Parshas Devarim, Shabbos Chazon

בס"ד

* I did not write this dvar torah, my dear friend did.

May this Dvar Torah be a zechus Liulay Nishmas Yisroel Mordechai Ben Tzvi Halevi, Milton Yasgur z''l, Rabbi Shimon ben Avraham MARCIANO zt'l who were all niftar this past week. For the Refua Shleima of Moshe Refael ben Aliza, Baila Rina bas Raizel Sarah, Avraham Yeshayahu ben Aviva, May this dvar Torah be a zechus for a refuah shleima of HaRav Yosef Shalom ben Chaya Musha, Elimelech Yerachmiel ben Matla, Chayim Dovid ben Leah, Luna bas Zamila, Akiva Shamai ben Ahava Rivka, Tzipora bas Daniella Miriam, Yaakov Zalman ben Rivka Faiga, HaTinok Eliezer ben Sarah, Tuvia Chaim ben Yocheved, Reuven ben Tova Chaya, Eliyahu ben Shoshana, Maryim bas Leiba, Yitzchok Simcha ben Gittle Leah, Dvir ben Leah, Nosson ben Sora, Yehonasan ben Malka, Gilad ben Aviva, Ruchama Aliza Sara Chana bas Esther Leiba, Leah bas Devorah, Bracha Chaya Miriam bas Hentsha Ralya, Menashe Koppel ben Naomi, Azriel Dovid ben Leah, Aharon ben Shulamis Serel, Chana Itzka bas Tova, and Shaindel Bayla bas Rochel, as well as the other cholim of klal Yisroel.*

The “Nine Days,” as they are colloquially termed, are known to be the saddest days of the year. From Rosh Chodesh Av through Tisha B’Av itself, we restrict ourselves from engaging in pleasurable activities in order to remind ourselves of the meaning of these days.

Hence it should have come to no surprise to me to receive an answer to a question I posed to my rabbi this week: “Regarding the Nine Days, I’m trying to figure out the delicate balance between preparing for Tisha B’Av and simultaneously letting these days function as regular weekdays. How can I prepare myself for observing Tisha B’Av properly?” I asked. And the response was: “Remember why you are refraining from eating meat, laundering clothes, etc.” As soon as I received that answer, I realized how obvious that should have been in my mind. I had become so used to wearing clothing I had “tried on” before the Nine Days, so used to eating dairy foods only, so used to taking cold showers, that I had forgotten the purpose of these special days—and more importantly, that these restrictions are meant to interfere with our lives so that we stop and take notice of the mourning.

In a shiur Rabbi Paysach Krohn gave at Yeshiva University on the eve of Taanis Esther 5768, he brought about a fascinating point that bears mentioning. He asked the famous question that many of us had this past Rosh Chodesh Adar, when the eight bochurim H’yd of Mercaz HaRav were murdered: How can such a tragedy happen on Rosh Chodesh Adar, which is supposed to be the height of our simcha (happiness)? He cites an idea in the name of Rav Avraham Schorr, who himself quotes the Sfas Emes. Taanis 29a tells us, “Just like in the month of Av we minimize our simcha, that’s how in Adar we add the simcha.” What’s the connection between these two events, that the simcha of one is related to that of the other? Here we learn that the two emotions are proportional to each other. Only one who feels the pain of Av, one who truly mourns over the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash and the fact that sinas chinam (baseless hatred) keeps it from being rebuilt, can merit to see the simcha of Adar. Hence, the idea suggests, we are lacking in our mourning over the Bais HaMikdash in Av (Rabbi Krohn emphasizes this particularly referring to sinas chinam), and thus have been forced to face such horrible events in Adar.

Upon reading this week’s parshas Devarim and its accompanying haftorah in Yeshayahu (hence its name “Shabbos Chazon”), we come across a midrash found in Eichah Rabbah 1:1: “Three people made the nevuah (prophecy) using the word “Eichah” (an expression of consternation)—Moshe Rabbeinu, Yeshayahu, and Yirmiyahu. Moshe said (Devarim 1:12): “Eichah Esah Levadi,” “how will I carry this nation.” Yeshayahu said (Yeshayahu 1:21): “Eichah haysa l’zonah kiryah ne’emanah,” “how has she become a prostitute, faithful city that was full of justice.” Yirmiyahu said “Eichah yashvah badad,” “Alas, she sits in solitude,” (Eichah 1:1). All three pesukim are encountered in our Shabbos readings and Megillas Eichah (read on Tisha B’Av) itself.

All three of these pesukim are questions that seem to be rhetorical on the surface, but perhaps deserve deeper inspection.

The Mayan Beis HaShoevah quotes this exact Midrash in Bereishis 3:9, when Adam HaRishon has sinned by eating from the Etz HaDaas, the Tree of Knowledge. Upon encountering Adam to question him about his sin, Hashem asks him: “Ayeka?” “Where are you?” Rashi suggests that even though Hashem very well knew exactly where Adam was located, he opened with the question to give him a chance to do teshuvah.

The Mayan Beis HaShoevah, citing our Midrash in Eichah, presents another suggestion. The word “Ayeka” is spelled alef-yud-kaf-hey, the exact same way as the word “Eicha.” Hence the questions posed by Moshe, Yeshayahu, and Yirmiyahu are deeper than they appear: “Where are you and how did you get this state?”

Moshe Rabbeinu asked: “Where are you and how did you get to this state? This is not the same klal Yisrael of Matan Torah!” Rashi (Devarim 1:12) tells us how critical klal Yisrael were of Moshe Rabbeinu, and how they would attempt any manipulative schemes to win their case in court. They were complainers and apikorsim, according to Rashi.

Yeshayahu asked: “Where are you and how did you get to this state? You’re not the same Yerushalayim that was known for its righteousness sleeping within its gates—now it houses murderers! (see the rest of Yeshayayahu 1:21).” Radak (not quoted in the Mayan Beis HaShoevah) tells us that instead of being a fortitude of justice, Yerushalayim was now a place where everyone manipulated court cases so that innocent lives would be lost in exchange for monetary profit—hence they were considered murderers.

Yirmiyahu lamented: “Where are you and how did you get to this state? This is not the same city of Dovid HaMelech and Shlomo HaMelech, the city that was known for its superior beauty throughout the land!”

Hence, concludes the Mayan Beis HaShoevah, Eicha is the same as Ayekah—where are you?!

The Aderes Eliyahu (as cited in Artscroll’s Stone Edition Chumash) presents an alternative explanation of the term Ayeka, in parshas Bereishis: You have fallen! Where is your elevated status?” Why are you not on the high level you once were?

I recently heard (or read, I don’t remember which) a shiur which mentioned the following concept: Chazal teach us that those who mourn over the destruction of Yerushalayim will merit to see its redemption. The author of this shiur made the point more poignant: The condition in this statement is that only those who mourn over Yerushalayim will merit to be comforted.

Where are we? We have become so engrossed with our comfortable lifestyles. We look around at world Jewry and take pride in the fact that Jewish communities are spreading like wildfire across the globe. We remember the ba’al teshuva movement and how it is, Boruch Hashem, growing by leaps and bounds. These are truly great accomplishments, and we are grateful to Hashem for making them happen. But is that all?

Rav Wolbe, in his essay entitled “Bein HaMetzarim” (Alei Shur, vol. 1) writes the following: “We should have kavannah (intention) in saying our brachos…including birkas hamazon. We’ve just eaten to the point of being content, but it is our obligation to question ourselves: Is that all? Is the point of our lives just to fill our stomachs?” In other words, is this all we can hope for? Are we satisfied with what we have? Where are we? How have we fallen so low to believe that this is all we can hope for? The point of our lives is not to be satisfied with our exile, but to remember that we really hope for the Shechinah, Hashem’s presence, to join us once again!

These are the questions that we must ask ourselves as Tisha B’Av itself approaches. Though none of us have merited to see the glorious the Beis HaMikdash and what we have truly lost, the reality of our world today demands that we stop and remember that there is so much more to the lives we have built so comfortably in golus (exile). Perhaps the mere fact that we live in such a vulgar society, particularly that of Western culture, should remind us that we were once at an exalted level in our history, and it is to that level that we strive to rejoin.

This all being said, amidst all of the mourning of these days, lies the potential for the greatest connection to Hashem Yisborach. Rav Shimshon Pincus zt”l says (in a shiur downloaded from Aishaudio.com): “On Tisha B’Av, we have an opportunity to reach hashra’as haShechinah (the revelation of the Shechinah), to bring the redemption…this is the greatest of all times of the year.” He talks about how the separation between us and Hashem is actually the means by which we can become closest to Him. Hence he points out that Chazal tell us Tisha B’Av is not only a day of mourning, but the day upon which Moshiach will be born.

To illustrate, Rav Pincus presents an intricate mashal (analogy) which I will attempt to simplify here. One Purim, Rav Pincus decided to get a costume, and settled on a bear costume. Once he entered his house, though, his little son shrieked out of fear. He ran to his mother and said, “Mommy, it’s a bear!” His mother said, “Don’t worry, it’s just Tatty!” So then his son ran up to his father and wanted his father to hug him, because he was afraid of the bear. Though he usually was too happy with his own games and occupations notice his father, now he hugged him with all his strength.

Hashem is our Father who tries so hard to get us to come close to Him, but we are too busy in our own pursuits to pay attention. So He dresses up like a “bear,” presents us with difficult situations and tragedies, so that we come to embrace Him. Hence the times of greatest tragedy can also become the times of greatest closeness.

Tisha B’Av, then, is indeed a day of deep introspection and tears. We do lament the fact that Hashem is hidden from our midst. We cry over the countless tragedies that have been felt in klal Yisrael—and I daresay that some of us have experienced our own personal churban as well, rachmana l’tzlan. But Chazal tell us—those who mourn properly, those who feel the pain most, will merit to see consolation. Those who remember that Tisha B’Av is not only a day of lamentation, but also a day of intense closeness with HaKadosh Boruch Hu, will truly gain the most out of this special time.

May we all be zoche to use this time properly and with that, see the coming 9 of Av as a day of rejoicing!

Good Shabbos!