Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel tov to Yossi Nigri on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel tov to Tzemach Feller on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel tov to Mendy Nigri on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the period of yokor mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Sholom Zirkind on the birth of their daughter. Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Zelik Langsam on the birth of their daughter. Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Yisroel Halon on the birth of their daughter. Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Levi Teichtel on the birth of their son. Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Yossi Schulman on the birth of their son. Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Yonasan Abrams on the birth of their son. Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Avremel Matusof on the birth of their son. (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
The story is told about a Rabbi who was travelling, and found himself Tisha b’Av on the way. He, obviously, would not journey on such a date, so he found a little inn (through Priceline), in which he could spend this saddest of days, before resuming his travels. The kretchme (the inn), as many at that time, was run by a simple Jew, who was honoured to host such an illustrious (looking) guest, and extended himself to ensure that his accommodations would be satisfactory.
At night, after maariv, the Rabbi sat down on the floor of his room and began to recite Eicha feelingly. Then he continued with the kinos, contemplating the terrible churban and shedding bitter tears over our lengthy golus.
The innkeeper was getting ready for bed, when he heard the sound of sobbing from the Rabbi’s room. The innkeeper became alarmed! What could have upset his important guest? Was he, perhaps, remiss in his hospitality?
He hurried to the room of the Rabbi to inquire what was troubling him. ‘Why are you crying?’ he asked him caringly, ‘was the food not to your liking? Is your bed, perhaps, uncomfortable?’
The Rabbi looked at the poor simpleton in surprise. ‘Why am I crying?’ he repeated, ‘why, my dear innkeeper, don’t you know that tonight is the night of Tisha b’Av, the saddest day in our calendar?’
But the innkeeper still had a blank look on his face. ‘Tisha, b’Av? What’s that? It’s not one of the holidays that I am familiar with.’
‘Surely you heard of Tisha b’Av’, the Rov insisted, ‘that’s the day when our holy beis hamikdash was destroyed, and our bitter golus began’. But if he hoped for a spark of recognition, the Rabbi was disappointed. ‘Beis hamikdash’, the innkeeper echoed, ‘and what is that? Where is that?’
The Rabbi was incredulous, but seeing who he was dealing with, he began to explain to the poor innkeeper how we used to have a beis hamikdash in all of its glory in Yerusholayim, and how we would bring korbonos etc. etc.
The innkeeper was ecstatic! Every detail filled him with excitement and joy. Did the Jewish nation really live in such prosperity and with such wonderful miracles and blessings and a chance to serve Hashem constantly? Amazing!
Finally he could no longer contain his joy, and broke out in dance and song. His wife was finally disturbed by the racket, and came running over to see what was going on. To her surprise, she saw her husband dancing and singing like on simchas Torah.
‘What happened’, she asked him, ‘what are you dancing for?’ The newly enlightened innkeeper looked at his poor wife and exclaimed: ‘What do you mean what am I dancing for, don’t you know what tonight is? Tonight is Tisha b’Av!’
They say that every joke has a bit of truth, just as every story has a message and a lesson, and the aforementioned is no exception. Indeed, the effect of Tisha b’Av on us is of joy and positivity.
The immediate aftermath of the sad days of the 3 weeks and the nine days are the shiva de’nechemta, - the seven weeks of comforting. It is not that Tisha b’Av is over, thank G-d it’s behind us, and now we can start getting on with our summer vacation in earnest (what a nuisance to have that right in the middle . .) Rather, our understanding and appreciation of the enormity of the churban, through our focus on it in these last weeks, only serves to increase and enhance our yearning for, and preoccupation with the rebuilding of the beis hamikdash, and our joyous anticipation for it.
So, Tisha b’Av, and the time leading up to it, is a catalyst. Like the planting of a seed in the ground and its’ disintegration there, as a means to bring about the subsequent growth, so too the days of mourning are a means to keep us focused and fixated on our ultimate goal and destination.
These 7 weeks are not something different from Tisha b’Av. The tone is different, and the mood is different, but they are in fact the culmination and climax of the three weeks; - when we transform our mourning into the comfort we get out of our efforts in rebuilding.
Nor does it end there. The shiva denechamta are followed by Rosh hashonoh and the Yomim nora’im, and then by Sukkos and Simchas Torah. The calendar is not haphazard and random, it is with precise design and pattern.
The real churban is the lack of giluy Elokus in the world, the notion that olam keminhogoi noiheg, that the world is ch”v running itself, and we dutiful pay respects to the Al-mighty who holds the ultimate control. The beis hamikdash, with its’ 10 constant miracles, was the constant reminder and confirmation that the world itself is not apart from Hashem, that Hashem Hu Ho’Elokim, Ein od milvado!
Feeling this void, the lack of the beis hamikdash and its’ message and illumination, raises our awareness of our own need to on our own create our acknowledgement and conscious recognition of Hashem’s Omnipresence. So, after Tisha b’Av, and back to our cottages, our music and our water skiing, we don’t ch”v forget about the beis hamikdash; - rather our comfort and consolation – and joy – lies in our renewed ability to reveal and tune into the inherent and indestructible beis hamikdash – within our own neshomo and within the world -, the continued ability to live with a sense of Hashem Echod.
And this reaches its’ climax, at the culmination of the sheva de’nechamta, on Rosh Hashono, when we proclaim Hashem’s Supreme rulership over the entire universe, when we truly internalize this sense of Ein Od Milvado. Nor does it end there, the proclamations of “HaMelech” on Rosh Hashono – the rebuilding of our internal beis hamikdash – is developed further and further, during aseres yemei teshuva and afterwards over Sukkos, reaching an even greater climax, on Simchas Torah, when we sing and dance with unbridled joy about the fact that “Atoh horeisa loda’as ki Hashem hu hoElokim ein od milvado”.
Tisha b’Av and the 3 weeks, then, are merely the beginning of a process, which we have to follow through with, until reaching the ultimate climax on Simchas Torah, of – after the void - once again living with geulah, with beis hamikdash, with ein od milvado. The simple innkeeper may have jumped the gun a bit, but he wasn’t altogether wrong; - Tisha b’Av is indeed a cause for boundless ecstasy and simcha.
And while all of this was always true, it is so much more relevant in our generation, when the era of geulah is upon us. For us, who are living in a world that is already breaking free of the shell of golus, in which Moshiach is not a future dream but a present reality, for us these seven weeks of comfort and consolation take on new meaning and relevance. We have a greater responsibility, and sense of urgency, to experience and implement the nechamta of these weeks through living Moshiach.
Before his histalkus, the Alter Rebbe was speaking with his grandson, and said to him: “At this point, I have divested myself of my physical attributes; all that remain are my spiritual dimensions”.
The grandson was puzzled, and, tapping the Alter Rebbe with his hand, exclaimed: “But Zeide, how can you say that? See, here, I am feeling you, and I feel that your physical body is still present?”
Responded the Alter Rebbe: “That is because you are feeling with a physical hand, which feels physicality!”
We are still immersed in golus, caught up in our golus mindset and golus outlook. That is why we see a world of golus, - “veil mir tappen mit golus’dige oigen”. We have to (each according to our abilities, and G-d given kochos) divest ourselves of our golus mentality, and we will be able to see (and experience) a world of geulah, a world of the third beis hamikdash, a world of ein od milvado.
Our focus, during these weeks of nechomo, must be on the true source of our comfort, - on giluy Elokus. Never mind trying to chap arein the last bit of the disappearing summer; -one last roller coaster, another barbeque, a little better of a tan. Rather, chap arein the true nechomo, another vort chassidus, a little more davening, another mitzvah; a bit more Elokus!
This Shabbos is Chof Av, so I will conclude with a story of the baal hahilula:
During his exile in Alma Ata, there was a time when the poverty was so great that three days went by without a drop of water being found in the house of R’ Levik. Needless to say, their suffering was immense.
One chosid went, with mesirus nefesh, and procured a small container of water, which he rushed to present to the Rebbe’s father. When R’ Levik opened the door, and saw what the chosid had brought, his face became filled with joy. For 5 minutes he stood thanking and blessing the chosid with all of his heart. "You literally were mechaye nefesh”, he told the chosid, “you saved my life and gave me new life”!
As soon as he finished thanking the chosid, he took all of the water, and used it to wash negel vasser! For R’ Levi Yitzchok, his life was dependent on a mitzvah more than on food and drink!
We have to take steps, even if they’re small ones, to help us realize that our life is Moshiach, - is living with ein od milvado. A little more learning, a little more davening, a little more mitzvos and good deeds will make a lot of a difference. And the more we live with Moshiach, with nechomo, with the beis hamikdash, the more we reveal how the world around us is already in the throes of geulah, and imminently and immediately Hashem will bring us all the ultimate nechomo, and the ultimate comfort with the rebuilding of the third beis hamikdash and the coming of Moshiach NOW!!
L’chaim! May we each use out these opportune weeks to live with, internalize and spread nechomo and geulah, and may the Eibishter make these weeks of nechomo into true and genuine nechomo with the immediate hisgalus of Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
