HaMizrachi | Tisha B'Av 5781

VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 3 TORAT ERETZ YISRAEL • PUBLISHED IN JERUSALEM • DISTRIBUTED AROUND THE WORLD

‫מנחם אב תשפ”א‬ JULY 2021

UK EDITION

WITH GRATEFUL THANKS TO THE FOUNDING SPONSORS OF HAMIZRACHI – THE LAMM FAMILY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Rabbi Herschel Schachter

on Tachanun and Tisha B’Av PAGE 17

TISHA B’AV

Rabbanit Shani Taragin

discusses the Rabbinic responses to the Churban PAGE 7

“The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews” ANTISEMITISM IN THE THOUGHT OF RABBI SACKS

Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon provides insights into Shemita PAGE 8

Sivan Rahav Meir and Yedidya Meir with four profound ideas for Tisha B’Av PAGE 10

Rabbi Judah Mischel

delves into the secret of Yerushalayim PAGE 28

Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

teaches us the truth behind ahavat chinam

PAGES 41–43

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GET TO KNOW ISRAEL’S NEW PRIME MINISTER One-on-One Profile with Naftali Bennett PAGE 44

Dedicated in honour of the Bar Mitzvah of Daniel Shaw ‫דניאל עזרא בן הרב חיים יעקב נ"י‬ Parashat Nitzavim

Rabbi Andrew Shaw www.mizrachi.org www.mizrachi.tv office@mizrachi.org +972 (0)2 620 9000 CHAIRMAN

Mr. Harvey Blitz EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

Rabbi Doron Perez

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Baseball, Cricket and our National Responsibility

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veryone is talking about football at the moment, and by the time you read this you will know whether football ‘came home.’ Normally for me though, the summer sports I follow are cricket and baseball.

Cricket was my first love, but living in America when I first got married introduced me to baseball, and as the closest thing to cricket I could find, I began following.

The similarities between the two sports are obvious. There is a bowler/pitcher and a batter/batter. For this idea I want to focus on the bowler and the pitcher.

How do we know who the best bowlers and pitchers are? It is based on their ratio of runs to wickets/outs.

However, there is a subtle difference between baseball and cricket which can shed light on a fascinating Jewish philosophical question.

In cricket, it is very simple: your bowling average is worked out as the number of runs conceded per number of wickets taken. In baseball, a pitcher doesn’t have a run average (runs conceded/outs). He has an ERA (Earned Run Average), i.e., earned runs conceded/outs).

(I know strictly ERA is ER/[Innings pitched/9] but for this example I have made it easier!)

What is an Earned Run Average and how does it differ from cricket?

In baseball, if a batter hits the ball and the fielder makes an error – for example, he drops the ball so an out is not recorded – then, if that batter ends up scoring, it is not a run against the pitcher.

It was not the pitcher’s fault they scored a run. It was just

the fielder who made the mistake, so the pitcher is not penalised.

However, in cricket, if a similar thing happens, it doesn’t matter. If runs are scored against a bowler, they all count, whether fielders make mistakes or not.

And now to our own lives. When it comes to our performance in front of G-d, are we judged like cricket bowlers or like baseball pitchers? Are we held responsible for other people's mistakes?

When it comes to personal judgement, it’s like baseball. We are not held accountable for other people’s mistakes. It is our own thoughts, speech and actions that matter.

That is the essence of Yom Kippur – the paradigm of personal teshuva. We pass before G-d kivnei maron, like a flock of sheep, each one of us judged for our deeds.

The spotlight is on each of us individually.

But that is just our personal journey. Our national experience is like cricket. Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh – we are all responsible for each other.

On Tisha B’Av, we mourn as a nation. It is never okay to simply look at oneself and say, ‘I am doing fine, I don’t care about the wider Jewish world.’ If others make mistakes, if others are drifting from Judaism, we as a nation are held responsible for the collective. Not just the earned runs – all the runs are our responsibility.

Tisha B’Av is a national day of mourning.

We take a journey through history and we realise that as a nation we rise and as a nation we fall. We cannot stand by and watch as our people drift into assimilation. On the most tragic day of the year, we must realise that the challenge of the 21st century is not the persecutions, exiles and pogroms of yesteryear.

Our challenge is a spiritual one.

Yes, there is a rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric.

But the true battle will always be for the soul of our people.

Rabbi Andrew Shaw is the Chief Executive of Mizrachi UK.

TO R AT M I Z R AC H I Rabbi Doron Perez

Yellow and Blue Stars The Changing Colors of Antisemitism

I

n the wake of Operation “Guardian of the Walls,” anti-Zionism and the systematic delegitimization of Israel is once again clear to all as the modern reincarnation of antisemitism. Every state has a moral right to self-defense other than Israel. The never-ending portrayal of Israel as an apartheid state and a systematic human rights violator has the aim of continually eroding away at Israel’s moral legitimacy and very right to exist. To many, Israel is always the aggressor even when being attacked by an internationally recognized terror organization – Hamas – bent on Israel’s destruction, as clearly evidenced in its Constitution, continually terrorizing its own citizens and firing rockets from built-up civilian areas indiscriminately at Israeli civilians, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. There is no red line to the level of fabrications, distortions of truth and illogical and prejudicial accusations.

Such is the nature of all acerbic hatred

and most certainly the world’s oldest and longest-lasting one: antisemitism.

Berlin and Baghdad Today’s anti-Zionism takes the form of many who wish to annihilate the Jewish State. The Republic of Iran has stated its declared aim as the eradication of the State of Israel. Hamas and Hezbollah have declared a similar agenda. What was hatred of the Jewish people 80 years ago is hatred of the Jewish State today.

Indeed, this hatred is so trenchant and caustic that I would like to make the following observation. Today, in 2021, in certain cities around the world, it is as dangerous for a Jew to support Israel as it was for the Jews in Berlin, Warsaw and Krakow in the 1940s. Imagine a Jew today carrying an Israeli flag down the main street in Tehran, Damascus, Gaza, Beirut, Tripoli, Ramallah or Baghdad.

This Jew’s fate would probably be no different than the fate of the Jews in the cities of Europe back then. In much of the Arab and Muslim world (and beyond), the blue star, the Magen David of Israel, evokes as much diabolical hatred as the yellow star in Nazi Germany. Incredibly, we are barely 75 years since the end of the Shoah, and this new-old, irrational, discriminative and destructive face of antisemitism has again reared its ugly head. All it has done is change color. The yellow star of shame that became the symbol of Jewish victimization and persecution is now the blue star of of Israel and those who take pride in it are also fair game for discrimination.

The Gaon’s Gift A number of years ago, I came across a remarkable insight of the Gaon of Vilna, which shed new light for me on the dynamics of antisemitism in general and anti-Zionism in particular. Although written over 200 years ago, it so profoundly categorized three distinct types of antisemitism. More specifically, it elucidated for me biblical roots, meaning, context and purpose of modern-day anti-Zionism, Palestinian denialism and the grand systematic delegitimization campaign against Israel. It totally enlightened my worldview.

In the three biblical enemy nations that bordered the Land of Israel – the Moabites from the east, the Edomites from the south and the Philistines from the west – the Gaon sees three archetypes of antisemitism and opposition to what the Jewish people stand for.1 Each one of these three nations represents a distinct category of opposition to Israel.

As the Gaon mentions, their opposition parallels the three principles of holiness which epitomize the Jewish people and Judaism.

The Moabite kind of antisemitism attacks Judaism. It focuses on our spiritual beliefs and religious and moral value system – anti-religious decrees, forced acculturation or conversion. From the ancient Moabites

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TO R AT M I Z R AC H I

through the Hellenistic decrees in the time of Chanukah, the Crusades and the Inquisitions, the aim was always to attack our values and way of life. This is opposition to ‫תוֹ ַרת יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל‬.ּ Edomite antisemitism is committed to our physical destruction – from Amalek through Haman to the Nazis. This is an attack on the very physical existence of the Jewish people as a distinct people, independent of any beliefs or religious practices. This is opposition to ‫עם יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל‬.ַ Philistine antisemitism, the most pertinent for us today, is not opposition to our spiritual values or our physical existence, but rather to our sovereign claim to ‫א ֶרץ יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל‬.ֶ To quote the Gaon’s ingenious insight: “The Philistines caused great trouble for the Jewish people and didn’t allow them any sovereign presence and form of governance in the Land, as the verse says, ‘No blacksmith was to be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said lest the Hebrews make a sword or a spear’” (Shmuel I, 19). No to a Jewish government and no to a Jewish army.

Since the culmination of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, the Philistine genre of antisemitism – anti-Zionism and systematic delegitimization of Israel’s right to self-determination in its Land – has become the prevalent mode of antisemitism in our era. It had been dormant for thousands of years while we were a wandering and stateless people. Now that we have returned, so too has this virulent strain of antisemitism.

Philistine Antisemitism and its Particular Relevance Today For me, understanding this third category of antisemitism was an amazing paradigm shift. The Gaon says that the Philistines possessed single-minded dedication to deny the Jewish people ‫ – ֶמ ְמ ׁ ָש ָלה וְ ׁ ִש ְלטוֹ ן‬any government and sovereign presence in the Land of Israel. Indeed, over 1,000 years of Biblical history, the Philistines’ main spiritual role was to oppose the Jewish people’s claim to ownership – and therefore sovereignty – in this Land. The first two kings of Israel, Shaul and David, constantly fought the Philistines time and again. The Tribes

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of Israel were not united and both monarchs attempted to create one sovereign entity under a united kingship out of the disparate and disunited tribes of Israel.2 Says the Gaon, this was the Philistines’ spiritual mission – to constantly oppose any sovereign Jewish presence in the Land.

And as the Jewish collective presence intensifies, so does Philistine opposition.

Palestinian Denialism and the Ghost of the Philistines Incredibly, this is exactly the form that modern-day Palestinian denialism has taken. It even bears an all-too-similar name – ‫פ ַל ְס ִטינָ ִאים‬,ָ Palestinians – to the ancient ‫פ ִל ׁ ְש ִּתים‬,ְ ּ Philistines.3 Although there is no ancestral connection whatsoever, the Palestinians of today carry the spiritual torch of the Philistines. In so many ways, the delegitimization campaign fueled by Palestinian denialism of Israel’s right to exist is a direct spiritual incarnation of the Biblical role of the Philistines.

Just like the Philistines of yesteryear, so have the Palestinians and their supporters created a form of nationalism with one, single-minded purpose – to deny the Jewish people any right to self-determination and governance in their historic homeland.

the State of Israel, the pinnacle of Jewish enterprise in the modern era. May it continue to succeed and flourish for its own sake and for the great reservoir of blessing it brings to all of humanity.

And of course, the key to the fulfillment of this prophetic blessing is the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash. May we merit the complete rebuilding of Yerushalayim speedily in our days.

“Moav is the root of Israel’s spiritual contamination, Edom is the root of destruction that damaged Israel the most and the Philistines persistently harassed Israel and did not allow them any government or sovereignty, as it says ‘Not a blacksmith was to be found [in all the Land of Israel] (Shmuel I, 13:19)’… And they parallel the three principles of holiness which encompass everything” (Aderet Eliyahu, Chavakuk 3:14).

1

The Philistines are mentioned 286 times in Tanach, with well over half appearing in the Book of Shmuel, predominantly in the context of 20 separate battles with the Israelites during the reigns of Shaul and David. Shaul and Yonatan were killed in war against them and of course David first appeared on the scene by confronting Goliath, a Philistine giant.

2

The emperor Hadrian famously changed the name of the Land of Israel and Judea to “Palaestina” in Latin, “Palestine” in English, as this is the translation of the from Hebrew of Philistia – the Land of the Philistines.

Remarkably, when wanting to deter any further rebellions of the Jews and to undermine their desire to reinstate sovereignty, he chose the Philistines as the vehicle to do this.

3

The Vilna Gaon explains so profoundly that this phenomenon lies beyond the realm of conventional politics and history. It is a deeply spiritual phenomenon rooted in the age-old virus of antisemitism, which continually mutates according to the moral mores and trends of the times, always seeking to discriminate, delegitimize and demonize either the Jewish people, Judaism or a Jewish sovereign state.

Precisely because these three pillars – ‫ַעם‬ ‫ ֶא ֶרץ יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל וְ תוֹ ַרת יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל‬,‫ – יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל‬are at the core of Jewish identity and destiny, it is these very foundations that are always attacked by Israel’s enemies, at different times and in different eras.

Just as the Jewish people have been blessed with the miracle of both surviving and thriving against all the odds and all types of antisemitic attacks for thousands of years, so may G-d continue to bless

Rabbi Doron Perez is Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

TO R AT M I Z R AC H I

M I Z R AC H I E D U C ATO R S Rabbi Reuven Taragin

Tisha B’Av in an Age of Open Antisemitism Tisha B’Av Loneliness

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isha B’Av is about loneliness. Megilat Eicha begins by reflecting on the reality of Jewish loneliness.

We accentuate this emotion on Tisha B’Av by refraining from greeting each other and even on Erev Tisha B’Av, by eating separately.1 Last year’s Tisha B’Av was an especially lonely one. Covid reality and restrictions reinforced our feeling of loneliness.

It was not only the laws of Tisha B’Av that kept us from greeting and embracing each other, but also concern for our health and welfare.

Tisha B’Av this year should have a different feeling. Our communities are emerging from Covid. We are once again able to gather and connect with each other. That said, we are still feeling lonely this year, for a different reason.

Reminder of Antisemitism The recent Israel-Arab conflict reminded us of our people’s existential loneliness.

This is not the first time Israel has been attacked by its Arab neighbors. It is also not the first time popular world opinion has been marshalled against us.

It is, however, the first time these external attacks were accompanied by the internal attacks of Arab citizens of the State of Israel. It is also the first time Jews around the world were targeted with open hostility and violence. This was the case not

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only in Muslim countries and across the European continent, but also in the US, Canada and around the world.

betrayal and isolation so we would appreciate the need to turn and return to Him.

Our peace overtures and territorial withdrawals have failed to earn us the world’s sympathy and understanding. Antisemitism has once again proved its amazing resilience and has morphed into a virulent strain of anti-Zionism that does not allow true reality to keep it from demonizing Israel and the Jewish people.

Realizing Our Destiny

Megillat Eicha on Antisemitism Of course, after suffering from antisemitism in so many forms over so many centuries, we should no longer be surprised.

In fact, the Torah2 teaches us to expect antisemitism. Megillat Eicha laments its existence and teaches us what to learn from it.

After opening by bemoaning how others abandoned us, the first perek of Megillat Eicha ends with our call to Hashem: “I called for my lovers but they deceived me…

See, Hashem for I am in distress… There is none to comfort me.”

Perek Bet emphasizes that Hashem is the one who has brought the suffering. It is His way of calling us to turn to him. “Hashem has done that which He devised. He has fulfilled His word that He commanded in days of old... Arise, cry out in the night, in the beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water opposite Hashem’s face…”

The pivotal, personal Perek Gimmel recognizes it is Hashem who has isolated us from the rest of the world with the intention that we focus on our relationship with Him. Isolation helps us appreciate neglected and abused relationships.

This reflection leads to a return to Hashem later in the perek: “Let us search and try our ways and turn back to Hashem. Let us lift up our heart with our hands to G-d in the heavens. We have transgressed and have rebelled…” Am Yisrael has gotten the message. Hashem orchestrated the mass

The Jewish people are meant to impact and lead others. Unfortunately, sometimes our relationships with others cause us to lose our appreciation of our unique Jewish identity and relationship with Hashem.

The hatred of others who distance themselves from us should remind us of our unique identity and mission and inspire us to return to Hashem with renewed commitment and connection. When we do so, we can rightfully recite Eicha’s concluding ָ ‫יבנ ּו ה‘ ֵא ֶל‬ pasuk: ‫יך וְ נָ ׁשו ָּבה‬ ֵ ‫ה ִׁש‬.ֲ May our doing so merit our experiencing the conclusion of that pasuk: ‫ח ֵ ּד ׁש יָ ֵמינ ּו ְ ּכ ֶק ֶדם‬.ַ See more on this topic in my piece in last year’s Tisha B’Av HaMizrachi: mizrachi.org/hamizrachi/archive.

1

Devarim 28:68, Tehillim and Midrash Tehillim 25:19.

See also Maharal’s Gevruot Hashem 54 and the Introduction to the Siddur of Rav Yaakov Emden.

2

Rabbi Reuven Taragin is Educational Director of Mizrachi and Dean of the Yeshivat HaKotel Overseas Program.

Scan here to join Rabbi Taragin’s WhatsApp group with daily Divrei Torah A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

M I Z R AC H I E D U C ATO R S

TO R AT M I Z R AC H I

Rabbanit Shani Taragin

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Cries, Crisis and Conflict: Rabbinic Responses to Churban

oices of conflicting political leadership resound throughout the aggadot of the second Churban. In contrast, the Sages of the time, dependent upon their patrons for survival, were relatively silent. Three voices of religious leadership, however, address the impending destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash, each with a different perspective and response to times of crisis.

The first is the passive tone of Rabbi Zecharia Ben Avkolus (Gittin 55b-56a). Rabbi Yochanan, living over a century after the destruction, initially “blames” Kamtza and Bar Kamtza for the destruction of Yerushalayim, yet concludes: “The humility of Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkolus destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary and exiled us from our Land.”

The Rabbis had wanted to either offer a blemished animal brought by Bar Kamtza to preserve good relations with the authorities, or to kill the informer.

Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkolus said to them: “People will then think that blemished animals may be offered upon the altar…

People will say that anyone who places a blemish on a sacrifice should be killed.”

So the animal was not sacrificed and the informer was not killed. In retrospect, Rabbi Yochanan realized how drastic times require drastic messages from religious leaders and not a response of humility.

The second voice is that of Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen who, witnessing the murder of a kohen during Mikdash worship, stood on the stairs of the Beit HaMikdash and cried that all the people and the kohanim were culpable (Tosefta Yoma 1). He deplored Miriam, the daughter of wealthy Nakdimon, who demanded a ridiculously high dowry, and later witnessed her during the siege of Yerushalayim eating fodder from the hooves of horses (Pesikta Rabbati 21). He bemoaned the fate of Marta, the daughter of Baythus, who insisted that her servants roll out carpets for her on Yom Kippur so that her feet would not be soiled, only to eventually be dragged through the streets,

tied to the tails of horses (Eicha Rabbah 1:47).

Rabbi Tzadok did not respond with silence or passivity; he remained with the people in Yerushalayim and witnessed their moral and physical decay. He admonished the people and priests and observed fasts for 40 years to prevent the Beit HaMikdash from being destroyed. He remained hopeful of repentance without ignoring the apparent atrocities.

The most lasting and resounding voice of religious leadership is that of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai.

The most lasting and resounding voice of religious leadership is that of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. Rabbi Yochanan harshly rebuked Sadducee distortion of halacha and the brutal methods of burning storehouses by the Biryoni sect.

Unlike Rabbi Tzadok, who still hoped for the nation’s repentance and restored peace, Rabbi Yochanan found the anger of the besieged populace to be intolerable and began planning for the possibility of destruction.

After surreptitiously escaping the Roman siege and greeting Vespasian as “king,” the new emperor granted Rabbi Yochanan his requests: “Give me Yavneh and its wise men, and the family chain of Rabban Gamaliel and physicians to heal R. Tzadok” (Gittin 56a-b).

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai mourned upon hearing of the Churban, but simultaneously anticipated and prepared for a new way of life that would transcend the absence of the Mikdash – “We have a form of atonement just like it [the Mikdash]. And what is it? Acts of kindness” (Avot DeRabbi Natan 4:5).

He re-established the Sanhedrin in Yavneh and enacted laws to replace animal sacrifice with prayer. He instituted that certain practices of the Beit HaMikdash continue, to remember it as it once stood, while also establishing means to recall its destruction.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai’s legacy of leadership was perpetuated by his students, who adopted his outlook of preparing for the future in times of distress. For example, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya dealt with ascetics who refused to eat meat and drink wine after the destruction by reminding them that we must not overly mourn. Inspired by his mentor, he recommended that we engage in practices of mourning only when we are most prone to forgetting Yerushalayim, i.e. at joyous occasions (Bava Batra 60b).

The subsequent generation in Yavneh, led

by Rabbi Akiva, began the next stage of preparation – anticipating the eventual return to and rebuilding of Yerushalayim (Makkot 24b).

Polarization and conflict may depress and blur our understanding of the present, yet do not absolve us from taking responsibility and providing a trajectory of religious-national survival for the future. May religious leadership’s voices of introspection together with hope for Mikdash restoration resound and awaken us to react, repent and properly plan for the rebuilding of a “just and righteous” society in Tzion.

Rabbanit Shani Taragin is Educational Director of Mizrachi and the Director of the Mizrachi Matan Lapidot Educators’ Program.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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Shemita T

Another Reason to Come to Israel

here is a prohibition of harvesting produce during Shemita. However, it is permissible to eat the actual produce of the seventh year.

Chazal taught us that it is permissible to pick the produce with a shinui. Some hold that a shinui is needed for the method of picking (‫ ועוד‬,‫)ברטנורא שביעית פ“ח מ“ו‬. For example, cutting with scissors instead of a pruning hook. However, the Rambam (‫ )שמיטה פ“ד ה“א‬holds that one can pick the produce as normal, but only a small quantity. Why? It is prohibited to plant even one seed, so why would picking be allowed in a small quantity? The Chazon Ish explains that the prohibition of picking applies only when one is acting as the owner of the land. The earth is not ours.

Therefore, it is permissible to pick and harvest a household amount of produce, as much as a person would buy for his family in the store (one should try to cut even this with scissors and not a pruning hook).

However, the Tosefta (‫ א‬,‘‫)שביעית ח‬ expounds that the beit din can appoint workers (or the field’s owner) as its emissaries, who pick all of the produce on their behalf. How is that possible? Here too, we can understand that since the act is not done for an individual, there is no “ownership” of the land. The workers are picking on behalf of the beit din, who are acting on behalf of Am Yisrael, and therefore it is permissible (‫ראו חזון איש‬ ‫ ו‬,‫)שביעית י“ב‬.

In my opinion, otzar beit din is the best solution for Shemita. Let’s imagine a reality in which everyone keeps

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Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon

Shemita. All the orchards and fields in Israel are hefker. The week begins. A family needs apples, dates and cherries. Where should they go? Their journey begins with a trip to the Golan. There they will find apples for the week. Afterwards, they travel to the Jordan Valley for dates, then to Gush Etzion for cherries. This trip will take a good number of hours, maybe even a whole day. It’s clearly not realistic.

Today, we do not have korbanot, we cannot eat maaser sheini or neta revai. Kedushat sheviit is the closest thing we have to a Beit HaMikdash reality.

The only realistic solution is otzar beit din.

The beit din picks the fruit for all of Am Yisrael and distributes it around the country.

Additionally, the produce of otzar beit din is holy with kedushat sheviit!

Why is it so worthwhile to eat kedushat sheviit? There are those who hold there is a mitzvah to eat Shemita produce (‫)רמב”ן‬.

Even for those who do not hold that it is a mitzvah, they still agree there is kedusha in Shemita produce. Today, we do not have korbanot, we cannot eat maaser sheini or neta revai. Kedushat sheviit is the closest thing we have to a Beit HaMikdash reality.

We have the opportunity to eat holy food from the Holy Land! Therefore, even if it creates certain difficulties, we should be so happy for this incredible zechut which we merit once every seven years.

And truthfully, it is not so difficult to keep a Shemita kitchen. Here are the main rules: 1.

It’s desirable to eat the fruit entirely, because of their kedusha.

2. Leftovers: One can place them in a bag and dispose of them in the garbage (or place all the leftovers in one bag, and at the end of the day tie it up and throw it in the garbage). The scrupulous place the leftovers in a special utensil (kedushat sheviit container) in a bag, and only after a number of days, when the leftovers begin to decay, they put them in the garbage. One need not remove Shemita vegetables from a mixture; one can place all of the leftovers in the sheviit container.

3. A dish which was cooked together with Shemita produce and absorbed its flavor takes on the status of sheviit, and one may not throw it out, but must place it in a bag before placing it in the garbage (in this case, even the scrupulous may do so).

4. One may cook things one normally cooks. The poskim were divided regarding squeezing sheviit fruits, but the Chazon Ish was lenient regarding fruits one normally squeezes. Therefore, one may mash fruits for children or adults. One who cooks normally in the kitchen should have no special difficulty, and can use sheviit produce as normal.

We are living in the times of Geula. How fortunate we are to eat the fruits of Israel in kedusha!

Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon is Rosh Yeshiva of JCT–Machon Lev and Head of Mizrachi’s Educational Advisory Board.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

TO R AT M I Z R AC H I Rabbanit Sharon Rimon

Gan Eden

Returning to

T

here is only an obligation of Shemita in Israel. Why?

Let’s start at the beginning. The original world was Gan Eden, where there was a direct connection between the earth’s produce and man’s recognition of G-d. In this world, G-d allowed man to enjoy every tree, prohibiting him from eating from just one tree – Eitz HaDa’at. This prohibition expressed the Garden’s belonging to G-d – man must recognize that the Garden is not his, and therefore he must follow the Owner’s rules.

When he ate from the tree, man expressed his rebellion against the Garden’s Owner, as if saying: “Everything belongs to me, and I can use anything as I wish.” Because of this, several changes took place in the world. We will address two of them: 1.

The ground was cursed because of man’s sin. When we do not comprehend that the earth belongs to G-d, we cut it off from its source of blessing, the blessing of G-d. Thus, a curse befalls the ground, and it does not give forth its fruits without toil and hardship. G-d’s earth does not answer to anyone who does not recognize it belongs to Him.

2. G-d expelled man from Gan Eden because he was no longer worthy of living there.

Gan Eden is the source of the direct connection between G-d, the earth, and man, in which the latter can enjoy the earth without toil, since G-d planted the Garden for him. All that is left for him to do is to pick the fruits. The exile from Gan Eden divorced the earth from its connection to G-d, so to speak. From here on, the earth is handed to man, who must now work very hard to make anything grow. The exile from Gan Eden is the result of the disconnection between working the ground and humanity’s spiritual state.

However, there is one place which retains the special connection between earth and G-d – Eretz Yisrael. In Israel, the agricultural produce is dependent on the nation’s spiritual level – without rain there is no produce, and the rain in Israel is dependent on our behavior and spiritual status.

Therefore, the connection between avodat Hashem and avodat haAdama continues in Israel. In other words, Israel is a microcosm of Gan Eden in this world.

The Shemita year expresses Israel’s uniqueness in an extraordinary way: for an entire year, we do not work the Land, and thus we return to our original state, as we were in Gan Eden. Yet how can we be sustained during this year if we do not work the Land?

“And should you ask, ‘What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?’ I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years” (Vayikra 25:20–21).

Existence during Shemita is Gan Eden-type existence: G-d commands His blessing, and the Land grows produce, from which man can benefit without effort. The produce which comes from G-d’s blessing is not just a reward or gift, but a result of performing a mitzvah. The blessed produce is G-d’s blessing sent to man as a result of his connection to G-d. By eating the blessed produce, man returns to his original state,

as he was in Gan Eden, when he enjoyed G-d’s blessing directly. When Am Yisrael feel this special connection, keep Torah and mitzvot, and understand they are not the owners of the Land, expressing so through keeping Shemita, the Land acts as it is G-d’s and gives forth its fruits.

But when Am Yisrael do not understand the meaning of the Land and do not keep Shemita, G-d’s blessing is automatically cut off and so the Land does not act as G-d’s, and does not give forth its fruits. When the Land does not function as G-d’s and as Israel’s source of blessing, the Land becomes desolate and results in exile. And as long as Am Yisrael do not return to it, it remains desolate.

Without avodat Hashem, there is no possibility of growing anything in Israel. Israel flourishes only in a reality when Am Yisrael are in their Land and feel the special ownership G-d displays over the Land. The expression of this is in keeping Shemita, through which G-d’s existence expresses itself in its ultimate form and Eretz Yisrael is transformed into a reflection of Gan Eden.

Rabbanit Sharon Rimon teaches Tanach and is Content Editor for the HaTanakh website.

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TO R AT M I Z R AC H I

M I Z R AC H I S C H O L A R S - I N - R E S I D E N C E Sivan Rahav Meir and Yedidya Meir

1

Four Thoughts for Tisha B’Av

I used to think that “Sinat Chinam” was the only reason for the Churban, and only used in the context of Tisha B’Av. Of course, it’s certainly a significant reason, but I sometimes felt it led me to empty cliches on achdut and achdut alone. I also found that people often used the term “Sinat Chinam” when it was convenient for them.

Over the past few years, I discovered that Chazal recorded many other very clear reasons for the Churban.

It’s not exactly politically correct, and perhaps not oft quoted, but this is what’s written in Masechet Shabbat: ‫יאת‬ ַ ‫יטל ּו ְק ִר‬ ְּ ‫ל ֹא ָח ְר ָבה יְ רו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם ֶא ָ ּלא ִ ּב ׁ ְש ִביל ׁ ֶש ִ ּב‬ .‫ׁ ְש ַמע ׁ ַש ֲח ִרית וְ ַע ְר ִבית‬ “Yerushalayim was destroyed only because its citizens intentionally omitted recitation of Shema morning and evening.” ‫ל ֹא ָח ְר ָבה יְ רו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם ֶא ָ ּלא ִ ּב ׁ ְש ִביל ׁ ֶש ִ ּבי ּז ּו ָ ּב ּה ַּת ְל ִמ ֵידי‬ .‫ֲח ָכ ִמים‬ “Yerushalayim was destroyed only because they disparaged the Torah scholars in it.” ‫יטל ּו ָ ּב ּה‬ ְּ ‫ל ֹא ָח ְר ָבה יְ רו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם ֶא ָ ּלא ִ ּב ׁ ְש ִביל ׁ ֶש ִ ּב‬ .‫ִּתינוֹ קוֹ ת ׁ ֶשל ֵ ּבית ַר ָ ּבן‬ “Yerushalayim was destroyed only because schoolchildren there were interrupted from studying Torah.” ‫ל ֹא ָח ְר ָבה יְ רו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם ֶא ָ ּלא ִ ּב ׁ ְש ִביל ׁ ֶשלּ ֹא הוֹ ִכיח ּו זֶ ה‬ .‫ֶאת זֶ ה‬ “Yerushalayim was destroyed only because the people did not rebuke one another.”

There are many other fascinating reasons which describe a society that has lost its faith, its respect for its identity and the ability to care for others physically and spiritually.

10 |

I was a little embarrassed that I hadn’t known of these lessons from the Churban.

Maybe today we should be addressing these issues too?

2

When we think of the Churban as the destruction of a building, we mistakenly define the tragedy. It was not just bricks and mortar that were destroyed. It was a different reality.

Nowadays, we are educated to believe what we once knew and felt. It’s difficult to explain in words the lack of something we never experienced. A spiritual center to which all our hearts were connected.

We have to exert ourselves to experience kedusha for even a moment, when once, Yerushalayim was the epicenter of constant holiness for every person. Imagine people in a make-believe world who think marriage means sending a weekly text message and speaking on the phone once a month. They don’t realize there are much deeper and more meaningful levels of communication. They simply don’t know they can strive for so much more. We’re crawling in first gear when we should be flying!

Av is a reminder for us to dream, to strive higher than our routine reality. It’s like the broken glass at a wedding, which symbolizes our incomplete reality, and reminds us there is still work to do.

3

The Midrash personifies Yerushalayim in a poignant statement the city makes to Bavel after she sees Bavel rejoicing and reveling in her destruction: “If Heaven had not already waged war against me, could you have done so? If Heaven had not already sent

fire against me, could you have done so?”

After these questions, Yerushalayim tells Bavel, “A dead lion you have killed, ground flour you have ground, a burnt city you have burnt, a destroyed Temple you have destroyed.”

This is an incredible statement.

Bavel has just plucked the ripe fruit, easily conquering. Bavel hasn’t killed, burnt or destroyed.

Yerushalayim was already destroyed, crumbled from within.

The Mikdash was not externally destroyed until we destroyed it internally.

The city was not externally burned until we burned it from within. From then until today, our enemies simply exploit our own vulnerabilities.

If we lack faith or motivation, if we are divided, if we forget our identity and tradition, if we become addicted to extremist struggles instead of dealing with the essence, with what is important – we are the burners and destroyers.

In Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s famous “spider web speech,” he outlines the ways that will allow Israel to crumble from within. The tanks and nuclear weapons are not the essence, he says. The essence is Israel’s faith and Jewish identity.

Without such inner resilience, they are like cobwebs.

If Nasrallah understood this dynamic, of ground flour and a destroyed Temple, surely we can understand it too?

M I Z R AC H I S C H O L A R S - I N - R E S I D E N C E

4

The Shabbat following Tisha B’Av is called Shabbat Nachamu, named after the first verse in the haftarah: ‫נַ ֲחמ ּו נַ ֲחמ ּו ַע ִּמי‬, “Be comforted, my people.”

This Shabbat is the first in a series of Sheva deNechemta, the seven Shabbatot of comfort between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah, when we read seven haftarot of Geula, all written by Yeshayahu.

One of the verses he writes is: ‫ִש ְׂמח ּו ֶאת‬ ‫ ִשׂישׂ ּו ִא ָּת ּה ָמשׂוֹ שׂ ָ ּכל ַה ִּמ ְת ַא ְ ּב ִלים‬...‫יְ רו ָּׁש ַל‍ִם וְ ִגיל ּו ָבה‬ ‫יה‬ ָ ‫ע ֶל‬,ָ “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, All you who love her! Join in her jubilation, All you who mourned over her.”

Chazal comment on this verse: ‫כּ ׇל ַה ִּמ ְת ַא ֵ ּבל‬ ‫ַעל יְ רו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם זוֹ ֶכה וְ רוֹ ֶאה ְ ּב ִשׂ ְמ ָח ָת ּה וְ ׁ ֶש ֵאינוֹ ִמ ְת ַא ֵ ּבל ַעל‬ ‫יְ רו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם ֵאינוֹ רוֹ ֶאה ְ ּב ִשׂ ְמ ָח ָת ּה‬, “Whoever mourns

for Jerusalem will merit and see her future joy.”

Yerushalayim is not just a prize received at the end. This is something much deeper.

One who didn’t study for the test and happened to get 100 will not rejoice in the same way as someone who studied, worked hard and invested. A guest at a sumptuous meal will not enjoy it as much as the host who took the trouble to cook, prepare and set the table.

To appreciate what we have, we must acutely feel what we don’t.

To truly merit happiness, we must also mourn.

One who cultivates a spiritual connection with the destroyed Yerushalayim throughout his life will better appreciate

TO R AT M I Z R AC H I

its rebuilding. When we truly understand the reasons for the Churban, we can begin to repair.

The Talmud divulges the first question we will be asked when we enter the World to Come: ‫ית ִל ׁישו ָּעה‬ ָ ‫צ ּ ִפ‬,ִ “Did you look forward to Redemption?” Meaning, did you accept the situation, or did you try to fix it? Did you strive for Geula?

Sivan Rahav Meir and Yedidya Meir are popular Israeli media personalities and World Mizrachi’s Scholars-in-Residence.

Members of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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‫תֹורה‬ ָ ‫ּכִ י ִמ ִּצּיֹון ֵּת ֵצא‬ Mizrachi wishes Mazal Tov to our Graduates and B’hatzlacha to our Shlichim of 5782 The first cohort of Mizrachi-ordained Rabbis Rabbi Shlomo Ashkanazy • Rabbi Yehuda Auerbach Rabbi Aaron Buechler • Rabbi Jack Cohen Rabbi Elad Eshel • Rabbi Yossi Hambling Rabbi Josh Lehman • Rabbi Evan Levine Rabbi Noam Lawee • Rabbi AZ Thau

Graduates of Shalhevet, Mizrachi’s Shlichut Preparation Program Serving communities around the world in schools, synagogues, youth movements and college campuses

–

Rabbi Yehuda & Hannah Auerbach

Rabbi Yossi & Channah Hambling Central United Synagogue Birmingham, UK

OU-JLIC at Binghamton University New York, USA

Moshe Balofsky

Rabbi Shmuel & Jackie Hauss

Yaakov & Ariella Pinsky

Rabbi Aaron Buechler

Shivi & Shira Himmelstein

Rabbi Bentzi & Esther Shor

Rabbi Noam Lawee

Rabbi Nimrod & Chana Soll

OU-JLIC at University of Chicago Chicago, USA

B’hatzlacha to our shlichim, rabbinic couples and educators embarking on their shlichut

–

Torah MiTzion Washington, USA

Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah Modiin, Israel

Ariel & Dorit Cohen

OU-JLIC at Brandeis University Boston, USA

Rabbi Shlomo Ashkanazy

Rabbi Jack Cohen

Vancouver Hebrew Academy Vancouver, Canada

Bnei Akiva and Carmel School Perth, Australia Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh Kibbutz Yavneh, Israel

Rabbi Josh & Rikki Lehman

Aish Global Jerusalem, Israel

Hampstead Synagogue London, UK

OU-JLIC at University of Maryland Maryland, USA

Rabbi Ben & Rachel Atwood

Rabbi Elad & Lani Eshel

Rabbi Evan Levine

Jewish Community Atlanta, USA

Mizrachi and Bnei Akiva Manchester, UK

Hale Shule Manchester, UK

Ben & Ellie Menora

Mizrachi and Bnei Akiva Leeds, UK Bnei Akiva Schools Toronto, Canada

OU-JLIC at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA

Rabbi AZ & Hadassah Thau

Bnei Akiva Schools and Beit Midrash Toronto, Canada

Dror & Tamar Yechieli

Bnei Akiva and Community Programs Montreal, Canada

Creating Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

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Tisha B'Av Kinot on Location SHULIE MISHKIN

“Arzei HaLevanon” | The Bar Kochba Hiding Caves in Midras RABBI BARNEA LEVI SELAVAN

“Cry for Israel Who Fell by the Sword” | The Scene of the Tragedy at the Burnt House EVE HAROW

“B’Leil Zeh Yivkeyun” | Beitar & Bar Kochba: Understanding the Final, Doomed Battle with the Romans on the Road to Jerusalem in Judea 136 CE

Global Antisemitism A Conversation with Professor Alan Dershowitz

A Message for Tisha B’Av Sivan Rahav Meir

The Power of Rachel’s Tears Presented by Rabbi David Fohrman of Aleph Beta

Jerusalem and the Temple Mount with Yossi Klein Halevi, Rabbi Yehudah Glick and Eve Harow MODERATED BY RABBI DORON PEREZ

FROM MOTZA’EI SHABBAT, JULY 17, 2021 VIEW ON DEMAND AT MIZRACHI.TV

G LO B A L R E L I G I O U S L E A D E R S Chief Rabbi David Lau

Everything That Was Destroyed Can Be Built From these events, we came to know the power of the individual. From the destruction, we learned how the hatred of one simple man – and the controversy he managed to stir up against another Jew – managed to cause such immense damage.

But, as Rabbi Nachman says, if you believe destruction is possible, believe rectification is possible too.

Every person has the power to destroy, but also, equally, the power to build.

A

t the Peel Commission of 1936, then Chairman of the Jewish Agency, David Ben-Gurion, addressed the crowd with the following statement: “About 300 years ago, a ship named ‘Mayflower’ sailed into the new world. It was a great event in the history of England and America, but I would like to know if there is one Englishman who knows exactly when this ship set sail and how many Americans know when. Do they know how many people were on the same ship, and what was the nature of the bread they ate when they left?”

“And yet,” Ben-Gurion added, “More than 3,300 years before the Mayflower voyage, the Jews left Egypt, and every Jew in the world knows exactly what day they went out – on the 15th of Nissan. And everyone knows exactly what bread the Jews ate – matzah. To this day, Jews all over the world eat matzah on the 15th of Nissan – in America, Russia and other countries, and tell the story of the Exodus and the troubles that befell the Jews from the Exodus until today.”

There is no other nation in the world that embodies, marks, recalls and is tormented by the events which occurred to them thousands of years ago. But the Jews have been reminding and remembering for thousands of years – not just the Temple which was destroyed on this day, Tisha B’Av, but all the significant events

14 |

our people have gone through throughout history. The basis of the Jewish holidays is built upon this concept, so that Jewish tradition can be passed on, from father to son, from mother to daughter and for all future generations, because the essence of Judaism is ‫וְ ִה ַ ּג ְד ָּת ְל ִבנְ ָך‬, and you shall tell your son.

According to tradition, it was on Tisha B’Av that the spies who toured the Land returned to Moshe and to Am Yisrael who were awaiting their report in the desert.

The spies managed to incite the people against Moshe and against the Land.

Against them stood one man, Calev ben Yefuneh (who was later joined by Yehoshua bin Nun), who shouted loudly: ‫על ֹה נַ ֲע ֶלה‬,ָ “Let us go up and inherit it!” One man against an entire nation, trying to bring the nation to its rightful place, ‫ֶא ֶרץ ֶח ְמ ַ ּדת‬ ‫אבוֹ ת‬,ָ the Land of the Forefathers, which would become the inheritance of their children.

This fast also marks the destruction of the Temple, the holiest place in Judaism.

The destruction of the Second Temple was caused by sinat chinam, baseless hatred; because of a simple quarrel between two Jews, one of whom hurt his friend in public. It was this hatred that caused the great fire that eventually led to the destruction of the Temple.

On Tisha B’Av, we remember the moments of sorrow and pain that have befallen our people through the ages. The kinnot give expression to Jewish calamities, from the destruction of the Temples, through the Crusades, the suffering of the Martyrs in Spain, the pogroms to the destruction of European Jewry during World War II. This day is unique in that it belongs to all of us, to each and every one of our people. This fast does not belong to specific rabbis or personalities, because every member of the Jewish people can and should mark this historic national day, the day the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the day our people went into exile.

I pray and hope that just as the Temple was destroyed by the sinat chinam of ordinary Jews, so will it be rebuilt soon, with the help of G-d, through the ahavat chinam of ordinary Jews in our generation, each according to his or her power and abilities in prayer, good deeds, preservation of Jewish tradition and strengthening of faith and healthy, vibrant Judaism.

Rabbi David Lau is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel.

G LO B A L R E L I G I O U S L E A D E R S Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich

W

e remember Tisha B’Av because we cannot forget.

We cannot forget what happened in 586 BCE or in 70 CE, the dates of the destruction of both Batei HaMikdash. And Tisha B’Av also mourns many other tragedies in Jewish history and even today.

But that is not the main message of Tisha B’Av. Although we are obligated to mourn, to fast and to remember, that is only part of our obligation.

The Rabbis state: ‫ְ ּביוֹ ם ֶׁש ָח ַרב ֵ ּבית ַה ִּמ ְק ָ ּד ׁש נוֹ ַלד‬ ‫הגּ וֹ ֵאל‬,ַ “On the day that the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the Mashiach (redeemer) was born.”

In the ashes of the destruction are the sparks of redemption.

Simply stated, the Jewish response to destruction is to rebuild. After the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai asked the Roman authorities to give him “Yavne and its scholars.” No one can imagine the pain, the devastation Rabbi Yochanan must have felt. He saw the burning of the Beit HaMikdash. And yet, in the midst of mourning, he is already beginning to rebuild.

Throughout history, following the Crusades, the Chmielnicki massacres as well as countless other tragedies, what was the Jewish response? To mourn, and – at the same time – to rebuild.

Following the nearly total annihilation of European Jewry during the Shoah, what was the survivors’ response? They rebuilt their homes and built the most beautiful families; they rebuilt their communities and even, after 2,000 years, succeeded in rebuilding Israel.

The response to destruction is to build anew.

And this also applies even to our small, vibrant Jewish community of Poland.

Here in Poland, our Jewish response to the Shoah, followed by 45 years of Soviet

The Jewish Response oppression, is to rebuild. Our response is to find the sparks of redemption hidden in the ashes of destruction. As the prophet Zechariah (3:2) states: ‫הלוֹ א זֶ ה אוּד ֻמ ָצּל ֵמ ֵא ׁש‬,ֲ “for this is an ember plucked from the fire.”

After all the destruction in Poland, after all the tragedies, our Jewish response is to rebuild our community and support our beloved Israel.

Many of the Jews in our community did not know they had Jewish roots when Communism collapsed in 1989. Their parents or grandparents were too traumatized by the Shoah to be able to pass on this information to their children during the Soviet oppression. Since 1989 though, thousands – and perhaps tens of thousands – of Poles have uncovered their Jewish roots.

ago. Today we have the historic opportunity to give back to the grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren of those Jews who proudly lived their Judaism back then.

We are today’s ‫אוּד ֻמ ָ ּצל ֵמ ֵא ׁש‬, the “ember plucked from the fire.” The Jewish response to destruction, the meaning of Tisha B’Av, is to ignite and inspire every Jew to be part of the Jewish people once more.

Rabbi Michael Schudrich is the Chief Rabbi of Poland.

Now, once again, they have a chance to be part of the Jewish people. Not all of them want to connect to Judaism but many do. The Jewish response is to welcome these newly discovered Jews back into Am Yisrael, to encourage them to be part of our global Jewish rebuilding.

We cannot change the number of Jews murdered during the Shoah. We can change the number of Jews disconnected and lost. And that is what we are doing today in Poland.

On Tisha B’Av, we remember the horrors and the destruction that pushes us to regroup and build even more intensely. No matter where you live, no matter how you observe your Judaism or what your Jewish identity is – from Chassidism to secular Yiddishists, from Zionists to humanists, and everything in between – all of these forms of Judaism grew and thrived in Poland 100 years

| 15

G LO B A L R E L I G I O U S L E A D E R S Rabbi Avraham Blidstein

Who Takes the First Step? ָ ‫יבנ ּו ה‘ ֵא ֶל‬ .‫יך ְונָ ׁשו ָּבה ַח ֵ ּד ׁש יָ ֵמינ ּו ְ ּכ ֶק ֶדם‬ ֵ ‫ֲה ִׁש‬ Take us back, O L-rd, to Yourself, and let us come back; renew our days as of old!

Eicha 5:21

T

his line is burnt into our consciousness as the concluding verse of Eicha. Except that it is not really the last verse. It’s the penultimate verse. The last verse is actually much more pessimistic (ּ‫)כי ִאם ָמאֹס ְמ ַא ְס ָּתנו‬. ִּ However, we customarily repeat the optimistic verse (’‫)ה ִׁש ֵיבנ ּו ה‬ ֲ so that the conclusion of Megillat Eicha already invites us to look toward rectification, in the direction of teshuva and the High Holidays.

What is the real content of this verse within its original context in Megillat Eicha? What is its meaning for our own daily lives? ָ ‫יבנ ּו ה‘ ֵא ֶל‬ ‫יך‬ ֵ ‫ – ֲה ִׁש‬this is a request from G-d

to return us to Him. This is strange – ostensibly it is man who is expected to repent, not that G-d should return him.

According to some opinions, repentance is a positive commandment. On the other hand, we pray three times a day, ‫יבנ ּו‬ ֵ ‫ֲה ִׁש‬ ָ ֶ‫ וְ ַה ֲחזִ ֵירנ ּו ִ ּב ְת ׁשו ָּבה ְׁש ֵל ָמה ְל ָפנ‬...‫ָא ִבינ ּו ְלתוֹ ָר ֶת ָך‬ ‫יך‬ “Return us, our Father, to Your Torah.” It’s possible that this request here expresses the depth of the destruction – we are so deep into exile and despair we can no longer return alone. At most, we can ask G-d to return us to Him. Perhaps just the request of G-d to return us is already a significant initiation on our part. ‫ – וְ נָ ׁשו ָּבה‬At first glance, this seems like a condition. We will return to G-d if – only if – He returns us to Him. If so, it is once again a passive stance on man’s part – we will not take the first step; we ask G-d to do so. But perhaps we can read deeper. We are promising that if G-d takes the first step and returns us to Him – we will respond.

We will return. It’s not a condition, it’s a

16 |

promise. What’s the significance of this promise?

In any damaged relationship, the question arises – who will take the first step toward reconciliation? Who will take responsibility? Sometimes each side waits for the other to take the first step, for the other to take responsibility. If I take the first step, it might seem like I am pleading guilty. It might seem like I am giving in, admitting defeat. But there is another, more subtle consideration. I might be afraid to take the first step, lest the other side will not respond, lest I be rejected.

In any damaged relationship, the question arises – who will take the first step toward reconciliation?

Who will take responsibility?

This is the importance of the promise ‫וְ נָ ׁשו ָּבה‬. We tell G-d we can’t take the first step. Not because we want to win the argument, but because we have no strength in the depth of the exile. Therefore, even though we can’t initiate the actual first step, we initiate the request. What’s more, we promise that if G-d takes the first step, we will respond. We will not reject Him. Thus we conclude Megillat Eicha with a request for redemption which breaks

forth from great distress and difficulty.

But we don’t impose everything on G-d – the request includes responsibility and partnership on our side as well.

From here to the continuation of the verse: ‫ח ֵ ּד ׁש יָ ֵמינ ּו ְ ּכ ֶק ֶדם‬,ַ “Renew our days as of old.”

We request “new days,” renewed days; and on the other hand, like days of old. How can we have “new-old” days?

It seems to me that we must read this verse as a continuation of the previous one – ‫ ַּת ַעזְ ֵבנ ּו ְלא ֶֹר ְך יָ ִמים‬...‫ל ָּמה‬,ָ “Why have You forgotten us utterly, forsaken us for so many days?”

Instead of “forsaken for so many days,” we ask to “renew our days as of old.” Perhaps we must understand the novelty of “days of old” as antithetical to the forsakenness of “many days.” The old days to which we’ve grown accustomed are the days upon which G-d forsook us. They are long and arduous (‫ א ֶֹר ְך‬also means long).

When G-d returns to us, when He is with us, when He does not abandon us – there is a great renewal from the days upon which we were forsaken. And yet, it is a return to the days of old, when G-d was with us.

Our desire stems from a memory of these days of old.

In our generation, we’ve merited that G-d answered our prayer and returned us to Him, to His Land. Will we keep our promise, ‫ ?וְ נָ ׁשו ָּבה‬If so, perhaps we will merit that G-d will not abandon us for “many days,” but will “renew our days as of old.”

Rabbi Avraham Blidstein is the Rav of Tekoa and heads the Tochnit Hemshech in Midreshet Nishmat.

G LO B A L R E L I G I O U S L E A D E R S Rabbi Hershel Schachter

Tachanun and Tisha B’Av Illustration courtesy of Ron Segalovitz (ronsegalovitz@gmail.com)

that if Rabbi Eliezer were to recite Tachanun, her brother, Rabban Gamliel, would be harmed.

On one occasion, she failed to interrupt him, and on that day, since Rabbi Eliezer’s tefillot were fully accepted, Rabban Gamliel died.

From this Gemara, we see that when we recite Tachanun immediately after Shemoneh Esrei, our tefillot are more readily accepted. On Tisha B’Av, we have the minhag to omit the phrase, ‫ִּת ְת ַק ַ ּבל ְצלוֹ ְתהוֹ ן‬ ‫“ – ו ָּבעו ְּתהוֹ ן‬May the prayers and supplications be accepted,” from the Kaddish after Shacharit, since the Gemara in Berachot (32b) teaches, “From the time the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the heavenly gates of prayer were locked.” The Gemara’s source is the pasuk cited earlier in reference to the Churban, ‫גם ִ ּכי ֶאזְ ַעק וַ ֲא ַׁשוֵ ַּע ָש ַׂתם ְּת ִפ ָ ּל ִתי‬.ּ ַ

M

any have the impression that the main function of the Beit HaMikdash is to offer korbanot.

However, when Shlomo HaMelech offered his famous tefilla upon the dedication of the Beit HaMikdash, he did not mention the offering of korbanot.

He described the Beit HaMikdash as the makom tefilla, that everyone, Jews and non-Jews alike, should come to daven to ָ ‫וְ ִה ְת ּ ַפ ְלל ּו וְ ִה ְת ַח ְ ּננ ּו ֵא ֶל‬ G-d in this place: ‫יך ַ ּב ַ ּביִ ת‬ ‫“ – ַהזֶ ּה‬And they will pray and supplicate to You in this Temple” (Melachim I 8:33).

All prayer is supposed to be directed towards the Beit HaMikdash.

This is the “office” in which the prayers may be accepted. Yeshayahu (56:7) also referred to the Beit HaMikdash in this way when he said, ‫יתי ֵ ּבית ְּת ִפ ָ ּלה יִ ָ ּק ֵרא ְל ָכל ָה ַע ִּמים‬ ִ ‫ִ ּכי ֵב‬ – “for My House will be called a House of Prayer for all the peoples.”

Perhaps we refrain from reciting Tachanun on this day to demonstrate that our tefillot are not answered to the same extent they would be if there was a Beit HaMikdash (See Nefesh HaRav, 1994 ed., p. 200).

That is why, as a result of churban HaBayit, our situation is described by the pasuk, ‫ַ ּגם‬ ‫“ – ִ ּכי ֶאזְ ַעק וַ ֲא ַׁשוֵ ַּע ָש ַׂתם ְּת ִפ ָ ּל ִתי‬Though I would cry out and plead, He shut out my prayer” (Eicha 3:8).

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 559:4) rules that we do not recite Tachanun on Tisha B’Av, since this day is referred to as a moed.

Rav Soloveitchik suggested an additional reason for the omission of Tachanun based on the Gemara in Bava Metzia (59b) that stresses the special efficacy of reciting Tachanun immediately after the Shemoneh Esrei.

The Gemara recounts that from the time that Rabban Gamliel placed Rabbi Eliezer, his brother-in-law, in cherem, the wife of Rabbi Eliezer made a point of interrupting Rabbi Eliezer after he completed his Shemoneh Esrei, thus preventing him from reciting Tachanun immediately. She feared

■ Adapted from Rav Schachter on Tefillah.

Rabbi Hershel Schachter is Rosh Yeshiva and Rosh Kollel at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University.

Scan here for a special shiur by Rabbi Schachter on Bein HaMetzarim.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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G LO B A L R E L I G I O U S L E A D E R S Shira Smiles

D

Surmounting Sinat Chinam

uring Bayit Rishon, the Jews’ hearts were connected to G-d while their outer actions were lacking.

In contrast, during Bayit Sheini, their Torah and mitzvot were in place while their inner relationship with G-d was lacking.

Rav Yisrael Salanter explains that there are two forces that try to trip up a person.

The first is an internal force which is the negative middot of a person. The second is an external force that tries to trap a person by challenging his faith. During the first Beit HaMikdash, the Jews were connected inside.

person with genuine warmth and caring.

Today, more than ever, we live in a world of externality. It is very strange and ironic how technology bridges gaps and creates connections between people across oceans while creating miles and miles of distance between those only a couple of feet away.

Let’s work to give the people close to us the attention they need.

It was essentially an external struggle.

When they worshipped idols, it wasn’t something they wanted to do. It was something they got caught up in. And because they sinned on an external level it was easier for them to repent. But during the second Beit HaMikdash, although on the outside everything looked great, deep inside their relationship with G-d was lacking.

The Siftei Chaim suggests one way we can rectify the sin of divisiveness. The greatest gift you can give a person is your heart.

Make a concerted effort to greet every

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When a person focuses entirely on himself, while G-d is missing or at best somewhere on the periphery, there’s something internally lacking. It’s not really serving G-d, but oneself. This impacts all the mitzvot a person does. We can now understand what Hillel meant. Giving is the entire Torah and the rest is commentary. Tisha B’Av is a time for inner reflection. Do we do mitzvot in order to create a greater sanctification of G-d’s name or because we want more checks in the next world? Are we raising our kids in the hope that one day they will pay us back or are we doing it out of altruistic love? Are we so externally based that we’re driven just for what we can get out of things?

When we sit alone on Tisha B’Av, we have to ask ourselves, how have we reached this level? Perhaps it was because we pushed G-d out of the circle and made ourselves the center. The sefarim say that on Tisha B’av one can reach unbelievable heights, greater than Neilah. It’s a time of deep recognition, a time to rediscover our passion and yearning for G-d, a time to surrender to the One Above and to make Him the center of our world once again.

Today too, we’re living in a world of plenty, but there is such emptiness because we’re busy filling ourselves with materialism while our inner world remains dormant.

The Nine Days and Tisha B’Av is a time to do a cheshbon hanefesh, literally an accounting of our soul. How much are we living in the external world and how much are we ignoring our pnimiyut (internal self)? Obviously, the physical world helps us reach spirituality, but what is our end goal?

How did chesed and sinat chinam coexist during Bayit Sheini? The Matnat Chaim explains that true chesed entails having a good eye and looking to see what the other person really needs. It’s not just assuaging one’s guilt, but seeing the inner reality of the situation. However, if one’s chesed is just external, sinat chinam can set in.

lots of guests over for Shabbat because he wants compliments and honor. That’s really giving in order to take. On the other hand, taking in order to allow someone to give is really giving.

When a convert asked Hillel to tell him the whole Torah on one foot, Hillel said, “What is hateful to you do not do unto others.”

How can the whole Torah be predicated on relationships? Rav Dessler explains the concept of netila (taking) and netina (giving).

One who constantly takes is really driven by his ego and desires. His central question is always, what can I gain? In contrast, a giver looks objectively. How can I best give?

Our challenge in life is to become a giver. A person can take in order to give or give in order to take. For example, one can have

Shira Smiles is a sought-after international lecturer, a popular seminary teacher and an experienced curriculum developer.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

G LO B A L R E L I G I O U S L E A D E R S

es

Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

W

hat is ahavat chinam (usually translated as baseless love, or literally, love for free, for no reason at all)? It’s important to note that there is no such phrase in Chazal.

In the Talmud and the poskim we only find sinat chinam, baseless hatred, which caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. It seems that Chazal understood (as I do, by the way), that the expression ahavat chinam is derogatory.

Love is Not for Free!

We often have lofty discussions on bringing the Geula closer which ignore bringing the people who are close to us closer. The future redemption will appear anywhere there is a current redemption, for those walking at our sides. “In a vast throng, they shall return… the blind and the lame among them, the pregnant and those in labor…” (Yirmiyahu 31:7). Only when we come with them, with the weakened, will the Geula come to us.

I’ll end with a tip for increasing love and Jewish unity, a tip Rabbi Nachman requested we use every day, the nekuda tova, the “good point” (Likutei Moharan Torah 282).

Every morning, find a good point, something good in someone who may be a little difficult to love.

“Through finding within him some good and judging him favorably, through this you truly lift him to be judged favorably [in Heaven].”

Is there a reason to think we can love a person, especially a Jew, for free, for no reason? Can we not find even one spark, one good thing about them? In that sense, isn’t the expression ahavat chinam rather condescending?

The story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, which caused the destruction of Yerushalayim, is a story of viability.

Is it viable, is it worthwhile, to invite Bar Kamtza to the meal?

What does Bar Kamtza need to pay in order to appease his host?

Half the price of the banquet? The price of the whole banquet?

The Ramban offers a wonderful explanation on the words ‫וְ ָא ַה ְב ָּת ְל ֵר ֲע ָך ָ ּכמוֹ ָך‬: “One should not give measurements to love.”

Love is immeasurable. It is not for pay, and it is not free. Loving fellow Jews is simply because of ‫ח ָ ּנם‬,ִ from the word ‫חן‬,ֵ their natural grace. So simple and yet so complex.

When we speak of the Geula, the Redemption, we look forward, to the future. When we speak of love, we look to the sides, to those walking beside us. When we do this, when we see the weak, the distraught and the lonely at our sides, love will bring the Geula. In other words, the Geula will, automatically, be attracted to the love.

Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai did not ‘respond’ to the churban. He initiated. He requested the ingenious start-up of Yavneh and its scholars, Rabban Gamliel’s dynasty and the healing of Rabbi Tzadok. That’s exactly how each of us needs to behave.

Enough with posts responding to the tragedy of Meron, the tragedy of disunity and political calamities! Give us Yavneh and its chachamim! Give us religious thought about a new Beit HaMikdash and not just an old one that was destroyed!

This tip alone can enlighten us now and forever so we should rid ourselves of the term ahavat chinam. It was never free.

Only the crying of the Jews on that first Tisha B’Av in the desert, after the sin of the spies, is called bechia lechinam, crying for free, for no reason.

What is the biggest challenge in bringing the Geula today?

We’ve become a society of reactors as opposed to a society of initiators. We’ve become accustomed to “like” or “dislike” instead of taking that finger icon and pointing it in a new direction. It’s so easy to respond, and it’s so difficult to get up tomorrow morning and sing a new song in one’s heart and teach it over and over again to anyone who will listen.

Every single person in our incredible nation has a nekuda tova! It’s up to us to find it!

Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi is a popular Israeli teacher, speaker and writer.

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Breathe Without a Second Thought

H

aving previously worked for their father’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning company, Aviad and Eldar Shnaiderman understood that standard ventilation or air conditioning wasn’t enough to prevent indoor air from being polluted with gases, aerosols or viruses. The Shnaiderman family ate, breathed, and slept air quality. Their father filled their childhood with endless imagination. Running in and around huge air hoses and ventilation ducts during summer vacations, little did they know, this early childhood fascination, those invaluable experiences would end up leading them to help the world become a safer place and to dizzying success.

In 2018, with past epidemics like SARS and MERS on their minds, the Shnaiderman brothers co-founded Aura Air in Tel Aviv, aiming to bring a product to market that would purify and disinfect indoor

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air. After hard work and many rejections, Aura Air raised 1.2 million dollars from private investors. In 2020, with the onset of COVID-19, highlighting the necessity of their product, investors who had originally been skeptical and declined to fund, approached the brothers, leading Aura Air to finish their second round of investment with 3 million dollars. In June 2021, after research proved the success of their technology – the ability to filter 99.9% of the COVID-19 virus from the air – Aura Air went public on the Tel Aviv stock market (AUSR), though they feel as though they are still just at the beginning of their journey.

The COVID-19 Effect Aura Air did not lay off any workers or put any workers on furlough during COVID19, in fact, the small startup recruited additional workers to create a team of 20 all committed to improving the air we breathe. At the same time, Aura Air developed partnerships with existing manufacturing plants while simultaneously establishing its own independent production plant.

The potential risk for airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has brought awareness for safer indoor environments in the spotlight. And this need has put a small Israeli company, with an artificial intelligence technology solution to purify and manage indoor air quality, at the heart of the battle on how to keep public indoor spaces open and safe.

You can see the haze and you can see the smog, so people know about outdoor air quality. But no one was paying enough attention to the indoor environment.

COVID-19 has made sure people are now paying attention. And Aura Air has been working around the clock to satisfy the demand.

COVID-19 is Not the Whole Story But COVID-19 is not the only harmful airborne particle to be found in our environment: Particles of dust (PM2.5, PM 10), pollen, insects, animal hair, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bad odors, viruses such as influenza H1N1 ( known as the swine flu) and H5N1 (known as the bird flu), and bacteria like E-Coli and MRSA. All are found in the indoor air we breathe every day.

With 25% of Americans staying indoors for 21-24 hours daily and with the average Brit spending 22 hours a day indoors, COVID-19 highlighted the great need to constantly purify and disinfect our indoor environments.

Aura Air The Aura Air platform detects air quality indoor and outdoor on real-time monitoring through an array of smart sensors, filtering and disinfecting air through four unique stages: First, the pre-filter catches large particles of dust, pollen, insects, animal hair and other large particles. The pre-filter also absorbs VOCs and bad odors and filters viruses, and bacteria. The Ray-Filter™ then neutralizes bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

Then a UVC LED component and a Sterionizer™ generate positive and negative ions to purify and freshen indoor air and continue to eliminate harmful pollutants.

Through the accompanying app, you can see the volatile organic compounds (VOC) which are emitted as gases, humidity levels (if the indoor relative humidity is above 60 percent then mold and mildew begin to form), and CO and CO2 levels as compared to the local outdoor conditions. There are airborne particles, gases, and aerosols carrying viruses in the air. If you cannot smell it, you think everything is fine. The app was created to help visualize the problems.

The user can add categories – if they are asthmatic or allergic to dust, the sensors will create an indoor air quality environment to suit these needs. Moreover, the app can highlight relevant high-risk scenarios and notify the user of what needs to be disinfected or purified.

Creation and manufacturing are all completed in the Aura Air factory located in Beit El, Israel. While production once stood at 1,500 units per month, Aura Air now produces close to 10,000 units per month and while more expensive, all packaging is made of 100% recycled and recyclable materials.

Research Shows Following the challenges faced with infections in hospitals, at the beginning of August 2019, Aura Air and The Department of General and Oncological Surgery at The Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, experimented with the implementation of air purifiers to disinfect and purify the air from various pollutants.

In previous experiments run by Aura Air, and in the pilot at Sheba Medical Center, it was demonstrated that the filter made by the company successfully managed to filter a series of high-risk pathogens including various viruses, such as Influenza H1N1 and Influenza H5N1. In May 2020, the company began a clinical experiment to test the effectiveness of Aura Air’s disinfection capabilities on the Coronavirus, with results showing that Aura AIr was 99.9% effective at disinfecting against COVID-19 particles, among other pathogens.

Aura Air in Use In March 2020, Aura Air had clients in just three countries. By December, the company

Coronavirus Reduction Ratio (normalized results) Sample

Duration of Treatment 10 mins.

20 min.

30 min.

Aura Air treated Low AIBV conc.

99.99999

99.99975

100

Aura Air treated High AIBV conc.

99.98325

99.93515

99.6845

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Aura Air in numbers

4

screws for easy installation

20

employees

50

countries around the world

200

partners: corporations, hospitals, universities, and government agencies

99.9% 100% 10,000 disinfection

recycled and recyclable packaging

units produced each month

1,150,000+ sq. feet of fresh air

was operating in over 50 countries. Any indoor setting, more or less, could host the Aura Air technology — offices, residential spaces, hotels, senior living homes, healthcare facilities and even buses.

The company continues to look for partners to spread the wonders of its technology across the world.

In December 2020, Aura Air closed a $30 million deal with Japan’s JTEC Corporation, a company specializing in safety and security. The Japanese distributor announced that it would be using Aura Air’s solution to help keep open Japan’s karaoke establishments, one of the main social activities of Japanese adults.

When asked about their fast-tracked rise to success, the Shnaiderman brothers responded: “The last 18 months presented many challenges. However, we preferred

In January 2021, 400 tourist buses that were repurposed to ferry essential healthcare workers to and from work in the United Kingdom and Ireland were outfitted with the Aura Air system.

Over 1,000 Aura Air systems have already been installed in Sheraton and Hilton hotels in six countries to provide guests with the cleanest environment. 74% of travelers agreed that they would be willing to pay more to stay in a hotel room with better air quality.

Aura Air recently received a $1 million binding order to purchase its products from TwinMed LLC, a California-based company that distributes medical equipment to U.S. institutional entities. The order is for its U.S. nursing home clients.

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The Future of Air Purification

seeing the global pandemic as an opportunity and embraced this historical time with both hands. The results and progress we’ve made in this past year alone were beyond our wildest dreams.

“We keep hearing about how life-altering our products are, and about the impact they bring to so many organizations and individuals, and we’re amazed. We designed our solutions to blend seamlessly into any background, so the fact they’re taking stage center is everything we’ve ever dreamed of and more.

“Aura Air is officially a publicly listed company (AUSA on the TASE). In many ways, this is just another landmark in our longterm mission of providing cleaner, safer air to all. As we enter this new stage, we want to express our gratitude to our partners and supporters, for believing in us and walking with us every step of the way.”

The years to come are going to redefine air, breathing, and indoor spaces as we know them. The world can finally see it clearly - we can no longer ignore this growing concern. Though the challenges ahead are many, we are headed towards a bright, cleaner future.

A constant since birth, breathing sets our life’s rhythm. Inhale. Exhale. Fresh, clean air clears our minds and rejuvenates our bodies without us investing a second thought. n

T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Dr. Aharon Adler

The Execution of Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua .‫ יוֹם עֶ ֶרב ׁשַ ָּבת הָ יָה זְמַ ן ִק ּדו ּׁש ַוי ְַק ֵּד ׁש ַוי ּ ְִק ָרא‬.‫צַ ִּדיק ַר ִ ּבי אֶ לְעָ זָר ֶּבן ׁשַ ּמו ּעַ ָּבאַ חֲ ר ֹונָה נֶהֳ ַרג ְ ּבמַ ְד ֵק ָרה‬ .‫ יוֹצֵ ר וְצָ ר צו ָּרה‬,‫ יָצְ ָתה נִ ׁ ְשמָ ת ֹו ְ ּבבָ ָרא אֱ ל ֹקים‬.‫חֶ ֶרב ׁשָ לפו ּ עָ לָ יו וְל ֹא ִה ּנִחו ּהו ּ ַּבחַ יִּים לְ ג ְָמ ָרה‬ The righteous Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua was killed with a chisel.

It was Sabbath eve, the time of Kiddush, and as he recited it, They drew the sword upon him, not permitting him to live to finish it.

His soul departed at the words “G-d created,” the Creator and Sculptor of forms.

O

ne of the central themes of the Tisha B’Av kinot is the catastrophic collapse of Torah authority, along with its giants, as foretold in Eicha 2:9, “Her king and her princes are among the nations: there is no Torah; her prophets also find no vision from the L-rd.” This theme reverberates throughout the kinot in a plethora of historical settings, including the Temple’s destruction, the Bar Kochba defeat, the Crusades in medieval times, as well the modern-day Holocaust.

One particular elegy stands out which is dedicated exclusively to this theme: the disintegration of the Torah world. Arzei HaLevanon, composed by the 13th-century Ashkenazi Rabbi Meir ben Yechiel, bewails the martyrdom of the famous 10 great scholars (‫)ע ָשׂ ָרה ֲהרו ֵּגי ַמ ְלכוּת‬ ֲ executed by the Romans in the aftermath of the Second Temple’s destruction and the Bar Kochba rebellion. In this particular Tisha B’Av version of these tragic episodes (there are four such versions – including the Yom Kippur version of Eila Ezkara), each of the Sages murdered is enveloped with a particular mitzvah reflecting enormous significance to his martyrdom.

In the case of Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua, the mitzvah is the Kiddush recitation on Friday night. Whether absolutely historical or purely allegorical, the poet provides the setting – the murder takes place while reciting the Kiddush, along with a focus upon the precise word in the Kiddush – thereby leaving the Kiddush unfinished.

We learn that this all happens while Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua is still reciting the preliminary verses to Kiddush. He is now in the middle of the third verse, which includes the word, “‫”וַ יְ ַק ֵ ּד ׁש‬: ‫יעי וַ יְ ַק ֵ ּד ׁש אֹתוֹ ִ ּכי בוֹ ָׁש ַבת ִמ ָ ּכל‬ ִ ‫וַ יְ ָב ֶר ְך… ֶאת יוֹ ם ַה ּׁ ְש ִב‬ .‫אכ ּתוֹ ֲא ֶׁשר ָ ּב ָרא ֱאל ִֹקים ַל ֲעשׂוֹ ת‬ ְ ‫ְמ ַל‬

This is the meaning in the poem: “‫זְ ַמן ִקדּ ו ּׁש‬ ‫ויְ ַק ֵ ּד ׁש וַ ִ ּי ְק ָרא‬.” ַ We then learn that at this very moment the execution takes place and that Rabbi Elazar is one word shy of completing the verse. His life expires as he is saying, “‫ב ָרא ֱאל ִֹקים‬,” ַ ּ ָ with the final word, “‫ל ֲעשׂוֹ ת‬,” remaining unsaid.

In his commentary to Bereishit 2:3, Ramban proposes that all the days of Creation represent a blueprint for six millennia of world history. The ultimate objective and aspiration is to move the world into the eschatological seventh millennia. This is the pro-active meaning of “‫ל ֲעשׂוֹ ת‬.” ַ Clearly, Rabbi Akiva and colleagues viewed the Bar Kochba uprising as a prelude to Messianic days. They were engaged in “‫”ל ֲעשׂוֹ ת‬ ַ activities, in their gallant attempt to move the Jewish nation out of exile and usher in “the end of days” as quickly as possible. But, tragically, Divine Providence had a very different plan for the nation. Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua would not be allowed to utter the word “‫”ל ֲעשׂוֹ ת‬ ַ in his Kiddush, as the entire nation’s drive to implement “‫”ל ֲעשׂוֹ ת‬ ַ would fall short. And for this we weep and cry on Tisha B’Av. Most remarkable is a similar thought echoed by our Talmudic Sages (Ta’anit 29a)

in reference to the final moments leading up to the First Temple’s destruction. There it states that the Levites were singing the appropriate Psalm (94) in utter desperation, given the impending catastrophe.

Approaching the final verse (23), “And He has brought upon them their own iniquity and will cut them off in their own evil” (‫יתם‬ ֵ ‫יהם ֶאת אוֹ נָ ם ו ְּב ָר ָע ָתם יַ ְצ ִמ‬ ֶ ‫)וַ ָ ּי ֶׁשב ֲע ֵל‬, Chazal say, ‫יתם ה‘ ֱאל ֵֹקינ ּו ַעד ֶׁש ָ ּבא ּו‬ ֵ ‫וְ ל ֹא ִה ְס ּ ִפיק ּו לוֹ ַמר יַ ְצ ִמ‬ ‫גוֹ יִ ם ו ְּכ ָב ׁשוּם‬, “and they hardly had time to say, ‘The L-rd our G-d will cut them off,’ when the heathens came and captured them.”

The Talmud concludes with an ambiguous comment: “The same thing happened in the Second Temple” (‫)וְ ֵכן ַ ּב ּׁ ְשנִ ָ ּיה‬. The precise details of Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua’s execution might very well be that which is alluded to in that closing Talmudic comment, “‫וְ ֵכן ַ ּב ּׁ ְשנִ ָ ּיה‬.”

On Tisha B’Av, we beg for ‫יתם ה’ ֱאל ֵֹקינ ּו‬ ֵ ‫יַ ְצ ִמ‬, as we engage in doing our part: “‫ל ֲעשׂוֹ ת‬,” ַ in ushering in the era of full redemption speedily in our days.

Rabbi Dr. Aharon Adler is a former student of, and special assistant to, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi David Fohrman

Y

From Passive Observer to Active Participant

ears ago, I went to see an exhibition of photographs that had won the Pulitzer Prize for best news reporting. I was struck by how, one after another, the photos were all suffused with the same themes: visceral loss and suffering.

A particular photo caught my eye. It was of a Cambodian refugee, a woman, clutching a child, forging her way through a rushing river. She was surrounded by a torrent of water that was nearly neck high. With what seemed like every ounce of strength, she struggled, with one arm, to keep her daughter’s head above the murderous waves. Her arm was wrapped around her child, and the limb of a tree, hanging over the river from the embankment. With the other arm, she reached out, desperately, in the direction of the camera.

I stood there in the museum, and here was this woman, gazing at me – through the lens of this camera, across the stretch of time. When you looked at the photo, it almost felt as if you could reach out with your own hand and grab her arm, and pull her and her child to safety. As I stood there, looking at the desperate mother and child – a sudden sense of shock and outrage shook me out of my reverie. It suddenly occurred to me: what was this photographer doing taking this picture? Why didn’t he throw his camera aside and instead reach out to pull this woman to shore?

Reporters are there as third-party narrators of the news. But they are also human beings. So the choice to be a third-party observer, is, on some level, an arbitrary one. When you are witnessing great suffering, history may laud you for reporting the suffering – but as a human being, what integrity do you really have left if you choose to stand apart from it? The third-person offers the benefit of dispassionate reporting but sometimes, you can’t afford to be the ‘third person.’ Sometimes, you are part of the story, whether you like it or not.

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The first two chapters of Eicha lament the destruction of Yerushalayim, but more or less from the outside. Yirmiyahu speaks as an onlooker, describing tragedy as it befalls someone else. The city of Yerushalayim is anthropomorphized as a young maiden, making the tragedy of the city’s downfall more poignant than the mere destruction of bricks and stone – but it is still a tragedy happening to someone over there.

In Chapter Three, all that changes. The perspective shifts to first-person. Yirmiyahu begins to describe his own experience. The shift is brought home, jarringly, with the chapter’s very first words, “I am the man who has seen affliction, with the rod of His wrath.” All of a sudden, it’s personal.

Yirmiyahu speaks, for the first time, from his own perspective. This is no longer a lament for someone else’s pain, however empathetically felt; this is the raw voice of someone living the suffering of which he tells. The voice we hear is short and breathless, like someone panting. Gone is the pretense of elegantly crafted lament, or even basic dignity. All that remains is the disjointed, stumbling, first-person account of anguish and horror.

Drawn into Yerushalayim’s suffering, Yirmiyahu finds that he can’t just be a reporter. And so he leaves the relative comfort of the reporter’s microphone.

He stands, vulnerable and alone, at one with his devastated city and its exiled inhabitants.

How different would our own experience of Tisha B’Av be if we too shift our perspective from a third-person onlooker to an individual living through the tragedy?

What would it be like to experience the devastation first-hand and not from a safe distance? If we, like Yirmiyahu, take a step toward the suffering of our people and face the anguish and horror directly rather than remain at a safe distance?

What would our Tisha B’Av look like then?

■ Adapted by Rachel Aviner from a longer article at www.alephbeta.org/tisha-bav.

Rabbi David Fohrman is the founder and principal educator at Aleph Beta, and the author of numerous books on Tanach. www.alephbeta.org

T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Dr. Yael Ziegler

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he uniqueness of Chapter Three, the structural center of Megillat Eicha, is immediately discernible: its unusual triple acrostic sets it apart from the other chapters. It therefore has 66 verses, as opposed to the 22 verses of the other four chapters.

While this technical difference draws our attention, other distinctive elements of the chapter are substantive. The absence of the word Eicha at its opening suggests this chapter was not composed as a lament.

A unique, first-person voice launches the chapter; the speaker introduces himself as a gever, a lone individual.1 In a book concerned with national calamity, the central chapter focuses upon the misfortunes of an individual, offering a portrait of how one suffering person contends with G-d and copes with travail. The sufferer navigates through the morass of his misery, experiencing religious growth along the way. Every person who experiences adversity can regard this gever’s journey as his own.

Chapter Three omits the major motifs of Eicha’s other chapters, including the fall of Yerushalayim and the Beit HaMikdash, and the suffering, starvation and exile of the Judeans. There are no priests, kings or leaders, no maidens or young men, no vulnerable, dying children and no hint of a national tragedy. Even the suffering of the individual is not directly connected to the events of 586 BCE. Instead, this chapter is uniquely concerned with theological reflection, considering the nature of G-d and His interactions with humans (verses 21-39). The suffering individual of this chapter seeks and finds hope in G-d – the only lengthy message of hope in the book of Eicha appears at its center (verses 21–26). The core of the chapter also discusses the lessons one may draw from suffering (verses 27–30), and several erroneous conclusions one should scrupulously avoid (verses 31–39). Prayer, repentance and communal responsibility

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The Heart of Eicha follow these reflections (verses 40–51). The gever’s experience can rightly be termed a journey, inasmuch as he progresses in a linear fashion (albeit with some twists) during the course of Chapter Three.

The linear progression marks this chapter’s distinctness as surely as the differences noted above. Constructed in a chiastic fashion, the previous two chapters maintain a cyclical form that conveys the hopelessness of ceaseless suffering.

Chapter Three, in contrast, moves from despair to reflection to hope, in a steady forward motion. Contemplation spawns comprehension of responsibility and consequently moves the gever toward reconciliation with G-d.

The individual continues to feel entrapped, taunted and tormented.

To arrive at these conclusions, the gever draws from his deep resources of faith, depicted at the core of the chapter, the pivotal center of the book (verses 21–39).

The gever at the beginning of the chapter (verses 1–20) is not the same as the gever at its conclusion (verses 52–66), though his external circumstances appear unchanged.

Nevertheless, the ending of the chapter is far from triumphant. The suffering gever resurfaces in 3:52–66, his plight still miserable, his immediate prospects grim.

The individual continues to feel entrapped, taunted and tormented. Yet, while the gever’s external circumstances have not changed, he has certainly undergone an inner transformation.

The final section of the chapter illustrates the individual’s astonishing development.

Possibly the most significant transformation occurs as he abandons his self-centered victimhood and begins to perceive

those around him. The gever no longer feels alienated from his compatriots (as in verse 14), nor does he regard G-d as his adversary (see verses 1–16).

Instead, he advocates on his people’s behalf (verses 47–51) and enlists G-d as his protector (verse 55). This process allows him to restore a relationship with both G-d and his community, alleviating his loneliness, restoring his sense of meaningful existence and facilitating his recovery. Chapter Three opens with the word Ani, “I,” introducing an individual whose self-absorbed obsession with his hardships alienates him from his surroundings.

The chapter closes with the name of G-d, illustrating that the gever has learned to look beyond the narrow scope of his own grief. Though G-d never directly intervenes in the chapter (or in the book), in this final section the sufferer hears G-d’s words (verses 57), senses His immanence (verses 57), and anticipates the restoration of Divine justice (verses 58–59).

By the end of his process of introspection, the gever has indeed found G-d, deep within the recesses of his own inner being.

■ Adapted from Dr. Yael Ziegler’s new book, Lamentations: Faith in a Turbulent World (Maggid, 2021).

While both Chapters One and Two contain first-person accounts, the individual speaker seems to represent a collective “I” of Yerushalayim, rather than a lone individual.

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Dr. Yael Ziegler is a lecturer in Tanach at Matan and at Herzog College.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbanit Rachelle Fraenkel

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When the Shechina Departs

he secrets hidden in Yechezkel’s ma’aseh merkava (Yechezkel 10) are a mystery, but at the level of pshat they express a simple and terrible reality. The Shechina ‘gathers itself’ from its dwelling in the Beit HaMikdash, crosses the threshold and leaves the house, fills the courtyard, and then leaves through the gateway, climbs on a chariot and flies away. It is a description of the Makom (G-d) leaving its makom (place), leaving behind an empty house.

The introduction to Midrash Eicha Rabbah reveals the inner story: When the Shechina was leaving the Beit HaMikdash, It cuddled and kissed the walls of the Mikdash over and over again, crying and saying: “Woe! Goodbye to my Mikdash, goodbye to my royal house, goodbye to my dear home of splendor.”

Leaving the house seems inevitable. It has lost its right to exist and will be destroyed.

But the departing lover tearfully caresses and kisses every stone along the way – sobbing, longing, yearning, from the very moment of separation.

As happens in disintegration processes, the internal collapse precedes the external one. This Mikdash would still stand for many years after Yechezkel’s prophecy, but in emptiness.

Similarly, of the second Mikdash it is said (Yoma 39) that the doors of the heartbroken Mikdash terrify themselves and open again and again as if, suicidally, beckoning the invading enemy to enter. Eventually, the destroyer will be told from heaven: “You burned a Sanctuary that was already burned, you ground flour that was already ground” (Sanhedrin 96b).

The mishnayot (Ta’anit, chapter 4), which discuss the reasons for the fasts commemorating the destruction, describe the story

of a crumbling home. The breaching of the walls of the city signifies the chink in protection, the disintegration of the chambers that used to be safe and distinct from the world.

The breaching of the walls of the city signifies the chink in protection, the disintegration of the chambers that used to be safe and distinct from the world.

The Midrash compares the breaking of the tablets and the burning of the Torah to tearing up the betrothal and marriage contracts. The abolition of the tamid daily offering symbolizes the end of daily family routines. (And what do we end up missing but the smallness of everyday life, the sound of rejoicing or quarrel, the routine of life itself?) And placing an idol in the Sanctuary is the final nail in the coffin of trust and loyalty. The physical ruin completes the spiritual destruction of this home.

At its core, this is the loss of having a home in this world, a place of belonging, shelter, familiarity. A place in the world we could call our own. The exile of the Divine from its home heralds the exile of the people, setting them on a long and arduous journey of suffering, yearning and longing.

When the king of Yehuda heard that Nevuchadnezzar was coming, he took the keys of the Beit HaMikdash, ascended to the roof of the Sanctuary and said: “Master of the Universe, in the past we were faithful to You and Your keys were handed over to us. Now that we are not faithful, Your keys are handed over to You.” One tradition says he threw the keys up to Heaven and

they have not yet descended. Another says the likeness of a hand came from Heaven and took the keys from him (Yerushalmi Shekalim 17b).

16 years ago, during the disengagement from Gush Katif, many women and girls gathered in the synagogue in Neve Dekalim. Someone approached Moriah, the officer in charge, and handed her a beautiful wedding ring found on site. Efforts to find the owner proved in vain.

In the years that followed, Moriah continually tried to return the ring. Last year, she decided that social networking might have created a new opportunity to find the owner. She posted on Facebook describing how, in the midst of the destruction, she found this wedding ring, and how, close to Tisha B’Av, 16 years later, she is still looking for its owner.

I shared that post in a Zoom shiur I gave that day. The wedding ring left behind in the ruins of the houses reminded me of the Temple keys thrown by the priests at the time of the destruction. Then, in the middle of the shiur, someone excitedly announced, “They found the owner!

Moriah just posted it!”

It felt like a shot of encouragement. A hint of impending redemption.

The keys to the Sanctuary had been thrown back...

Rabbanit Rachelle Fraenkel teaches Torah at midrashot in Israel.

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T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Judah Mischel

We are All from

Yerushalayim

W

hen beloved Israeli author, Shmuel Yosef “Shai” Agnon was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1966, his famous acceptance speech revolved around his Jewish identity, his relationship to Torah, his love for Yiddishkeit and his kesher to Yerushalayim.

When asked by Gustav VI, the King of Sweden, where he had been born, Agnon replied, “Your Majesty, like all Jews, I come from Jerusalem.”

In his speech, Agnon addressed the honored assembly and again spoke of his connection to our eternal capital: “As a result of the great catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed the Holy City and Israel was exiled from its Land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile, Buczacz. But I always regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem. In a dream, in a vision of the night, I saw myself standing with my brother Levites in the Holy Temple, singing with them the songs of David, King of Israel…”

Photo: Sharon Gabay

◆◆◆

In the Torah’s account of Ya’akov Avinu fleeing his brother Eisav’s wrath, Ya’akov is alone, surrounded by darkness, and sleeping on the cold ground. Suddenly, he experiences a “vision of the night”: he sees a ladder to Heaven with angels “ascending and descending,” and realizes he is in the future Makom haMikdash, the place of the Holy Temple.

Ya’akov Avinu represents and expresses the midda of tiferet, ‘splendor,’ which is the quality of the harmonious uniting of opposites. In his night vision, he sees a place and a time in which he and his brother will be in harmony and peace, in which the Jewish family will be reunited. When he awakens, he is inspired to pray, ‫וְ ַׁש ְב ִּתי‬ ‫“ – ְב ָׁשלוֹ ם ֶאל ֵ ּבית ָא ִבי‬and I shall return to my father’s house in peace...” (Bereishit 28:21).

We too, through shalom and brotherhood, are charged to restore the splendor and beauty of Am Yisrael. ‘Ya’akov’ will then rise up from the ground, the dawn will break, and we will return to ‫בית ָא ִבי‬. ֵּ ְ ‫“ – ִה ְׁש ִליך ִמ ּׁ ָש ַמיִ ם ֶא ֶרץ ִּת ְפ ֶא ֶרת יִ ְש ָׂר ֵאל‬He has cast

down from heaven to earth the glory of

Israel” (Eicha 2:1). Reb Shlomo Halberstam, The Bobover Rebbe, explains this pasuk in connection to Ya’akov Avinu. The glory (tiferet) of Israel (Ya’akov) is our achdut, our togetherness, the oneness of our greater family. This is what was cast to the ground.

Indeed, as is well known and oft-quoted but tragically not yet internalized, the Temple was destroyed due to sinat chinam, baseless hatred (Yoma 9b). The Bobover Rebbe concludes that the rebuilding of the Temple will come through reclaiming our people’s tiferet, our achdut – our efforts toward shalom.

The halachot of Tisha B’Av restrict us from she’eilat shalom, greeting one another. In any case, how can we wish each other shalom aleichem on a day when we deeply feel the lack of shalom and shleimut in the world?

Consider: is there someone we are estranged from, a former business associate, an old classmate, friend or family member from whom we have grown distant? Perhaps now is the right time, the opportune time, to extend a she’eilat shalom.

It has been 2,000 years since our “brother Levites” have sung those songs in the Beit HaMikdash. May we extend shalom and achdut to our neighbors, sisters and brothers, and make efforts toward repairing relationships, and may this bring us closer to our birthplace, our ‫בית ָא ִבי‬, ּ ֵ our Father’s home.

Rabbi Judah Mischel is Executive Director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children, Mashpiah of OU-NCSY and founder of Tzama Nafshi.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Ari Kahn

“J

ust as the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed due to baseless hatred, it will be rebuilt due to baseless love” (Orot HaKodesh vol. 3, p. 324). While this oft-cited teaching of Rav Kook sounds simple, it is in fact highly nuanced, and deserves more serious consideration.

The image that comes to mind when we hear the words sinat chinam is usually one of rampant, wanton violence. The word chinam is more accurately translated as “free of charge” or “at no cost” in a monetary sense. Rather than hatred for no reason whatsoever, it implies hatred for which the price is somehow incongruous or out of balance. The problem is not that we dislike people for no reason; generally, we all feel we have very good reasons to dislike the people we do. We may have been hurt, insulted, or, worst of all, ignored, and we develop a healthy animus toward the offender as we defend ourselves and our tattered egos. The problem is that more often than not, our response is not proportional. We ‘overcharge’ for these real or perceived wrongs. The price is not right.

We pay back with interest, and, as we all know, the Torah prohibits usury.

If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would be forced to recognize that at times our own insecurity and emotional fragility lead us to interpret the behavior or speech of others as malicious, even when no such malice was intended.

Here then is the dilemma: regarding the admonishment against baseless hatred, most of us can, with absolute honesty, categorically state we are innocent. On the other hand, when we reframe the question and ask instead if we have ever overreacted, if we are guilty of exaggerated responses to real or perceived slights, I am afraid many of us can answer in the affirmative. We are quite guilty but blind to our own malevolence, simply because we think the other person has earned every bit of it. Whatever hatred we have for them is not “free.”

Rebuilding with

Love

As far as “baseless love,” we are taught to love others even though they are undeserving. But is this the case? Are we not commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves? Our love for others is not “free” or baseless; it is grounded in the knowledge that every person is created in the image of G-d, and every Jew is a unique part of our collective, a beautiful piece in the mosaic of our peoplehood.

By what right do we imagine that the love and support we should be giving is unwarranted or free?

By what right do we imagine that the love and support we should be giving is unwarranted or free? This other person is my brother, sister or cousin too-many-times removed. I am obligated by Jewish law to love and care for him, to worry about her and constantly consider how I can improve her life, to pray for each and every other Jew. They are me, and we are one.

This dual perspective is discernible in Parashat Devarim. Moshe, recalling the episode of the spies, recounts: “You grumbled in your tents, and said, ‘G-d brought us out of the land of Egypt because He hated us…’”

(Devarim 1:27).

Rashi observes what should be obvious to us: quite the opposite was the case. “He loved you, but you hated Him…” Here we have the core of sinat chinam – baseless hatred. Lonely, frightened man, controlled by his own insecurity, is unable to feel G-d’s love. In a knee-jerk reaction, he lashes out, with hatred that is both baseless and unearned, projecting this hatred back onto G-d.

Humankind is a strange species, capable of love yet afraid to love. We fail to consider the true nature of love as our greatest natural resource, which grows exponentially the more it is ‘used.’ Why are we so stingy in sharing it with others?

And therein lies the rub. We have somehow learned to convince ourselves that the hatred we feel is well-deserved, while the love we are obligated to feel and express is unearned and given to the undeserving.

Judaism teaches us to see our world from G-d’s perspective as well as our own. While we justify our hatred of others by focusing on the wrongs they have committed, from G-d’s higher vantage point, our hatred for others is sinat chinam – unearned, disproportionate, high-interest payback.

While we consider our acts of kindness or gestures of love free and unearned, we are, in fact, fulfilling a very specific obligation to love and care for them.

Rabbi Ari Kahn is Director of the Overseas Student Program at Bar Ilan University, where he is a senior lecturer in Jewish Studies.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Shalom Hammer

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The Root of Baseless Hatred

he Talmud says that one of the reasons the second Beit HaMikdash was destroyed was because of “baseless hatred.” What was the nature of this “baseless hatred”?

The Jewish community is outstanding when it comes to physical acts of chesed and volunteerism, as is evident from mitzvot like bikur cholim (visiting the sick), hachnasat orchim (hospitality) and pidyon shevuim (redeeming Jewish captives). Rav Yehonatan Eybeshitz explains that while these mitzvot are certainly laudable, spiritual support is far more important – but unfortunately more scarce – within the Jewish community.

Unfortunately, there are many who do not understand that sometimes honest rebuke is an indication of love.

For example, many show no concern when they see others talking improperly, behaving immodestly or talking during tefilla. This lack of concern for another’s spiritual wellbeing is a form of the baseless hatred that led to the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash. Towards the end of that period, the majority of the Jews were observant and maintained the standards expected of them. Other large sectarian minorities, however, such as the Tzedukkim and Baytusim, did not subscribe to the Oral Law, the Torah shebe’al peh, and subscribed to all manner of deviant practices. Additional groups adopted extreme and ascetic strictures. Yet the Rabbis did not rebuke these instigators. This indifference can be considered a form of baseless hatred.

While an important part of a Rabbi’s job is to offer spiritual guidance and rebuke when necessary, there are certain advantages when a lay person reprimands his fellow, primarily because some people

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will more readily listen to their peers.

This is why Rabbi Yehoshua instructed, “Make for yourself a Rabbi, and acquire for yourself a friend.” While one should seek halachic guidance from those who are more knowledgeable, one also needs the unique spiritual support that only friendship and camaraderie can offer.

Unfortunately, there are many who do not understand that sometimes honest rebuke is an indication of love.

Similarly, the Zohar says that when a congregation recites the blessing of mechayeh hameitim in Shemoneh Esrei, G-d asks, “Who is it that took the effort to reprimand sinners and attempt to return them to the court of their king?” In response, “an angel arrives and brings the visage of such a person.” This teaching shows that one who corrects others’ behavior is deserving of Heavenly commendation, but what does the blessing of mechayeh hameitim have to do with it?

Rav Yehonatan explains that spirituality is the essence of life. Therefore, someone lacking spirituality is likened to being dead. When one guides the evil back to the right path, he is essentially providing them with a new lease on life. Performing the mitzvah of rebuking others gives the average person the ability to perform a miracle on the scale wrought by the prophets Eliyahu and Elisha, who both literally brought the dead back to life: “Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in Rabbi Yonatan’s name: ‘The righteous are destined to resurrect the dead, for it is said: Once again, old men and old women shall sit in the broad places of Yerushalayim, every man with his staff in his hand for old age; and it is written (concerning Elisha’s resurrection of the child): And lay my staff upon the face of the child.’”

However, those who do attempt to ‘resurrect the dead’ in this non-literal manner must themselves stay paragons of virtue or else risk appearing hypocritical. Chazal added that above all, it is important to keep

in mind the dictum of “love your neighbor as yourself” especially with regards to sensitive issues like correcting others’ behavior.

Rav Yehonatan points out that the prophet Yirmiyahu also felt that more could have been done to provide for the people’s spiritual needs, as written in Eicha: “All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have traded their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul. See, G-d, and behold how abject I have become.” The people who seek bread are those who were looking for spiritual meaning, but because the Jewish leadership did not provide any, they looked elsewhere for fulfillment and traded their “pleasant” Jewish heritage for heathen culture by engaging in promiscuity and idolatry.

Rabbi Berel Wein says that when he speaks from the pulpit he is not talking to his congregation. He is speaking to himself.

I imagine that only someone who feels he is speaking to himself and is interested in improving his own spirituality, is capable of offering others spiritual direction as well. Which in turn will contribute to the restoration of Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh.

Rabbi Shalom Hammer is an IDF educator and Founder and Director of Makom Meshutaf educational programming, under the auspices of World Mizrachi. He has authored five books. www. rabbihammer.com A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Matt Marks

M

The Danger of Independence

asechet Taanit 29a teaches that the various calamities of Tisha B’Av can be traced to the report given by the spies sent to scout Eretz Yisrael. The causative link between the sin of the spies and the tragedies of Tisha B’Av should compel us to investigate this sin to better understand what lies at the root of this tragic day.

The spies reported that the Land contained giants, but why were the spies so afraid of them? While it is true that the Jewish people had undergone generations of slavery and were, perhaps, psychologically unready to seize their spiritual inheritance, their complete despair is surprising.

These were the people that had witnessed supernatural plagues systematically dismantle Egypt’s deities; watched the sea split; heard the ‘Voice of G-d’ at Har Sinai; journeyed through the desert, enveloped by clouds of glory and guided by a pillar of fire; witnessed food rain down from the sky. They had seen countless miracles – but feared these giants because… they were bigger than them?

In light of this question, I want to explore a ‘Talmudic reading’ from Emmanuel Levinas.1 Levinas refers to Masechet Sotah 34b, in which the Sages explore the verse from Devarim (1:22) that records the Jewish people’s determination to send spies “that they may search [veyachperu] the land for us.”

The Sages evaluate the verb ‘search’ in light of Yeshayahu 24:23 – “Then the moon will be embarrassed [vechafera], and the sun will be ashamed” and using this connection, expand the meaning in Devarim to imply that the people actively sought to embarrass or ‘shame’ the Land. Levinas builds on this connection through the commentary of the Radak. Relating to the verse in question, the Radak responds to an obvious problem – how can the moon, an inanimate object, be embarrassed? He explains that it is not the moon but rather the worshippers of the moon that will be embarrassed.

The spies were not going to embarrass the Land. They were looking to embarrass the worshippers of the Land – the desert Zionists, those individuals committed to entering Eretz Yisrael.

Through this, Levinas completely transforms the narrative of the spies and their concerns. The spies were not going to embarrass the Land. They were looking to embarrass the worshippers of the Land – the desert Zionists, those individuals committed to entering Eretz Yisrael.

But why? Levinas goes on to describe what it was about the giant inhabitants of the Land that sparked a desire to shame its worshippers: “They were magnificent beings… that is what the indigenous inhabitant of the country was to become… We can now understand the anxiety of our men better.

Perhaps the explorers caught a glimpse of sabras. Fear seized them; they said to themselves: this is what awaits us there; these are the future children of Israel, those people who make holes wherever they set foot, who dig furrows, build cities... But that is the end of the Jewish people!”

According to Levinas, the spies were not afraid of being defeated by the giants.

They feared becoming them – transforming into magnificent sabras and forgetting about their relationship with a G-d they no longer needed. Like industrious children that find work, an apartment of their own, and in becoming embroiled in their own lives, forget to call home – the Jewish people were about to discover the glory of independence. They would no longer need the manna or the clouds of glory – instead, their sustained and exalted existence would be the work of their own hand, nothing more: Complete independence – from G-d.

On Chanukah, I started to sense that their fears were not entirely misplaced when my daughter marched home from kindergarten, chanting a popular folksong.

Composed by Menashe Ravin, it celebrates the victory of the Maccabees: Mi Yimallel Gevurot Yisrael… – “Who will tell of Israel’s strength?” The words sounded familiar, hauntingly so. They are from Tehillim 106: “Who will tell of G-d’s strength?” A subtle shift from praising G-d to the egoistic rejoicing in our own might – the fears of the spies, manifest in our local Israeli kindergarten.

While the conclusion of the story of the spies, in which the entire generation of men is sentenced to die in the wilderness, makes it clear that we must reject any attempt to undermine the imperative of our existence in the Land of Israel, the concern remains genuine. The obligation to recognize G-d’s role and presence in our lives was not a mere neurosis of the spies but a fundamental Jewish value.

While the spiritual risk associated with independence does not permit us to ignore our obligation, we are also not allowed to ignore the risk.

Levinas, E., & Aronowicz, A. (2019): Nine Talmudic Readings.

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Matt Marks is a Mizrachi Fellow studying for Semicha in Jerusalem.

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T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb

O

The Importance of “Seeing” the Churban

minous clouds of destruction and dispersion hang heavily over the Three Weeks. On the one hand, Shabbat Chazon is just one day, no different than the others during this period leading up to Tisha B’Av. On the other hand, an insight of Rav Kalonymous Kalmish Shapiro, the Piaseczner Rebbe, suggests there might be more to it than that.

The Rebbe, as is well known, delivered inspirational derashot during the last years of the Warsaw Ghetto, a collection of which were published as Aish Kodesh. As it happens, the final piece in that remarkable work, the very last derasha Rav Shapiro delivered, just a few short days before the deportations from the ghetto began, took place on Shabbat Chazon, July 18, 1942.

instances when the words of the haftarah define the entire Shabbat. What deeper message is conveyed by these words?

their pain. In other words, it was only after the true depth of Bnei Yisrael’s suffering was seen that the process of redemption began.

The Midrash (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 3:2) notes that 10 different expressions are used throughout Tanach to describe the process of prophecy. The Midrash lists terms such as dibbur, amira and tzivui, but it is chazon which is characterized as ‫ָק ׁ ֶשה‬ ‫מ ֻ ּכ ָ ּלן‬,ִ the most difficult and painful form of prophecy.

The Rebbe suggests that it is because of this dialectic we refer to “Shabbat Chazon.”

Rav Shapiro explains this assertion based on the experience familiar to us all – but highlighted poignantly by what was occurring to him and others in the ghetto – that there is a vast difference between hearing about something and actually seeing it. It’s one thing to hear about a tragedy, but it’s quite another to witness it.

Typically, the prophet was told about a future or potential calamity – he heard the bad news. However, there were rare instances when G-d actually showed the prophet something terrible that was going to happen to the Jewish people. ‫ֲחזוֹ ן יְ ַׁש ְעיָ ה ּו‬ – the prophet had a vision, he actually saw the calamities that would befall the nation, and that was ‫ק ׁ ֶשה ִמ ֻ ּכ ָ ּלן‬,ָ a uniquely painful experience.

The Piaseczner Rebbe.

Imagine discussing the Churban while living through one: what would you say?

The Rebbe begins with a simple question.

Why is the universal custom to call this Shabbat “Shabbat Chazon”? While the name comes from the opening words of the haftarah, ‫( ֲחזוֹ ן יְ ַׁש ְעיָ ה ּו ֶבן ָאמוֹ ץ‬the vision of Yeshayahu), this is insufficient to truly answer the question; after all, we read a haftarah every Shabbat and Yom Tov and yet Shabbat Chazon is one of the very few

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Nevertheless, continues the Rebbe, it’s typically from the most intense pain that a glimmer of hope emerges. He notes that when G-d first spoke to Moshe and told him the time of the redemption had arrived, He mentions both that ‫יתי‬ ִ ‫ָראֹה ָר ִא‬ ‫ ֶאת ֳענִ י ַע ִּמי‬and ‫כי יָ ַד ְע ִּתי ֶאת ַמ ְכא ָֹביו‬,ּ ִ “He has seen the affliction of His people,” and “He knows of their pain” (Shemot 3:7).

The word chazon gives appropriate expression to the horror of the impending destruction and, at the same time, it also indicates that G-d truly “saw” the pain of the Jewish people. As a result, He was already planning the future redemption. Thus, the haftarah concludes on a high note, ‫צ ּיוֹ ן ְ ּב ִמ ְׁש ּ ָפט ִּת ּ ָפ ֶדה‬,ִ “Zion will be redeemed through justice and righteousness” (Yeshayahu 1:27).

Rabbi Shapiro’s powerful words – inspired by a prophecy from the original Churban and delivered during the churban of the Holocaust – articulate a profound principle of Jewish belief.

The arc of Jewish history bends inevitably towards redemption. No matter how difficult or painful it may be at times, the overall direction remains the same – chazon is followed by nachamu and galut eventually leads to geula.

A few years after the Piaseczner Rebbe and millions of others were murdered, we merited the establishment of a Jewish State!

In the merit of our continued mourning over the original galut may we soon merit the complete and final geula.

Obviously if G-d sees what’s happening then He knows about it as well; why the need for both phrases?

The Aish Kodesh explains that even though there was a higher, positive purpose to the servitude in Egypt, once G-d truly saw, as it were – ‫יתי‬ ִ ‫ – ָראֹה ָר ִא‬the pain of the Jewish people, then ‫כי יָ ַד ְע ִּתי‬,ּ ִ all G-d knew, all He cared about, was how He could relieve

Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb is a Ram at Yeshivat Har Etzion and the Rav of Kehilat HaEla in Ramat Bet Shemesh.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Shalom Rosner

W

The Partnership of Kedusha

e end off our reading of Megillat Eicha with Yirmiָ ‫יבנ ּו ה‘ ֵא ֶל‬ yahu’s words ‫יך‬ ֵ ‫ֲה ִׁש‬ ‫וְ נָ ׁשו ָּבה‬, “G-d, return to us and we will return to You.” How does this pasuk fit with another well-known verse, ‫ׁשוּב ּו ֵא ַלי‬ ‫יכם‬ ֶ ‫וְ ָא ׁשו ָּבה ֲא ֵל‬, in which G-d says first we must return to Him, and only then will He return to us?

The Gemara (Ta’anit 5a) teaches us that there are two Yerushalayims, ‫יְ רו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם ׁ ֶשל‬ ‫מ ְע ָלה וִ ירו ׁ ָּש ַליִ ם ׁ ֶשל ַמ ָּטה‬,ַ the Yerushalayim in Heaven and the Yerushalayim here on Earth. What does that mean? What is the relationship between the two Yerushalayims, and how are we to understand this unusual statement by Chazal? Is there any message we can glean, especially in our times, when we mourn and yearn for our Holy City?

We find very different descriptions of the Beit HaMikdash in the writings of our Rishonim. Ramban writes (introduction to Parashat Teruma) that the Mishkan (the earliest structure we can call a mikdash) was supposed to be a continuation of the Har Sinai experience. In his words: ‫וְ סוֹ ד ַה ִּמ ׁ ְש ָ ּכן הוּא ׁ ֶש ִ ּי ְהיֶ ה ַה ָ ּכבוֹ ד ֲא ׁ ֶשר ׁ ָש ַכן ַעל ַהר ִסינַ י‬ .‫ׁשוֹ ֵכן ָע ָליו ַ ּב ִ ּנ ְס ָּתר‬ The secret of the Mishkan is to continue the Har Sinai experience in a hidden way.

What we experienced at Har Sinai was not supposed to be a one-time event, but a continuous state of Divine Presence residing amongst us.1 Rambam (Hilchot Beit HaBechira 1:1) on the other hand, has a very different description of the Mikdash: ֹ‫יבים בּ ו‬ ִ ‫ִמ ְצוַ ת ֲע ֵשׂה ַל ֲעשׂוֹ ת ַ ּביִ ת ַלה‘ מו ָּכן ִל ְהיוֹ ת ַמ ְק ִר‬ ‫ וְ חוֹ ְג ִגין ֵא ָליו ׁ ָשל ֹׁש ּ ְפ ָע ִמים ְ ּב ׁ ָשנָ ה ׁ ֶש ֶ ּנ ֱא ַמר‬,‫ַה ָ ּק ְר ָ ּבנוֹ ת‬ .‫וְ ָעשׂ ּו ִלי ִמ ְקדָּ ׁש‬ The Mikdash is a place for Jews to bring their sacrifices and to gather together to celebrate their holidays. The Rambam mentions nothing about Har Sinai, just about our involvement in service of G-d.

What is at the root of these different descriptions?

Maybe these two opinions can be linked to another debate between them in a totally different context. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Shekalim 9b) tells us that one who speaks lashon haKodesh is destined to enter into olam haba. Why is our ancient Biblical language called lashon haKodesh, the “Holy Language”? What makes it holy? Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:8) suggests it is because there are no inappropriate, unacceptable words in the vocabulary. All is described in euphemism, including ‫מי ַר ְג ִלים‬,ֵ “water of the legs,” and the various private organs of men and women. We use this language in a refined way, and thus it is called “holy.”

Ramban (Ki Tisa) says the kedusha flows from Above. G-d created the world with lashon haKodesh (Rashi, Bereishit 2:23), and all prophecy is transmitted in this language.

Taking a step back, we can see that Ramban views all kedusha as coming from Above.

The Mikdash is a place where He resides, continuing the Sinai experience when He descended upon the mountain. Rambam believes that sanctity starts with us. We gather to bring korbanot, we gather on our Festivals to bask in His presence. We speak in a refined manner, thus imbuing the language with sanctity. The two Yerushalayims, the one above and the one below, unite into a religious rendezvous between man and G-d. The only disagreement is

where they meet. Does G-d come down to us, or do we go up to Him? We can, of course, learn and grow from both of these views. To once again bask in the glory of the Shechina, to once again gather in our beloved Mikdash, we need to both uplift ourselves as well as allow His Shechina to permeate all facets of our life. Simultaneously, we need to uplift ourselves, ‫יכם‬ ֶ ‫שוּב ּו ֵא ַלי וְ ָא ׁשו ָּבה ֲא ֵל‬,ׁ as well as to allow sanctification to seep into our lives, ָ ‫יבנ ּו ה‘ ֵא ֶל‬ ‫יך וְ נָ ׁשו ָּבה‬ ֵ ‫ה ִׁש‬.ֲ Yehi Ratzon that we all merit to experience Tisha B’Av as a yom tov, a day of feasting and dancing with all the Jewish people in the Beit HaMikdash.

This is why, Ramban explains, we do not need to apply the rule of ‫ ֵאין ֻמ ְקדָּ ם ו ְּמ ֻא ָחר ַ ּב ּתוֹ ָרה‬for Parashat Terumah. The Mishkan was not purely an antidote for the chet ha’egel, found later in Parashat Ki Tisa, but rather a natural progression from Har Sinai, found directly beforehand in Parashat Mishpatim.

1

Rabbi Shalom Rosner is a Rebbe at Yeshivat Kerem b’Yavneh and Rav of the Nofei HaShemesh community.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Dr. Benji Levy

M

Transitioning Beyond Covid

any Jewish life-cycle events, festivals and customs encompass a transition between one stage and another. After a wedding, we continue the celebration with the week of sheva brachot and continue this special energy throughout the first year of marriage, the shana rishona.

community is mirrored as we move from a time of tragedy to a new chapter in history.

Channeling the halachic tradition, it is important to define a time for us to pause and consider which habits formed during this time are important to us as individuals and communities, consciously adopting those we would like to keep and those we would not.

Many questions have been raised. Working often required a commute and more face-toface interactions, but now we know this is not always necessary, and we may forgo human engagement in some ways. Is this okay? Similarly, is it appropriate to adapt to more online activity in an effort to save money and time?

Even on a basic level, will fewer people tread outside their homes for groceries when they can order virtually at the click of a button? There will be inevitable good coming out of this, yet at the same time, we are at risk of some new habits replacing our crucial in-person interactions. This is true universally, and it will have a unique impact on our particular communities as well.

After the passing of a loved one, family members enter different phases of mourning, starting immediately with the pre-burial aninut stage, then the week of shiva, then one month since the passing (shloshim), up until the first anniversary or yahrzeit. These stages enable us to take the time to process our emotions properly and transition forward in a steady and structured way.

The Shabbat following Tisha B’Av, Shabbat Nachamu, is another example of this, when we move beyond the three weeks of mourning culminating in Tisha B’Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.

As the world slowly and unevenly emerges from Covid-19, this transition for us as individuals, nations and the Jewish

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From the ancient Beit HaMikdash in Yerushalayim to the synagogue, from the Diaspora to Israel, Jewish ritual throughout the ages, while evolving, has always relied on a physical sense of community.

With the adaptability learned through the pandemic, so many Jews around the world have managed to retain elements of this sense of community even from afar, such as learning Torah through Zoom or praying in a smaller minyan with neighbors at a safe distance. At the same time, many have faced terrible realities such as not being able to attend in-person events; for example, I was forced to deliver my grandmother’s eulogy online and others have experienced countless Shabbat services and meals alone. This is far from the face-to-face interactions upon which our tradition thrives.

If the physical community of Jewish ritual is important, we must consider how crucial this aspect is to our people when Covid-19 finally passes. Are there any areas in which we should, in the words of Eicha, “renew our days as of old?”

Usually, maintaining old habits is easier than creating new ones, but in this case, perhaps the roles are reversed. Some have become more lax with regard to going to synagogue or shiurim and this needs to be rethought. It may not be a challenge to hold onto some new habits that have been developed over the course of the last year or so, but it will be a challenge to make sure we leave room for the right long-standing ones that have shaped us as individuals and societies.

So as we transition out of the communal mourning of Tisha B’Av through Shabbat Nachamu, it is important that we take the time to focus on developing an exit strategy into a hopeful future. For once in our lives, our focus does not need to be on forming new habits alone but rather on rediscovering and reclaiming the timetested old ones.

Rabbi Dr. Benji Levy is the Co-Founder of Israel Impact Partners, optimizing non-profits on behalf of leading philanthropists.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

T I S H A B ’AV R E A D I N G Rabbi Zev Leff

A Double Comfort “The Jewish people sinned doubly, as it says, ‘the people of Yerushalayim sinned a sin’ (Eicha 1:8). And they were punished doubly, as it says, ‘She has been smitten doubly by the hand of G-d for all her sins’ (Yeshayahu 40:2). And they will be comforted doubly, as it says, ‘Be comforted, be comforted, My nation’ (ibid.)”

Eicha Rabbah 1:65

I

t is difficult to explain this doubling of the punishment literally or quantitatively. If the Jews sinned doubly, then the punishment commensurate to double sin is not double but equal to the sin, and a comfort for a double punishment is not double but equal to it.

The Navi says, “My nation has done two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Source of living water, to dig wells that produced no water” (Yirmiyahu 2:13). In addition to the sin itself, a result of desire and emotion, of impulse, Am Yisrael also formulated philosophies to justify their sins intellectually and lull them into thinking that the evils they were perpetuating were actually virtuous. They devised systems of values foreign to the Torah and put their trust in a multitude of isms that served as the false gods to which they dedicated their lives.

In response to this dual sin, G-d punished the Jews in kind. To punish the actual acts of transgression, He brought calamities and tragedies upon them to show them how they were destroying their spiritual essence. To address the second aspect of the sin, the fact they had distanced themselves from G-d by creating philosophies to justify their sins, G-d brought these calamities in a manner of hester panim, in a way that made it appear He had abandoned them.

In this manner, G-d sought to teach the Jews how disastrous the world can be if one removes Divine Providence from one’s world perspective and substitutes other

causes. G-d sought to lead them into recognizing that the political movements, the secular ethical philosophies or economic systems and isms they had devised and believed in could not bring them the benefits they had anticipated. And it would be from a world that appeared bereft of all rhyme and reason that they would now have to seek out G-d’s face in rediscovery.

In the future, G-d will direct world events to show us clearly that all the things we put our trust into (in place of Him) are useless and cannot be relied on. We will come to the realization that we have no one to rely on other than our Father in Heaven. Ultimately, when we choose G-d, He will comfort us once again and thus compensate for the dual nature of our punishments. This is the double comfort described in the Midrash: to compensate for the calamities and physical suffering, the joy and serenity of the Messianic era will bring an end to our suffering in pain.

To compensate for the punishment of hester panim, He will additionally comfort us by clarifying that all the punishments we received were His doing and for our ultimate benefit. “Anochi, Anochi; It is I, yes, I, who comforts you” (Yeshayahu 51:12), says the verse. The Anochi who reveals Himself now is now the same Anochi who directed all the prior events.

This is why we shift immediately from the intense mourning of Tisha B’Av to

the intense comfort and joy of Shabbat Nachamu, which Rabbi Yehoshua ibn Shuib writes is to be celebrated with the joy of a yom tov. Mourning usually requires a long transitional period while the sense of bereavement gradually lessens. The intense mourning of Tisha B’Av leads directly and swiftly into the joy and comfort of Shabbat Nachamu. There is no gradual abatement of the grieving process. This is because, as our Sages tell us, “Whoever mourns Yerushalayim merits to see its joy.”

Mourning over Yerushalayim’s desolation properly – and understanding the dynamics of what caused the destruction and why G-d dealt with us with hester panim – ultimately offers us double comfort.

Through our mourning, we see and understand the entire process. This is hinted at in the fact that the Torah reading of Tisha B’Av, ‫כי תוֹ ִליד ָ ּבנִ ים‬,ּ ִ is from Parashat VaEtchanan, which is also always read on Shabbat Nachamu. We have to once again learn the parasha of Tisha B’Av, but in a different light – a light that brings us comfort and joy.

Rabbi Zev Leff is the Rav of Moshav Matityahu.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

P L AC E S I N I S R A E L Shulie Mishkin

A Snapshot of Jewish Life After the Temple’s Destruction Ancient Sussya

S

outh of what most people consider the land of Judah, long past the city of Hebron, the landscape begins to change. Instead of grapevines and green terraced hills, the surroundings are more desert-like; dusty expanses with flocks of sheep and goats roaming in the distance.

Welcome to the Southern Hebron Hills, the desert edge of Judah. In Biblical times this area was on the cusp of civilization. King David in his shepherding days protected the flocks of the wealthy Naval, whose home and business dealings were in Maon and Carmel. The landscape does not look so different today, even when you enter one of the beautiful Jewish communities down here. Nestled in the desert is a place that is a snapshot of Jewish life after the destruction of the Second Temple.

Next door to the modern community of Sussya is the ancient town of Sussya.

Sussya is a town whose origins go back to late Second Temple times and it was settled until at least the Moslem period (8th century CE or so). The layer exposed to visitors today goes back to the 4th–6th centuries CE. What makes Sussya so fascinating is that the town was largely preserved intact and it was clearly a Jewish town.

You can walk the streets and see how wide they were, check out the alleyways and remember the laws of carrying and eruv on Shabbat and descend to the caves used by the residents for storage, living and security. Anyone who has learned Talmudic

laws about property, courtyards, streets, shops and more will find this place fascinating, as it brings the text to life.

Jewish elements of the town abound. There is a niche in one of the doorposts, presumably for a mezuzah. A menorah is incised on a stone in one of the houses. Mikvaot (ritual baths) are everywhere. And at the highest point of the town is a beautiful synagogue, with a number of important mosaics as well as a secret tunnel that leads inside, which allowed the residents to hide in the synagogue if they were besieged by invaders.

In the excavations of Sussya conducted after the Six-Day War, the archaeologists noticed some interesting and unique finds.

Most prominent is the ubiquity of mikvaot.

Over 35 mikvaot were found here. This, in a time when the Temple has been destroyed for at least three centuries! Who was so concerned about purity that they needed a mikveh for every few households?

The burial cave at the entrance to the town was also curious. By this point in time, Jews had abandoned burial in ossuaries, small bone boxes, and had moved to burial in sarcophagi, like our coffins. But the Jews of Sussya were still using ossuaries.

Why were they so behind the times?

The synagogue had its own interesting quirks. The theme of a menorah is certainly a common one in ancient synagogues, so the fact there are prominent menorahs here and in other Southern

Hebron Hills synagogues was not unusual. But the orientation of the synagogue is odd – east to west, even though the ark is in the north; the same orientation as the Temple. The inscriptions here are all in Hebrew or Aramaic, unlike synagogues in the north where the language is more likely to be Greek. In addition, the inscriptions include dates: not the date of the current Roman emperor, but how many years since creation and what year in the shemitah cycle it was! And finally, mentioned in the inscriptions are the names of kohanim (Mar Issi HaKohen), something not found in other ancient synagogues.

Do these pieces add up to a whole? Some scholars think they do. Dr. Doron Sar-Avi of the Sussya field school, and others, suggest that the Southern Hebron Hills became a refuge for kohanim after the Bar Kochba revolt. As the Jewish population abandoned Judea and moved north, one group stubbornly stayed behind – the kohanim.

They knew that even though the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were defeated twice in one century, someday they would return to Jerusalem. And when that happened, the kohanim wanted to be close by.

So they stayed in the neighborhood, holding on to old traditions regarding burial, putting up a synagogue that reminded them of the Temple and continuing to eat their food in purity. All the while saying, ‫מ ֵה ָרה יִ ָ ּבנֶ ה ֵ ּבית ַה ִּמ ְקדָּ ׁש‬,ְ let the Temple be rebuilt speedily. Amen!

Shulie Mishkin is an Israel tour guide who specialized in “back to the sources” tours.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

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ISRAEL INSIGHT

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND Rabbi Yuval Cherlow

Torah Thoughts on the New Israeli Government Not only is this action legitimate according to the “rules of the game,” but it is certainly good (in principle) that a middle faction, no matter how small, heads the government, because it can bridge positions on both sides.

T

he formation of the new government in Israel raises three fundamental issues that are the subject of deep Torah discussion.

The first is the very formation of a government contrary to the promises of the election. One possible response to this is that any election promise is intrinsically binding upon the elected, since the mandate is not his or hers. They are emissaries of the public. Therefore, although they have the authority to make political decisions and maneuvers (because they are part of the mandate endowed by the voters) they may not deviate from the principles of their promises.

Several arguments have been made against this though, such as that voters know that when they vote for a particular person, they gives that person the opportunity to make fundamental changes; that every promise is subject to circumstances, and that if the other option is a threat to the party’s very existence, politicians may choose the lesser evil, which may be a violation of the election promise/s.

Secondly, is it halachically permissible to form a government which relies on nonJews, who can overturn it at any point?

The basis of this discussion is whether the Torah command, “Be sure to set as king over yourself one of your own people; you must not set a foreigner over you, one who

is not your kinsman” (Devarim 17:15), is relevant in a democracy.

Some claim that it remains relevant, despite the government not being a monarchy. In this context, a government which relies on non-Jews is not halachically legitimate. The fact that the non-Jew in question is a representative of the Arab population, some of whom express severe antagonism toward Israel as a Jewish State, strengthens the halachic opposition to such a government.

On the other hand, some argue that since the government is a democracy, human rights of all citizens must be respected, which includes the right to vote and be elected. It should be noted that the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchak Herzog zt”l, claimed that since Israel was established by virtue of the United Nations resolution, it is halachically bound by international law regarding the right to be elected.

The third debate is regarding the legitimacy of the Prime Minister to rely on a very small faction in the Knesset. Here it is difficult for me to present the two sides, since I find it difficult to understand the position which claims this is illegitimate.

That position argues that the government must be based on the will of the people, which is not expressed in a small faction.

However, this position is very problematic.

Above all these debates though, the big question is, is this new government a Chilul Hashem or a Kiddush Hashem? Those who claim the former stress the fact that the government was a) formed on a foundation of breaching promises to the voter, an act of deception contrary to the age-old Jewish tradition and the supreme value Halacha places on speaking truth, b) it relies on non-Jews who hold the possibility of suddenly ousting the government, and c) it represents a small party’s political extortion. Because of all of this, the formation of this government should be viewed as a deep embarrassment, and every effort should be made to overthrow it.

On the other hand, there are those who claim the new reality is a Kiddush Hashem, in that, for the first time, a Torah-observant Jew has been elected Prime Minister of Israel. Moreover, despite the fact it is not a true unity government (since significant factions are not represented), different, polarized parties have decided to give up their positions to work together for the benefit of the State of Israel. And that willingness, that approach, is certainly an important step on G-d’s path: ‫ַא ָּתה ֶא ָחד‬ ‫וְ ִׁש ְמ ָך ֶא ָחד ו ִּמי ְ ּכ ַע ְּמ ָך יִ ְש ָׂר ֵאל גּ וֹ י ֶא ָחד ָ ּב ָא ֶרץ‬, “You are One and Your Name is One, and who is like Your nation Israel, one people.”

Rabbi Yuval Cherlow is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Amit Orot Shaul and a founding member of the rabbinical organization Tzohar.

A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau mizrachi.org/speakers

| 37

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

R AV KO O K ’ S T E AC H I N G S Rabbi Dr. Yosef Bronstein

Transforming Baseless Hatred into Baseless Love “If we were destroyed and the world was destroyed with us due to baseless hatred, we will return to be rebuilt and the world will be rebuilt with us through baseless love.”

Orot HaKodesh 3, page 324

T

his aphorism of Rav Kook is frequently quoted during this time of year. But what did Rav Kook mean by this statement?

Rav Kook explains that when we feel hatred or disdain towards other people, there is a human tendency to rationalize and justify these feelings. Accordingly, we often locate the source of our negative feelings for other people in ideological or behavioral differences. With “scientific precision,” we delineate our intellectual and moral claims against them and thereby feel justified to hold onto our hatred.

But Rav Kook argues that many times these justifications are but “small indications” of a deeper and more primal force within us. G-d endowed each human being with a unique and singular soul which vivifies the person. This essential life force is the foundation upon which a person builds his particular worldview, aspirations and spiritual style. But at its core, the soul itself transcends all these expressions. The soul is “the treasure of life… filled with impenetrable depths” – a spark of G-d embedded within a person.

Even as this concept of the specialness of each soul is beautiful and inspirational, it also contains the seeds of the pernicious problem of baseless hatred. When a person looks and speaks with another human being, his eyes and conscious mind might notice the other’s dress, behaviors and ideology. Subconsciously, though, a person’s soul senses the presence of another soul.

This can be a disconcerting experience.

On the one hand, the person realizes that the soul standing before him is a spark of G-d – just as Divine and precious as

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himself. And yet, due to the singular nature of each soul, this other soul might seem utterly foreign and different. The juxtaposition of the Divinity of the other soul and its foreignness can leave a person feeling threatened. A person might feel that his very identity and place in the world is being undermined by the presence of this “other” spark of G-d that seems so alien and unfamiliar.

The result of this subconscious process is that the person hates the other person simply because he is different. One might couch this primal feeling of hatred in intellectual or moral terms. But at its core, baseless hatred is a fear and a loathing generated by the very fact that a person so different from me can exist in this world.

To draw down the “Great Fire” of the Shechina into this world, each of us must connect with others who are different than ourselves and who therefore represent a different shade of the Divine picture.

will be confused and threatened by the existence of a Divine soul different from himself. In reality, though, G-d is too transcendent and infinite to be expressed through any single terrestrial medium.

Rather, each person should view himself as a unique “small spark” of G-d who can and must manifest that godliness in this world. But as Divine as an individual soul might be, it can only capture a certain shade of Divinity. To draw down the “Great Fire” of the Shechina into this world, each of us must connect with others who are different than ourselves and who therefore represent a different shade of the Divine picture (Orot HaKodesh 2, pg. 569 and Ein Ayah end of Berachot).

As Rav Kook once formulated this idea: “The character trait of baseless hatred will be fixed” when we realize that “the unique hue of another person does not diminish [his] own identity” but rather, “enriches the Jewish people with multiple lights” (Orot Yisrael 4:6). Each of these “lights” is at once unique and distinctive, but ultimately interlinked. Only through baseless love or loving other people because of our differences, can we attempt to bring G-d’s presence into our world and rebuild the Beit HaMikdash.

If this is the definition of baseless hatred, what then is baseless love? Rav Kook explains that it entails a reorientation of this selfsame realization of the otherness of another person: “This inclination towards baseless hatred contains within it the hidden love which is also baseless.”

Love for the other should not only stem from an affinity in ideology or lifestyle.

Rather, baseless love means loving other people due to the simple fact they are different from oneself.

Elsewhere, Rav Kook elaborates that a person will only feel threatened by the existence of a different soul if he subconsciously self-identifies as the optimal expression of G-d in this world. Then, he

Rabbi Dr. Yosef Bronstein is a faculty member of Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim and Yeshiva University.

Background illustration of Rav Kook courtesy of gedolimcanvas.com

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T I O N S

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND Gael Grunewald

T

The Place Where It All Began

he story of Am Yisrael throughout the Tanach is a story of a connection between a People and its Land. From the searching phase of our ancestor Avraham, through the promise to Am Yisrael and their longing in Egypt, the conquest of the Land by Yehoshua, the struggle of the Judges, the establishment of kings and the exiles of Assyria and Babylon. A long-suffering nation who always yearned for their Land.

Land, were replaced with prayer, fasting and minhagim, for example, that every Jew in the world turns his or her heart in the direction of Yerushalayim three times a day, and prays vetechezena eineinu, may our eyes behold G-d’s return to Tzion.

On the face of it, it seems Tisha B’Av is a day we mourn the destruction of a place. A day we remember the terrible tragedies which befell our nation, and weep once more.

But Judaism doesn’t believe in sadness as a way of life.

ֹ‫על ַהר ִצ ּיוֹ ן… ׁשו ָּע ִלים ִה ְ ּלכ ּו בו‬,ַ “Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it” (Eicha 5:18).

It is more similar to Yom HaZikaron, which is not a day of bereavement but of gravitas.

It is a day we gather together around our deepest values and bow our heads at the heavy price these values demand of us.

Wherever we are in the world, it is a day we unite and make room for loss.

Judaism is the only religion which contains commandments dependent upon a place; namely, the Land of Israel. It’s a testimony to our emunah, to our Torah. It is not just a private Torah, a personal manual of morality between man and his fellow or man and his Creator.

One of G-d’s many names is HaMakom. The Place. Baruch HaMakom Baruch Hu, al da’at HaMakom, and bein adam laMakom. It’s not just an abstract idea.

The Torah contains another layer, bein adam laMakom – between man and the place, the Land. It’s a Torah which builds a nation, a nation which builds a Land, and a Land which builds an individual.

The chut ha’meshulash, the “threefold cord, not readily broken” spoken of in Kohelet, is like a rope woven from three threads. This strong rope is placed at the foundation of our people, and when one thread is untied, the whole rope may come loose.

One date is particularly prominent regarding the connection between Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael: Tisha B’Av, the date of the sin of the spies. The date upon which, some 400 years later, the first Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, and some 900 years later, the second. 60 years after that, again on Tisha B’Av, the city of Beitar fell into the hands of the Romans and the Jews were exiled. 1,000 years later, on the same date, the Jews of England were expelled, and 200 years afterward the expulsion of Spanish Jewry was decreed.

And 500 years after that, the expulsion from Gush Katif was declared to take

place on the same date. Tisha B’Av is the day when we discover, time and again, the deep connection between our nation and Eretz Yisrael.

Tisha B’Av is a day we mourn a place – walls that fell, a house destroyed. It is no coincidence that Am Yisrael, who brought the belief in the metaphysical to the world, is bound in its destiny and belief to the Land.

Chazal understood the secret of this connection, and carved it into the national memory throughout the generations.

Although we mourn a physical place, what was created as a result of our national mourning was brotherhood, a partnership of destiny. Chazal replaced the “thread” of Eretz Yisrael with longing for Israel. The mitzvot hateluyot baAretz, the commandments dependent on the

Tisha B’Av is the date when Am Yisrael, wherever they are in the world, stops for one day and remembers the Root, the Source, the Place from where it all began.

We are one nation, we received one Torah and we have one Land. ָ ‫יבנ ּו ה‘ ֵא ֶל‬ ‫יך וְ נָ ׁשו ָּבה‬ ֵ ‫ה ִׁש‬,ֲ “Return us, O L-rd, to Yourself, and let us come back; renew our days as of old!” (Eicha 5:21).

Gael Grunewald is Deputy Chairman of the World Zionist Organization and head of its Education Department. He is one of World Mizrachi’s representatives in the National Institutions.

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THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

W H AT ’ S I N A N A M E David Curwin

Vision and Comfort

T

he Shabbat before Tisha B’Av is called Shabbat Chazon, and the Shabbat following Tisha B’Av is called Shabbat Nachamu. Both are named for the opening words of the haftarah read that week. Let’s look at those two words.

Chazon The word ‫ ָחזוֹ ן‬means “vision,” from the root ‫“ – ָחזָ ה‬to see.” Hebrew has a number of verbs that express vision, including the most common, ‫ר ָאה‬,ָ as well as ‫ ָחזָ ה‬and ‫ה ִ ּביט‬.ִ Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 1:3) provides different meanings for each verb. He writes that ‫“ – ָר ָאה‬to see,” is something that is experienced by people in general, via sight. The root ‫“ – ִה ִ ּביט‬to look at,” indicates turning and paying attention to something in particular. And finally, he says that our root, ‫“ – ָחזָ ה‬vision” is often used in a more figurative sense, to express what the heart (or mind) perceives.

This distinction is borne out by linguistic evidence as well. Beyond the meaning “to see,” ‫ ָחזָ ה‬often means “to perceive,” “to predict” or “to prophecy.” In Arabic, the cognate word means “astrologer,” which also expresses this sense of seeing beyond what the eye can detect.

Several other Hebrew words derive from this same root, but much of the supernatural connotations of the words have been replaced with more secular meanings in Modern Hebrew.

For example, a synonym for ‫ ָחזוֹ ן‬in Biblical Hebrew is ‫מ ֲחזֶ ה‬.ַ When G-d reveals Himself to Avraham, he does so in a ‫( ַמ ֲחזֶ ה‬Bereishit 15:1). In Modern Hebrew, however, a ‫ַמ ֲחזֶ ה‬ is a drama or play (literally something watched).

Another set of words that have gone through a similar transformation regard a different type of prediction. While we don’t have prophecy today, we do predict the weather. So a forecast is a ‫ת ֲחזִ ית‬,ַּ and a weather forecaster is a ‫ח ַּזאי‬.ַ

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In Yeshayahu 28:15, we find the word ‫ חֹזֶ ה‬in a unique context: ‫ם־שאוֹ ל ָע ִשׂינ ּו חֹזֶ ה‬ ְ ׁ ‫וְ ִע‬. This is generally translated as, “we have made a pact with the grave.” However, commentaries such as Ibn Ezra point out that the word is connected to the root ‫חזה‬, and so say it means a “covenant made by (Divine) prophecy.” Some scholars point out that prophets were asked for their advice before treaties were made. Today a ‫ חוֹ זֶ ה‬refers to any kind of contract.

There is one word in this family that moved in the opposite direction – from the secular to the religious. According to some theories, ‫ ַח ָּזן‬originally meant “overseer” (from ‫ ָחזָ ה‬meaning “to see”). This could be the overseer of any project or group. But later it came to mean specifically the one directing or leading the prayer service – i.e. the cantor.

Nachamu ‫ נַ ֲחמ ּו‬means “comfort,” as found in the opening words of the haftarah: ‫“ – נַ ֲחמ ּו נַ ֲחמ ּו ַע ִּמי‬Comfort, oh comfort My people” (Yeshayahu 40:1).

However, the root ‫ נַ ֵחם‬has multiple meanings, some seemingly contradictory. For example, when Noach was born, his father gave him that name because he prayed that, “this one will provide us relief [ּ‫]יְ נַ ֲח ֵמנו‬ from our work and from the toil of our hands” (Bereishit 5:29). But a few verses later, we see the root again. When G-d saw how wicked humanity had become, he

“regretted [‫ ]וַ ִ ּי ָ ּנ ֶחם‬that He had made man on earth” (6:6).

How did the same root come to mean both comfort and regret? One theory says that ‫ נַ ֵחם‬is related to the root ‫“( נוֹ ַח‬to rest”), and so one who is comforted is rested from their anger or sadness. Similarly, regretting an action, either a beneficial one like creating humanity or a punishment, as when Moshe asks G-d to “renounce [‫]וְ ִה ָ ּנ ֵחם‬ the plan to punish Your people” (Shemot 32:12), involves putting the plan to rest.

Another theory relies on a different etymology for the root. These scholars claim that ‫ נַ ֵחם‬is related to ‫“ – ֶאנַ ח‬to sigh, moan.”

They point out that in Arabic, nahama is used to refer to the panting breaths of a horse. So according to this approach, ‫נַ ֵחם‬ first meant “to grieve, be sorry.” Feeling sorry for oneself or others led to the sense of “comfort,” while the result of feeling sorry can lead one to “regret” or “repent.”

We see the same phenomenon in English, when saying “I’m sorry” can either express regret or an effort to comfort someone.

Whatever the origin of the word, may G-d renounce any bad plans He has for us, and provide us all with the comfort we need.

David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog: balashon.com.

MUST-WATCH:

an·ti-Sem·i·tism

Rabbi Sacks addresses antisemitism

[ /an(t)ēˈsem ˌtiz m/ ] noun Hostility to or prejudice against Jewish people.

Antisemitism and anti-Zionism

The mutation of antisemitism

The BDS campaign

RABBI SACKS

SPEAKS Photo: Blake Ezra Photography / Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust

“The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews... It wasn’t Jews alone who suffered under Hitler. It wasn’t Jews alone who suffered under Stalin. It isn’t Jews alone who suffer under ISIS or Al Qaeda or Islamic Jihad. We make a great mistake if we think antisemitism is a threat only to Jews. It is a threat, first and foremost, to Europe and to the freedoms it took centuries to achieve.”

“Antisemitism means denying the right of Jews to exist as Jews with the same rights as everyone else. The form this takes today is anti-Zionism. Of course, there is a difference between Zionism and Judaism, and between Jews and Israelis, but this difference does not exist for the new antisemites themselves. It was Jews, not Israelis who were murdered in terrorist attacks in Toulouse, Paris, Brussels and Copenhagen.

Anti-Zionism is the antisemitism of our time.”

“Antisemitism is a prejudice that, like a virus, has survived over time by mutating. So in the Middle Ages, Jews were persecuted because of their religion. In the 19th and 20th centuries, they were reviled because of their race. Today, Jews are attacked because of the existence of their nation-state, Israel. Denying Israel’s right to exist is the new antisemitism. And just as antisemitism has mutated, so has its legitimization. Each time, as the persecution descended into barbarity, the persecutors reached for the highest form of justification available. In the Middle Ages, it was religion.

In post-Enlightenment Europe, it was science: the so-called scientific study of race. Today it is human rights. Whenever you hear human rights invoked to deny Israel’s right to exist, you are hearing the new antisemitism.”

“When bad things happen to a group, its members can ask one of two questions: ‘What did we do wrong?’ or ‘Who did this to us?’ The entire fate of the group will depend on which it chooses. If it asks, ‘What did we do wrong?’ it has begun the process of healing the harm. If instead, it asks, ‘Who did this to us?’ it has defined itself as a victim.

It will then seek a scapegoat to blame for all its problems.

Classically this has been the Jews because for a thousand years they were the most conspicuous non-Christian minority in Europe and today because Israel is the most conspicuous non-Muslim country in the Middle East.”

“Antisemitism, or any hate, become dangerous when three things happen. First: when it moves from the fringes of politics to a mainstream party and its leadership. Second: when the party sees that its popularity with the general public is not harmed thereby. And three: when those who stand up and protest are vilified and abused for doing so.”

“Antisemitism is the world’s most reliable early warning sign of a major threat to freedom, humanity and the dignity of difference. It matters to all of us. Which is why we must fight it together.”

“A society, or for that matter a political party, that tolerates antisemitism, that tolerates any hate, has forfeited all moral credibility. You cannot build a future on malign myths of the past, you cannot sustain freedom on the basis of hostility and hate.”

“What is antisemitism? Let’s be clear – not liking people because they’re different isn’t antisemitism. It’s xenophobia. Criticizing Israel isn’t antisemitism: it’s part of the democratic process, and Israel is a democracy. Antisemitism is something much more dangerous – it means persecuting Jews and denying them the right to exist collectively as Jews with the same rights as everyone else.”

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Responding to Antisemitism

A

Dr. Daniel Rose

in the Thought of Rabbi Sacks zt”l

ntisemitism was a theme Rabbi Sacks returned to often in his writings, broadcasts and speeches (including his last two speeches in the House of Lords). He argued that it is a pressing issue facing not only Jews across the world but society as a whole. “The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews,” he wrote. “Antisemitism is the world’s most reliable early warning sign of a major threat to freedom, humanity and the dignity of difference.”

In explaining the historical phenomenon of antisemitism, he gave us a framework for understanding, the tools to respond, and hope for a future without hate.

The mutating virus Rabbi Sacks showed us that like a virus, a nefarious prejudice like antisemitism needed to mutate to survive and defeat the immune systems set up by cultures to protect themselves from hatred. In the Middle Ages, Jews were persecuted because of their religion, at first because they rejected Christianity, and later as a perceived demonic force in Europe, who were to blame for all the evils of the age (poisoned wells, spreading the plague, the ritual murder of Christian children, etc.)

However, in the age of reason of post-enlightenment Europe, no longer could a rationale for prejudice be based on religious belief. Jews instead became hated for their ethnicity, an alien race polluting the bloodstreams of Europe. This new form of pseudo-scientific, racial antisemitism led directly to the crematoria of the Holocaust.

Prejudice and hate always seek justification in a civilized society. This lowest form of evil must seek legitimation from the highest source of authority of the age.

In the Middle Ages, this was religion, in post-enlightenment Europe it was science, and today it is “Human Rights.” So the antisemitism of our age is disguised as criticism of Israel that attacks Jews not as individuals but as a nation, directed against their nation-state.

What should our response be?

While encouraging the fight against antisemitism, Rabbi Sacks warned Jews not to internalize it. Antisemitism says everything about antisemites and nothing about Jews. It is a mistake to say that since we are hated because we are different, we should try as far as possible not to be

different. The best way for Jews to combat antisemitism is to wear our identity with pride.

But we cannot fight antisemitism alone.

He urged Jews to stand together with other victims of hate and to find allies from other communities, to stand together with society as a whole against hate.

In defense of difference He argued that antisemitism is the paradigm case of dislike of the unlike and fear of the other. The hatred of difference. For Rabbi Sacks, this is the quintessential role of the Jew – to be different and to teach the dignity of difference. Antisemitism is an assault not on Jews alone, but on the human condition. Life is sacred because each human is different and irreplaceable. A world without room for Jews is one that has no room for difference, and a world without space for difference has no space for humanity itself. Our response to antisemitism must be to honor the dignity of difference. This is the Jewish message to the world.

Dr. Daniel Rose is the Director of Education for the Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust.

Antisemitism can take many forms Theological or religious antisemitism | Jews are persecuted because of their religious beliefs; they are portrayed as “Christ-killers” or forced to convert to Christianity or Islam.

run the business world and control the economy.

Economic | Antisemitism rises due to the Jews’ financial and economic success; they are accused of being stingy and obsessed with money. This often includes the belief that Jews

Social or cultural antisemitism | Jews are considered socially inferior; they are accused of either not assimilating enough or of assimilating too much and their culture is shunned.

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Racial antisemitism | The belief that Jews are of an inferior race, what was behind the Nazi ideology and the Holocaust.

Political or ideological antisemitism | Jews are accused of being disloyal to their country or of harboring perverse and destructive political ideologies and are seen as the cause of political upheaval. Historically, Jews were accused by nationalists of creating communism, and by the communists as being capitalists.

Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories | The claim that Jews fabricated

the Holocaust or exaggerated the facts. Other conspiracy theories include the claim that Jews have a secret plot to take over and control the world or that Jews are the cause of Coronavirus or other calamities or natural disasters.

Anti-Zionism | Hatred or criticism of Israel is used to mask hostility toward Jews in general, even those disconnected from Israel.

Antisemitism Throughout History

6th Century Yemenite Jews living under the Muslim Umayyads are considered “unclean” and forbidden from venturing outdoors

1000s–1200s Christian Crusades massacre Jews in Europe and Israel (THEOLOGICAL/RELIGIOUS ANTISEMITISM)

(SOCIAL/CULTURAL ANTISEMITISM)

1478 Spanish Inquisition (THEOLOGICAL/RELIGIOUS ANTISEMITISM)

Medieval Europe Jews accused of using Christian blood to bake their matzah, sparking blood libels (ANTISEMITIC CONSPIRACY THEORIES)

1500s European Jews restricted to reside only in sectioned off neighborhoods called ghettos

19th Century Caricatures portray Jews as greedy, powerful and money-hungry (ECONOMIC ANTISEMITISM)

(SOCIAL/CULTURAL ANTISEMITISM)

1925–1945 Hitler publishes Mein Kampf, claiming that the Aryan race is superior; later developments led to the Holocaust

1903 The Protocols of the Elders of Zion published in Russia describes a secret Jewish plan for global dominion

(RACIAL ANTISEMITISM)

(ANTISEMITIC CONSPIRACY THEORIES)

1947 The proposal of a Jewish State in Israel leads to pogroms and massacres of Jews in Muslim countries

Today Jews and Jewish communities worldwide become the target of anti-Israel attacks (ANTI-ZIONISM)

(ANTI-ZIONISM)

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GENERAL INTEREST

PROFILE

ONN E with O Bennett ONE Naftali Prime Minister of Israel Background

Army

Naftali Bennett was born in Haifa in 1972.

His father was a real estate agent and entrepreneur and his mother was active in the American community in Israel.

Six years in the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit and commander in the elite Maglan unit.

During his childhood, the family moved between Montreal, Israel and New Jersey, returning when his father fought in the Yom Kippur War.

Childhood He loved to hike among the trees in the grove near his house in Haifa. “I had a wonderful childhood,” he says. “We were not especially spoiled. I would walk in order to save the bus fare.”

“Once, my mother heard her sons using the word friar (Hebrew for “loser”) and asked what it meant. We said to her, ‘A friar is someone who helps out and gives without receiving anything in return.’

My mother told us off and said in her heavy American accent, ‘If so, friars are good. I want you to be friars your whole life.’ My parents left the good life in America to live in Israel, without knowing a word in Hebrew. Not because they were forced to, but because they had ideals.

They didn’t come to receive, they came to give. They came to be friars… These are the kind of friars that make Israel great.”

Family Married to Galit, a professional chef whom he met on Ammunition Hill where she worked as an educator for youth groups.

They have four children and live in Raanana. “Our life is very normal at home,” he says. “We like to hike around Israel. We haven’t been able to do that lately and I miss it.”

Entering politics When the Second Lebanon War broke out, Bennett found himself fighting for his country, with Galit pregnant with their daughter.

The trauma of the war led him to the decision to enter politics in an effort to influence the country’s leadership, and he became Binyamin Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff (2006–2007). “Life is not only about enjoyment, but mostly for serving and fixing.”

“After seeing what I’ve gone through, I don’t think my children will follow in my footsteps.” Two of his kids want him to leave politics altogether, while the other two are more understanding.

“I try to educate them that their sacrifice is for the good of the country.”

Shabbat Shabbat is family time, when the kids get to spend time with Abba. “When Shabbat comes in – phew!”

Jewish unity “It’s all about tolerance, acceptance and togetherness. Uniting the Jewish people.

Not in the sense that we’re trying to avoid disagreements. It’s okay not to agree. It’s important to create a dialogue, not from a feeling of superiority of one group over another, but from a perspective of partnership.”

“The State of Israel belongs to us all. We have a wonderful nation, and we all have a commitment and responsibility to take care of our country. The political disputes and divisions must not overshadow our basic concern for Israel.”

How does his kippah stay on his head?

“I am proud to be religious, I am proud of my kippah.” He uses Kippah Keeper – a product made of reusable double-sided medical tape. Once, he had to deliver a speech outdoors on a windy day when he discovered he was out of tape. He took a piece of chewing gum and stuck it on his head to keep his kippah in place! n

F I V E F A C T S A B O U T N A F TA L I B E N N E T T In 5th grade, he burned his school’s back yard when his science project went haywire.

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After his army service, he worked as a gardener.

He was born into a secular family and became religious of his own volition.

One of his sons is named after Emanuel Moreno, who fell in combat in the Second Lebanon War.

When he worked in hi-tech, he successfully made two exits worth millions of dollars.

PA R E N T I N G

GENERAL INTEREST Rabbi Elisha Aviner

G

-d created fear for a purpose – to motivate a person to act to save himself. On the other hand, unhealthy anxiety is dangerous: “Do not introduce anxiety into your heart, as anxiety has killed mighty men” (Ben Sira 14:1). How can we help our children and students, and ourselves, overcome fears and anxieties?

1. Hishtadlut. Fear is caused by a feeling of helplessness. Initiation and action can help remove fear. It is mistaken to believe that bitachon means passiveness. On the contrary. We must do hishtadlut. Put in the effort. As long as the hishtadlut is logical, and does not become excessive and hysterical, it does not contradict emunah.

2. Rationality. Some fears stem from exaggerated imagination. The cure for this is the light of reason and logic. A dry analysis of the facts can significantly decrease anxiety. The media shows us harsh footage of disasters and tragedies, and the viewer may get the impression that these are the norm in a country. Light overcomes darkness, and understanding that what the media portrays is only a small fraction of reality can help us overcome our fears.

3. Discussion. ‫ – ְ ּד ָא ָגה ְב ֶלב ִא ׁיש יַ ְׁש ֶח ָ ּנה‬Anxiety in a person’s heart dejects him (Mishlei 12:25). Chazal bring two understandings of this verse: Either “he shall remove it [yesichena] from his mind,” or “He shall tell it [yesichena] to others” (Sanhedrin 100b). When worries fill one’s heart and overcome us to the point we cannot deal with them, one should remove them from one’s mind. For example, every time a fearful thought enters our heads, we should force ourselves to think of something else or busy ourselves with an alternative activity. Creating distractions. But when we feel worries are weighing us down – or when we feel we are carrying them

Dealing With Anxiety alone – we should speak them out to others. Sharing worries and concerns with others brings relief and eases anxiety. Through discussion, one can organize and sift through thoughts and emotions, bringing logic back into the equation.

4. Bitachon. Belief in G-d is not a magic cure for anxiety. But it can help us overcome our fears. Rav Kook explains that bitachon is not the belief everything will work out the way I want it to. It’s a belief in the Divine kindness with which G-d created the world and continues to run it. It’s a belief that even if ‘bad’ things happen, there’s a Master Plan behind it.

5. Belief in ourselves. The times preceding Mashiach will be wrought with spiritual and physical turmoil. There were Rabbis who feared living in the times of Mashiach: “Let Mashiach come, but after my death [as I fear the suffering that will precede his coming]” (Sanhedrin 98b). Meaning, let the Mashiach come – but not in my lifetime. I’d rather give up seeing him than have to suffer. But Rav Yosef said the opposite: “Let the Mashiach come, and I will be privileged to sit in the shadow of his donkey’s excrement!”

Rav Yosef announced that he was emotionally ready for the times before Mashiach. He did not deceive himself that everything would be rosy; he knew very well that we would stumble upon “excrement” – difficulties

and crises of many kinds – but he was not afraid. He was willing to undergo all the pain and disgrace associated with Mashiach’s arrival.

We were not asked whether we were afraid or not. G-d did not give us the choice to be born in these times. If G-d sent us to live in a generation preceding Mashiach’s arrival, there is no doubt we have the necessary emotional strength to deal with the difficulties and fears.

6. Create a positive atmosphere. Children are especially sensitive. If they live in a tense atmosphere, they will become anxiety-prone. As parents, we must ensure the home atmosphere is calm, instilling confidence and peace within the children. If the parents give a sense of hopelessness and despair or lack of confidence in leaders and teachers; if they constantly prophesize a dark future and belittle the security forces, if they display anger and frustration, they fail to help their children overcome their fears.

7. Seek help. If you feel you or your child are suffering from serious anxiety, seek professional help.

Rabbi Elisha Aviner is the Head of Kollel at Yeshivat Birkat Moshe, and founded an organization to help parents with adolescent education.

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GENERAL INTEREST

R E L AT I O N S H I P S Lizzie Rubin

Near and Far

T

isha B’Av was always a strange day for me, a daughter of survivors.

How could there be just a single day of mourning for all the tragedies that happened to Am Yisrael and to my family? The Holocaust was a biggie for me.

I had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 24/7, 365 days a year. Not that we didn’t have great times, but there was always a dark cloud that threatened to appear at any moment. Of course, most of you can’t imagine such a thing, but children of survivors probably know exactly what I mean.

So how do we reframe Tisha B’Av and see it in a more productive light? The Gemara (Ta’anit 29a) calls Tisha B’Av a ‫מוֹ ֵעד‬, a “holiday.” There is no tachanun on that day. We know that in the future, Tisha B’Av will turn into a day of celebration. Rav Wolbe, quoting Rav Yerucham Levovitz from the Mir Yeshiva, says there are ‫מוֹ ֲע ִדים ׁ ֶשל ִק ְר ָבה‬ – holidays of closeness, such as the Shalosh Regalim, and ‫ – מוֹ ֲע ִדים ׁ ֶשל ִרחוּק‬holidays of distance, such as Tisha B’Av. The Three Weeks and Tisha B’Av are reminders that the connection we have with G-d needs to be worked on. We shouldn’t have a smug, comfortable relationship that is taken for granted. And the same is true in our relationships as couples and as family. When we get complacent in our relationships, we begin to feel distant and disconnected. So what can we do about it?

Rav Pinkus tells the story of an artist who went looking for an inspirational view to paint. He went hiking with a friend until they found a beautiful mountaintop.

There, he set up his easel and began to paint the most stunning picture. But an artist likes to know how his picture will be seen, both up front and from afar. So when it was done, he took a few steps back, looked at it, took a few more steps back, and then a few more. His friend realized that if the artist took any more steps, he would fall off the cliff! In a flash, the friend pushed the picture off the easel, ruining it.

The artist stopped in his tracks and began screaming at his friend for ruining his hard

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work. You can imagine his frustration. The friend promptly explained that he had to do it in order to save the artist’s life.

When G-d destroyed our Beit HaMikdash, He had no choice. Am Yisrael was stepping off the cliff. He needed to do something drastic to shake us up. We thought we had a good, comfortable life. But we forgot about ‫‏בין‬ ֵּ ֹ‫א ָדם ַל ֲח ֵברו‬.ָ G-d cannot forgive us for those sins. He forgave us for the sins we did against Him, but He could not forgive us for the ones we were doing to each other.

Today, too, we are sometimes given a wake-up call and reminded that we need to work on our relationship with G-d and with our fellow Jews. We must be unified and accept each other with all our differences. Unfortunately, rockets can do that.

Covid did it as well. Tragedies like the ones in Meron do the same. The chesed we witnessed crossed religious lines and we felt we were all in this together.

those of us in chutz laAretz, safety is not taken for granted anymore. Shuls have been vandalized and people accosted. I am guessing and hoping that many are considering aliyah because of the rising antisemitism outside of Israel. And sometimes, we are given wake-up calls in our own personal relationships with our spouses and family. Can we respond in time?

The Three Weeks, culminating with Tisha B’Av, are a time of distance. G-d wants us to look inside ourselves during this time of ‫רחוּק‬.ִ It’s the time to see how we can make our relationships better, not just nationally, but within our families and our marriages. Choose one small thing to work on to make your relationships better.

Hopefully, we will take note of the distance and complacency and fix it before we need a wake-up call. Then, we can look forward to this ‫ מוֹ ֵעד ׁ ֶשל ִרחוּק‬becoming a ‫מוֹ ֵעד ׁ ֶשל‬ ‫ק ְר ָבה‬.ִ

If only we didn’t need tragedies to make us feel connected...

Sometimes, we are given a wake-up call regarding our relationship with Israel. For

Lizzie Rubin is is an individual, couples and intimacy therapist.

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ON THE

Photo: Israel Defense Forces

Front

Line B

eing at the front lines of the conflict was a life-changing experience. No matter how much training I went through, I never could have imagined myself in a war zone by the Gaza border.

My friends and I were stationed next to a Kibbutz on the Gaza Strip when Operation Shomer HaChomot – Guardian of the Walls – broke out. We were there primarily to react as first-responders in the event of an intrusion by terrorist forces. Groups like Hamas were attempting to breach the border and inflict harm. We were there to make sure this wouldn’t happen.

When we weren’t in konenut, ready to respond to an incident, we did guard duty

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A Lone Soldier’s First-Hand Account of Operation Guardian of the Walls

around the base. Ordinarily, guarding is monotonous. You stand at a post and do little to nothing. But during Shomer HaChomot, we had to remain vigilant. On top of that, mortars were falling all around us and we had five seconds to run into a shelter after the sirens were sounded.

Since our bomb shelters were not entirely closed off like the civilian ones, we were able to watch the aerial attacks transpire like a live-action war film. There were multiple times when I watched a small glimmer in the dark night sky zoom above. “A shooting star!” I thought. “Perhaps an F-15 fighter jet.” After a few moments, I realized that this glimmer of light was heading right in my direction. The light grew and grew, approaching at a rapid pace and

suddenly I knew it was a mortar. I could have sworn that it had my name written on it. A moment later, I heard a thundering boom and saw a flicker in the sky: Iron Dome had intercepted yet another rocket.

Another time, we were asked to deliver supplies to the troops in the shetach – on the ground. Many of the roads in the area were exposed to the Gaza Strip and our enemies were waiting for the perfect opportunity to blow up an Israeli vehicle like ours. We just so happened to be delivering gasoline and my imagination was exploding with worst-case scenarios (no pun intended).

During the last few days of the war, we were stationed in the shetach. If anything

therefore highly flammable) grass. If a mortar fell anywhere near us, we would not have long to flee the flames.

It is impossible to fully describe the fear I felt during moments like these. I frequently thought of Dr. Paul Kalanithi’s words in his memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, when he discovered that his cancer was terminal. Upon hearing his devastating prognosis, Dr. Paul’s bright aspirations turned into a depressing nihilism: “I saw instead only a blank, a harsh, a vacant, gleaming white desert as if a sandstorm had erased all trace of familiarity.” As a 20-something-year-old post-college soldier on the border, I too dreamed about what lay ahead: a good job, a lovely wife, and a welcoming community. But throughout Shomer Hachomot, I was uncertain that any of these things would come about.

happened, we would be ready in seconds.

In the shetach we didn’t have bomb shelters to protect us. All we could do was lay down and pray that the mortar wouldn’t fall on us. I watched my samal – chief sergeant – a brawny, black-haired, uber-confident 22-year old, look so powerless with his head sunk in the dirt throughout the never-ending sirens.

In the middle of our hang-out, a siren went off. We heard a high-pitched whistling noise. We had become familiar with that sound: a mortar soaring above us. A moment later, the field about 150 meters behind us burst into flames. Wondering how the fire spread so rapidly, I examined the terrain beneath us and noticed that it consisted primarily of dried-up (and

Amidst this difficult experience, I witnessed remarkable strength from my commanders and fellow soldiers. Throughout the war, my commanders maintained order in the platoon and were available to speak to us about anything. My fellow soldiers’ positive energy and endless tzchokim (joking around) allowed us to forget where we were and lighten the mood somewhat.

That said, the situation was a living hell.

All we wanted to do was return to our homes and normal lives, far away from the deafening booms and blood of war.

My friend from Ashkelon told me that his mother and girlfriend were waiting for him; he didn’t want to fight. He reminisced about their camping trips in the North and showed me pictures on his Instagram – “Isn’t my girlfriend perfect?” he asked me.

All he wanted was to return home, away from the madness. But I tried reminding him: Someone needs to do it; someone needs to stand at the front lines when the enemy is approaching.

I went through many low points of my own and searched for inspiration. “If I am only for myself, what am I?” asks Hillel the Sage. What makes my life more valuable than any other young man – the fact I was born in a different country? Is Israel not mine as well? “And if not now,” continues Hillel, while I have the physical strength, then “when?” Now is the time in my life when I can sacrifice myself for the Jewish people if need be.

During those 11 days, I kept a diary. One of my entries read: “I am ducking my head straight into the ground, with my body laid out, praying that I won’t be blown up or injured by a mortar or rocket. I yearn for the moment when I’m safe at home and can give my family a big hug. I can’t wait for the skies to be silent, for the background sounds to be wind, rain, and the bristling of the leaves, as opposed to explosions and the whistling of rockets above our heads.” I am grateful that this day has arrived.

The war has just ended, yet Tzahal is already preparing for the next one. But I have faith that better times are ahead.

Bret Stephens, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, recently wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times: “Last year’s Abraham Accords brought the overarching Arab-Israeli conflict to a near conclusion, even if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains unsolved.” Israel has finally made peace with some of its greatest adversaries. We must remain hopeful, for seeping into despair accomplishes nothing. We must do everything we can to bring about the words of the prophet Yirmiyahu: “For I am mindful of the plans I have made concerning you – declares G-d – plans for your peace, not for disaster” (22:19).

May that day come very soon. ■

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Family Activities for Tisha B’Av HaMizrachi has put together some ideas for Tisha B’Av to get the entire family involved, connected and learning about the meaning behind the mourning. While we have made suggestions based on age category, many of the activities can be adapted to be appropriate for all ages.

Get Creative

Learning and Growing

Be Proactive

Suggested Ages: 3–6 Build your own Beit HaMikdash ‣ Use a cardboard box and crayons, building blocks, etc. You can ask each child to build one part of the Beit HaMikdash (i.e, the mizbeach, the walls) and bring them together, using the activity as a prompt to discuss Jewish unity.

Storytime ‣ Everyone loves a good story! Age-appropriate stories can help children connect to the day, such as the following familyfriendly stories for Tisha B’Av: A Tisha B’Av Prank Kamtza and Bar Kamtza The Heart-Rending Cry Prepare for Mashiach ‣ Prepare an outfit and pack a bag you’d take with you if Mashiach would arrive as Tisha B’Av begins.

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Suggested Ages: 6–9 Put together a puzzle ‣ Discuss how each Jew is like a puzzle piece. When the pieces work together, we have a beautiful picture.

If the pieces choose to separate from the whole, the puzzle is destroyed.

Make your own puzzle by printing a photo of Yerushalayim or your family and cutting it into pieces, then reorganizing.

Learn with your child ‣ HaMizrachi has put together a source sheet to learn with your child: Undertake a family chesed activity to help bring about Jewish unity ‣ Visit sick people in the hospital or a lonely neighbor.

Tisha B’Av Videos to Watch as a Family Why is Tisha B’Av a day we are supposed to mourn and cry?

Why are our enemies compared to bees?

Rabbi David Fohrman

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

The famous story of Napoleon encountering Jewish mourning on Tisha B’Av

A Day of Yearning, Not Sadness, with world-renowned speaker Charlie Harary

Uncovering the Ashes of the First Temple Period in Yerushalayim City of David Institute

A Gush Katif evictee discusses her experience

Suggested Ages: 9–12 Make your own candles ‣ For this activity, you’ll need wax or crayons, wicks and containers for the candles.

Place the wick in the container. Place the wax in a pot over a stovetop to melt. Carefully pour the hot wax into the container (with adult supervision only!) and allow it to cool. Turn off the lights and use the candles on Tisha B’Av to create a subdued atmosphere of mourning. Never leave children unattended with burning candles.

Explore History ‣ Ask each family member to research a Jewish historical tragedy (for example, the Bar Kochba revolt, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust) and present it to the family.

Have a kumzitz ‣ Turn off the lights, sit in a circle on the floor and sing songs such as racheim, lema’ancha, al eileh, nachamu, im eshkachech, vehi she’amda or other slow songs about Yerushalayim or Jewish unity.

Suggested Ages: 12+ Charcoal art ‣ Draw with charcoal on white paper to create works of art related to the day. Charcoal presents a style of darkness, ashes and destruction.

Reflection and Connection ‣ Initiate discussions on Jewish unity, suffering and tragedy. Ask and discuss questions such as: why do good people suffer? How can we see G-d even in the darkness? What is our response to tragedy? What can we do to increase Jewish unity?

Interview ‣ Visit and interview a Holocaust survivor. Write their story.

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