Parshas Devarim
D’var Torah by Rabbi Zischa Shaps
The story is told that Napoleon was passing a synagogue on Tisha B’Av and heard the
sound of wailing and crying from within. After inquiring about the cause for their
mourning and hearing that it was the destruction of their Holy Temple in Jerusalem he
expressed astonishment that he had heard nothing about this tragedy from his reliable
intelligence sources. When it was explained that this event took place close to 1800
years earlier he reportedly declared that a people who can still mourn for their Temple
and their homeland after so many years have a real hope for regaining them. Whether
this story is true, is debatable. What is not debatable is that Jews all over the world are
still actively mourning for the loss of the Temple and the exile.
Why are we still crying and how do we still feel the pain after all these years?
The day of Tisha B’Av is actually a bit of a paradox. While on the one hand it is the
saddest day of the year and we are in mourning, at the same time it is also referred to
as a Moed, a holiday. Indeed the Midrash tells us that after the redemption of the
Jewish people, Tisha B’Av will be changed from a sad day into a joyous holiday. But
even now it is also called a Moed. On the day of Tisha B’av we do not say Tachanun in
the davening. This is only done on Shabbos, holidays or special occasions of joy such as
a Bris. Why on Tisha B’Av don’t we say Tachanun? The Chasam Sofer, a Torah leader of
the 1800’s, gives a fascinating explanation. If we look at the concept of mourning, the
Torah has told us that eventually you are consoled for someone who has died. This is
illustrated by Rashi when he comments on the fact that Yaakov was inconsolable over
the loss of his son Yosef. Rashi says that if Yosef had truly been dead then Yaakov
would have been consoled. Because Yosef was really alive, the gift that Hashem has
bestowed upon us to be consoled upon the loss of a loved one, did not apply. In other
words one can never be completely consoled over the loss of a loved one who is not
truly dead, even if you believe they are. This concept applies to the loss of the Beis
Hamikdosh as well. Other nations do not mourn the loss of their homeland
forever. Even if there is a desire upon their part to get it back there is no mourning over its loss. Certainly those civilizations of old are not mourned by their great-great
grandchildren as ours is. The difference is that their loss is final and as such they have
been consoled and don’t feel that acute sense of sadness any longer. They no longer
mourn. We on the other hand believe in the redemption, the coming of Moshiach, and
the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdosh, therefore our loss is not final. We cannot be
consoled over the loss of the Beis Hamikdosh because it is coming back. The Chasam
Sofer says the very fact that we still mourn and still feel our loss so acutely is the
source of our consolation. We know the Beis Hamikdosh will be rebuilt by the fact that
we still feel its loss, even after all this time.
Shabbat Shalom,
JET Ottawa
