Page 10 - HaMizrachi Tisha B'Av AUS 2021

TORAT MIZRACHI MIZRACHI SCHOLARS-IN-RESIDENCE

Sivan Rahav Meir and Yedidya Meir

Four Thoughts

for Tisha B’Av

I used to think that “Sinat Chinam” I was a little embarrassed that I hadn’t fire against me, could you have done so?”
was the only reason for the Churban, known of these lessons from the Churban. After these questions, Yerushalayim tells
and only used in the context of Tisha Maybe today we should be addressing Bavel, “A dead lion you have killed, ground
1B’Av. Of course, it’s certainly a signif- these issues too? flour you have ground, a burnt city you
icant reason, but I sometimes felt it led have burnt, a destroyed Temple you have
me to empty cliches on achdut and achdut destroyed.”
alone. I also found that people often used When we think of the Churban as
the term “Sinat Chinam” when it was con- the destruction of a building, we This is an incredible statement.
venient for them. mistakenly define the tragedy. It
2was not just bricks and mortar that Bavel has just plucked the ripe fruit, easily
Over the past few years, I discovered that were destroyed. It was a different reality. conquering. Bavel hasn’t killed, burnt or
Chazal recorded many other very clear rea- destroyed.
sons for the Churban. Nowadays, we are educated to believe
what we once knew and felt. It’s difficult Yerushalayim was already destroyed,
It’s not exactly politically correct, and to explain in words the lack of something crumbled from within.
perhaps not oft quoted, but this is what’s
written in Masechet Shabbat: we never experienced. A spiritual center The Mikdash was not externally destroyed
to which all our hearts were connected.
ת ַאי ִר ְק ּול ְּ טי ִּ ב ֶ ׁש לי ִב ְ ׁש ִּ ב א ָּ ל ֶא םִי ַל ָ ׁשּורְי ה ָב ְר ָח אל ֹ We have to exert ourselves to experience until we destroyed it internally.
.תי ִב ְר ַע ְו תי ִר ֲח ַ ׁש ע ַמ ְ ׁש The city was not externally burned until
kedusha for even a moment, when once,
“Yerushalayim was destroyed only because Yerushalayim was the epicenter of con- we burned it from within. From then until
its citizens intentionally omitted recitation stant holiness for every person. Imagine today, our enemies simply exploit our own
of Shema morning and evening.” people in a make-believe world who think vulnerabilities.
marriage means sending a weekly text
י ֵדי ִמ ְל ַּ ת ּ ה ָּ ב ּוּזי ִּ ב ֶ ׁש לי ִב ְ ׁש ִּ ב א ָּ ל ֶא םִי ַל ָ ׁשּורְי ה ָב ְר ָח אל ֹ If we lack faith or motivation, if we are
.םי ִמ ָכ ֲח message and speaking on the phone once divided, if we forget our identity and tra-
a month. They don’t realize there are much
“Yerushalayim was destroyed only because deeper and more meaningful levels of com- dition, if we become addicted to extrem-
they disparaged the Torah scholars in it.” munication. They simply don’t know they ist struggles instead of dealing with the
can strive for so much more. We’re crawl- essence, with what is important – we are
ּ ה ָּ ב ּול ְּ טי ִּ ב ֶ ׁש לי ִב ְ ׁש ִּ ב א ָּ ל ֶא ם ִי ַל ָ ׁשּור ְי ה ָב ְר ָח אל ֹ the burners and destroyers.
.ן ָּ ב ַר תי ֵּ ב ל ֶ ׁש תֹוקֹוני ִּ ת ing in first gear when we should be flying!
Av is a reminder for us to dream, to strive In Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s
“Yerushalayim was destroyed only because higher than our routine reality. It’s like the
schoolchildren there were interrupted from broken glass at a wedding, which symbol- famous “spider web speech,” he outlines
studying Torah.” the ways that will allow Israel to crum-
izes our incomplete reality, and reminds ble from within. The tanks and nuclear
ֹל
ה ֶז ּוחי ִכֹוה א ּ ֶ ׁש לי ִב ְ ׁש ִּ ב א ָּ ל ֶא םִי ַל ָ ׁשּורְי ה ָב ְר ָח אל ֹ us there is still work to do. weapons are not the essence, he says. The
.ה ֶז ת ֶא
essence is Israel’s faith and Jewish identity.
“Yerushalayim was destroyed only because The Midrash personifies Yerusha- Without such inner resilience, they are like
the people did not rebuke one another.” cobwebs.
layim in a poignant statement the
There are many other fascinating reasons city makes to Bavel after she sees If Nasrallah understood this dynamic,
which describe a society that has lost its 3Bavel rejoicing and reveling in her of ground flour and a destroyed Temple,
faith, its respect for its identity and the destruction: “If Heaven had not already surely we can understand it too?
ability to care for others physically and waged war against me, could you have
spiritually. done so? If Heaven had not already sent

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