We are currently in the midst of a very solemn time in the Jewish calendar, the period known as the “3 weeks”, where various calamities have fallen upon our people and most notably the destruction of both of the holy Temples. The Temple wasn’t just a building; it was the tool by which G-dliness could be perceived in the world. We aren’t just mourning the loss of a spectacular building comprised of special materials and concise measurements, of the most architecturally-impressive construction ever to exist. But we are mourning the absence of peace and clarity, a world bereft of spirituality and meaning; a world in which we have even made ourselves comfortable living in, despite it being merely a place of refuge in exile.
Chazal inform us that the causes of the destruction of the first Temple was because of the 3 cardinal sins: murder, adultery and idol worship and the second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred. Are we still guilty of these sins today? Most of us can testify that we are not guilty of the 3 cardinal sins, but baseless hatred is still an unfortunate daily occurrence today. The Talmud tells us that “A generation in which the Temple is not built is considered to be one in which it was destroyed”(Yerushalmi, Yoma 1:10) – this means if we still don’t see the Temple today, we are no less to blame than for when the Temple was originally destroyed because we still haven’t rectified the cause! This is what we are supposed to reflect upon during this time period; we have a mere 3 weeks a year to focus ourselves upon what we are really supposed to be doing in this world. We have the chance to mourn for what was lost and to hope for what will be, to put our involvements with our exilic world and daily routine aside – and to just remember that we are part of a nation.
It isn’t a coincidence that now during the 3-weeks there is ongoing riots amongst “charedi”-looking extremists. To call them “charedi” is an insult to the Torah world – anyone who throws rocks, riots and causes damage is certainly not charedi, and definitely not religious. How are our more secular brothers and sisters going to view this? I am saddened and ashamed at the dreadful Chillul Hashem, G-d forbid, that has transpired. The very police that protect our borders are being assaulted, the very streets that house us are being burnt – and all by individuals dressed in religious attire. Jerusalem Police Chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco, most probably a non-observant Jew, said “I have not found a single place in the Bible where it is written that these actions are permissible” – and how right he is! Is it any wonder we don’t have a Temple? Do we deserve it, really? How merciful Hashem is that He has even given us this Land that’s still going strong, and despite a large secular population still retains strong Jewish values – and after events like this, I do wonder how. Such is the strength of our people, of Torah and of the Land! We as religious Jews have an absolute responsibility and obligation to reverse this desecration, and to condemn it explicitly and openly. These groups do not represent Torah and are behaving contrary to Torah – and we need to make this known.
Let us not only mourn the state of the world today, but we need to stand up and repair. We do not mourn hopelessly, but the flicker of light which still exists inside ourselves allows us to hope and yearn for what will be, for what has to be. When Yaakov thought he lost his son Yosef, he was inconsolable for years, which isn’t normal because the way of the world is to forget and move on after some time. And the reason he didn’t was because, unknown to him, Yosef was still actually alive. So too with us, the Temple hasn’t disappeared forever, and thus we are unable to forget. The very reason we still mourn is a sign that we can’t move on because the Temple is still alive, we will get it back. And that’s why our mourning isn’t from sadness, but from hope.
