Not There Yet

It is interesting that one of the laws of Tisha B’Av is the prohibition to be involved with Torah study. The reason for this is that Torah gladdens the heart, and we are to be in a state of sadness similar to one who is “Sitting Shiva.”

We are, however, permitted to study the sections in the Talmud in Masechet Gittin, that give a vivid description of the destruction of the Temple. We are also allowed to study other sources that point to the seriousness of the day.

There are many that use Tisha B’Av as a type of “antisemitism day.” This is understandable since many of the Kinnot recited, do review some of the historical events that reflected the bitter exile experienced by the Jewish people.

It is essential that we do not lose the focus of the day. We are not supposed to think that compared to what we went through in the past, things are pretty good for the Jewish people. The war will end soon enough, and the current wave of Jew hatred will pass, and all will be fine.

Such thinking is incorrect. We are supposed to recognize the loss of having our two Temples destroyed, and how things are not okay for the Jewish people, until the Third Temple is rebuilt. We are to long for an absolute end to our bitter Galut, that we have endured for nearly two thousand years.

It is an incredible miracle that more than seven million Jews live in the State of Israel. It is miraculous that we have a homeland with a holy army defending it. Tisha B’Av is meant to be a reminder that we are not there yet.

We are moving in the right direction and there are reasons for optimism. But we cannot be content and complacent when there still remains tremendous ignorance of real Jewish values, and a basic understanding of our Torah. As long as assimilation and intermarriage run rampant, and so many Jews substitute true Torah principles for philosophies that are not Jewish, we are not there yet.

There is a refrain of one of the Kinnot that says, אוי מה היה לנו, “We are in sorrow for what we once had.” On the day of Tisha B’Av, there should be a longing for a brighter future. We pray that all Jews return spiritually to their Jewish roots, and come to Israel, the only real home of the Jewish people. This longing will be complete with the building of the Third Temple, when all of the world will know that Hashem is One, and His name is One.