What Are We Mourning?

An anniversary of an event is when the event come to life again. An anniversary of a tragedy is when we focus on what we lost and endeavor to restore it with even greater vigor.

Anniversary of Tragedies?

During the period beginning on the Seventeenth of Tammuz – the anniversary of the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem – through Tisha B’Av – the anniversary of the destruction of the Holy temple in Jerusalem – the Jewish people have, for the last 1900 plus years, mourned the loss of the Bais Hamikdash, the Holy Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of Jews into exile.

Tisha B’av is also the anniversary of many other tragedies throughout Jewish history.

The first tragedy to have occurred on Tisha B’Av, recorded in the Talmud, is the episode of the Jews who wept when they were told by the spies sent to Israel by Moses, that the Promised Land was rather dreadful and unpromising. G-d then declared that as a punishment for weeping needlessly, they will be given ample reason to weep on this night in the future. That fateful night was Tisha B’Av.

This tragic saga which opened up the day to subsequent tragedy is highlighted in this week’s parshas Devarim, which recounts Moses’ reprimanding of the Jewish people before their entry into the Land of Israel.

The question can be raised, why the Torah here highlights only this sin? Why doesn’t it mention the sin of the Golden Calf? (It does allude to it in the very first verse, but, it does not mention it explicitly as it does the sin of the spies.)

One answer is that it was this sin in particular that had ramifications for the future up until (and, hopefully, not through) our own generation.

In 1492 Columbus was a Jew?

In more recent history, Tisha B’Av was the day the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.

Incidentally, Columbus – who many think may have been a secret Jew – was supposed to have set sail for America on that day, but postponed his journey for the next day.

Historians wonder whether he postponed his trip because he did not want to set sail on a day as tragic as Tisha B’Av, or perhaps, as others have conjectured, there were so many boats in the harbor waiting to transport the fleeing Jews out of Spain, that his ship could not make it out of harbor? Either way it seems that his fateful trip which led to the “discovery” of America, the place where so many Jews were to seek safe haven and flourish, would be somehow connected to Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning and dispersion!)

In more recent times, we know that the first World War began on Tisha B’Av. Now, if the second World War was a continuation of the first, as many have stated, then it can also be said that the Holocaust really began on Tisha B’Av.

Unlucky Day?

Based on the above, many of our readers are no doubt wondering as to whether Tisha B’Av is an “unlucky” day, when unhappy occurrences are more likely to occur. Or, perhaps we should just view these multiple tragedies that occurred on Tisha B’Av as coincidences.

The Torah view is that none of these two approaches are accurate. Judaism is not a superstitious religion and Judaism certainly does not subscribe to the belief in coincidences. Everything that happens, the Ba’al Shem Tov taught us, happens by Divine Providence and must therefore have a purpose. And if an event, and particularly, a confluence of eerily similar events, is brought to our attention, there must be something we can learn from the occurrence in our way of serving G-d.

It must be noted that learning lessons are not synonymous with finding explanations for an event. And while we cannot find any rational explanation for the Holocaust and other tragedies, we must learn lessons from these events; otherwise they would not have shown up on our radar.

What did we Lose?

To understand what we must learn from the tragic events of Tisha B’Av we must focus on the central reason for its observance: the destruction of the Two Temples.

The loss of the Temple on Tisha B’Av represents far more than the loss of Judaism’s most important shrine. The Temple was the place through which G-d channeled His presence into our world. With the loss of the Temple, the forces of evil which can only exist in a vacuum – when G- d’s presence is concealed – the potential for greater evil ensued.

(See preceding essay for an analysis of the loss of truth and sanity as a result of the loss of the Temple and why we can’t just build it in another, less controversial location before Moshiach comes.)

Kabbalists tell us that the anniversary of an event is when the spiritual energies which cause the event to occur are more pronounced. Therefore, Tisha B’Av is a time when G- d’s withdrawal from the world, as it were, is more keenly felt.

Most Suitable Time for Redemption!

Does this mean that it is inevitable that Tisha B’Av will bring tragedy in its wake? The answer is absolutely not!

On Tisha B’Av, because of the fact that we feel the loss of G-d’s presence more keenly than any other day, it challenges us to mourn that loss. The more we mourn the loss, and, more importantly, the more we yearn for the rebuilding of the Temple through Moshiach, we actually possess the capacity to transform the losses of Tisha B’Av into gains. Tisha B’Av is the most suitable time for the Redemption, precisely because it is the time when we sense the need for it more than any other time.

Birth of Moshiach

Indeed, our sages tell us that the birth of Moshiach occurred on Tisha B’Av at the same time that the Temple was being destroyed. This means that the soul of Moshiach, which is present in every generation, impatiently waiting to be called upon to usher in the Final Redemption, first entered the world at the very time the Temple was being destroyed and the onset of the period of exile.

How Much Longer?!

We mourn on Tisha B’Av not for the sake of wallowing in grief, but to feel the void in our lives, which, in turn, motivates us to cry out to G-d: Ad Masai?! How much longer must we live in a world of exile, where evil can exist? When will you bring the final Redemption, not only for our sake, but for Your sake, G-d?

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Devarim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.