It was in the middle of class when the secretary of the Haider came into the classroom and announced his name. "Srulik". He was quick to look up from the book. "You have a phone!" - the secretary announced. Srulik accompanied the secretary back to his office. "Who's looking for me on the phone?" asked Srulik on the way, all tense. "It's a surprise!" – the secretary responded, and Srulik couldn't help but see the smile on the tip of his lips. Since that time, their lives have changed. From a small family, with a father, a mother and a son, they became a family of six.
Three years passed, the tiny babies became big and playful children, slowly three new beds and another six-door closet entered the house, and the large and spacious house with its three rooms suddenly became too narrow to contain this big mess. One day, Dad came back with a message in his mouth. He obtained permission to add two more rooms to the existing house. From here until the contract with the contractor was signed, it did not take long. However, in a conversation with the contractor, it became clear that there was no possibility of continuing to live in the apartment. According to him, they will have to find an alternative apartment. Various inquiries began, and in the end they were offered an apartment in the next building. They went to see the apartment and their eyes went dark. It was a warehouse that had been converted into an apartment, all of which had two small rooms, a dark and suffocating apartment, neglected, some of the floors were broken, and if that wasn't enough, the building's water and sewage pipes also ran through the apartment. After much deliberation, they accepted the decree. According to the contractor, it is six months at most. No problem, they will survive.
Several family members volunteered to help them move the necessary groceries for the coming period. The first few days were unbearable, and the crowding was very difficult. Srulik and the trio slept at night on mattresses stuck to each other without an inch of space. In the morning, Srulik had to arrange all the mattresses on top of each other, otherwise it would be impossible to move the room. In the few closets that were in the apartment, the main clothes and household items needed for daily life were stored. The rest of the things were left inside the suitcases. The dining table was inside the children's room, so they had to darken the room every day at an early hour so that the little ones could fall asleep. It was especially difficult on Shabbat, when they were forced to turn off the lights in the middle of the Friday night meal. This life in the crowded warehouse was all anticipation and waiting for the day when they would be able to reach the spacious and renovated apartment. It can be said that the more difficult life in this warehouse apartment was, the more they knew that this nightmare would end soon. After all, they would not be able to survive here for too long. Even the little trio had already learned to count the days. Six months, the contractor promised. The father would go to tour the apartment being built, at least twice a day, to see the progress of the construction, and despite all the pressure on his part, the pace of construction was much slower than he had initially thought. "There are delays that do not depend on me," the contractor explained himself.
Six months have passed, even a full year, and the end is still not in sight. Thank God, the skeleton is already standing, but in the meantime they haven't even started sewing. The children didn't know it, but something about the license wasn't so good, and they had no choice but to stop the work. The chaos in the house was unbearable. There wasn't a single closet in the children's room. How long can life go on without room in the closets for the little ones' clothes? One fine afternoon, the trio of little ones returned from the kindergarten. They met two workers at the entrance to the house, carrying wooden plates with them. They burst into the house with joy and enthusiasm. Thank God, something new is happening here. They found out that they were installing a closet in the children's room that would hang over their beds. It would be their wardrobe. The three of them stood there, watching with enthusiasm as an entire closet was being built before their eyes. Their happiness had no end. At the end of the day, Srulik returned home. As soon as he opened the door, he suspected something. "Is there anything new in the house?" "Go into the children's room and see!" He went in, saw the coffin, and immediately went outside with tears in his eyes. "What?! Are we already staying here?" - he asked painfully. *
We have been in exile for two thousand years, and yet our ancestors and forefathers never ceased to miss the Temple. It is true that even in exile we are forced to find rest for our feet, even in exile each of us makes sure that he has a home to live in, but deep down everyone knows that we aspire to go up to Jerusalem and see the building of the Temple. Chazal obligated us to make a "remembrance of the destruction." The Shulchan Aruch brings all the laws related to the "remembrance of the destruction" so that the destruction of the Temple will be before our eyes all year round, and so that we will never stop wishing and expecting the rebuilding of the Temple.
During these days, we are immersed in the Nine Days, depriving ourselves of the pleasures of this world, refraining from eating meat and drinking wine, and refraining from bathing and lubrication. This is the symbol of our anticipation for the building of the Temple. It is so sad to see someone who tries to arrange his life for himself, and tries to ease the fasts and sigufim from himself, because the deeper the exile, the thicker the darkness, the greater the expectation and the greater the hope. When Napoleon saw the Jews mourning the destruction, he had already spoken: "A people that mourns for two thousand years will surely soon see consolation." Amen, yes, may it be desired.
