We now find ourselves during the three weeks between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av, the period of time during which the holy city of Jerusalem was besieged by our enemies. During this time, we cry for the loss of our Holy Temple and our exile from the holy land. We must therefore ask: What is this sorrow all about? Why must we cry and grieve for the loss of the Bet Hamikdash?
There are indeed several reasons for this. Every Jewish person is obligated to mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and the exile of the Jewish nation, for any generation during which the Bet Hamikdash has not been rebuilt, it is considered as though it has been destroyed during that generation. Were the same reasons that caused the Bet Hamikdash to be destroyed so many years ago not present in our days, the Bet Hamikdash would have been rebuilt already. All of the tragedies which have befallen the Jewish people and the great sorrow of Hashem’s holy presence about the Jewish nation’s plight are all because the Jewish people have not yet merited the Ultimate Redemption which is the purpose of the entire existence of the world.
Indeed, as a result of the destruction of the Holy Temple and our exile, many holy and righteous individuals have been killed; each one who perished causes us tremendous anguish on his own. Why were the Jewish people punished to such an extent? Because when there is immorality in the world, chaos always follows suit. Similarly, our Sages tell us that Hashem asked Avraham Avinu, “Why are you pained by the fact that the Bet Hamikdash shall eventually be destroyed?” Avraham answered, “I am grieving for the souls of the righteous people who will suffer and will be murdered in the cruelest of ways.” Hashem replied, “Know that the reason for their deaths is because of the immorality present among the Jewish nation. Wherever immorality is present, meaning sinful actions and a lack of holiness, permission is granted to the Angel of Death to kill and he does not differentiate between the righteous and the wicked.”
A similar idea is recorded in a special essay dedicated to this time of year written by Hagaon Rabbeinu Yehonatan Eibeschitz: “My son, my brother! Arouse from your slumber! Do not waste your time discussing current events and politics. Especially during these days, we must remember the day where the enemy arrived at the gates of Jerusalem and destroyed everything in sight. Woe unto us for we have sinned! How can you not cry when remembering these days, when our oppressors danced in the sanctuary of Hashem! They entered the holy city with axes like wood-choppers to butcher the entire Jewish nation, young and old alike. Awaken, my brothers and take advantage of one’s limited amount of time, for there is nothing as precious in this world as time.”
Everyone must know that the plot of the Evil Inclination is to first convince one to transgress a light sin and eventually convinces him to go worship idols. It first convinces one to surf the web and watch different forms of media and other destructive instruments to catch up on politics and current events and then eventually convinces one to transgress the most grievous of sins.
We must therefore wake up and repent during these days and cause a surge of holiness within the Jewish nation by guarding our eyes, speech, and even thoughts and by repairing our characters traits. We must likewise love our fellow Jew unconditionally and distance ourselves from baseless hatred which is the cause of our exile from our holy land.
In this merit, may Hashem pity us and bring about the Final Redemption, speedily and in our days, Amen.
