Tisha B’Av / the Ninth Day of the Month of Av is the National Day of Mourning of the Jewish People.
The origin of Tisha B’Av is in the Torah. When the spies return from Israel to Moshe Rabbeinu / Moses, Our Teacher – 10 out of the 12 give a negative view on the land of Israel. They say that they saw giants there. They say that they cannot conquer the land – because we were in our own eyes like grasshoppers. The people cry. G-d says since you cried now for naught, you will cry in the future for a reason.
Many tragedies happened on the 9th of Av. The Two Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. World War One and Two’s commencement was due to an event that happened on the 9th of Av.
Charlie Harary in a Video On Aish.com explains that G-d is not out to punish people. He wants people to remove their negative attitude of not believing in themselves. Thus, aside for mourning, the destruction of the temples and the tragedies that occured, we should do teshuva / repent and make resolutions to better ourselves through the Torah’s lessons and strengthen our belief in ourselves – in our ability to do good.
Another lesson is is that on Tisha B’Av we begin consolation after midday. At that time, the temple was burning. Why have consolation at such a moment. One explanation I heard is the lesson is to know that when one has fallen so low, the only way is up. We begin the climb upward and towards happiness when we are so low, because we believe in better times ahead.
Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest rabbis of all times saw a fox exiting the Holy of Holies of the Destroyed Beit HaMikdash / Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The Rabbis with him started to cry. He started to laugh. They asked “Rabbi Akiva, why do you laugh?” He answered “Why do you cry?”
They said “The holiest place in the world, where the Cohen Gadol / Chief Temple Priest would enter only once on Yom Kippur / the Day of Atonement – the holiest day of the year – and are we not to cry?”
He answered them “In the prophesy it says that a fox will exit the holy of holies. In the prophesy it also says that the Holy Temple will be rebuilt. Now that I see one prophesy being fulfilled, I know that the other prophesy will be fulfilled.”
Three lessons in your Efforts to Come Closer to Torah. Believe in Yourself. Have Hope for the Future. And see the Positive.
Let’s make our effort and commitments towards self-improvement and hopefully by next year we will be celebrating the 9th of Av in the Built Temple – due to our actions of becoming greater – in Jerusalem Next Year. Amen.