come down to us, then we at least we can merit that our truthful, earnest prayers bring us to the desired goal. But if chas v’shalom the world continues as it is in its destruction, and there is no complete rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash this year (which will come down from Heaven), we will need more than pain, crying, and prayer. The pain, crying, and prayer are certainly the roots of what we need, but if we don’t merit the Beis HaMikdash this year, we will need to build more than that.

There is a complete level of Beis HaMikdash, and there is also the “mikdash me’at”, a “mini sanctuary”. As long as we did not yet merit the Beis HaMikdash, we cannot endure for too long the pain in this generation, which is too great. We also cannot endure just through prayer, even if the prayers are true and earnest. Rather, we must do everything in our power to bring back [the light of] the Beis HaMikdash [to our own current time].The third Beis HaMikdash will not be built by our own hands, as Chazal say; it will descend from Heaven. But until it descends from Heaven, we have an avodah to build our own “mikdash me’at” (“mini sanctuary”).

We need at least something that resembles the Heichal (the Sanctuary) in some small way. We need some spark of the “new light” that will come to Zion in the future, even now. Amidst all the great destruction, when “there is no more day that is not more cursed than the day before it”, we need a lifestyle that will contain some resemblance to the Beis HaMikdash, every day of our life.

If we look at the world today from the perspective of the Destruction, there is nothing but more destruction taking place in the world, with each passing day. But we can look at it from the perspective of our avodah to rebuild the Beis HaMikdash – which we cannot do in the active sense of actually rebuilding it, but which we can do in the sense of building a “mikdash me’at” (a mini sanctuary). We can have a place of “mikdash me’at” in our own lives, as our own personal haven and sanctuary amidst all of the destruction.

Our avodah is to keep building this “mikdash me’at” all the time. In this way, we can bring the light of the Beis HaMikdash into our own time.[3]

In Conclusion

May we merit, with the help of Hashem, the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash, speedily in our days, when “a new light shall shine forth in Zion” – the revelation of the Presence of Hashem, in its complete state. Amen, Amen, V’Amen.