A City of Two Tales

Much of life is spent on running away from pain and negativity. That is a formidable challenge. An even greater challenge is when we confront adversity precisely when we are ready to embrace unadulterated positivity. Today, on the cusp of the Messianic Age, we were entrusted with this greater challenge

Shabbos of Consolation: Filling the Vacuum

Tisha B’av, the national day of mourning is followed by seven weeks of consolation. Starting with this Shabbos – known as Shabbos Nachamu, which means consolation or comfort – we look for ways to restore the sense of joy and optimism that was marred due to the preceding three weeks of mourning.

Consolation of a mourner, however, is not an exercise in helping the mourner forget or be distracted from his/her loss, but it is a time when we attempt – to the extent that is humanly possible – to fill the void and vacuum created by the loss.

The period of consolation for the loss of the Temple is when we are given the means to fill the void, because it is the most opportune time for G-d to rebuild the Third Temple and restore all that was lost as a result of its past destruction.

Rabbi Akiva and His Colleagues

The Talmud relates two stories about the way in which Rabbi Akiva consoled his colleagues when they expressed great anguish as a result of the sorrowful state of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.

The first story discusses how when they were traveling and heard the hustle bustle of Rome from afar they broke down crying. They were moved to tears because of the sorrow they felt when they saw the splendor of Rome after leaving the degradation of Jerusalem, The second story tells of their horror when they witnessed the desolation of the Temple, seeing a fox emerge from the place where the Holy of Holies once stood.

In both cases, Rabbi Akiva’s colleagues cried while Rabbi Akiva laughed. In the first story, Rabbi Akiva explained his bizarre reaction by saying:

“If G-d rewards the evil, how much more so can we be expected to be rewarded in the future.”

In the second narrative story, his response to them was:

“If G-d fulfilled his prophecies of doom so elaborately – how much more so will He fulfill His message of Redemption.” His friends answered, “Akiva, you have comforted us.”

Going Away from or Going Towards Jerusalem

Though the two stories seem identical, there is one salient difference. In the first story, the rabbis were travelling away from Jerusalem to Rome. When they got close enough to Rome and beheld its grandeur, that is when they cried and Rabbi Akiva laughed.

By contrast, the second story relates to an incident that occurred when they were going to Jerusalem and beheld the utter degradation of the ruins of the Temple.

In a person’s life there are two directions that need to be followed. There are times that we must leave the peace and security of “Jerusalem“ and journey towards “Rome,” the symbol of the secular precincts of life. The objective, of course, is to refine the secular and make it holy.

There are times, however, when we confront such negativity in our journey towards “Rome” that we become demoralized. We cannot fathom how it is possible to find anything salvageable in “Rome.” This is precisely what happened to Rabbi Akiva’s colleagues. The Rome that they encountered was too formidable an adversary of holiness. It seemed impossible to find any positive value in that encounter. When one sees that their efforts are in vain, it leads one to tears.

Rabbi Akiva, however, was able to see the good even in the most abject forms of evil, light in the most dismal darkness and hope in the most desperate of situations. Rabbi Akiva laughed and was able to meet the challenge of his journey to Rome, as well.

When one has finished the mission in “Rome” and is traveling back to “Jerusalem,” meaning the mission to find holiness in the unholy has been completed, one expects no further frustration. Seemingly, on the road to Jerusalem, the only direction to go is “up,” growing in goodness and holiness. And yet, in Jerusalem itself, the rabbis discovered the worst disgrace of all - they saw with their own eyes a fox emerging from the Holy of Holies. How could it be? This they could not bear and were moved to tears.

Again Rabbi Akiva laughed. Even in this situation when they were on the road to Jerusalem and expected things to get better, he could see the light in the darkness. He realized that this too was an integral part of the process of rebuilding..

In which Direction are we Going Today?

For the past 2,000 years, since the dispersion of Jews throughout the world, we have been on a mission to be a beacon of light for all the nations. To be sure, this mission was punctuated with trying times, when the insight of Rabbi Akiva was needed to help us find the light in the darkness and see the positive nature of even the worst circumstances.

But then in the last few decades, our greatest Jewish spiritual leaders have told us that we are on our way back to Jerusalem. Particularly the Rebbe has been underscoring the fact that we are at the tail end of the exile. And more recently the Rebbe cited the words of the Midrash concerning Moshiach’s announcement:

“The Time of your Redemption has arrived!”

At this point, we did not expect to see any more suffering and darkness. So when we did confront these negative situations, we begin to despair and we cry out, “How can this be?”

Indeed, the appearance of increased exile negativity should be even more heart rending than the pain we experienced earlier in our history. For there to be a lack of G-dliness in Rome” is to be expected – but to find a fox in the Holy of Holies?!

To derive comfort in this Shabbos of consolation we must allow Rabbi Akiva’s message to ring clear, even, nay especially, in this instance.

We must realize that the negativity we experience now is commensurate with the degree of goodness that we will all experience imminently in the forthcoming Redemption.

And while we do not understand why there is need for suffering, we believe with perfect faith that the suffering will not only end but will be a prelude to the time that will be characterized by the total and pervasive joy that will envelop the world.

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