I don’t know about you, but I always find this time period of the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’av to be very challenging. We hear about destruction, torture, devastation, and of course our spiritual shortcomings. I would like to share a perspective that perhaps can provide us with inspiration and clarity regarding the message of the three weeks and Tisha B’Av.
Rabbi Yechiel Spero in his book Touched by their Tears relates a beautiful story how one very cold night in the town of Rimanov there were soldiers who marched in looking to cause trouble. Being that it was cold outside they demanded a warm place to sleep and shelter for their horses. One of the soldiers pointed to a large building, which happened to be the shul, and declared that that is where the horses will stay. The Chasidim, obviously disturbed by this defilement of the shul, ran to their Rebbe and asked what should be done? The Rebbe asked them if there was anything in the shul that needed to be fixed. They were assuming the Rebbe’s thought process was if there is something wrong, then we’ll tell the soldiers all the problems with the building and hopefully they’ll be turned off and won’t want to use it for their horses. They told the Rebbe that there’s a leak in the roof and it’s been like that for a while. Reb Menachem Mendel immediately said “fix it right away”. The Chasidim were shocked! The Rebbe said let me explain. When you first came to me, I wondered why Hashem would send such a difficult gezeira (decree) on us? Why would Hashem allow for the holiest place in the town, our shul, to turn into a horse stable? Then I stopped and I realized it’s not Hashem who had done that. We had! We had allowed the holiest place in our village to become run down and decrepit. We’re the ones who allowed the shul to end up having these leaks. It’s us, we are the ones who turned it into a stable. The chasidim immediately ran to fix the roof and shortly after the soldiers left town and did not disgrace the shul.
On that day Reb Menachem Mendel helped his chasidim understand what really took place with their shul. He taught them to look internally. They recognized that maybe it’s because of
us that this terrible situation is happening. Perhaps we were neglecting the shul and because of that Hashem is allowing this to take place.
As we are well into the three weeks headed towards Tisha B’Av, we too need to internalize the message of Reb Menachem Mendel. In Megillas Eicha Tisha B’Av is referred to as a Moed (a holiday). In fact, its holiday status has very real Halachic ramifications in that we don’t recite Tachanun on this day. Why would a day marking such terrible destruction throughout Jewish History, the saddest day on the calendar, be referred to as a Moed (holiday)? Rav Volbe explains that there’s two types of holidays. When it comes to the Shalosh Regalim, the three festive holidays (Sukkot Pesach and Shavuot) are holidays of kiruv, holidays of closeness to Hashem. However, when it comes to Tisha B’av, that too is a “holiday”, yet that is a “holiday of Richuk” (of distance from Hashem). One may question why would distance from Hashem be a cause for a holiday? He answers because during the times of the Destruction of the Bais Hamikdash, Klal Yisroel fell to the lowest possible level, where they completely lost track of what their purpose is and what they’re supposed to be doing. People thought that they were doing Mitzvahs and really they were doing terrible Aveiros. They got caught up in a false world not recognizing that they are on this earth to develop a relationship with the Ribbono Shel Olam through his Torah and Mitzvot. Rav Volbe says that when a person isn’t even in tune to what their purpose is in this world and what they should be doing here, that is a level that is even lower than feeling Distant from Hashem.
However, when Tisha B’Av came around and unfortunately The Bais Hamikdash had to be taken from us, that’s when Klal Yisrael recognized so clearly that we’re really really far from Hakadosh
Baruch Hu. We lost focus of the fact that we’re in this world to come close to Hashem and now we see that we are as far away as we’ve ever been. Like a lightning bolt, they remembered that our purpose in this world is not to be living the lives that we are currently living, but rather to be fulfilling Torah and mitzvot and developing a close connection with Hashem. Rav Volbe says you know why Tisha B’Av is called a Moed? (a holiday) because on that day they had a newfound clarity as to what their mission really is here in this world. While it is true that in the current state we are quite distant from Hashem, they are now able to recognize that we do have a meaningful purpose in this world, and I need to start doing my utmost to come close to my creator. On that day they got “the message of Reb Menachem Mendel” that we need to look internally, recognize what we’re here for, start fixing up our mistakes and get ourselves on a track of fulfilling Torah and mitzvot.
While it may be difficult for us to focus on our own personal “Richuk”, the fact that we may have fallen distant from Hashem, however at the same time understanding that we are distant means that we understand where we’re supposed to be headed. Recognizing how far we have fallen can wake us up to a new recognition that we are here in this world in 2023 for a clear purpose, to strengthen our beautiful relationship with Avinu Shebashamayim (our Father in Heaven) through growth in his Torah and Mitzvot. With a clear sense of purpose, we can then search internally for the areas that we need to strengthen and try our best to make that a reality. B’ezrat Hashem through this recognition we will be propelled to the greatest of heights and our generation should merit that this Tisha B’Av we will no longer be commemorating Tisha B’Av as a “holiday of distance” but rather a “holiday of kiruv’’ (closeness) with the building of the third and final Bais Hamikdash bimhera byameinu.
Rabbi Yaakov Moskowitz is a motivational speaker who has inspired Jews around the world through his engaging lectures and videos on a wide array of practical Jewish topics. To receive Rabbi Moskowitz’s short clips, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Tisha B’Av A Holiday Of Distance
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