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| Jews fighting Jews |
Tisha B’Av is meant to be hard. We are supposed to feel the
pain of losing the most important structure in all of Jewish history - the Beis
HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, God’s residence (so to speak) here on
earth. The Sages therefore gave us a program to follow on the anniversary of
the destruction of both Holy Temples—a day dedicated to reflecting upon all the
tragedies that have befallen us throughout our long exile.
We are, in fact, still living in that exile. Despite our
return to the Holy Land and the tremendous success and growth we have attained,
our redemption will not occur until the Messianic era, when the Temple is
rebuilt.
And yet, it’s difficult to mourn a loss that happened
thousands of years ago to ancestors long since gone. Honestly, I have a hard
time doing that because I never personally experienced the glory of the Temple.
For me, it’s ancient history—something I had no part in.
I suspect that if most people were honest, they would say
the same. Which is why the Sages wanted us to experience the pain, at least in
some measure, by requiring us (among other things) to fast, sit on the floor,
and refrain from any enjoyable activity on this day. Even Torah study is
forbidden.
We force ourselves into a state of mourning in order to
better appreciate the magnitude of what was lost when the Beis HaMikdash was
destroyed.
The “sins” of our ancestors are not our sins. I would argue
that - with some notable exceptions - today’s observant Jewry is far more
devout than the generation whose sins led to the destruction of the First
Temple. That generation was guilty of the widespread commission of the three
cardinal sins: idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder.
The Second Temple, however, was destroyed because of a chain
of events that began when one prominent Jew publicly insulted and humiliated
another Jew for no good reason. We refer to that as Sinas Chinam -
baseless hatred.
I doubt that the vast majority of observant Jewry today is
involved in any meaningful way in the three cardinal sins. But I do believe we
are still guilty of publicly insulting and humiliating one another. Now more
than ever.
And it’s happening at the highest levels…
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