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Good Yom Tov?

Tisha B’Av is a day that will ultimately be a holiday.

How can a day that historically is the apex of the tragedy that turned us into strangers in our own land, into people who barely are on speaking terms with our own path towards G-d, be a time of joy. The very first Tisha B’av took place in the desert. The Jews sent spies to determine if it was possible for them to take possession of the Land. Hashem had vowed that it would be theirs, but the question that preyed on their minds was “how is this really going to happen?”. There was no way that they could have prevailed in war, using the laws of natural cause and effect. They were too weak, too few, and far too afraid of what the future held for that to be any sort of possibility. The conclusion that they reached is that they were doomed. That somehow their entire history would end in tragedy. These were people who had lived through the exodus, and seen miracles that we can scarcely imagine. They knew very well that G-d can do anything. They doubted one thing; whether they were worthy of a repeat version of the miracles that they had already seen. There were failures that had taken place; the golden calf episode and other moments in which they rebelled against G-d out of fearing the same thing. Is His love so great that He will be there for us?The conclusion that they reached on that first Tisha B’av, was that they were not worthy of Hashem’s intervention; His love only goes so far and no further. Listen to what they said,

“He took us out of Egypt because He hates us, and will cause us to die in this desert”

  It may take a great deal of time, and rivers of tears, but the day will come when we recognize that He loves us. Hashem’s undying love for us can be seen by the events that took place on Tisha B’Av years later.  He showed us that He cares enough about us to turn the world over to ensure our existence. When He destroyed the Temples via the Babylonians and later the Romans, it was an  act of love. How so?

G-d made the material physical limitations and the forces of evil that we face daily in order to make it possible to bring light to a dark place. He gave us the information, skill, inspiration and help to build the Bais HaMikdash, a place that was living testimony to hope and potential for perfection. When we failed, He destroyed the most precious of His creations; the Holy Temple where the forces of light, goodness and His sacred presence were always brilliantly revealed. He did this in order to give us another gift, the potential to feel spiritual thirst to the point that we will search for Him and rediscover Him.

The Third Temple will be built when He sees our brokenness, and the depth of our search. It will not be the result of our becoming perfect, but the result of our yearning for perfection.

The place to look is in the heart of your fellow Jew. See how Hashem can be found in him, and let that discover broaden and deepen your search. You want to find goodness in your own heart as well. This is the time to learn how to do it. If you are going to make one resolution this Tisha B’Av, let it be that you will learn how to love.

Learn the laws concerning human behavior, share what you learn, and be part of the coming redemption.