Tisha B’Av תשפ”ה

Napoleon was once passing a shul in Paris on Tisha B’Av when he heard the sounds of crying and wailing coming from within. Thinking that something terrible was going on, he stepped inside to see what he could do to help. What he saw shocked him. People were sitting on the floor with candles lit reading from books and crying. He asked his advisor, “What’s going on in here? Why are these people crying and wailing?” His advisor told him, “These are Jews, and they are crying about their holy temple, which was destroyed on this day.” Napoleon responded, “What? Such an important thing happened today, and I, the king, know nothing about it? How was I not told?” 

        “The Temple was in Jerusalem, and it was destroyed on this date over a thousand years ago!” replied his advisor. 

        “Really?” said Napoleon, “And they are still crying about it? I am sure that these people will yet see their Holy Temple rebuilt in Jerusalem. A nation that mourns their loss as if it just happened, and retains their hope for the new Temple, will surely merit to see the Temple rebuilt.” 

        Napoleon’s words, echoed a truth that our sages themselves expressed in the following statement (Taanit 30b). 

כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה ושאינו מתאבל על ירושלים אינו רואה בשמחתה                

“Whoever mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, will merit to see its rejoicing, and whoever does not mourn the destruction of Jerusalem, will not see its rejoicing.” 

       As we live in a time that is so far removed from life with a Holy Temple, it is difficult to understand what we should be mourning about. We have no appreciation for what the Holy Temple contributed to life as a Jew. Quite the contrary. We have the feeling that we are living fully Jewish lives according to the Torah, even without the Holy Temple. We keep Shabbat to the letter and perform the Torah’s commandments with great love and devotion; we learn Torah and grow in our Judaism, so what is missing? How would our Jewish lives be different if the Holy Temple stood where the Mosque of Omar stands in Jerusalem? Would it be different than the Western Wall, something we go see once or twice in our lifetimes? And if a person who keeps all the Torah’s laws never went to Israel to see the Western Wall, is he not a good Jew? 

        Hopefully, through focusing on what life was like when the Temples stood, we will gain an appreciation of what we are missing and will be able to sincerely feel their absence. 

        After giving the Torah on Mount Sinai, Hashem commanded the Jewish people to build the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was a modular, portable, miniature sanctuary that travelled with the Jewish people and served them for 480 years, until King Solomon built the permanent structure in Jerusalem. 

In his commentary on the Torah, Nachmanides tells us that Hashem’s purpose for the Tabernacle was so that He could have a dwelling place among the Jewish people. Since the Jewish nation was a holy nation, chosen to represent Hashem through a covenant with Him, it was appropriate that there be a sanctuary where Hashem’s presence could dwell among them.  

רמב”ן על שמות פרק כה פסוק א 

ואמר. “ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש” (שם ו), והנה הם קדושים ראוים שיהיה בהם מקדש להשרות שכינתו ביניהם ולכן צוה תחלה על דבר המשכן שיהיה לו בית בתוכם מקודש לשמו, ושם ידבר עם משה ויצוה את בני ישראל והנה עקר החפץ במשכן הוא מקום מנוחת השכינה שהוא הארון

Hashem told the Jewish people, “You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” and because they are holy, it is appropriate that there be a holy sanctuary where Hashem’s presence could be manifest among them, therefore the Mishkan was Hashem’s first priority, so He could have a dwelling place hallowed for His sake, among them. And from there He would speak with Moshe and command the Jewish people…  

        Nachmanides adds:

וסוד המשכן הוא, שיהיה הכבוד אשר שכן על הר סיני שוכן עליו בנסתר –

And the Mishkan’s secret is that the presence of Hashem, which was manifest on Mount Sinai, should inconspicuously dwell over the Tabernacle. 

        When the Jewish people stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, Hashem opened the heavens for everyone to see His Heavenly Court. There could be no doubt about the reality of Hashem to anyone who stood there. The Tabernacle, and the two Holy Temples, served this very function. How was that? 

        The Mishna in Pirkei Avot (5:5) tells us that ten miracles took place in the Holy Temple at all times. 

עֲשָׂרָה נִסִּים נַעֲשׂו לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ. לֹא הִפִּילָה אִשָּׁה מֵרֵיחַ בְּשַׂר הַקֹּדֶשׁ, וְלֹא הִסְרִיחַ בְּשַׂר הַקֹּדֶשׁ מֵעוֹלָם, וְלֹא נִרְאָה זְבוּב בְּבֵית הַמִּטְבְּחַיִם, וְלֹא אֵרַע קֶרִי לְכֹהֵן גָּדוֹל בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, וְלֹא כִבּוּ גְשָׁמִים אֵשׁ שֶׁל עֲצֵי הַמַּעֲרָכָה, וְלֹא נָצְחָה הָרוּחַ אֶת עַמּוּד הֶעָשָׁן, וְלֹא נִמְצָא פְסוּל בָּעֹמֶר וּבִשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם וּבְלֶחֶם הַפָּנִים, עוֹמְדִים צְפוּפִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים רְוָחִים, וְלֹא הִזִּיק נָחָשׁ וְעַקְרָב בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם מֵעוֹלָם, וְלֹא אָמַר אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ צַר לִי הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁאָלִין בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם:

(1) Never did a woman ever miscarry because of the smell of the meat roasting on the altar. (2) Never did the sacrificial meat ever spoil. (3) Never did a fly appear in the slaughterhouse. (4) Never did the High Priest ever become spiritually unclean on Yom Kippur (which would have disqualified him from performing the special Yom Kippur service). (5) Never did rain ever extinguish the flames of the altar. (6) Never did the wind ever disperse the smoke rising straight up from the altar. (7) Never were the Omer offering and the bread offering disqualified by becoming ritually unclean. (8) The people stood crowded together, but when it came time to bow down, everyone had room to bow. (9) Never was anyone ever injured by a snake or scorpion in Jerusalem. (10) When people came to Jerusalem for the festivals, never did anyone ever complain that he was uncomfortable because he didn’t have enough room. 

         Miracles numbers 5 & 6:

        Although the altar upon which the daily sacrifices and all personal sacrifices were brought was out of doors and stood in the Temple courtyard and was exposed to the elements, the fire that was constantly lit to burn the sacrifices was never extinguished by the rain, no matter how hard it rained.         Although the altar upon which the daily sacrifices and all personal sacrifices were brought, was out of doors and stood in the Temple courtyard and was exposed to the elements, the fire that was constantly lit to burn the sacrifices was never extinguished by the rain, no matter how hard it rained. And the smoke always travelled upwards in a single straight column, no matter how windy it was. The wind would simply not affect the column of smoke. 

        Miracle number 8:

        On Yom Kippur, there is a place in the service where all present need to bow foreheads to the floor. When the people assembled in the sanctuary were standing up straight, they were tightly crowded. Yet miraculously, when it came time to bow down, everyone had sufficient room! Additionally, although the sanctuary courtyard was very limited in space, no matter how many people came to the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur to watch the service, there was room for all of them.

        Miracle number 10:

        Along the same lines, during the three festivals, Pesach, Sukkot and Shavuot, all able-bodied men who owned land in Israel were obligated to visit the Holy Temple. Men from all over the country would converge on Jerusalem and stay with friends or relatives there. Yet, no one ever said, “It’s too crowded for me in Jerusalem.” Once again, space expanded to accommodate the need. 

        There was another miracle that is not listed in the Mishna because it was not constant. That is the miracle of the Pascal offering brought on the 14^th of Nissan, Passover eve. This special sacrifice had to be brought after mid-day and until sundown, around six and a half hours. Easier said than done. The Talmud reports that one year the tally of all the sheep that were brought as sacrifices came to 1,200,000. 1.2 million sacrifices in a little less than six and a half hours comes to be 184,615 sacrifices per hour, 3077 per minute, or 51 per second! Of course, there is no possible way naturally to process 51 Pascal offerings per second. The only option is that time stood still in the Holy Temple until all that needed to get done was complete. 

In the Holy Temple, time and space did not exist. They expanded to accommodate the need. In this regard, we can think of the Holy Temple as a foreign embassy. Because all countries have citizens in foreign countries who need governmental services from the mother country, embassies are created to transact that business for the mother country in the foreign land. An ambassador is sent, and the embassy is considered an island of the mother country in the foreign land. Thus, being inside the embassy is like being in the mother country. If you have ever been in a foreign embassy, you may have noticed how the flag of the country is proudly displayed, the décor of the building and furniture resemble the mother country, and the language spoken is the mother country’s language. There is even what is called “diplomatic immunity” for the ambassador who owns the residence, because, officially, the piece of land upon which the building stands is the property of the foreign country and not subject to the laws of the host country. 

        In the same way, the Holy Temple constituted an island of heaven on earth. Entering the Holy Temple was like entering an island of heaven, the place where Hashem dwells and the rules of heaven, not earth, govern. Hashem is outside of time and space. These are His creations for man in this world, but in Hashem’s world time and space don’t exist. Therefore, as many people as there were, they all had room to do whatever they needed to do, and the many sacrifices that needed to be brought all had sufficient time.

        Hence, when a person entered the Holy Temple, he entered Hashem’s world, and he felt that he was in the presence of Hashem! This was exactly what the Jewish people experienced at Mount Sinai. There also, they acutely experienced being in the presence of Hashem. 

        The Torah teaches us (Deuteronomy 16:16):

(טז) שָׁלוֹשׁ פְּעָמִים בַּשָּׁנָה יֵרָאֶה כָל זְכוּרְךָ אֶת פְּנֵי יְדֹוָד אֱלֹהֶיךָ בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחָר: בְּחַג הַמַּצּוֹת וּבְחַג הַשָּׁבֻעוֹת וּבְחַג הַסֻּכּוֹת וְלֹא יֵרָאֶה אֶת פְּנֵי יְדֹוָד רֵיקָם

16) Three times a year all males must appear before Hashem your God in the place that Hashem will choose, on Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. You shall not see Hashem’s Face empty handed. 

        This verse commands every Jewish male who owns land in Israel to visit the Holy Temple thrice yearly, on the Festivals. He was commanded to come with a sacrifice. That is what is meant by not appearing “empty handed.” The thrice a year meeting was mandatory. This would keep the connection to Sinai fresh and real for all time. Jews in all future generations, would be able to avail themselves of a dose of pure spirituality with their one-on-one with Hashem. 

       With the destruction of the Temples, we are in the dark. There is no island of heaven on this earth that we can go to, to rejuvenate our connection to Sinai. It is sometimes difficult to see Hashem through the materialistic world we live in and through thedifficulties and hardships that confront us.  

        King David himself expressed in a Psalm how at one point in his life he was beginning to have doubts about Hashem. He says (73:2):

 ב) וַאֲנִי כִּמְעַט נָטָיוּ רַגְלָי כְּאַיִן שֻׁפְּכוּ אֲשֻׁרָי

2) As for me, my feet almost veered off the path, in no time, my legs almost left Your path.

        King David goes on to explain the issues that challenged him and shook his faith in Hashem. Evil people prosper and have no worries. As they go through life, everything works out perfectly for them. King David uses a full 14 verses to describe how it seems that there is no Judge and no judgment for the evil people in the world. What saved King David? He tells us in verse 17:

יז) עַד אָבוֹא אֶל מִקְדְּשֵׁי אֵל אָבִינָה לְאַחֲרִיתָם

17) Until I come to the Sanctuary of Hashem, and I think about their end.   

        What was it about the sanctuary that restored King David’s faith? He walked into the Tabernacle, Hashem’s throne room, so to speak, where Hashem is clearly seen. Seeing the ten miracles that constantly went on there, revealed Hashem’s presence. Because of the intense holiness there, when one entered the sanctuary, Hashem’s presence overwhelmed him, and he could have no doubt about Hashem’s reality. 

        Unfortunately, there are also those who dismiss the existence of Hashem for similar reasons to King David. They see evil people prosper and righteous people suffer, and the only conclusion they can come to is that there is no God. Many others are just so caught up in their day to day existence trying to make ends meet, or trying to enjoy the pleasures of life, that they just never think about the existence of Hashem. “Don’t disturb me with that trivial issue, I am busy.”

        Because we do not have the service of the Holy Temple, the prospect of a Godless world seems feasible. But when the Holy Temple was in full service, it was be impossible to deny the existence of Hashem.  In the times of King Solomon, the nations of the world came to see the Holy Temple. There was no question whether Hashem existed. It was evident in the Holy Temple, and it was evident from the Jewish people. The holy, elevated lifestyle that they lived served as an example of the appropriate way Hashem recommends one to live their life. 

The Midrash tells a riveting story. 

מדרש רבה בראשית – פרשה סה פסקה כב 

יוסף משיתא בשעה שבקשו שונאים להכנס להר הבית אמרו יכנס מהם ובהם תחלה אמרין ליה עול ומה דאת מפיק דידך נכנס והוציא מנורה של זהב אמרו לו אין דרכו של הדיוט להשתמש בזו אלא עול זמן תנינות ומה דאת מפיק דידך ולא קיבל עליו א”ר פנחס נתנו לו מכס ג’ שנים ולא קיבל עליו אמר לא דיי שהכעסתי לאלהי פעם אחת אלא שאכעיסנו פעם שניה מה עשו לו נתנו אותו בחמור של חרשים והיו מנסרים בו היה מצווח ואומר ווי אוי אוי שהכעסתי לבוראי

When the Romans wanted to enter the Holy Temple they said, “Let one of theirs enter first.” They told Yosef Meshita, (a Jew who left the Torah) that if he goes in, he can keep whatever he brings out. He came out with the Menorah. They took it from him and said, “This is not for a simple person. Go in again, and the next thing you bring out will be yours.” He refused to go back in. Rav Pinchas said, “they put three years of taxes on him, and he still would not, saying, ‘It is enough that I have angered my G-d once, I cannot do it a second time.’” After that, as they sawed him into pieces he was screaming, “Wao unto me that I have angered my Creator.”

Our Sages wonder, what happened to this man? He was so far away from holiness that he was prepared to take the holy Menorah from the Holy Temple for his own use, and suddenly, he would not go back in even at such great expense. 

They answer that the brief visit to the Holy Temple had such a profound impact on him that it brought him to do teshuvah.

The daily Temple service was the channel through which Hashem funneled blessing into the world. When the sacrifices and the other components of the Temple service, such as the lighting of the Menorah, and the placement of the showbread on the Table were done, they created great amounts of holiness which filtered back into the world in the form of material bounty. The destruction of  the Holy Temples created a dearth of holiness which had its impact on the spiritual realms, and a dearth of bounty and quality in the physical world. These changes took place after the destruction of the first Holy Temple and continued to deteriorate with the destruction of the second Holy Temple.  

תלמוד בבלי מסכת בבא בתרא דף יב/ב 

א”ר יוחנן מיום שחרב בית המקדש ניטלה נבואה מן הנביאים וניתנה לשוטים ולתינוקות לשוטים

Rabbi Yochanan said, From the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, prophesy was taken from the prophets and given to the children and the crazies. 

תלמוד בבלי מסכת ברכות דף לב/ב 

 רבי אלעזר מיום שחרב בית המקדש ננעלו שערי תפלה

Rabbi Elazar said, “Since the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, the gates of prayer were closed.” 

אבות דרבי נתן פרק רביעי 

כל זמן שעבודת בית המקדש קיימת העולם מתברך על יושביו וגשמים יורדין בזמנן שנאמר (דברים יא) (לאהבה את ה’ אלהיכם) ולעבדו בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם ונתתי מטר ארצכם בעתו יורה ומלקוש [וגו’] ונתתי עשב בשדך לבהמתך. ובזמן שאין עבודת בית המקדש קיימת אין העולם מתברך על יושביו ואין הגשמים יורדין בזמנן

Our Sages teach us. As long as the Holy Temple stood, the world was blessed with bounty and the rains fell in their proper times, as it says … And when the Holy Temple was not present, the world was not blessed with bounty and the rains did not fall in their proper times, as it says …

Moreover, there is a long list of benefits that were lost or diminished with the destruction of the Holy Temple. 

תלמוד בבלי מסכת סוטה דף מח/א 

 רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר העיד ר’ יהושע מיום שחרב בית המקדש אין יום שאין בו קללה ולא ירד הטל לברכה וניטל טעם הפירות ר’ יוסי אומר אף ניטל שומן הפירות

Raban Gamliel said that Rabbi Yehoshua testified that from the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, there is no day that doesn’t have a greater curse than the day before, on it. And the dew did not fall for blessing, and the flavor was taken from the fruits. Rabbi Yosie said, Even the fat was taken from the fruits. 

מיום שחרב בית המקדש ניטל טעם בשר וניתן בעצמות

Since the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, the flavor was removed from the meat and put into the bones. 

These are but a few of the changes that were felt immediately upon the destruction of the Holy Temples. Here we are many years after that, and the amount of holiness in the world has continued to decrease, as the curses have continued to increase.

        Perhaps, by focusing on what we have lost in both the spiritual and physical realms, we can bring ourselves to aspire to have the Holy Temple back so we can once again live the holy life that our forefathers lived when the Holy Temples stood. Through understanding what we have lost, perhaps we can bring ourselves to feel pain over the loss of the Holy Temples and to actually mourn their absence. This mourning should awaken within us a thirst to have Hashem dwell among us again so that we can strengthen and grow in our relationship with Him.

        Understanding what we are missing is the first step in rebuilding the Third Holy Temple. If we do not know what we are missing and what we want, how can we ask for it? This is the meaning of the words of our Sages, “Whoever mourns the destruction of Jerusalem will merit to see its rejoicing, and whoever does not mourn the destruction of Jerusalem, will not see its rejoicing.” When we sincerely mourn the loss of the Holy Temples, and appreciate what we are yearning for, we have already added a brick to the Third Holy Temple, may it be built speedily in our times!

So now, the question is no longer why we mourn, but what we are willing to do with our mourning.

Tisha B’Av is not meant to be an exercise in communal nostalgia or ritualized sadness. It is meant to shake us awake. To crack open our hearts. To force us to confront the gaping void in our spiritual lives that we’ve grown far too comfortable ignoring.

We live in a world that numbs us with distraction and convinces us we are whole, even while we are spiritually amputated. But on this day, we refuse the anesthesia. We sit low. We cry. We remember. And we begin to rebuild, not with mortar and stone, but with longing and tears, with awareness and yearning, with commitment and change.

The rebuilding of the Temple does not begin in Jerusalem. It begins in you. In Detroit. In how you speak. In how you pray. In how you treat your neighbor. In how you raise your children. In how you resist cynicism and cultivate hope. Every moment of holiness, every spark of kindness, every ounce of integrity and humility you bring into this world, that is a brick.

Napoleon looked into a shul and saw the indestructibility of a people who still cried for what they lost. What will the world see when it looks into our homes, our hearts, our lives?

Let them see a nation that remembers. That mourns. That builds. A nation worthy of the Temple’s return.

May our grief today be the soil from which redemption grows, and may we live to see the day when mourning turns to music, when fasting gives way to feasting, and when the Third Temple rises—not just in Jerusalem, but in our very souls.

May it be soon. May it be now.

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